Jean Plaidy - The Loves of Charles II

ALSO BY JEAN PLAIDY

From Three Rivers Press

T HE W IVES OF H ENRY VIII

The Rose Without a ThornThe Lady in the Tower

Katharine of AragonThe Sixth Wife

T HE T UDOR P RINCESSES

Mary, Queen of FranceThe Thistle and the Rose

T HE T UDOR Q UEENS

In the Shadow of the CrownQueen of This Realm

The Royal Road to FotheringhayVictoria Victorious

T HE N ORMAN T RILOGY

The Bastard KingThe Lion of Justice

The Passionate Enemies

T HE P LANTAGENET S AGA

Plantagenet PreludeThe Revolt of the Eaglets

The Heart of the LionThe Prince of Darkness

The Battle of the QueensThe Queen from Provence

Edward LongshanksThe Follies of the King

The Vow on the HeronPassage to Pontefract

The Star of LancasterEpitaph for Three Women

Red Rose of AnjouThe Sun in Splendor

T HE T UDOR N OVELS

Uneasy Lies the HeadKatharine, the Virgin Widow

The Shadow of the PomegranateThe Kings Secret Matter

Murder Most RoyalSt. Thomas Eve

The Sixth WifeThe Spanish Bridegroom

Gay Lord Robert

T HE S TUART S AGA

The Captive Queen of ScotsThe Murder in the Tower

The Wandering PrinceThe Three Crowns

The Haunted SistersThe Queens Favorites

T HE G EORGIAN S AGA

The Princess of CelleQueen in Waiting

Caroline the QueenThe Prince and the Quakeress

The Third GeorgePerditas Prince

Sweet Lass of Richmond HillIndiscretions of the Queen

The Regents DaughterGoddess of the Green Room

Victoria in the Wings

T HE Q UEEN V ICTORIA S ERIES

The Captive of Kensington PalaceThe Queen and Lord M

The Queens HusbandThe Widow of Windsor

T HE F ERDINAND AND I SABELLA T RILOGY

Castile for IsabellaSpain for the Sovereigns

Daughter of Spain

T HE L UCREZIA B ORGIA S ERIES

Madonna of the Seven HillsLight on Lucrezia

T HE M EDICI T RILOGY

Madame SerpentThe Italian Woman

Queen Jezebel

T HE F RENCH R EVOLUTION S ERIES

Louis the Well-BelovedThe Road to Compienge

Flaunting, Extravagant Queen

Evergreen Gallant

Myself, My EnemyBeyond the Blue Mountains

The Goldsmiths WifeThe Scarlet Cloak

Defenders of the FaithDaughter of Satan

Contents

Part One

THE
WANDERING
PRINCE

Henriette dOrlans
and Lucy Water

I think that no joys are above
the pleasures of love.

C HARLES S TUART

t was late afternoon on a July day in the fourth year of the Great Rebellion. The sun was hot; the grass banks were brown; and the purple nettle-flowers and the petals of the woundwort were peppered with fine dust.

A small partytwo men and two womentrudged slowly along the road, looking neither to right nor to left, their eyes fixed on the ground. One of the women was a hunchback, and it was this deformed one who carried a sleeping child.

Sweat ran down her face; she caught her breath as she saved herself from tripping over a stone and going headlong into one of the numerous potholes which were a feature of the road. She wiped the sweat from her face but did not lift her eyes from the ground.

After a while she spoke. How far from the inn, Tom?

Well be there within the hour.

Theres time before dark, said the other woman. Lets stop for a rest. The boys heavy.

Tom nodded. A few minutes will do no harm, he said.

The hunchback spoke again. Only let us rest if you are sure theres time, Tom. Dont let the dark overtake us. Therell be robbers on the road at twilight.

There are four of us, answered Tom, and we look too poor to rob. But Nells right. Theres time for a rest.

They sat on the bank. Nell took off her boots and grimaced at her swollen feet while the hunchback laid the child gently on the grass. The others would have helped, but she waved them aside; she seemed determined that none but herself should touch the child.

Heres the best spot for you, said Tom to the hunchback. The bush makes a good support. But the hunchback shook her head and looked at him with some reproach. He smiled and sat down at the spot he had chosen as the best. We should be in Dover long before this time tomorrow, he added.

Call me Nan, said the hunchback.

Yes Nan I will.

You must remember to call me Nan. It is short for Nanette. Ask my husband. Is that not so, Gaston?

Yes that is so. Nan it is short for Nanette.

And that is my name.

Yes, Nan, said Tom.

There is someone coming, said Nell quickly.

They were silent, listening to the sound of footsteps on the road. A man and a woman came into sight, and the hunchbacks eyes went to the sleeping child beside her; her right hand moved out and rested on its ragged clothes.

The man and woman who were approaching carried bundles, and their dress proclaimed them to be of slightly higher social standing than the group on the bank. The man who wore his hair cut short so that his pink and rather prominent ears could be seen, might have been a tradesman. The woman was plump and puffing with exertion; it was clear that she was finding the heat uncomfortable.

Heres sensible people, she was grumbling, taking a rest by the roadside. I declare Ill do the same, for my feet wont carry me a step farther until I give them a short rest.

Now come along, Kitty, said the man. If were to be in Tonbridge in time for the wagon theres no time for dallying.

Theres time enough, and my feet wont go a step further. The fat woman was smiling as she plumped herself down on the bank, and her husband had no choice but to do the same, for it was too hot to stand and argue.