Windsor Castle February 1173 As the months passed, I displayed my belly¹ proudly, setting aside all my fears and misgivings², reminding myself to stand fast and to take what comes, as Eleanor had taught me. Eleanor pretended that she did not see my growing belly, but of course, all the court knew. Henry gave me a cloak made of dark blue silk, the blue of the French royal crest³. The deep bell sleeves were embroidered⁴ with golden fleurs-de-lys, and the waist was gathered with a fleur-de-Iys clasp cast in gold. The blue cloak was my prize possession, lined in the softest white seal fur; the sleeves and throat were trimmed in ermine. The court saw me wear that cloak and began to realize that the king was not acting⁵ on a whim⁶; he truly meant to make me queen. Only the king and queen wore ermine. Henry would not let me write to my father. I was to remain silent, and let the king handle all political dispatches. This troubled me deeply, but as my pregnancy⁷ advanced, a mental torpor⁸ seemed to spread over my mind, and I did not fight for this concession⁹ from Henry I knew well that Eleanor wrote to the Continent often, and never asked for Henry’s leave. In spite of my pregnancy, in spite of the fact that she still had not been removed to Fontevrault, it seemed that Eleanor and I had declared an uneasy truce¹⁰. That winter, Eleanor smiled at me from down the table, and sent me dishes of squab braised in herbs and butter. Marie Helene brought her decanters of the wine my father had given me, but Eleanor and I did not speak alone. As my pregnancy advanced, I missed Eleanor more and more. I wished to go to her with questions, but had to settle for the information

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