Disclaimer: As much as I fell that they should all belong to me because they feel like part of the family, alas they do not. Henry, Danielle, Jacqueline etc belong to Andy Tennant and the rest of the Ever After gang. Steven Grey Helene Antoine etc, belong to me.





Jacqueline's Dilemma by Emma - Part One



It was a bright morning in early November. The air was still and cold and turned what was hot, cold and what was

moist, dry. Demeter's* mourning had brought one of the first frosts of the winter. The white sheet of crisp ice clung

to everything in its path. The fields, once lush and green, now renounced Summer's nourishing dew and accepted

the Snow Queen's unforgiving bitterness. Barren trees were dripping with crystals and the shell of protection had

been taken from those fledglings who had long since flown the nest. Around the edges of the window panes an

intricate pattern of delicate lace had weaved itself over night, leaving just a small space through which to peer at

this miracle of nature.



Danielle de Valois, Duchesse d'Orleans, Princess of France was watching this marvel unveil itself as she gazed

through the window of the Manor de Barbarac, her childhood home. She had been watching a spider trying to cross

it's web which had long since had lost its hold because of the slick ice, but it finally made it, after many tries. It

reminded Danielle so much of her own situation. She had spent years trying to cross that web of her own life, trying

to escape the clutches of her Stepmother and eventually she made it. Now she was back in that home that she had

learned to hate, and she was happier than she had ever been.



Danielle could not recall the manor ever looking so wonderful. The natural beauty of this winter landscape,

combined with the movement of servants gave a feeling of life in the place. It had not been like this since before

her father had died. Over ten years Rodmilla had systematically destroyed their home. The irony of it being one of

her daughters who had revived it was not beyond Danielle. Jacqueline had worked night and day on turning things

around, and now it was possible to see her work coming together.



Danielle had arrived at the manor a few days earlier. She would be staying there while her husband, Crown Prince

Henry, attended to some business in Avignon. He was negotiating with building merchants to buy the materials for

the university he planned to build. It was known that he would be gone more than just the usual two or three days,

so Danielle decided that this was the perfect time to get out of the constricting atmosphere of Hautefort and back

to the home that she longed to see once more. She was also anxious to spend time with her sister. Since they had

returned to the province from their eventful trip to the coast, both women had been very busy in their respective

homes and so had been unable to see each other. Therefore the journey to reunite them was all the more welcome.



It was mid afternoon on the previous Friday when Danielle arrived with her husband at the manor. Her small

entourage had appeared several hours later, after arranging her affairs at the palace. Usually such an important

person as a Crown Princess would have many people following her around everywhere, but she had managed to

avoid falling into such a trap. Her only followers were her lady-in-waiting and her assistant, Hélène and Juliette,

and her guard Lord Steven Grey. Danielle liked it that way. These people were her friends, the thought of

constantly being surrounded by strangers as her in laws were made her feel nervous.



Danielle had known that the King was regularly sending things to the manor to aid Jacqueline in her improvements,

but she did not know exactly how much had been done. On the arrival of the royal party it was impossible for

Danielle to tell how much work had been done. The place seemed empty. There was no movement in the front of

the house apart from Jacqueline, who was waiting to welcome her guests. It was not like the days when her father

was alive. Then there would have been at least twenty people there to welcome her return.



Danielle was disappointed that Louise, Paulette and Maurice were not there to greet her, but Jacqueline explained

to her that they were very busy arranging a special dinner to honour her return and could not spare themselves

from their current occupation. As they walked through the building towards the sitting room, Danielle could not help

but notice the new paintings that hung on the wall. She was especially pleased to see one by Gustave. It was the

same painting of Hautefort that he had been painting the day that he had betrayed Danielle's whereabouts to

Henry. She never did offer her thanks for that.



Inside what was now Jacqueline's sitting room, Danielle was surprised to see a small party had been arranged.

Maurice, Paulette and Louise were all waiting for her. She was smothered with hugs as they saw 'their' Danielle.

She was even more surprised to see Gustave and Leonardo were involved in the party. She could not help but enjoy

Jacqueline's smiles as she realised that her surprise had been a good one.



The party was delightful. She was able to indulge herself in teasing Gustave and talking with servants in a way that

would have been severely frowned upon at the palace. Leonardo had presented her with a portrait of herself as a

belated wedding gift. It was beautiful and, if anything, was too flattering. Henry insisted on letting it known to

everyone though that it was not a patch on the beauty of the original. He knew that such public flattery

embarrassed his wife, but he wanted the world to know just how wonderful she was.



This had been an ideal opportunity to say goodbye to Gustave. He was to depart the following day for Bordeaux.

Danielle had secured for him the position of teacher in the Duc de Bordeaux's own school. She knew that this was a

chance for him to distinguish himself. He was such a good painter, but there was little scope for him to distinguish

himself in that field at the moment. He had the chance to improve many lives and Danielle knew that he was glad to

be given that opportunity.



By far and away the best gift anyone gave to Danielle was the one which Jacqueline had given to her. Danielle

knew that the manor made little money and so expected no gifts, so she was surprised when Jacqueline told her

that her present was in the courtyard. She and Henry walked over to the window and looked down. Henry was

unable to see anything extraordinary, but Danielle knew what she was looking at straight away. The small yard was

buzzing with activity. Men were grooming an assortment of fine horses, cows were being led from the old milking

shed and people were carrying around all sorts of farming implements. Jacqueline had done such a wonderful thing.

