No one knew what had happened in the Queen's bedroom that night. When the maids arrived the following morning to help Lina dress and arrange her hair, they could only whisper among themselves that Her Majesty seemed to be in an unusually good mood.
Lina remained cheerful throughout the morning, smiling as she drank her tea and attended to her usual affairs. Her good mood lasted until a messenger arrived with an urgent letter from the Duke of Upper Burgundy, a man who had been absent from the royal court for a considerable time.
She accepted the letter without showing any particular reaction, took a leisurely sip of tea, and opened it. Her eyes moved across the page as though she were reading something ordinary, but a moment later, she deliberately changed her expression, allowing distress to appear on her face.
Then she turned toward the messenger waiting outside.
