Romance, adventure, danger. Young Rachelle Dushane-Macquinet finds them all in the court of the evil Catherine de Medici.
Daughter of Silk
Copyright © 2006 by Linda Chaikin
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AER Edition January 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-31731-9
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chaikin, L. L.
Daughter of Silk / Linda Lee Chaikin.
p. cm. – (The Silk house; bk. 1) ISBN-10: 0-310-26300-X
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-26300-5
1. France — History — Francis II, 1559 – 1560 — Fiction. 2. Catherine de Medicis, Queen, consort of Henry II, King of France, 1519 – 1589 — Fiction. 3. Courts and courtiers — Fiction. I. Title.
PS3553.H2427D38 2006
813'.54 — dc22 2005031947
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the King James Version.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other — e.xcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher
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Glossary of French Terms
a bientôt— so long, see you later
adieu— bye
affaire d’amour— love affair affaire d’honneur— duel ah, ça non— definitely not allon bons— oh dear
ami — (m)friend amie — (f) friend amour— love
amoureux— to fall in love amoureuse— enamored, affair appartements— apartment atelier— shop, workshop
au contraire— on the contrary
au revoir— good-bye
avoir la foi— to be a believer
beau— (m) good looking, fine looking, beautiful
bébé— baby, very young child
belle— (f) beautiful
belle dame— painted lady (unflattering)
bien— good, well
bien entendu — as a matter of course
bien joué— well played bien sûr — of course bel ami —(m) lover
belle des belles — the most beautiful
bon— (adj, nm) good
bonhomie — friendly, warm feelings, camaraderie
bonjour — good afternoon
bonne — (adj, nf) good
bonne chance — good fortune, good luck
bon vivant — vibrant
Bourbon — kingly family, of royal blood
ça alors! — good grief! (exclamation)
calèche— carriage carrousel — carousel casques — helmets
cercle — group of close associates, often the Queen’s
c’est bien compris — Is that clear?
c’est bien le moment— (irony) great timing
c’est bien promis? — Is that a promise?
c’est charmante — (f) That is charming.
c’est magnifique — That is magnificent.
c’est sotte — (slang) That is silly.
ceux de la religion— those of the religion
chaise longue — reclining chair chambré àcoucher — sleeping room charmante— (f) charming
cher — dear, darling, cherished
chevalier— the lowest title or rank in the old French nobility, also cavalier or chivaler
closet — a small room, for sleeping, dressing, writing letters, reading, etc.
coif— stiff ruffle around the neck (period clothing)
comte— nobleman, count comtesse— countess coterie — clique, group coucher — go to sleep
Cour d’Honneur— Court of Honor
courtier— agent
cousine — cousin
couturière — designer, expert in sewing
coup de foudre— love at first sight Corps des Pages — School for Pages cuirasse — breastplate
décolletage— bodice déjeuner— midday meal delicieuse — delicious
demoiselle — young lady
dépêchez-vous — hurry up
dernier cri— last word in fashion
diables — devils
diner— evening meal
divertissement— entertainment, amusement
docteur — doctor
duc— French spelling for English duke, the highest ranking noble except for a prince of the blood
duchesse— duchess
duchessina— duchess, Spain
duchy— the territory ruled by a duc or duchesse
eau de parfume — perfume
elegante — elegant
enceinte— expecting, pregnant
enfant— child
escadron volant de la
reine— Catherine de Medici’s ladies-in-waiting and maids-of- honor; forty immoral women of beauty who served her political intrigues
espèce de pestes — special nuisance
enchantee — enchanted
en memoire de — in memory of
fanfaronnade — fanfare
faux pas— false step
fait accompli— an accomplished fact
fête — party
fleur-de-lys — lily f lower forte — accented, loud frère— brother
galante — a chivalrous man
grand prieur — head man, head of an abbey
grisette — a seamstress specializing in dress-making, embroidery, design; usually still under
training
grandes dames— great ladies gaucherie— awkwardness grande salle— large room, salon
haute monde— upper class fashion
honneur — honor ingénue — a naive girl infirmière— nurse Institutio Christianae
Religionis— (Latin) Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion, doctrinal writing
jennet— a small Spanish horse of the time
joie de vivre— joy of life
Huguenot — French Protestant, of Calvinistic doctrine
laissez faire— noninterference, tolerance
la gloire de la France— the honor of France
le misérable — the poor
le moment — the moment
lettre — letter
ma belle — my lovely ma fleur — my f lower ma foi — my faith
ma petite — my little one
mais certainement — but surely
maitre— form of address for a doctor or an advocate
magnifique — magnificent
maman — mother
Marquis — highest ranking nobleman next to a duke
marquisat — the territory ruled by
a marquis, including land estates, wealth, future title of Duc
merveilleux — marvelous
messire— an honorable man or a knight
messieurs— plural of Mr.
mesdames— plural of madame, or of Mrs.
merci — thanks
merci mille fois— thank you a thousandfold
mes petits— my children
mignon — cute
mille pardon — thousand pardons mille diables— thousand devils (slang) Mlle. — Mademoiselle
Mme. — Madame
Monseigneur — Lord, addressing someone of high rank or respected office
mûreraies — a grove of mulberry trees for feeding the leaves to silkworms
naturel — natural, natural-looking, casual
nenni — slang for no
neveu— nephew
noblesse oblige — nobility obligates
non — no
oncle — uncle
on est très ami— We are very close friends.
