Affaire de Coeur

by Stephanie O’Hanlon

  “Well, I should say the same to you. Was that a little bit of laughing and a smile on your face?” I teased, walking with him off the dance floor and making way for a new set of guests to start the next dance.

  “I was laughing because you were, Mademoiselle. Your smile is infectious, especially when you are having fun.” He grabbed a glass of champagne off a tray and a glass of spring water, handing it to me.

  “Thank you. Is that not what a ball is for? Having fun?”

  “And socializing. Seeing who is with whom, what they are wearing, how much gossip one has heard about said guest. Sometimes, I think these events are about everything but having fun.”

  He looked around, taking note of which eyes were on us, of which there were a few—most notably Constanze’s.

  “I best scatter for a bit. Perhaps I will ask you for yet another dance or to play at one of the tables after I make my rounds.”

  I nodded. The sudden urge to kiss him on the cheek before he left overcame me, but I thankfully stopped myself. My hand came up and stroked around my hairline as I cleared my throat.

  He sensed my discomfort, and seemingly knew where my actions were going to lead me. He nodded, looking at me for one moment lovingly before he bowed his head to me and dashed off once again.

  I examined my glass. My eyes looking over the still water, which sat flatly as the crystal shimmered from the dozens of candles around the room and the two massive chandeliers above. I looked up from the glass just as Constanze walked over to me, smiling wickedly as she held a glass of champagne in her hand.

  “Madeleine, I must say I am not surprised to see you here,” she said, walking almost right into me and caging me in the little corner of the room.

  “Oh?” I said meekly. “May I ask why that is?”

  She looked the way Lucien went. “Well, the Comte is here. I notice he usually attends the fêtes that you do. Isn’t that curious?”

  My heart wanted to jump out of my throat, but I calmed myself, putting my hand carefully on my bodice. “Not really. Lots of people attend the same events I do: Madame la Duchesse Rose Downs, Monsieur le Vicomte Armand Durand, yourself, and Yolande Beaumont.”

  “So, what of his little dance with you just then?”

  “What of it?” I asked nonchalantly.

  “You really have no idea, do you? The Comte de Laurent has not danced at such a function in nearly five years. Now, he suddenly asks of you to dance with him?” She looked down at me, her voice finally shedding what false respect and friendliness it had.

  “Perhaps, he just didn’t know of anyone who also enjoyed dancing,” I countered. My heart wanted to beat out of my chest, but I kept my calm. I would not make the mistake of letting her see me rattled once again.

  “Oh, do not be coy! There is something going on. There is most certainly something going on with you and the Comte!” she snarled.

  “I don’t know what you are talking about. We are just friends,” I said. My grip tightened around my glass, and my knees began shaking.

  “What are you hiding? What are you two so desperate to not make known?”

  “What gives you these thoughts? What gives you such a reason to think these things?” I asked, holding my hand tightly to my bodice.

  “His eyes on you! There is something about you, Madeleine. Something I am very uneasy about. I do not know what it is—this little secret you have—but I will find it out. I always find out,” she threatened, her skin flushing red under her rouge.

  I gathered my courage, swallowing hard. “Perhaps what angers you, Constanze, is that there are no secrets. No little gossip for you to spread about. Even if there was, what makes you think I would be foolish enough to have any tells? Why would I jeopardize my secret by being obvious?”

  “You are obvious!” she spat. “Everything about you is obvious! Obvious that you have no class, no skill, no fashion sense, and absolutely no way of ever amounting to much of anything other than a peddler’s daughter. You are right. I am wrong. There is no way that a Comte would ever want a dirty country rat to be his wife, especially one as insolent as you.”

  “You do not intimidate me, Constanze—”

  “Madame. You are to refer to me as Madame. Madame la Vicomtesse, you little peasant!” she yelled. People turned and gave us a good glance before they turned back and whispered. “Just because you follow the little Du Lorme spawn around does not mean you have any rank in society.”

