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Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 42
After refusing to participate in the creation of the declaration, François fell out of favor, although the queen did not drive him away. Once, leaving the Louvre, he saw an approaching carriage. The Cardinal of Lorraine emerged from it and, seeing François, went towards him.- Mister Baron!It was clear from de Guise's face that something important had happened. He asked François to return with him to the palace for a conversation.They entered Romagnac's study, and, seating himself in an armchair, the cardinal began:“A messenger has arrived from Madrid, your grace. Her Majesty has passed away.For the first moment, François did not understand anything, and his heart stopped.Is Catherine dead?- The Lord is with you, baron. Elizabeth, Queen of Spain.François felt both relief and pain at the same time. Thank God, not Catherine. But... oh, Blessed Virgin... poor Doña Isabella! He bowed his head, images flashed before his eyes: here Elizabeth, still a girl, reaches out her hands to hi
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 43
Events began to develop four days after the wedding. On the morning of August 22, an assassination attempt was made on Coligny. It was only by a lucky chance that the admiral survived, but the attacker wounded him in the arm and shot off his finger. The indignant Protestants began to arm themselves, took under guard the house of Coligny and the surrounding streets. Threats of revenge were heard from everywhere. The townspeople, on the contrary, rejoiced at the attack on the head of the Huguenots and regretted that he had survived. Paris buzzed like a disturbed beehive.In the evening of the next day, Francois was walking in the Tuileries Garden, next to which Catherine's new palace was being completed. The day before, at a reception in the Town Hall, an unusual dish was served - grated frozen fruits with milk, which the guests liked so much that many of them ate several servings. Among them was François, but these excesses played a cruel joke on him: he had a cold in his throat, lost
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 44
Dr. Gold paused, and the vicar took advantage of this to ask a question:- Was it St. Bartholomew's night?- Yes, my friend, it was St. Bartholomew's night. When the king left, I stood at the window for a long time, looking out into the street with horror and despair. In front of the gates of the Louvre, in the light of torches, I saw no less than twenty half-dressed corpses. The guards dragged them to the embankment and threw them into the Seine. And how much they have already thrown off before that, God knows.- And you saw it all, Michael?- Alas, yes. I can't describe how terrible it was. The scale of this massacre shocked everyone even then, and in fact in those days a human life was worth much less than now. The authorities, having planned and carried out the murder of several dozen Huguenots, soon lost control of the situation. Approximate de Guise, having finished with Coligny, went to the south bank of the Seine, to Saint-Germain, where many Calvinists stopped. The Parisians,
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 45
The guests were greeted by a huge delegation of senators, ministers, bishops, gentry, officials, many of them came with their troops, and before entering the city, a whole army stretched out under multi-colored banners. The French froze in surprise when a company of winged hussars advanced towards them. It was the elite Polish cavalry, which had a very unusual appearance: wings of eagle feathers were attached behind the back of each rider, and spotted fur robes were thrown over the armor. The hussars rode in close ranks, their cloaks fluttered, their wings fluttered in the wind, and this spectacle made a stunning impression on the guests.After the solemn meeting, Heinrich and his retinue were escorted to Krakow. The city struck the French. Wide streets, beautiful Gothic churches, an ancient university and, of course, a huge, several times larger than the Louvre, Wawel Castle on a hill - the royal residence. Adjacent to it was the majestic Cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslas,
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 46
After the coronation celebrations ended so tragically, several days passed, and then feasts and balls resumed. Now they were no longer dedicated to Henry's accession to the throne, but became a common occurrence in his reign. The king paid almost no attention to state affairs, he was much more interested in holidays and receptions. Evening and night he devoted to balls, and during the day he usually slept. When the gentry began to grumble that Heinrich did not fulfill his promises, Francois decided to talk with his "nephew", but received a sharp rebuff.- Remind me, uncle, who is the king, me or you? Heinrich asked bitterly.“Of course you are, sir,” François replied calmly, “that is why you should devote more time to the affairs of the state.- So, since I'm the king, it's up to me to decide what needs to be done.Sir, the gentry are unhappy...- Well, what do you want from me? Heinrich exclaimed capriciously. “I sit in these terrible meetings almost every day. You have no idea how b
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 47
The baron arrived at the Wawel Castle on the morning of the fourteenth of June and, without having time to rest, was summoned to the king. Without even greeting François, whom he had not seen for two months, Heinrich handed him a letter:- Here, uncle.Romagnach picked up the paper and read:"My lord, my son. The king, your brother, has died. So many of my children have already died, and now a new misfortune has come. I pray the Lord to send me death so that I don’t have to go through this anymore. I have never experienced more pain, and comfort me only your arrival is possible. France and I are waiting for you. I need to see you in good health, because if I happen to lose you too, I will order you to bury me alive with you.Do not delay your departure from Poland and do not let them delay you, because you are needed here. I am dying of longing for you, only your presence can console me and make me forget about my loss. Loving you like no one else in the world, your mother Ekaterina."
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 48
Over the next two years, Stefan Batory took the cities of Sokol, Velikiye Luki, Toropets, and in August 1581 laid siege to Pskov. The king planned to start the siege earlier, but the continuous raids of small Russian detachments deep into the Lithuanian lands delayed him. He was not too worried about this: Pskov was not considered a well-fortified city, so Batory expected to take it before the cold weather.However, he was mistaken: in recent months, the Russians have surrounded Pskov with an embankment, a moat and four stone walls with dozens of towers and secret underground passages.The Polish king began by ordering arrows to be fired at the besieged, to which notes were attached. In them, he invited the defenders to surrender, promising to show them respect and shower them with favors. Soon a return arrow flew into the camp of the Poles. Impatiently unfolding the letter, Batory read: "For all the riches of the world, we will not change our kiss on the cross. We will die, but we wi
Eternal Life;Cursed Gift 49
On May 26, 1584, the execution was scheduled. François was present at her, standing in the front row and imperceptibly smiling through a lush, in the Polish fashion, mustache. The villain was stripped to the zhupan and taken to a specially built high platform. The priest hastily recited the prayer and disappeared, and instead the executioner appeared - a huge fellow in a bright red cloak with a hood and a mask - and pointed to the condemned man on the chopping block.François looked for the last time into the face of the hated gentry, hoping to see fear in his eyes. But there was no fear; Zborowski surveyed the assembled crowd with a haughty look and stepped towards the chopping block. Smiling contemptuously, he knelt down and rested his head on her. Romagnac, not looking up, looked at him in order to see with his own eyes how the killer of his friend would lose his life.The executioner, trampling next to Samuel, waved a huge ax at a sign from the steward. The crowd cheered in unison