Reign

- Previously on Reign... - Mary of Scots' closest friend,

her lady Lola, has agreed

to be your hostage, in exchange

for her family's release.

I'm pregnant. With your child.

- We must marry. - I am married, Elizabeth.

- Then get a divorce. - We talked about this option.

Amy Dudley is dead. Rumors are already spreading

that Dudley murdered his wife.

- We cannot be seen together. - You must help me

to evade the gallows.

What of our child?

Are you sure? Our future...

Nothing is certain but my feelings for you.

I'm marrying you off to Duke Boinel,

a wealthy noble who will supply France with the gold

she so desperately needs in return for your hand.

I was married once to a girl I loved.

She died in childbirth.

And now Elizabeth has

your little girl, doesn't she?

She's using your daughter

to ensure that you sabotage my alliances.

Good morning, Your Majesty.

- May I come fetch your linens? - As you will.

Will you require anything

for your monthly pains, Your Grace?

No.

I'll be all right.

But tensions on the Scottish border have been high

for years, Your Majesty.

If your intention

is to wait until that changes

to deem whether it's safe to free my father and brothers,

they may never be released,

and I may never get to leave.

Or is that, in fact, the plan?

The plan is for us to get to know one another,

my dear Lady Lola.

A kind of personal diplomacy, if you will.

So that, in time, you may report to my cousin

I am not the monster she may think I am.

I would like to report that, Your Majesty,

and that you are a woman of your word.

But you suspect I am not.

You've been treated as an honored guest

since your arrival.

I have enough

Englishmen judging me without adding

a high-minded foreigner to the list.

You will return to your chambers

until I'm ready to discuss the matter again.

You may go.

King Charles.

I've been looking for you. Do you have a moment?

I'm waiting to talk to my regent, Narcisse.

How can I help you?

It would mean a great deal

if I could keep hosting suitors here.

I would make every effort to ensure France benefits

from any new alliance Scotland makes.

Beware of needy queens asking for favors, Majesty.

I'm not asking for myself. Scotland is an ally of France.

Alliances generally benefit both countries.

If you are talking about

- the costs of the war... - Exorbitant costs,

in blood and treasure, borne by France.

Which is what King Charles invited me here to discuss...

French business.

Majesty,

shall we?

Yes. Yes.

There's something you need to see.

It's from Lola.

Your brother's Scottish war left us with crushing debts.

And if we raise taxes?

Oh, that would make us both very unpopular

just as we are starting our time in power.

No, our options are few.

Especially as you have only so many sisters

to marry off to suitors willing to pay so richly.

About that.

My sister and mother are dead set against the marriage.

I know your mother has made promises, Majesty,

but take my word... Claude will be lucky

to have Duke Boinel as her husband.

Well...

even if he is a bit her senior.

But is he a good man?

Our wives were once friends, and they spoke

very candidly with each other.

She said he always treated her

with the greatest of kindness and respect.

And when she died, along with my wife,

in one of the summer plagues,

she left him one of the largest estates in France.

He is as good as his gold, which we happen

to need very much.

I understand why you're angry, Mary,

but now may not be the best time

to confront the English ambassador.

You read Lola's letter.

I'm not leaving her stranded in England indefinitely.

And I don't think there is a good time

to accuse the English queen

of imprisoning one of my best friends.

- Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you. - Shh.

Juliet, what is it?

- They're arguing. - A plan.

A plan for what? To have me live here?

To see your daughter.

Stay here in France... for how much longer?

I see why you say it's not the best time

to confront him, but what choice do I have?

I will not stand by and do nothing

to defend my few remaining friends.

Mary, there was something else

in those letters of Gideon's we intercepted.

Have you managed to break the code?

It took time, but this morning,

we finally managed to rebuild their cipher.

What we found in those letters may upset you,

but if used properly, it could change the whole game.

- What is it? - Your Grace.

Lord Narcisse has requested

you join him in the great hall.

Of course.

Now he suddenly wants to see me?

Stop saying you have no choice, Charles.

You're the king.

That's right, I'm the king.

I'm a royal, and none of us marry for love.

It's a miracle Francis loved his wife,

but that doesn't mean any of us will.

So, that's it? I'm to be sold off like a mule,

forced to live far away

with some fossil I don't even know?

Narcisse swears

the duke is a good man.

As good as his gold, which I'm sorry to say

we need very much.

Those are Narcisse's words all right.

I've heard them myself.

Claude, I'm sorry.

I've made my decision.

Mary, what are you doing here?

I was wondering that myself.

Narcisse sent word, but...

I wanted you all here to answer a simple question.

Where is the gold

that Duke Boinel paid to marry Claude?

What? Someone's stolen it?

Are you accusing my mother of this?

Well, we all know that she opposed the marriage,

and she would love nothing more than to see my regency fail.

And what better way to do that than starve the kingdom of funds

when we need them the most?

Mother, is there any truth to this?

I oppose Claude's marriage to Narcisse's friend, the duke,

absolutely, and the rest is amateur fiction.

Amateur is whoever you paid to commit the crime.

They took the gold right after Boinel signed it over to me.

That means the deal is done.

The marriage will go ahead as scheduled.

And when I find the gold... which I will...

your plan will have utterly failed.

Is it so unthinkable a crime might take place

in this castle that I had no hand in?

Hear me, Mother, if there is one shred of evidence

that you stole that gold, you'll be punished severely.

- The same goes for you, as well. - Me?

You two have been as thick as thieves lately.

Do you still hold it against me

that I defended her against a false accusation of murder?

You have both been warned.

Look at my son.

The king is following his regent

like an acolyte follows his master.

I'm losing him, Mary, to a man who cannot be trusted

with Charles's welfare or this family's.

Ambassador Gideon.

You look like a man working out his frustrations.

Perhaps I should take a swing,

as we are both frustrated with the same queen.

Don't know what you mean.

Well, first Elizabeth holds your daughter hostage,

and then she keeps changing the price

on the little girl's freedom.

Do you remember how we found

your daughter Agatha's letters to you?

We found other letters as well.

Of course you did.

That's why we change ciphers routinely.

My cryptographers finally deciphered the letters.

Including several from Elizabeth to you.

Ordering you to seduce me.

Your cryptographers are breathing

too much of their own ink.

They're imagining things.

And letters from her to your aide, Jeffrey,