Disclaimer: Well, this is the most combined Pimpy fic you will ever read. I am combining the Leslie Howard version, the original book and the musical all twisted into one short story. I think I'm the first person to mix the St. Cyr incident by using the book, musical and one of the movies :D


Hugs and peaches,


Maya:)


Summary: Alternate Universe (I think that's what the series is going to consist of!) Let's assume that Marguerite didn't get a chance to meet the Pimpernel on the footbridge at the Prince's Ball and never got to confess her past to Percy. Would he have found out from another source?



Midnight Confessions




The ride home from the palace was long and silent. Marguerite looked out the window of the carriage, watching the dark leaves on the moonlit filled tress rush past as the horses rode on. Percy glanced over at her silent figure and frowned.


It shouldn't have had to be this difficult....


He examined her closely and noticed that she had grown a great deal paler than usual and she had dark circles under her green eyes. His brow creased as he tried to remember if she looked as tired as she did before the ball. Shaking himself, he reminded himself not to grow weak by worrying himself on her account. Once they arrived in Richmond they walked into the silent mansion and each went to their own rooms without so much as a "good night" to the other person. On the way back to his room, Marie poked her head out of the threshold of the sitting room doorway and called out,"Sir Percy?"


Percy turned on his heel at the sound of his name and smiled briefly when he saw it was Marie. "Ah, good evening, Marie. Can I be of service to you?"


She nodded, gestured towards the room and implored,"May I speak with you for a moment?"


The heaviness in Percy's eyes and head demanded that he rest, but he could not refuse a ladies wishes. "Of course."


Once they were both inside the room, the door shut and both were comfortably seated, Percy asked in a hushed voice,"Is something the matter with Tussaud?"


Shaking her head quickly, she assured him,"Oh no, Sir Percival, nothing of that nature. Rather it is concerning yourself and Lady Blakeney."


"Oh bloody..."his minded answered.


Sighing, he prepared to stand up and said,"Marie, this is something I do not care to discuss."


"No, you don't understand,"she nearly shouted. Clasping a hand over her mouth at the noise, she lowered her voice and pleaded,"Please, Sir Percy. There's something I need to tell you.'


Resigning himself, he lowered himself and said,"Very well. What is it?"


Marie started,"Percy, I know the cause of your estrangement with Lady Blakeney, but you see, Sir Percy I was there for the events of what happened. There were things left out of Lord Dewhurst's claims that he didn't know about."


Percy swallowed hard and asked,"What do you know, Marie?"


"Well, let me start by saying what I know you have been told. Dewhurst told you of Marguerite's involvement with the arrest and execution of the Marquis de St. Cyr and his family, as well as her signature on the warrant. Am I correct?" she asked. He nodded his answer, scared to hear anymore. He did love Marguerite and the distance between them hurt like nothing he had ever known before, but if the story grew more horrific he knew the gap between them would only grow more.


"All right, let me start with saying that if you had told Armand the reason for your separation between you and Lady Blakeney you both would have been spared a good deal of pain,"she explained.


"Armand knew?"he asked, shocked that his brother in law was involved as well as his life. An more importantly, Armand was in the league!


"No, Armand knows nothing of the St. Cyr family death. If he does, he probably thinks the it's the same as any other aristocratic family being beheaded. However, Armand and Marguerite were both at one time very close to the St. Cyr family, so to speak. Armand fell in love with the Marquis' daughter and the Marquis' son fell in love with Marguerite. When he found out about the St. Just's involvement with his children, he has Marguerite arrested and sent to St. Lazare and he had Armand beaten within an inch of his life."


Percy interrupted,"Now that I don't believe. The St. Cyr's were good, honest people."


Marie eyed him warily and demanded,"Have you ever seen Armand with a bare chest and back?"


Percy thought and finally shook his head "no." Marie nodded and answered,"If you ever get the chance to, you will see long scars running down his chest and back from being whipped." She paused, as if she was contemplating if she was going to tell him what she wanted to say. "Then the fourteenth of July came, the day of the storming of the Bastille and Marguerite was freed. However, she was very ill. I don't mean to imply that she had a touch of influenza, it was something very serious."

Percy felt a twinge of fear and guilt run through him and he asked,"How did she get well again?"


"That is where she would want me to remain silent,"Marie answered.


"Marie, you must tell me now. Who helped her?" he demanded. Suddenly his face cleared with understanding and he grew pale. "It was Chauvelin, wasn't it?"


She nodded and said,"Percy, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but Chauvelin is in love with Marguerite. "


Leaning forward, he put his elbows on his knees and clasped his hand together, resting his chin on them. "He fell in love with her. Are you certain?"


She nodded again and told him,"Sir Percy, in the beginning after Marguerite was well again, she worked with Chauvelin. She would hate me if she knew what I was about to tell you, but she and Chauvelin became lovers." Unclasping his hands, he put his face in his hands and closed his eyes tightly.


Marie's hand met his shoulder and she gently squeezed it. "Please, Sir Percy, don't judge her by her past actions. It was very brief and she regretted it afterward."


"How can you be sure? Why did she leave him?"he demanded angrily.


"I don't know. She never came out and said it directly to me, but I know she did. Her attitude on love was always that men would use women for their advantage and desires and she was surprised when Chauvelin didn't do either. He honestly loved her, Sir Percy. But then...."she trailed off and her voice grew distant and she stood up quickly, releasing his shoulder in the process. "When the terror started, he grew a blood lust that frightened Marguerite. He started gaining power and he wanted it just as badly as he wanted her. Then there came the first execution by Chauvelin's hands and Marguerite broke all ties with him that very night. He pursued her day in and day out after that night and I think he still might be."


