Pursuing the family name as the finest silk producer in Lyon, the young Huguenot Rachelle Dushane-Macquinet is thrilled to accompany her famous couturier Grandmere to Paris, there to create a silk trousseau for the Royal Princess Marguerite Valois. The Court is magnificent; its regent, Catherine de Medici, deceptively charming … and the circumstances, darker than Rachelle could possibly imagine. At a time in history when the tortures of the Bastille and the fiery stake are an almost casual consequence in France, a scourge of recrimination is moving fast and furious against the Huguenots―and as the Queen Mother's political intrigues weave a web of deception around her, Rachelle finds herself in imminent danger. Hope rests in warning the handsome Marquis Fabien de Vendome of the wicked plot against his kin. But to do so, Rachelle must follow a perilous course. Pursuing the family name as the finest silk producer in Lyon, the young Huguenot Rachelle Dushane-Macquinet is thrilled to accompany her famous couturier Grandmere to Paris, there to create a silk trousseau for the Royal Princess Marguerite Valois. The Court is magnificent; its regent, Catherine de Medici, deceptively charming … and the circumstances, darker than Rachelle could possibly imagine. At a time in history when the tortures of the Bastille and the fiery stake are an almost casual consequence in France, a scourge of recrimination is moving fast and furious against the Huguenots--and as the Queen Mother's political intrigues weave a web of deception around her, Rachelle finds herself in imminent danger. Hope rests in warning the handsome Marquis Fabien de Vendome of the wicked plot against his kin. But to do so, Rachelle must follow a perilous course. Daughter of SilkCopyright 2006 by Linda ChaikinRequests for information should be addressed to:Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication DataChaikin, L. L.Daughter of Silk / Linda Lee Chaikin.p. cm. -- (The Silk house; bk. 1)ISBN-10: 0-310-26300-XISBN-13: 978-0-310-26300-51. France --- History --- Francis II, 1559 -- 1560 --- Fiction. 2. Catherine de Medicis,Queen, consort of Henry II, King of France, 1519 -- 1589 --- Fiction. 3. Courts andcourtiers --- Fiction. I. Title.PS3553.H2427D38 2006813'.54 --- dc22 2005031947All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the King JamesVersion.All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrievalsystem, or transmitted in any form or by any means --- electronic, mechanical, photocopy,recording, or any other --- except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the priorpermission of the publisher.Interior design by Beth ShagenePrinted in the United States of America06 07 08 09 10 11 12 * 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Chapter OneMarquis Fabien de Vendome stood on the open balustradeof the royal palais chateau at Chambord, resting his muscled shoulderagainst the broad marble embrasure. He fixed his attention below in thecourtyard where voices shouted and horse hooves clattered over stone.Another burst of activity erupted near the gate. The king's cuirrasiers,garbed in black and crimson, sporting brass and steel, threw openthe double gate. Riders thundered into the courtyard as though pursuedby fiendish gargoyles.Fabien recognized le Duc de Guise mounted on a black charger witha jeweled harness and gold velvet housing edged in green braid. Guise'smen-at-arms followed, bearing the flag of the House of Guise from theduchy of Lorraine.Fabien straightened from the embrasure, clamping his jaw. Thesecret rumblings of hatred smoldered in the rocky caverns of his soul atthe sight of the duc.Le Duc de Guise looked up toward the balcony. His gaze appearedto search, as if he could sense a burning pit of hellish emotions attackinghim from somewhere, as if he was a jackal smelling a rotting carcass tofeed upon.Then le Duc de Guise locked gazes with Marquis Fabien.Guise's lips turned into a hard, faintly mocking smile. Fabien smiledin return and offered a bow.Guise turned his head away and peered over his shoulder toward thegate. He raised a gloved hand whereupon a masked, black-cowled riderburst through the turret gates, dusty, his horse sweating. Fabien tensed.Who was this? A moment later the duc's men-at-arms tightened theirescort around the mysterious rider, encircling him within their midst.Is Guise protecting the masked figure or confining him? Why the cowland mask? Fabien narrowed his gaze, as if by staring he could borethrough the mask to identify the messire.He was here at Chambord at the invitation of the boy-king Francisand his petite reinette, Mary of Scotland, but not to become ensnared inwhatever ongoing intrigue the House of Guise was presently hatching.Fabien left the balcony. Patience, he reminded himself. The longawaitedhour to apportion revenge upon the head of le Duc de Guisewould eventually dawn.The marquis pulled