Ok, I’m in the mood to write again, so I will finish this story off in the next week, regardless of whether people review it or not. And this chapter is pretty sucky, so oh, well.
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Chapter 6
Maurice was in tears when he left to get more ointment to treat the devastating bruises on her back. He had stopped to tell Louise to go fetch Danielle’s godfather and tell him what has transpired today. He’d hope that her father would drag her out of the manor at sword point if need be. She deserved so much better than this – they all did. He swore to himself that this would be the last time that he would ever lash his beloved mistress. That the next time he surely will kill the Baroness before Danielle is harmed again.
Danielle sat in the corner on the cold hard floor in the cellar and just sobbed, she didn’t know what to do now. But she knew that no matter what Maurice did, she would always have a disfigured back. What would Henry say if he saw her disfigurement? He would turn away in total disgust. Her back already had plenty of scars on it that were inflicted by the Baroness, but now this latest incident almost destroyed her back. *I’m a disfigured freak now. How could anyone want me now?* She thought to herself. There was no way she could face Henry, all she could hope for was that he could have a happy life with someone else. He was meant for something great, she realized that now, she just carried too much baggage for him to deal with. She hoped that Louise would be able to deliver the message to her father. Without Henry, or the manor, what was left for her?
Perhaps she could make a fresh start in the Americas. With her father’s backing, she was sure she could make a go of it there. One thing was for sure, she couldn’t stay in France, if she disappeared, she was sure Henry would eventually find her.
She heard footsteps coming down the stairs and instinctively curled up into a ball and cowered in the corner. When the door opened, a voice called her name, “Danielle!!!????”
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The Baroness was extremely nervous about being at the castle this morning. They had taken the royal carriages to have tea with the queen, and normally she would revel in the pomp and circumstances, she would even be looking forward to seeing the faces of the courtiers when she and her Marguerite step out of the carriage. But due to that no good Danielle, her beautiful Marguerite had a big black eye, and her arm was now in a sling, she was sure the Queen would ask about it, and wasn’t sure what to tell her.
The Queen and her entourage were at the gates when the carriage arrived and gasped in shock when she saw Marguerite. The Queen put her hand to her mouth, “Child, what in the world happened to you?”
This was a defining moment for The Baroness, does she tell her the truth, or does she lie. Her initial impulse was to tell the Queen that Marguerite was run over by a carriage while trying to save a baby. But that was so unbelievable, and the penalty for lying to royalty was severe, she decided on a different course of action, which if it went over, would result in Danielle being shipped to the Americas. Yes, she thought to herself this was perfect, it would gain sympathy for Marguerite, “My daughter was attacked by a disgruntled servant this morning, Your Majesty.”
To say the Queen was outraged would have been an understatement, she normally doesn’t show much emotion in public but the expression on her face spoke volumes. “Why, would a servant attack you dear?”
“Well, I don’t know really. She overslept this morning and shirked her responsibilities, and we tried to make her get up and earn her keep, then she just went crazy” said Marguerite with tears in her eyes.
“Baroness, what have you done to punish this servant? Of course you know that if someone physically attacks someone above their station, that crime carries a mandatory punishment of 30 days in the stocks, followed by an optional banishment from the province?” The Queen said.
“We disciplined her this morning, Your Highness. I’d like to plead for the mercy of this servant. She has been with the manor and was virtually raised there. She meant a lot to my poor departed husband. But this isn’t the first time she’s attacked poor Marguerite. We’re at our wits end as to how to honor my husbands memory and continue to put up with her.”
As they continued to walk through the Queen’s gardens, the Queen thought to herself what a good hearted and forgiving woman the Baroness must be, “Baroness, I cannot allow this abuse to continue.” She looked over to one of her personal guards, “Captain, please send a couple of prison guards over to the Baroness’ estate and arrest this servant.”
The Baroness was smiling inwardly, but was trying hard to conceal her glee, when the Queen looked at her and asked her, “What is the servant’s name?”
The Baroness immediately started to sweat, she had no idea what to say, if she said that the servant’s name was Danielle De Barbarac, then she’d have to explain why someone named Danielle De Barbarac is a servant in a manor called, the De Barbarac manor. What should she say? She was starting to panic….
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[ Edited by malexandria on 2002/7/17 19:36:42 ]
[ Edited by malexandria on 2002/7/17 19:43:01 ]