Percy stood up and went to stand by her. "What does this have to do with the Marquis de St. Cyr?"


"I overheard a conversation Marguerite had with him the night you, she and Armand left for England before you were married. He said something to the effect of 'Congratulations on your marriage', 'We have some unfinished business' and 'I could throw a wrench into this sudden romance of yours.' He was threatening to tell you of their past together if she didn't give him the whereabouts of the Marquis de St. Cyr. Earlier in their romance together, she heard some information about the Marquis plotting with Austria to makes the revolution a French-Austrian war, except he was going to aid Austria in their efforts against France. When this was discovered by Chauvelin, St. Cyr went into hiding to escape execution by the Terror. However, when Marguerite met you and you started courting her, you told her of where St. Cyr was hidden away. When Chauvelin came to her, he blackmailed her, but there was something else. He lied to Marguerite. He told her that no harm would come to the Marquis or his family. He promised they would either be deported or publicly humiliated. Marguerite hated St. Cyr for what he did to her and Armand."


"Oh my God,"he whispered. He sat down and looked around the room numbly. "She was innocent."


Marie nodded and sat in the recliner. "Sir Percy, you only needed to ask her."


"Do you honestly believe that she would have told me the truth?"he questioned, looking at her with a lost look in his eyes.


"I think if you had approached her, she would have. She didn't want you to know of her liaison with Chauvelin. She's a proud person, but the again, so are you. She's ashamed of her past and look what it cost her." Leaning forward, she assured him,"Sir Percy, she loves you, I know that much. Please, try to talk to her. She needs you, especially now."


Nodding numbly, he turned to leave and then stopped and asked,"Marie, why are you telling me this?"


She smiled gently and replied,"I have seen how miserable the both of you have been as of late and I owe you my life and Lady Blankeney has been so kind, it is the least I could do to repay you both."


"Thank you, Marie." He grabbed her hands, squeezed them affectionately and hurried to go to Marguerite's chambers. He tried to figure in his mind what he was going to say to her when he got there.


"Hello, Marguerite.... what am I doing here you ask? Well, sink me, m'dear, I thought you were a French spy and I am the Scarlet Pimpernel so naturally I thought that you'd try and have me killed. Oh well, forgive me?" That wouldn't do at all!


Once he approached the door, he felt his stomach drop and he knocked on the door cautiously and called out,"Marguerite?"


No answer came and he wondered if she had fallen asleep. "Marguerite?"he repeated. Frowning slightly, he opened the door to a small slit, enough to see in and looked in. The room was lit, but that wasn't what caught his attention. Opening the door completely, he looked at the torn up room and walked inside. "Marguerite?" Hurrying over to the walk in closet, he saw dresses hanging halfway out of their dressers and the pile of suitcases and trunks disturbed, most knocked over carelessly. Hurrying out the door, he collided with Frank and swiftly demanded,"Frank, have you seen Lady Blakeney?"


"No, sir,"he answered. Percy nodded and said,"Very well. You can go to bed, Frank."


"Thank you, sir,"he bowed and left. Percy went back into the room and searched the room quickly. He saw that her thick traveling cloak was off it's hook and then something else caught his eye. Marguerite had kept a trunk full of personal items from France, including some theatrical costumes and wigs. The trunks lid was wide open and items hung half way out of the side. Walking over, he noticed that the balcony doors that lead to the garden had been opened and remained ever so slightly opened. Looking around the room helplessly, he sat down on the edge of the window sill and asked himself where she had gone. Then the answer came to him so quickly, he wondered why he hadn't thought of it before.


Armand. Chauvelin must have told her of Armand's arrest.


"Damn!" he whispered angrily. He had sent Dewhurst, Ozzy, Elton and Farleigh to France to retrieve Armand already and now he knew he had to go over to France as well. Hurrying back to his own room, he grabbed his traveling bag and stuffed it with as many clothes as he could get in. Hurrying over to his writing desk, he grabbed three sheets of paper and scribbled a message onto each of the papers. Quickly putting the Scarlet Pimpernel seal onto the bottom of each sheet, he folded them and hurried back over to his traveling bag. Once he finished packing, he hurried to Marie's chambers and knocked on the door fiercely. "Marie?!"


Marie opened the door, wrapped in a long wool shawl, she said,"What's wrong, Sir Percy?"


"Marguerite is gone. I'm positive she went after Armand. I have to go to Paris as soon as possible. In the morning I need you to contact the rest of the league with the exception of Ozzy, Andrew, Elton and Farleigh." Handing her the notes, he instructed,"Give these to each of them and tell them to act on said instructions immediately."


Nodding, she glanced down at the letters and said,"Of course I will, Sir Percy. Get Tussaud when you get to Paris. He will be happy to help you."


"I will. Thank you, Marie," he said breathlessly. He turned but stopped when Marie called to him. Turning back around, he said,"Yes?"


"Watch out for Chauvelin. If he finds out Marguerite is in Paris, he will find her and arrest her and that is if she is lucky." He nodded and she added as he walked away,"Good luck to you, Sir Percy."


When Percy got down to the stables, he saddled his own horse and climbed onto it. Once he was on the road, he felt his anger growing, but it wasn't with Marguerite, or Chauvelin, or the Terror or anyone, but he was angry with himself. If he had been honest with her from the beginning, then she would never have gone to save Armand herself and her life wouldn't be in danger. When he got her back into England with Armand safely, he promised himself that he would tell her the truth, tell her that he had made a horrible mistake and beg for her forgiveness. Now, whether or not she would accept his apologize and continue to love him was a different story.......



Like it? Hate it? Please read and review!


Hugs and peaches,


Maya:)