Prologue
Night of the Masque
A young woman boards her carriage as the masque comes to an end. She still couldn't believe what had just happened to that poor young woman. The woman she worked under was so cruel. And whatever dreams the young woman had of a future with the prince. They had just been torn apart.
The carriage is about to move when she sees Baroness Rodmilla De Ghent conversing with the armor bearer Pierre Le Pieu. She motions to her coachman to wait as she listens to the conversation.
"So tomorrow, baroness, I come with all your things and return them in exchange for Danielle? What an enticing offer," Le Pieu says quietly.
"I wish to give you what you desire so that when the prince arrives to claim Marguerite, we do not look like paupers," Rodmilla says.
"Agreed. I will have my servants gather up everything tonight so that I can claim her as soon as I can," Le Pieu says.
"Thank you," Rodmilla says before they head for their respective carriages.
She signals for her coachman to leave and he spurs the horses and they head off for her home, the Manoir de la Fere.
An older, but not looking it, woman paces inside the manor's parlor waiting for her oldest daughter to return home from the masque. Her daughter had been so excited to receive an invitation to the masque. She had gone alone, because her mother had been slightly ill earlier in the evening and didn't feel like she should go.
The house was quiet, as her beloved husband lay sleeping upstairs as well as her only son. It was at these times, though, that she thought about the daughter that was not with her. The one she had to leave behind with her adulterous first husband. She thought about her youngest daughter often. She hadn't heard anything about her since her first husband's death ten years ago.
She is shaken out of her thoughts by the arrival of the carriage carrying her daughter home from the masque. She stands in the center of the room and waits for her daughter to come into the manor.
The young woman enters the house where she knows her mother is waiting to hear about the masque. "Hello, mother," she greets her with a smile on her face.
"Hello, my dear Ariella. How was the masque? Did they announce whom the prince will marry soon?" her mother asks.
"No, mother, they did not. They were about to, when a young woman appeared at the stairs and the prince stopped the king from saying anymore and he ran to her and brought her forward. They were about halfway to the dais, when out of nowhere comes Baroness Rodmilla de Ghent and she tells the prince that the young woman is not who she says she is," Ariella explains to her mother.
"Of course she isn't, for she is using my first name and my maiden name," her mother says.
"Well, the prince doesn't believe it at first, that she isn't Comtesse Nicole du Loncret, even thought the Baroness says her real name is Danielle du Barbarac, but finally, he realizes it's true. All along, he was spending time with one of the Baroness's servants and he immediately dismisses her and she runs out crying and I even saw her fall just outside the palace," Ariella says, then she notices the angry look on her mother's face. "Mother, why are you all of a sudden angry?"
"Because it's the Baroness's fault that I haven't heard anything about your youngest sister in ten years. She turned her into a servant and that is a crime," Nicole tells her, hatred for Rodmilla showing in her eyes.
Ariella wonders what her mother means by that, until she realizes the truth about what had happened. Danielle was her sister! Her youngest sister! "You are right. Baroness de Ghent must pay. We must stop her plan with Le Pieu," Ariella says.
"What is she planning with Le Pieu," Nicole asks her daughter.
"In exchange for all of the items she sold to him, she is going to give him Danielle," Ariella tells her. "I overheard them before I left."
"We can turn that to our advantage. We can make a deal with him too. Have him bring Danielle home in exchange for something," Nicole says.
"Well, we could give him one of our servants. He does have quite an interest in Jenna," Ariella says.
"And it is mutual. Call her in here and we will see if she goes for it," Nicole says.
By morning, everything is set up. Nicole had met with Le Pieu and he had agreed to her terms. Marrying a beautiful young servant, as he said he would do, was better than receiving a horrible punishment from a Duke, Duchess, and their children.