Oriflamme — the red banner of St. Denis, near Paris, carried before the kings of France as a military ensign; a rallying or symbol
oui — yes
palais chateau — palace, castle
pardon — pardon
par excellence — archetypal
par exemple — for example
père, mon Père — father, my Father
parterre— an ornamental arrangement of f lowerbeds and bushes; an area under the galleries in a courtyard
Pasteur— Bible pastor, teacher
petit noir— coffee
petit dejeuner— breakfast
petit— (m) little, small, young, humble
petite— (f) little, small, young, humble
petite reinette — little queen
petite sœur — little sister
peste — (nf, slang) a nuisance, a pest poppinjay— (slang) puffed up, proud portier — gate-keeper
précisément — precisely
quivre — alertness
quelle stupide— how senseless, how foolish, how idiotic
reinette — young girl-queen
salle — hall
salle de sejour — living room
salle de garde — guard chamber
sang-froid —(nm) poise, self-control, calmness, indifference
savoir-faire — knowledge of what to do, know-how
se depêcher — hurry up
sil vous plâit— please surement pas— certainly not sœur — sister
soirée — fancy party
sotte — silly, inane
tante— aunt
tarts aux cerises— tarts, chicken, or sweet-filled pasties
tenez ferme— stand firm ( as in Ephesians 6:14)
tête a tête — head-to-head, conversation
toilet — washroom toque — cylindrical hat tout a fait— entirely tout de suite— at once toute la nuit— all night
un non categorique — an emphatic no vive la Reine — Long live the Queen vive le Roi — Long live the King
Historical Characters
Alessandro — Alessandro the abuser, a brother of Catherine de Medici
Anjou — Henry of Anjou, third son of Catherine de Medici and King Henry II
Avenelle — Maitre Avenelle, betrayer of the Huguenots
Bourbon— Prince Antoine de Bourbon, older brother of Louis. He later became King of Navarre through marriage to Huguenot Queen Jeanne d’Albret.
Bourg — Anne du Bourg, a Huguenot man sent to the Bastille by Henry II. He was burned at the stake under the Cardinal de Lorraine when boy-king Francis ruled with Queen Mother Catherine. The Huguenots then felt betrayed and planned the Amboise plot.
Calvin — M. John Calvin, writer of Calvin’s Institutes (Institutio Christianae Religionis)
Chatillon— Cardinal de Chatillon, (Odet Coligny) brother of Gaspard and Francis Coligny
Coligny— Admiral Gaspard de Coligny, protected Huguenot provinces Condé— Princesse Eleonore Condé, a niece of Admiral Gaspard Coligny Condé — Prince Louis de Condé
Este — Cardinal d’Este, from Ferrara, Italy
Este — Anne d’Este, wife of the Duc de Guise (Francis)
Guise— Charles de Guise, the Cardinal de Lorraine, younger brother of Duc Francis de Guise
Guise — Duc Francis de Guise, of the infamous Borgias family from Florence, Italy
Guise — Monsieur Henry de Guise, later a duc, younger son of Duc Francis de Guise
Lefevre — M. Jacques Lefevre, translated first Bible into French
Machiavelli — Niccolo Machiavelli, a cunning and cruel man; he was associated with corrupt, totalitarian government because of a small pamphlet he wrote called “The Prince” to gain influence with the ruling Medici family in Florence.
Madalenna — Italian serving girl of Catherine de Medici
Medici — Catherine de Medici, Queen and Regent of France over Francis II and Charles II Valois
Montpensier — Charles de Montpensier (the Duc de Bourbon), had rights to the throne that equaled or exceeded those of the Valois
Montpensier — Duchesse Montpensier, of the House of Bourbon, a Huguenot Navarre — Prince Henry of Navarre, son of Antoine and Jeanne of Navarre Nostradamus — a soothsayer in the Roman Catholic Church
Paré — Ambroise le Paré, physician and surgeon to kings, a Huguenot
Poitiers — Mme. Diane de ’Poitiers, mistress of King Henry
Renaudie — Messire de la Renaudie, a leader of the Huguenots, a retainer of Prince Louis de Condé
Ruggerio — Cosmo and Lorenzo Ruggerio, brothers from Florence, Catherine’s astrologers and poison makers
Rene — Perfumer, also Catherine’s poisoner
Ronsard — Poet who served the Valois Court, Chatelard
Sadeleto — Jacopo Sadeleto, Archbishop of Carpentras
Stuart — Mary Stuart (la petite reinette), married Francis Valois, King Francis II
Tasso — Poet from Italy
Valois — Princesse Elisabeth Valois, daughter of Catherine and Henry Valois, married Philip II of Spain
&n
bsp; Valois — Princesse Marguerite Valois
Valois — Hercule Valois, the fourth and youngest son of Catherine and Henry Valois, little is known of him
DDear Reader,
Author’s Note
Writers who enjoy researching history generally accumulate far more
information than can normally be incorporated into a novel of this size. In this series I have occasionally found it practical to compress a decade or more of significant historical events into a manageable time period for my characters. In Daughter of Silk, I was therefore able to include more of the key events that portray the Huguenots’ great struggle under perse- cution in France, Spain, and Rome. Indeed, the half has not been told, and the history I have incorporated is accurate and representative, and the characterization of historical individuals is based on careful research. As always, I have created fictional characters who are representative of the time in which this history takes place.
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