Chapter 1. A Man In A Sparkling Costume
It was a snowy winter, the kind of winter which is very fierce and very rare. Snow covered the trees and the ground and everything, and the terrible frost formed garlands of diamond-hard icicles under the houses' roofs. The sky was covered with an endless grey cloud, and snowflakes were lazily hovering in the cold air.
The weather was so utterly different from the mild warm climate of Aragon! A young Spanish girl in her early twenties shuddered and put on a pair of wool mittens instead of the thin leather gloves she had been wearing previously.
She was walking down a narrow forest path. If an ordinary person looked at her, he or she wouldn't have guessed her true identity. She was thin and short, with long wavy fair hair and a slightly tanned complexion. Her large sky-coloured eyes expressed curiousity and childlike interest. She was dressed poorly but elegantly at the same time, and at first sight no one would have ever suspected that she was incredibly rich in fact.
She was Duchess Marianna Sancha Catherina Almidia herself. The daughter of the rich Duke Juan Almidia and a poor aristocrat Sophia.
About fifteen years ago the story of Duke Almidia was recited in every European paper. The man was a victim of the greatest political intrigue of the decade, forced to migrate to England and to hide his billions safely.
Two years later he was found dead on the villa he and his family rented. Nothing was stolen, and nobody benefited from his death, so the inquest concluded the death had been natural. Duchess Almidia, Sr. was left alone to deal with conspiracy, debts and rents. She survived the hardest part of her life and now was almost enjoying herself. She lived with her daughter and a governess on the villa, with several friends coming for visits weekly.
Marianna's governess was actually the girl's only companion and teacher. Mademoiselle Solange Rielle was a kindly, calm, well-educated lady, who voluntarily came with the Almidia family to England. She gave Marianna an excellent home education and remained the girl's friend in the time of troubles.
Duchess Almidia, Sr. wanted her daughter to get married as soon as possible, especially since there was a man who'd make a perfect groom for Marianna. He was a half-Spanish, half-Italian businessman called Ferdinand Lorizi. He was about thirty years old and his father was a close friend of the Duchess's family. So was the son. He was obviously attracted to Marianna, but she wasn't thinking of marriage just at the moment. She loved her mother, Mademoiselle Rielle, the dear old villa and her whole life. She didn't want to change it in any way.
Right now, on that snowy Christmas Eve, Duchess Almidia, Jr. was coming home from a party at her friend's. She had decided to go through the forest, since it was the shortest way.
An hour later, she regretted her decision. The wind increased, starting a blizzard, it was freezing, and the path disappeared under several inches of snow.
Marianna looked around. Nothing looked a bit familiar. She felt like she had come to the very end of the world.
"Can anyone hear me?" she called, trying to make her trembling voice louder than the howling wind.
When no reply came, Marianna felt tears forming in her eyes. She sat on a fallen tree and tried to comfort herself.
"It's all right," she whispered to herself nervously. "The forest isn't endless. People live here – somewhere here. If you search for them, you'll certainly find then. It's a matter of when. It can take time, of course. But you won't help yourself by sitting here and crying."
Just as she stood up, the wind blew away a small cloud which had been hiding the moon.
The silvery light of it cheered Marianna up a little. She sighed and walked away.
She went here and there, one of her gloves fell out of her pocket, but she didn't care. She wished to come home.
After another thirty minutes, she came to a meadow where none other than her glove was lying in the snow. Marianna picked it up to wipe a tear away with it.
"Hello?" she cried. "Can just anyone hear me?"
"The forest is surely haunted," she added in her thoughts. "It's so dreadfully silent…"
And just then the young duchess heard branches cracking in front of her, and a tall man in a strange sparking costume jumped off a tree. His clothes looked as though they were all made of silver in the moonlight. He was dark-haired and his eyes were a shade of dark malachite green.
"I believe you need help, mademoiselle?" he asked with a joyful smile. Marianna was more than startled, but she managed to answer him politely:
"Yes, indeed. I'm afraid I'm lost. I need to find a way to the Almidia Villa."
"Oh, I've certainly seen it," the man nodded. "We're far away from it right now. An hour of walking, maybe more."
"Can you show me the way?" Marianna exclaimed.
"I can even walk you there, but I doubt it would be the best thing."
"Why not?"
"Ladies of your kind don't like strangers."
"You're not a simple stranger," Marianna glanced at his sparkling cloak. "You look more like a kind fairy-tale being. Coming for rescue at Christmas."
The man laughed and took her hand. They walked through the forest, until he said:
"To tell the truth, I'm a simple man – not an elf."
"Really?" Marianna cried. "Oh, then, what's your name? I wish to remember the name of my rescuer."
He hesitated and blushed a bit, but then said:
"I was named Francois Hercule Duroque at the time of my birth."
"You're French? Oh, I love your country. I've been there once and it's amazing," Marianna smiled. "And my name is Marianna Almidia."
She thought that the strange man would recall the story of her father. But he didn't. He simply nodded and said:
"I'm very glad to meet you."
They walked further in silence. Marianna's interest only grew. Despite the man's words, she was still sure there was something miraculous about him.
Finally the forest ended and Marianna spotted her villa.
"Thank you a lot," she said with pity. "Could we meet again?"
"I'm afraid – not," the man said. He took something out of his pocket and put it into Marianna's hand. "Keep this to remember me. Farewell, mademoiselle. And Merry Christmas!"
He stood still for a moment – then turned away – and ran so fast that he vanished in the forest in a moment.
Marianna stared at a lovely ruby ring lying in her hand. So all that was not a Christmas dream, after all.