Affaire de Coeur

by Stephanie O’Hanlon

  She stepped forward, unpinned her hat from her head, and tossed it carelessly onto the sofa.

  I backed up slightly, my mind running toward the night before with Lucien. Did she know? “What are you going on about?”

  “I was actually surprised when I saw a little figure in a gown last night crawling their way toward the path.” She tilted her head, her eyes swirling with anger. “I decided to see if you were in your bedchamber, and, wouldn’t you know. You were nowhere to be found. So, I followed this figure’s footsteps, finding that the door to the terrace was unlocked. Crawling along the path, I myself saw quite a sight.”

  My whole body heaved, and my eyes wide with fright.

  “I can see by the look on your face that you know exactly what I speak of!”

  I shook my head, looking around the room for a means of escape.

  “You and Lucien!” she yelled. “You and Lucien!”

  I ran around and behind her. Her hand caught mine and stopped me.

  “Ugh, yes! Please, Colette. Keep your voice down!” I waved my arms about, getting free from her grip.

  “You lied to me!” she shouted again, though she lowered her voice.

  My mouth gaped open in shock. “I did not!”

  “Yes, you did! You said you and Lucien were not very interesting. I would say bedding him and sneaking him to your room is quite interesting!”

  “It is not interesting, and that is not a lie! I simply did not tell you about it. I did not…we did not want a fuss over this. Why do you think we are running about in secret? Do you know what people would say, Colette?”

  “What they do say,” Lucien’s voice came from the doorway.

  I turned to see him with his arms crossed, a not-so-familiar look on his face as his eyes shot daggers across the room.

  “Lucien,” I said, stroking my neck. “What—”

  He stepped forward, walking up and standing beside me as his hard, angered gaze met with Colette. “Do you want to know, Colette, what my grandmother said to me this afternoon? That she heard in Paris, while visiting a friend in the morning, that I was bedding a commoner in secret. When I tried to play dumb and assure her no such thing, she mentioned I was seen with this woman in a garden, making love under the moon and that her name is Madeleine Dumont.”

  I felt my heart stop in my chest as I looked at Lucien. “What?”

  He kept his gaze on Colette. “I am a very reasonable man. At least I like to think that, but when I heard where she got these rumors, whom she heard them from, they can only be traced back to one person. That is you.”

  I looked to Colette. “What?”

  “It was an accident, Maddy, I was angry, and I just blurted it out in front of Stanzy and Yolande…who left quickly after.” She looked down at her hands, keeping her eyes away from me. She was obviously aware that Yolande had spread the rumor that burst out and consumed everyone like wildfire. “Besides, you lied to me! How do you think I feel? Seeing you two out in the garden, pressing up against each other! You lied to me!”

  I shook my head, backing up. My eyes filled with tears as I passed Lucien. I turned and walked toward the door, but my foot hooked on the carpet, causing my body to thrust forward. My hands broke my fall as I wept uncontrollably.

  Lucien was quickly behind me, grabbing me under my arms and pulling me up. He helped me to the armchair to the right of the sofa.

  Colette stepped forward. “I had no idea they would—”

  “Well, they did!” Lucien growled at her, kneeling down in front of me as I breathed uncontrollably. His cool hands ran over my face and neck as he turned my face toward him. “Madeleine, shhh. Calm down. You will faint if you keep breathing like that. Please, just calm down. Deep breaths.”

  I nodded, trying to do as he said. My skin was hot and flushed as tears poured down my face. I looked into his eyes, breaking down once again and falling forward. I buried my face into his shoulder as I wept. “We tried so hard!” I wailed, his arms coming up around me and holding me tightly. “We tried so hard! Now, I am to be a commoner and a harlot!”

  Lucien pushed at my shoulders, putting his hands on either side of my face and resting his forehead against my own. “We just need to face them, all right? We talked about this before. We were going to tell everyone today, anyway. No one thinks you a harlot. You are far from it.”

