Read Online To Serve a King by Donna Russo Morin - Free Book Online

eyes upon her new acquaintance, and smiled a small, benevolent smile. The man’s solace seemed sincere and his attention flattering. The marquis smiled back, ill-disguised enchantment upon his ruggedly handsome countenance.
    “Who is this marvelous creature?” The deep male voice was a purr, charming and seductive. “I know I am new to court, but beauty such as this I would have remembered.”
    As food came and went, so did the visitors to the main tables. With each such visit, Geneviève witnessed the divisiveness of the court splayed out before her; more than one fracture split jagged gaps through the room and those in it. Though years had passed, the noblesse d’épée —the nobles of the sword—had not come to terms with the new nobility, those considered the noblesse de robe and noblesse de lettres , who had been given their nobility—or worse, purchased it. And so the very manner of their nobility divided them. The old nobility in France—the evolution of the chivalric knights—mingled with the new, and tolerated them as they were forced to do by their king, who recruited so many of his friends and advisers from among the newer ranks. But their own superiority they wore as ostentatiously as they did their velvets and jewels.
    Within these two groups were another two. Though all showed their allegiance to their king above all others, their private commitments—political and social—lay divided into two camps: one for the king and Anne, and the other for the Dauphin and his mistress. The distinction of cliques was as apparent to the newly arrived as it was to the seasoned courtier, splitting the swirling throng like a butcher cleaves meat from the bone.
    Geneviève watched the machinations with beguiled interest. Here already she had found a small gift to send to her master.What would Henry do if he knew of the breach running through the middle of the French court, running so deep it separated the king from his heir?
    “Ah, Raymond, this is Mademoiselle Geneviève Gravois. Geneviève, please make the acquaintance of Baron Pitou, another new friend to the court, if I may be so bold as to call you friend already.”
    “I would not have it any other way.”
    Geneviève bestowed her small grin toward both men, taken aback for a moment by the beauty of her newest acquaintance. His rippling waves of golden hair and eyes the blue of a breathtaking summer sky dared to triumph over the opulence of his indigo doublet and hose and the finely sculpted body beneath. Her heart thudded before such male beauty, such unfamiliarly pretty masculinity.
    “Be not overwhelmed by the attention of these scamps.” The nasal twang of Jecelyn du Fabiole caught them all unawares as it screeched above the table’s conversation. “You are the newest bauble at court, Geneviève. Once your novelty and sparkle wear off, they will soon forget about you.”
    The smiled faded from Geneviève’s lips and she turned to look at the ungracious woman, a grim stare assuring Jecelyn she would not accept such cruel trifling. “Indeed, I see by the lack of companions by your side how it must be.”
    Jecelyn countered with a sneer, as if bitterly pleased by Gene-viève’s brashness.
    Raymond was the first to break the uncomfortable silence. “Such a beautiful, intelligent addition will never be taken for granted, I assure you.”
    “ Merci, mon seigneur, ” Geneviève said quietly, breaking the combative gaze.
    As Jecelyn rose, a shallow curtsy of leave-taking offered to the table, Arabelle leaned over to whisper in Geneviève’s ear. “Watch her, mon amie. She will not leave it there.”
    Geneviève gave her a nod of understanding as she watched Je-celyn flounce away, watched as men clamored to walk by her side. Why such a striking beauty would begrudge a newcomer to court some friendships, she could not imagine, but she would, as warned, be wary of this wily woman.
    “Your plate seems so empty, mademoiselle,” Albret chastised. “Look at