Epilogue
Catherine, Duchess de Guise
I delayed sending the letter to the King after Marie left us. I had no desire to admit to myself that she was gone. I knew that once the message left for Lyons, I was all but admitting to myself that my younger sister was dead. Eventually, Henriette convinced me that it was my duty to send word to the King that the woman he loved, the woman he wished to make his wife and queen, was gone forever.
We had sent no word to Lyon that she was fading after the birth because we naively believed that she would recover. With each day's passing, however, she faded more from us. Marie insisted that the King receive no word of her condition because she could not stand to have him sitting near her, feeling completely helpless. Until she told me this, I was unsure i