  “Ugh! We were so stupid thinking no one would know!” I tore away from him, looking at Colette. “You, of all people! Of all the things! Instead of just coming to me and whining until I told you everything, you followed me around. You spied on me! Then, you told everyone of your findings! Constanze—the woman with the biggest mouth and an abundance of insatiable lies. I bet your little piece of fact has been strung together with so much fiction, I might as well be some adulterous whore from a play!”

  Colette stood there, in the middle of the room, in silence. Her eyes filled with tears as she took my verbal lashing. They finally spilled over as I stood up, turning to Lucien. “I want to leave. Is your carriage still out front?”

  He nodded slowly to me.

  “Maddy—” Colette started.

  “No! I am leaving. I am packing my things and going anywhere but here! Anywhere but around you—you selfish, spoiled little brat!” I yelled, losing my composure. “It is not enough that everyone adores you and wants you, but when the attention is not on you, and things are not going your way, you need to make sure it somehow gets back to you! Well, here you are! Are you happy? Now, I am nothing more than a commoner whore who was sleeping with the Comte for his money. I hope you got what you wanted.”

  I turned angrily, storming out of the room and barreling down the hall to my bedchamber. I tore my belongings out of the wardrobe, and off the vanity and little secrétaire, tossing them hastily into my trunks. I turned toward the door. One of the maids stood in the doorway as she watched me pull the room apart.

  “What?” I shouted. “Well, go get someone to carry these out and fill the rest! Go!”

  I scarcely remember finishing my packing and grabbing my cloak, but before I knew it, my effects were set on Lucien’s carriage, and I was sitting inside it. He sat beside me, looking to me and breaking the silence. “Where will you go?” he asked.

  I tried to fight the tears in my eyes. “I will ask upon Rose. She has been kind enough to offer me a place to stay.”

  “Do you not want to…I could find somewhere in town. We could—”

  “You still wish to be with me?” I looked at him, tears spilling down my face.

  “Oh, Madeleine.” He grabbed hold of me, pulled me into him, and held me tightly. “There is nothing that would ever convince me otherwise. Not even this.”

  I sobbed into his shoulder as I felt a pain in my heart. “How could she?”

  He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know, my love, but it does not matter, now. Does it? Everyone knows.”

  He tapped on the roof of the carriage. The driver sounding the whip, and we started off.

  “What did your grandmother say?” I tried to stop my tears, but they kept finding their way, spilling over.

  “She was surprised. I, of course, had to tell her the truth. I told her I had been seeing you since June and that yes, you are from the country. No titles, nothing of the sort. She almost seemed pleased by it,” he said surprisingly.

  “Surprised that you were bedding a commoner whore?” I grumbled, looking down at my hands.

  He frowned. “You are not a commoner whore. I don’t understand where you got that from. She was pleased, and she wants to meet you. She did not listen to any of the rumors. She said it was none of anyone’s business, but she was pleased that she now knows who the lady is that has been making me so happy.”

  I tried to smile, but tears came in its place. He handed me a handkerchief, which I used to wipe my face and nose, sniffing hard. My nose was stuffed up, and my cheeks burned.

  He held me close as I quieted. My tears finally stopped, and I almost fell asleep from e
xhaustion before we arrived in town at Rose’s. Lucien accompanied me up and rang for her. She had a large smile on her face as soon as she opened the door, but the smile faded quickly as soon as she saw my red eyes and Lucien beside me.

  “What happened? What’s wrong?” she asked, ushering us inside.

  “You haven’t heard?” I asked.

  She looked at Lucien and to me. “Oh, no. Someone saw.”

  I nodded. “Colette.”

  Her eyes went wide; her glossy eyebrows arched as her mouth fell open. “Colette? Now everyone knows?”

  Lucien nodded. “She told Constanze and Yolande. It spread like a plague. My grandmother even heard it from her friend in town.”

  I swallowed hard. “Is it all right if I stay with you until my father returns?”

  She turned to one of her servants. “Can you go down to the carriage and get Mademoiselle’s things? Bring them up.”

  He nodded and turned, doing as she commanded.

  “Thank you,” I said, trying to fight back tears, again.