  She started to turn away from me, but she stopped, turning back. “In fact, as an act of charity, I should probably let you know that it would be best for you to not associate with Colette du Lorme, as she is rapidly galloping toward ruin with all her little trysts. Perhaps you should ask her about Étienne Galland—all the scandal around that relationship and their recent little rendezvous. It’s the talk of town.”

  With that, she smiled villainously at me before she walked off. Of course, she still had her eyes on me, especially as I put my glass down on the table next to me and made my way out of the ballroom and toward the parlor. I found Colette and Rose sitting at a table with cards in their hands, laughing as four gentlemen sat around them. The men spoke nothing but compliments, falling all over the two of them.

  I walked up to Colette, tapping her on the shoulder. “Can I speak to you for a moment?”

  She looked up at me, her smile fading as she saw I was rattled, and she nodded. “Boys, keep my place. I will be right back.”

  Rose looked up at me. Her eyes met mine, concern in them. I shook my head, mouthing I would tell her later. She nodded as she turned back to the table. “Whose play is it?”

  I led Colette over to one of the windows, where guests were sparse.

  “What?” she asked. “What is it?”

  “You said before that people were saying things about you, saying what things? Do you know exactly what they say?”

  Her brow furrowed. “You brought me over here for this?”

  “No, I just…I had a little confrontation with Constanze. She said something about your galloping toward ruin, something about Étienne and you,” I hurriedly explained. I pulled at my fingers as I looked around the room. Lucien’s face grabbed my attention as he looked over at us, his own brow furrowing in concern.

  “Ugh.” She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I have heard that going around. It probably has to do with me seeing Étienne on Sunday evening.”

  It was now my turn to be confused, thinking back to if I had even heard about her seeing Étienne on that day. “You saw Étienne on Sunday?”

  She nodded. “Yes, he came by while you were sulking in your room. It was rather late, so it is understandable that they are spreading such lies. Be assured it is not as bad as they say. Well, aspects of it.”

  “What do you mean? What did you do?”

  “Just never mind. It was nothing. Nothing happened. It is the other courtier’s spreading rumors to make a good gossip!” she said as she turned from me.

  I grabbed her hand, stopping her. “No, I think something happened. You are not telling me something.”

  She tore her hand away from me, “It was nothing! You would only disapprove anyway, so just end the subject! All you need know is that what they are saying is far from the truth, and that is it. End of subject.”

  I watched as she stalked off, her face red with anger as she sat down at the table, again. “All right, boys. Where were we?”

  Lucien walked over to me, looking after her. “What was that about? Is everything all right?”

  I looked up at him, shaking my head. “No, I will tell you later, once we get home.”

  “Home?” He smiled. “You mean you are going to come to my bed this evening?”

  I frowned. “I meant to my bed, though, that isn’t really my home, either. Is it?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  He sat on my bed, lying on his side in only his breeches as he watched me pace back and forth in my nightgown, tiredly recounting the whole story of Constanze and her little inter
rogation.

  “I always find out, Madeleine,” I mocked. “Ugh, such threats! What a horrible woman!”

  “Yes, Constanze is a piece of work, all right.” He patted the mattress softly. “Stop pacing and come to bed. You drive me mad sweeping the floor like that.”

  “I’m sorry. I just…something happened. Colette and Étienne have done something—something distasteful, obviously. It got around town, obviously, and I don’t know one thing about it. I have no clue what is going on.”

  “Perhaps you do not want to know. Come on, Madeleine.” He pulled back my coverlet and linens. “I will not take ‘no’ for an answer. In.”

  I frowned, reluctantly doing as he said. I climbed into the bed beside him and cuddled into him, letting my head rest on his shoulder. “Do you think she actually knows anything?” I asked softly.

  He sighed heavily, his chest heaving with me on it. “I don’t know, my love. I don’t think so. If anything, all she has are assumptions, and if you know the Vicomtesse, you know she has thousands of assumptions about many different people every minute.”

  “I suppose it would be best if you didn’t come by during the day for a while, again,” I said, my fingers running along his skin as I frowned.

