Just down the Loire at Blois there's a château. Can't miss it. Huge place. Be sure to visit the "Chamber of Secrets", a panelled room full of hidden cupboards, where, it is said, Catherine de Medici kept her poison (Norman contests this, and says it's far more likely she kept her moisturiser and rollers in there, but then he would. I'm going with the poisons theory). Why would she want poisons? Well, she'd fixed it for her daughter to marry Henry of Navarre, and invited Henry's mum to stay at Blois before the wedding. Within days of her arrival, Henry's mum died suddenly in mysterious circumstances. Catherine's enemies accused her of murdering Henry's mum with A PAIR OF POISONED GLOVES. As a murder weapon, this seems about as likely as a pair of semi-automatic trousers, but there you go.
Catherine's marriage had not been a happy one. On her wedding night, her father-in-law stayed in the marital bedroom to make sure they consummated the marriage. Thanks Dad. The next morning, when the newlyweds were rather hoping for a lie-in, the Pope popped in to wish them all the best. Her husband soon took a mistress, and was frequently seen leading council meetings lying in his mistress' lap, playing the guitar and fondling her breasts. How very different from our own Prime Minister's Question Time.
La Résidence - THE French Property People
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