  “Here, I will show you where you will stay.” She took my arm and started to lead me through all the familiar rooms, and I grabbed Lucien’s hand, pulling him along with me. We turned to our left instead of our right, through the dining room and turning again to our left to a bedchamber I didn’t even know was there. It was violet and red—a small room, with a small, extravagant bed with white, lacy drapes all over it.

  “You can have this bedchamber, Maddy darling, and feel free to have the Comte over at any time. You are with friends here. There is no need to hide.” Rose looked me over before she held out her arms. “Come here, darling. All will be well.”

  She held me close, and my tears built up once again as I nodded, pulling away from her. “Thank you. You do not know how much this means to me.”

  She nodded. “I think I do. I shall have a maid be in your service. Have you eaten? You look a little peaked. I shall have them bring you some soup and brioche, just a little something.”

  She turned and walked off before I could protest. The servants bustled in and placed my trunks down—three large ones and two smaller ones—then bowed and took their leave.

  Lucien turned to me, stroking my shoulders. “Are you all right?”

  I shook my head. “I cannot believe she did it Lucien. Why?”

  “I don’t know.” He frowned, leaning forward and kissing my cheek. “We cannot change it, though. Can we? We will just have to live with it. We have been outed. That is all. Ahead of schedule by a handful of hours…”

  I nodded. “At least my father knows. Thankfully, he doesn’t go to Paris, so he will not hear about me being a harlot.”

  He put his hands on either side of my face, looking me in the eye. “You are not a harlot. No one thinks it, not even Colette in her anger thought it, and you know that. Do you not think that they would make such rumors up anyway when we came forward about it?”

  I shrugged, sniffing. “I suppose. This is just terrible. It was not supposed to happen this way.”

  He pulled me into his arms, holding me close. “I know, but we will get through it. You know we will. Nothing has changed.”

  I nodded, holding onto him tightly. “Oh, no!” I looked up at him. “Toulouse!”

  He nodded. “It is all right. I will go get him and bring him here. Don’t worry.”

  I was urged not to worry about unpacking my things and let the maid, Yvonne, assist me in readying for lying down. I complied, though miserably so, as Lucien had to leave to continue an important discussion with his grandmother. On his way back, he would fetch my fairly large, white kitten and bring him to me.

  Rose sat down on the bed while Yvonne, a thirty-something-year-old woman, helped me into my nightgown.

  “So, I did some investigating,” Rose said, looking at her nails.

  “Oh?” I said. “And?”

  “Seems that Yolande took her leave at the little dinner that Colette had with Constanze. She ran out rather abruptly. Of course, Colette was ranting and barely noticed. Yolande ran off to Christine, who joined her, and they ran off together to various courtiers they knew would spread the news quickly. They even purposely told the maid of Lucien’s grandmother’s friend.”

  I sighed. “Well, that explains how it spread so fast.”

  “The story is, as I hear it, you sneaked out of the house last evening in the wee hours, found Lucien in the garden, and right there under the stars and out in the open, started to make love, not a care to who could possibly come upon you.”

  She leaned back on her palms, her feet kicking out underneath her orange cream gown.

  I turned to her, and the maid curtsied to us before she turned and left. “For one thing, it was not the wee hours of the morning. It was after sunset. Secondly, we were not under the stars. We were in the little pavilion the Marquise built. Thirdly, trees surrounded us. Not one person could see us. Though, we certainly didn’t care who came upon us.” I sat down beside her, my shoulders slumping forward as I pulled my feet up under my nightgown.

  “Well, Maddy darling. They all know. You should hear the whispers! They are all trying to figure out who exactly you are. All they know is that you are a friend of Colette’s.” She fanned herself lightly with an orange-painted fan.

  I looked to her, confused. “They don’t know who I am?”

  “Cannot place you for the life of them.” She smiled.

  “They do not know I was staying with her?” My brow furrowed.

  She shook her head. “Apparently not.”

  “Hmmm,” I said, my eyes suddenly feeling heavy.

  “Look at me,” she said, standing up. “Keeping you from some much needed rest. Lucien should be by later on. Hopefully for our supper with your little Toulouse.”