  “Perhaps.” He let his head rest against mine. “Think about it. We only have to make it another month. After your birthday celebration, we can just announce it and act as we normally do. Have you received word of when your father is going to return?”

  I nodded, rolling on my back as I pulled the linens up. He turned and leaned over me. “Mid-August, probably around the seventeenth. I plan on writing him a few days before we tell everyone else. Just so he knows before they do or in case the letter is late. What of your grandma-ma?”

  “I hoped we would tell her together. Have supper at my home? Something intimate, though I am sure once she knows, she will want to throw some grand soiree in your honor.” He smiled, brushing my hair off my face.

  “Do you think she will like me?” I looked into his eyes, biting my bottom lip.

  “Of course. She loved you before, when you met her some years ago.”

  “That was years ago. I am sure she does not remember me,” I shook my head.

  “You would be surprised with what she remembers.” He laughed lightly. “I am not worried about it. I think she will be thrilled that I have someone. Her health is not as it once was…she worries that I will suffer from loneliness if she were to pass on before I found someone.”

  I looked to his shoulder. The tips of his hair brushed against it. “I keep forgetting she is not well.”

  “She has lived a long life and done many great things,” he said, kissing my cheek.

  “Including raising you?” I smiled, my hand coming to his arm.

  “Ha,” he scoffed. “What a job she did, hmmm? Known throughout the land as the ‘Recluse’.”

  I frowned. “I do not like that name, but I can think of the more terrible names they will have for me once we come out with it.”

  His brow dipped down, looking my face over. “Why would you think such things?”

  “Because they will. Constanze will be the first with some slurs for me.” I pointed at him.

  He buried his head into my shoulder as he groaned. “Not more about Constanze!”

  “She is a terrible person, though!” I smiled as he looked up to me.

  He smiled devilishly as he grabbed hold of me, lying on top of me. “I am not going to hear one more word of her.”

  I giggled as I pointed to the locked door the boudoir. “Oh! We must be quiet, or Colette will hear!”

  “Hmmm.” He leaned down and kissed my neck, trailing kisses up to my cheek and then to my mouth where he took his time, breathing me in, as always.

  Rose and I sat in the parlor. Colette was off with Étienne around the grounds, probably watching the workers as they labored tirelessly to finish the monstrosity of the Marquise’s.

  I had a book before me, one that Lucien had brought me the previous evening. It was work by Voltaire—something he had been discussing with Armand in the times of late.

  As it was now Monday, I hadn’t seen Lucien during the daylight hours in nearly three days, and it was a number that was sure to grow. I appreciated the very smell of Lucien coming off the book and found myself rarely reading from it. I just appreciated how close it brought me to him, though he wasn’t really there.

  Rose sat on the sofa, myself seated to her right on the armchair. My eyes came up as she batted her eyes at me and leaned across the sofa. Toulouse beside her doing the same.

  “Yes?” I smiled.

  “How are things with the Comte?”

  She stroked Toulouse as he put his head down on the sofa.

  I looked over her extremely light green gown. A dark curl over her shoulder looked glossy and soft. “They are good.”

  “No one is the wiser? What of Constanze and her little episode on Friday evening?”

  I looked back down to my book. “I think it is as Lucien said. Constanze was just assuming, just as she normally does nearly 100 times a day.”

  “Hmmm,” she hummed, turning on the sofa and leaning back on it. “What if your little secret gets out? Becomes obvious?”

  “How so?” I said, barely looking up from my book.

  “Oh, come now, Maddy darling. You two are wrapped up in each other so often that a little trouble could easily come about.”

  “By that do you mean an unexpected pregnancy?” I asked, my eyes firmly on the pages before me. I had read the same sentence three times and could not get any further.

  “Well, to be quite frank, yes. Not that you and Lucien wouldn’t make an adorable little creature that would probably be loved by all, especially me.” She stroked Toulouse’s head.

