Reign

Previously on Reign...

You cost me more than you could possibly imagine.

Anything you ask.

You will do and say as I command.

You were supposed to befriend Francis,

find out what kind of king he is.

If the time should come when you need to choose

between your new friends and your family,

your choice will be clear.

Mary asked you to offer yourself

as a possible match for me.

She hoped that we might find the happiness she's found

with Francis.

What does she take us for?

A couple of game pieces she can shunt aside

to unclutter her board?

I want a happier life with you.

I still can't bear to be touched... even the sound

of a man breathing near me is...

I wish I knew how to help.

Just give me time.

Oh, it's here.

The first bloom!

I claim the reward!

First bloom, isn't that grand?

The promise of new life and new beginnings.

And a rip-roaring party with new dresses and dancing

to enliven this dismal winter.

Come in, I'm almost ready.

He's just here for a routine visit, isn't he?

According to Antoine's letter, yes.

He wanted to extend the peace treaty

between France and Navarre.

Could have done it through diplomats,

but he hasn't been here for years, and now that I'm king,

I suppose he wants to pay me a visit.

What's this?

A map?

There's an enclave of the Loire Valley.

The hills there have the lushest orchards

and vineyards in the realm.

The poet Marot calls it the Eden of France.

Well, it sounds glorious, but...

I know how hard things have been for you.

For us.

I want us to have a new beginning,

a place we can go

away from the castle

and all the painful memories it holds.

There's an abandoned château.

Here.

A lord who ran out of money.

I thought we could expand it.

It's a beautiful idea, but...

... what if we go there, and things don't get better?

Things are already better.

Cousin,

I am delighted we both wish

to renew the peace treaty between our two countries.

It is my chief purpose in coming.

- Of course. - And my second purpose

is to ask for funds.

Navarre has been overrun by Protestant refugees.

French Protestants.

They're perfectly lovely people,

but they are a tax on our resources.

Now, we'd prefer that they return home, but apparently

they fear persecution from the Crown.

And you're suggesting that these refugees are our fault,

and you want us to pay up?

I knew this would be awkward;

that's the problem with being forthright.

Well, we will consider your request.

In the meantime, you are our honored guest.

France and Navarre remain the best of friends.

Of course.

CONDÉ: Lady Lola.

What are all the decorations for?

Tomorrow night's Winter Ease.

The first blooms have been sighted in the snow.

We feast, dance, celebrate new beginnings.

But it's still winter.

The blooms will likely have a short life.

But it's the promise that spring will come eventually.

Hmm, and do you have an escort to this feast?

The queen has commanded that we see one another.

But should you be there with me?

You're King Antoine's liaison to the French court.

Won't he need you at his side for introductions?

Oh, my brother always finds a way to introduce himself.

Now, where can we hang these garlands?

Ah, put them over there.

I think you dropped one.

Oh, well, thank you,

- Your Majesty. - Well, it'd be a shame to lose track

of something so vibrant and beautiful.

Please excuse me, Your Majesty.

Excuse me.

Not a quarry to pursue. She's married.

Forgive me, I appear to have lost my hearing.

Since when did you acquire the moral high ground

- when it came to married women? - I didn't.

But flirting with the king's sister-in-law

is probably not the best diplomatic move.

So that's the king's bastard half-brother.

CONDÉ: Yes.

What is it?

I think we may have met before.

We can afford to give him a little money.

Don't even think of it.

Francis, how many times did your father and I warn you

about the Bourbons?

Uh, there is a lot of history between their family and ours,

most of it bad.

When I was sickly as a child,

they were considered an option for the throne.

- But it never came to that. - My father was convinced

that they were gathering support to make a move on the Crown.

So he sent the Bourbon brothers and their armies

to the front lines during the Italian and Spanish Wars.

To thin out the ranks of their supporters.

Teach them a lesson.

Yes, brutally.

I'm sure they haven't forgotten.

But we welcomed his brother.

Condé's never shown the slightest interest in the Crown.

Antoine, on the other hand, has always been ambitious.

He got his throne by marrying the queen of Navarre.

He's also self-centered.

He's known to be a reckless spender.

"French refugees." Please.

More likely he's burned through his wife's money

and she's cut him off.

Refuse him, and send him home!

No.

I want to see what's really going on in Navarre.

What is it?

I think this Sebastian is the man responsible

for our brother's death.

How can you be so sure?

You...

You weren't with us in the Italian Wars.

I told you Marcus was stabbed; I didn't tell you how.

There was an, uh...

an abandoned villa, the Villa Cortello,

high on the cliffs above Figari.

I was to meet Marcus there to get a vantage point,

to judge our enemy's numbers and location.

I arrived on the path leading up

and passed a young man in a French uniform riding away.

I thought nothing of it

until I walked into the grounds of the villa

and saw Marcus lying there in the grass,

knifed in the back.

He had confirmed that this French soldier had done it?

Apparently it wasn't enough for Henry to send Bourbon armies

to the front line; he had to take out a Bourbon.

And Marcus was the biggest threat.

I searched for that man among the troops for days,

but I never saw him again.

Until now.

This is a deadly serious matter, and you need to be sure.

I swear to you, I will not leave this court

until I learn the truth.

His... his wife's a, a fetching little thing.

I wonder what she knows.

Why didn't you tell me about my sister?

You mean Claude?

Why? What have you heard?

Not Claude.

- Clarissa. - What?

Why didn't you tell me she's still alive?

Francis, has someone seen her?

First, I want you to tell me everything you know.

Nostradamus, he said she was alive.

That the prophecy was unfulfilled.

But I didn't know if he just wanted to hurt me.

What if it was true?

It was true.

Francis.

Francis!

Francis, no!

Help. Somebody help!

- Hurry! - (Door opens)

Catherine.

Francis,

he's dying.

I've had a vision.

The prophecy, it will come to pass.

This is a waste of time.

Send this foolish man home.

Mary, explain to your husband

that I have had a vision.

Enough about the prophecy; it's exhausting.

- You don't believe me? - Mother, you are not well.

Bash told us that you were speaking to people

who weren't there.

And then there is the matter of Claude.

Well, since Bash was so talkative,

I hope that he also happened to mention