24
By September, I finally understood Elisabeth's comment about waddling everywhere and the inability to see her feet. My own feet disappeared from my sight, seen only when I put my feet up to get some semblance of relief. The pregnancy stretched my body as well as my patience. I cursed Condé for putting me in this position, then abandoning me to it. During the past months, I heard not one word from him, which was probably just as well. I refused to play the part of an abandoned wife. I would not stand for someone to look at me with pity.
Although the King wrote me daily, I had long since given up hope of meeting him for his triumphant return to French soil. Instead of taking the journey towards Lyon to meet him, I settled in the Hotel de Guise to get ready to welcome my child. My sister
