February 25, 1554

The river has melted, and I am not at all sad to see the ice go, after all that has happened. Indeed almost overnight it seems as if spring is upon us. The four Marys and I sat in my smaller dining salon at the round table that sits in the curve of the tower, and looked out upon the greening fields beyond the river. We sipped our steaming chocolate and ate the flaky brioche buns with jam. The sunlight streamed in, and it was as if we were caught in a web of golden light. In that moment I realized how fragile life is, and in knowing its frailty it had become all the more precious.

It will take Mary a while to get her strength back. The court is to go to Paris soon, but I am to go first to Meudon, the de Guise château, to visit my mother’s family. Uncle Francis and Aunt Anne’s new babe should be born soon, and there will be a christening. And I shall also visit my grandmother Antoinette, whom I have not seen for many months.