(Part 2 of 4)
THE KING’S MISTRESS, DIANE DE POITIERS. WAS SHE ALSO HIS FATHER’S MISTRESS?
Diane de Poitiers once owned this picturesque little castle on the River Cher. Its walls are of pale local limestone, its roof and turrets are gray stone tiles. The curious thing is that most of the possessors of the Château de Chenonceau through the ages were women—wives or mistresses—and they are ones responsible for its exquisite design and startling beauty.
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(Part 1 of 4)
THE MAN BETWEEN THE TWO WOMEN: KING HENRY II OF FRANCE
Twilight lingered over the little clearing in the woods around the River Cher, before bowing out to an ink-smudged night. A veil of stars, softly aglitter, settled over the Château de Chenonceau.
Boats, with two and three people, peeled away from the dock. In each, the oarsman was a courtier in his doublet and hose, a sprightly heron’s feather in his velvet hat. The women’s gowns—trimmed with satin—rustled as they shifted in their seats, their necks gleaming pale in low-cut, form-fitting bodices. Here and there, diamonds sparkled on a slender throat and light hands flashed with jewels as they trailed their fingers in the placid waters of the Cher.
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