  I looked to her. “I hope it is all right—”

  “It’s fine. I love that not-so-little thing.” She wiggled her nose at me. “Do not worry your little head about it. He is also a welcomed guest. Now, get some rest.”

  I did as she bid me. I curled up in bed and found it easy to slip into sleep. Emotional exhaustion will do that to you. I was not as upset as I thought I would be at the whole circumstance. It was really that Colette had blabbed to Constanze—Constanze, of all people! That hurt the most.

  Everyone now knew. Hopefully, my father had received the letter explaining that I had met Lucien, a Comte, and that we had been seeing each other formally. A little fib on my part, but he was in Sweden the whole time. He would never know any different.

  When I awoke around seven, Lucien had already arrived. Rose entertained him in her salon, laughing away with Toulouse on her lap. I hadn’t bothered to dress; I just put on my peignoir and walked in on them. Lucien smiled as soon as he saw me.

  “I brought a friend for you,” he said, pointing to Toulouse. He noticed me, jumped off of Rose’s lap, and skittered up to me. He stood on his hind legs, his front paws on my leg, begging for attention much like a little dog would.

  I smiled as I bent down and picked him up—my three-and–a-half-month-old kitten. He was now large, taller. His kitten fur completely smoothed out, and his face showed a more adult, masculine form. His tail was puffy, and the rest of him was smooth, though his fur was quite long.

  “Was it much of a fuss to get him?” I asked as I looked up at Lucien.

  He hesitated, clearing his throat. “A bit. Colette was locked in her room and refused to let me take him. I explained to the Marquis that I had given the cat to you, not Colette. Also, because you were no longer staying with them and wished to have him with you, I was coming to gather him, no matter what Colette said about it.”

  I winced, looking down to Toulouse, who pawed at the little ruffles around the collar of my peignoir. “Well, that sounds perfectly awful.”

  He shook his head. “The Marquis was all too happy to hand him over. He said that since you left, the cat went mad and was running about, knocking things over, and tearing the drapes. Colette was obviously cryin
g but gave him over, as you can see.”

  I walked over to the table. Lucien stood and pulled out the chair beside his, awaiting me to sit down with Toulouse, and took his own seat when I did so.

  “What reason does she have to cry about?” Rose asked, bringing a glass of red wine to her lips.

  Lucien kept his eyes on me, “I don’t know. Guilt? She had to be aware that in saying anything to anyone other than Madeleine or myself would have come to this. I think she was rather surprised you decided to take your leave of there.”

  I pulled Toulouse up, his body now a fair bit longer. He dangled as I held him under his arms, out in front of me. “I don’t care. Do I?” I said to the cat, who simply purred and closed his eyes sleepily. I smiled faintly, pulling him back to my chest, my head resting on top of his. The soft fur suddenly made me feel comforted. “I really am sorry for imposing, Rose. My father should arrive back by the twenty-fourth, so it will be as short a stay as I can manage.”

  She shook her head. “I wish it were longer. Really, Maddy darling, it is fine. I enjoy the company. I especially enjoy that you two can now just go about as a normal couple. Enough of this stupid secrecy.”

  I looked at Lucien. “How long are you going to stay?”

  “I have a bit of business to conduct at home, so I will not be able to stay the night. I must go to Versailles tomorrow evening and speak with the King. He would have heard the rumor, and I wish to clear everything up as quickly as I can. At least I can come by during the day, now.”

  I pouted. “Well, we will no longer need Armand for excuses.”

  “How is Armand?” Rose asked. “I haven’t seen him since the party on Saturday.”

  “No one has,” Lucien said. “I will need to stop in on him when I get back from Versailles on Wednesday.”

  “I hope he is all right,” I said quietly.

  “I am sure he is just wounded.” Lucien sat forward, petting Toulouse as I held him.

  Rose nodded. “Colette could barely hold her own that night, and you were the one who gave him a good word or two. He had been rather touched by it.”

  Lucien smiled as Toulouse rubbed his head into his hand and grabbing it with his paw. “I will come by as soon as I have spoken to him,” he said, his eyes coming up to mine. His smile faded slightly, but his eyes twinkled. “Are you all right?”