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Word spread immediately through the court that we were to remarry and in the intervening time, my waking hours were spent with Condé close by my side. Determined to show to the world that I was his, he accompanied me to every ball and event, not once allowing me to leave his side. I appealed to the Queen that I was failing in my duties to her, but mistaking my pleas for the false protestations of a bride in love, she only told me “Marie, you deserve to spend time with your husband. After your separation, it will do you good to get to know one another again.”
I had worried that Anjou would take the opportunity to stroke Condé's jealousy by openly flirting with me or by a few well-placed poems, but I heard nothing from the prince. Perhaps I was right and his attention towards me was mer
