The King of Thieves: Read Online Free Page A

you know that. All the men are sitting here
     hung-over and riotous.’
    ‘Which ones were they?’
    ‘Paolo’s men – Hugues and Thomas – but he’s dead too. So only those two. You want me to send after them?’
    The King of France’s most trusted adviser looked down at the broken figure of Toscanello. ‘He was only Italian,’ he said.
     ‘Let them go. We don’t have the men to catch them.’

Chapter One
    Morrow of Deusdedit
,
    Third year of the reign of King Charles IV of France, nineteenth year of the reign of King Edward II of England
*
    Louvre, Paris
    At last the woman was gone. He would not meet her here in the Louvre on his way to the chapel, nor in the King’s chamber.
     He was rid of her.
    Cardinal Thomas d’Anjou could not help but feel the spring in his step at the thought. Her presence here in Paris had been
     an embarrassment for too long. The idea that a woman like her should come here and flagrantly ignore the rightful demands
     of her husband … well, it was not to be borne.
    King Charles IV had demonstrated enormous sympathy for her. Of course, he always considered any situation from the perspective
     of chivalry, and what was honourable, so when his sister arrived here in France, King Charles had made her welcome. The fact
     that she was a negotiator from that despicable tyrant, King Edward II of England, did not detract from the King’s evident
     joy at seeing his sister again.
    Perhaps his pleasure was enhanced by the fact that he was himself married again at last. The poor man had suffered somuch from the adultery of his first wife. The whole royal family had. She and her sisters-in-law had been found to have committed
     the foul sin with two knights. Immediately the women were imprisoned, while the men suffered the most humiliating, painful
     and public deaths ever meted out by a King to a traitor.
    King Charles’s woman was mentioned only in lowered tones since then. But at long last the Pope had permitted the annulment
     of the marriage when she had fallen pregnant to her gaoler at the Château Gaillard. The clear, incontrovertible proof of her
     faithlessness at that point had been enough, and the Pope at last gave his agreement. Now the faithless one was safely installed
     in a convent far away, and the King had remarried a second time. Sadly, his second wife had died in childbirth. The baby himself
     had only lasted a short while before also succumbing, and now the King was married to his third wife, the delightful young
     Jeanne d’Évreux. Hopefully, with her he would prove more fortunate and provide an heir for the kingdom.
    There had been so much trouble in the last few years, Cardinal Thomas thought. Ever since the end of the Templars, the Parisians
     had experienced increasing hardship. Kings came and went, but they were astonishingly short-lived, and none seemed able to
     father a son. This latest King could be the saving of the line – it was an end to be desired, after all. God alone knew who
     else might take over the realm.
    But his sister’s arrival, and her refusal to obey her own husband, must be a shameful reminder to King Charles of his own
     suffering. Even the joy of his latest marriage must be soured by the presence of his sister, Queen Isabella of England. After
     all, she it was who had told their father about the women’s adultery in the first place.
    A messenger came, knocking gently on the door.
    ‘Yes?’
    ‘Cardinal, there is a man to see you. He says he has information for the King.’
    The Cardinal made a dismissive gesture. ‘You want me to come and see someone
now
? Are you a complete fool?’
    ‘He said it was about a treasure, Cardinal. Something stolen from the King. I thought someone should know, but the steward,
     the marshals –
everyone
– is preparing for the departure of the English Queen.’
    Cardinal Thomas frowned, looking at his reflection in the mirror. There was a little mark on his cheek, and he licked a finger,
     removing it.