Versailles

Welcome home.

I beg your indulgence, sire.

I know.

It's all right.

But his Majesty has needs.

We are together now.

And, from this moment, there will be no one else but you.

And this is my pledge to you.

I will help you fulfil your destiny.

And together we will fight anyone who stands in your way.

Gentlemen.

I'd like you to welcome Madame de Maintenon

as a permanent member of my counsel.

Now to business. Louvois.

Well, scouts tell us that Strasbourg and Luxembourg have been fortified

anew, so it seems Emperor Leopold might renege on the deal.

Have my troops loose cannon fire by the city walls during darkness.

Fill his people with the fear of God and keep Leopold distracted from

Spain. Excellent idea, sire.

Marchal, what have we learned of our uninvited guest?

Our informers tell us Monsignor Di Marco's record

is entirely without blemish.

So, why would the Vatican send him here?

I want you to stay close to him, Bontemps.

Certainly, sire. I believe you have good news, Colbert.

A trader has arrived from the East,

who promises riches hitherto beyond our reach.

He is from the Ottoman Empire.

Intriguing. For our economy to blossom,

we must see beyond religion and identity, sire.

Move! I require an audience with the King immediately!

You treat your Queen with contempt!

Your Majesty, the council is in session.

I've caught that vicious bitch with my husband!

I trust this petulant spectacle comes with adequate explanation.

You may judge that when you hear what I have to say.

Your Majesty's determined to test the King's resolve.

I refuse to tolerate your disdain any longer.

Your worth is purely symbolic now.

You represent a vital link with Spain.

I am your wife!

Not a commodity you can trade with.

You have value collateral,

but your betrayal means that any relationship is untenable.

You talk to me of betrayal?!

This is ill-advised...

You have humiliated me in front of

the entire court by fucking your whores!

You've betrayed me since the day we wedded! ECHOES

When I make one mistake, you think you can put me down?!

Yes...

I lay with Leopold and it was a sin,

and I came to confess it.

But I did not betray your throne.

That's why I wish to see you, to tell the truth and to say

that I'm sorry.

# I'm the King of my own land

# Facing tempests of dust

# I'll fight to the end

# Creatures of my dreams raise up and dance with me

# Now and forever

# I'm your King. #

What happened?

Are you all right?

They wouldn't tell me anything.

I felt a little dizzy, that's all.

I suppose it's just the mockery of the moon.

Oh, I'm so relieved.

I over-exerted myself, but I feel strong now.

His Highness wants you to stay confined to bed, please.

Her Majesty does not need to lose any more blood.

Damn doctors.

I wish everyone in Versailles were like you.

Then I'd be nothing special, would I?

I hear you had words with the King.

I was perhaps too honest.

How did he respond?

No doubt he's laughing at me now.

I don't think he'd do that.

Oh, my dearest, what would I do without you?

HE PRAYS

I trust Versailles offers adequate comfort, Monsignor Di Marco.

In my order, we pay no heed to the needs of the flesh.

Well, if there is anything I can do for you, please ask.

Cardinal Leto sends his regards, Monsieur Bontemps.

I don't believe the Cardinal and I are acquainted.

But you and he have a long-standing arrangement.

Why are you here? As a precaution.

You may return to Rome and tell the Cardinal it is not needed.

But you no longer have the trust of the Vatican.

The Duc d'Orleans has become bothersome.

And you have become careless.

The King!

So, it's official, then.

It would appear so.

Finally, she's learned how to dress like a King's mistress.

Though I fear the fabric is poorly judged.

Is this the demise of the modest mouse?

There was always a shewolf lurking beneath.

It's in poor taste, parading her in public when the Queen's ill.

He's doing this to humiliate me.

He can't seriously want her!

She's old, plain and barren.

He wants me in his bed.

I know it. If the King wanted you, he'd have you.

You will have noticed,

we have no shortage of silk and spice in Versailles.

But what I offer His Majesty, more pertinently,

is a trading network, a commercial infrastructure.

Controlling the routes into all Europe

would bring huge financial gain.

We can supply the finest exotic goods from Persia

and the Far East to France and beyond.

And we can export French goods through the same channels to Asia.

A moment alone.

An Ottoman agent in Versailles.

You show great bravery.

Or stupidity. My offer is sincere.

Do not play with me, Barek.

Why are you really here?

Sultan Mehmet shares your antipathy towards Emperor Leopold.

He prays that his enemy's enemy might become his friend.

He wishes to advance on Vienna,

and he requests your support.

The Sultan asks me to support a Muslim empire against a Christian?

Might I remind His Majesty that his grandfather

had a fruitful alliance with Sultan Ahmed?

You may continue trade discussions, but under the strictest confidence.

I will give my answer in good time.

The prison governor has surfaced.

Oh, yes? What did he say?

He was dead. His belly opened with a single stroke.

Because we spoke with him?

That would seem likely.

He knew the truth.

That's why they killed him.

Somebody knows we're getting close.

Someone in the palace is watching us.

If so, I would know about it.

What about Bontemps?

He's the only one here who's had dealings with the governor.

That hardly makes him the killer.

Bontemps hit something in the hovel to throw me off the scent,

and he's the one who lied in the first place,

along with my brother. Bontemps is not capable of murder.

Not even if the king ordered it?

Such requests would tend to fall within my remit.

Unless Louis has a reason to keep it from you, too.

Bontemps would do anything to protect the King,

would he not?

We should discuss this with him immediately.

No!

This is no longer just an inquiry.

That is precisely my point!

Two men have been killed and I was nearly the third.

All the more reason to share it with the King.

But I do not trust the King!

What have you learned about the dagger?

Diaboli mors has an obvious biblical resonance.

Yes, but the insignia.

It's the only evidence we've got.

My dear Francoise, you've been hiding your light under a bushel.

Simply trying a new fashion.

And celebrating your elevation?

I am humbled by the King's trust.

And I'm glad, believe me.

In your absence, he's become somewhat...

impatient with us.

The nobles of court?

Protestants in court.

He's imprisoned Augustin Dupuis for no reason whatsoever.

The King always has good reasons.

Then the King is wrong.

On some things, one is best advised to keep one's counsel.

It's me, Francoise.

I'm only asking you to speak up for poor Augustin.

I don't want to trouble the King.

He has all manner of challenges on his mind.

Then he should stop thinking he's God Almighty himself.

I should remind you the King is God's representative on Earth.

Then why does he see the Protestant faith as a threat?

Well, perhaps that is God's intention.

It is not for me to speak for either of them.

My God... What has happened to you?

I've become reconciled with who I once was.

I know exactly who you were.

And who I must be now.

You were one of us.

And it is folly to deny one's history.

The Queen's strength returns? Her Majesty is stable.

The doctor expects her illness to pass,

but she is burdened.

We all have our cross to bear.

And what is yours, Madame?

I offer my humble apologies, sire.

Surely you can have no more secrets from me.

No, but I was mistaken.

To enter the Kingdom of God...

..one must be born again.

Only now do I understand how.