It was later that night, after we had retired to bed, that I broke the news to Jasper of our expected child. To my dismay he did not express the delight I had hoped for.

‘How long have you known?’ he said.

I could feel my heart begin to flutter with alarm. ‘I knew before you left but it was too early to tell you, I could have been mistaken. Are you angry? It is frequently the result of a man and a woman sharing a bed I believe.’ His apparent indifference had nudged me into sarcasm and he responded vehemently.

‘No, no, Jane! How could I be angry?’ He put his arms around me and his next words were muffled in my hair. ‘I am downcast and worried about the state of the world the babe will enter. I fear there is a real threat of civil war. That is how bad it has become.’

I pulled back from his embrace. ‘Babies will still be conceived, war or no war, Jasper.’

He gave a hollow laugh. ‘You have a pragmatic view of it, sweetheart. But there is something else that worries me. Did you know my grandfather the King of France was mad, and his country descended into civil war because of it? Well, I left the king recovering from another period of stupor, and just like King Henry, I too may fall into a that state one day, or grow mad like the grandfather I share with him. I may become incapable of raising an army or running my estates or even providing for this child you are carrying. And God forbid but the child may also suffer from the same malady.’

‘And what about Harri – your brother’s son?’ I pointed out. ‘Does he not also run that risk? Yet I believe many of your grandfather’s descendants have shown no sign of madness. It serves no purpose worrying that you and your children will lose their minds, Jasper. I would even suggest that worrying is the best way of doing exactly that.’

He let me unlace his tight doublet and pull it off. ‘You are right,’ he said. ‘And of course I will be proud to welcome my first offspring. When do you expect it to make an appearance?’

‘In the spring; at about the same time as your father’s child, I would guess.’

He stared at me, a deep frown creasing his brow. ‘What? Did Myfanwy tell you she was pregnant?’