  I tried to hide a little smirk. “We are careful. He is quite capable of preventing such a thing.”

  “Oh?” She smiled devilishly, leaning forward once again. Toulouse jumped down and walked slowly out of the room. She finally got what she wanted out of me. “Where did he happen upon that information?”

  I sighed and smiled lightly, my eyes looking up over my book. “He has a friend who had some, shall we say, libertine tendencies in the past.”

  “Oh!” She smiled widely. “Anyone I know?”

  I rolled my eyes, nearly laughing. “No, no names. His friend, who is in fact a man, just provided the answers necessary. I am quite confident that as long as you keep what you know to yourself and Armand of course, no one will be wiser to us.”

  “So, you will forever run about in secret?” She pouted.

  I looked up to her, my book falling away from me and slipping back in my hands. “No…I would hope not. Truthfully, I wish Lucien and I could just be as we always are in our own little world, but it is hard. I am sure it is probably easier to just bear the criticism than sneak about. I am always afraid he will tire of it, and me, and move on to one of those social climbers and make a public spectacle.”

  “He would never do that, darling. He really loves you. You might think you have everyone fooled, but you can see it in the way he looks at you. No wonder Constanze assumes. Nothing but love and pure adoration shines out from his eyes, which are usually on you.” She leaned forward and grabbed a little cake off a silver platter. It had light green icing on it, just the same color as her gown.

  I smiled lightly. “I suppose I look like a lovesick fool?”

  “Oh, of course darling, but it suits you.” She winked. “You should invite Lucien to one of my private parties. Just the two of you, and you can have a little romp somewhere, undetected.”

  “Oh, Colette would love that, wouldn’t she? Going to a party without her. Lucien taking the invite instead of her,” I scoffed.

  “She goes places without you, doesn’t she?” She bit into the cake.

  “Oh, well yes, but that is completely different from if I want to go somewhere without her, especially as I am in her home.” I finally gave up on the book, cl
osing it and letting it rest on my lap.

  “Well, that is no good. Where has Armand been lately? I haven’t seen him in a while,” She shifted on the sofa, turning toward me.

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. He will be by tomorrow, though. He is always by on Tuesdays.”

  “Lucien? Will he be by as well? You have been unbearable without him here during the day to keep you company.”

  “No. We decided that it is best for him to just come see me in the evenings, like usual.”

  “Yes.” She pointed to me. “How does that work? How do you run about undetected?”

  I smiled. “I meet him at the servant’s entrance. We run up the stairs and into my bedchamber. We try to be as quiet as we possibly can. It is actually rather easy, though I had to take to locking my doors.”

  “Oh, and I bet Colette just loves that, doesn’t she?” she bit into the cake, again.

  I shrugged. “I don’t think she knows. She only tried the once, and I was able to fib my way out of that…I dislike lying to her.”

  “Why? She lies enough to you, doesn’t she?”

  “What does that mean?” I asked defensively.

  “Well, she isn’t being honest with you, Maddy darling. You asked her of this whole Étienne situation, and she just brushed it off. What of Armand?” she asked, popping the last piece of the cake into her mouth.

  “That is her most hated question. I don’t know. I suppose that is why our relationship has been so strained lately. I have come to the realization that Colette is not as versed and respected as I once thought. If it’s possible, she is the most talked about in Paris, all because of her attitude of wanting what she wants and wanting it right at this moment.”

  “The Chevalier…let us not forget about that little incident,” she scoffed, sitting up straight and grabbing her cup of tea.

  “You know, I think she has been holding a correspondence with him. She gets letters, like I do from Lucien. She will not say who they are from.”

  She frowned as she looked to me, holding her cup and saucer in her hand on her lap. “That could be a possibility. Maddy darling, listen to me,” she said as she turned to me, placing her cup and saucer down on the table. “Things are strained right now, as you said. Colette is going through things, with not only getting over the Chevalier, but she also is dealing with gossip, with Étienne, and with Armand. I admit, he is a handful. Especially with the way his mood changes.”