It truly was the best gift anybody could ever give her.



Since that day Danielle had been able to explore Jacqueline's restoration work at her leisure. Jacqueline was so

busy, she seldom saw her and Henry had left the following day at the same time as Gustave. It was a miracle what

had been done in the space of a few weeks. Many acres of land had been worked in preparation for the spring when

crops would once again flourish in the fertile soil. Several cows now lived in once abandoned barns, to produce milk

for the manor until a whole herd was introduced to the meadow and would provide milk for half of the town. A vast

litter of pigs and geese were being fattened up for Christmas. Pheasants and deer now lived in the woods so that

Jacqueline would be able to offer some sport to her guests. There were ten times as many beehives as once there

were. The land closest to the manor was being cleared to make gardens in which Danielle would be able to seek

solitude and respite from the palace. Using crown funds, Jacqueline had even been able to re-acquire the vineyard

that had been sold off within months of Auguste's death.



An army of servants were now employed, not only to run the estate, but to run the household too. Paulette led a

company of house maids, who cleaned everyday and did repairs. Louise was in charge of a team of cooks who

prepared breakfast dinner and a snack for everybody who worked on the estate. Meals were served in a vast barn

which had been fitted out to accommodate social occasions for the servants. Living quarters were provided in

converted outbuildings for now, but when the spring came round, Jacqueline had plans to build something more

permanent. She had certainly learned a lot from Monsieur de Barbarac about handling people.



The most amazing achievement however was the stud farm. The King had sent horses to help start up the business

and Jacqueline had been able to buy so many more that they had to build more stable room. She certainly had an

eye for a good horse. She had given Henry a very quick tour before he left and he remarked that he had never

seen such a fine collection of horses outside the royal stable, and congratulated her on her fine eye. Several of her

mares were pregnant and the foals had already been sold. One of them, born of two very fine Arabs, had been

bought for 200 gold francs by the Sultan Schariar of Baghdad for his beloved Sultana, Scheherezade, whose own

battle horse was getting old and would be retired within three years.



Danielle was amazed that anyone could have achieved so much in such a short amount of time, but for that person

to be Jacqueline was utterly astounding. Danielle had always felt a certain amount of affection for her step sister,

and to some extent had been protective of her, perhaps because she was a year younger than herself, but she had

never seen her as a strong woman. Sometimes Danielle feared that Jacqueline would never escape the clutches of

the Baroness and would always be living in Marguerite's shadow. She could not believe the change in her now. She

was no longer a girl, but an independent woman, who was distinguishing her life in the most commendable way.

Being Mistress of the Manor had given her confidence, but she had also changed physically. The vast amount of

exercise she now got meant that she was glowing with health and was much slimmer than she had been. Henry had

even cheekily mentioned that he had never noticed how fine Jacqueline's figure was. At this point Danielle had felt

the need to pelt him with pillows. Not only was Henry a married man, but Jacqueline was almost certainly going to

be the bride of one of his best friends, Captain Marc Laurent of the Royal Guard. Their closeness had been noted

by the royal couple at the party as it had been many times before.



At this point Danielle was torn from her thoughts by the entrance of Hélène and Steven. As usual Hélène was

laughing due to some private joke she shared with the Duke. Danielle was pleased with the friendship between the

two of them, but she was sometimes a little jealous not to be included.



"Good morning Your Highness," Steven said, still laughing. Danielle gave her a reproachful look. Steven knew

instinctively what the problem was.



"I'm sorry Danielle," he corrected himself. He knew that the princess hated formality between them.



"I trust you slept well Danielle," Hélène said. Danielle managed to overhear Steven whisper 'show-off' to Hélène,

which only made the poor lady-in-waiting laugh more.



"Yes very well. Have you seen Jacqueline?"



"Mademoiselle de Ghent was in the stables a little earlier," Steven replied.



"I expect she was checking on that little grey mare," Hélène said. Jacqueline's favourite horse was pregnant and

due to have her foal any day now.



As this was said Jacqueline entered the breakfast room. She greeted them all cheerily. as she did every morning.

Danielle noticed something unusual about her, but it took her several minutes before she could work out what it

was. It was not until one of the maids was serving eggs to the party that she realised that Jacqueline was wearing

one of Marguerite's gowns. Danielle had recognised that she had lost weight but had never thought that she would

have to resort to this to be able to clothe herself. She deserved better than that spoiled cow's cast offs after all she

had been through.



The breakfast chat was polite, as always, but Danielle's mind was constantly thinking about her horror at

Jacqueline having to do this. She did not seem to mind, but Danielle knew from experience that she rarely showed

what she felt. Once the meal was finished, Jacqueline excused herself so that she could prepare for her daily ride

out to the edge of the estate, and Danielle retired to what had been her father's favourite drawing room. She

wanted to write a letter to her mother-in-law, Queen Marie of France. Jacqueline had already received much help

from the King and Queen, but she had used that selflessly. Danielle was determined that she was going to do

something just for Jacqueline. It was time that her sister learned how to be selfish once in a while.



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*Demeter was the Greek Goddess of the harvest. Her daughter, Persephone, was kidnapped by Hades and forced

to spend four months of every year with him in the underworld. During this time Demeter would go into mourning

and nothing would grow as she neglected the land. This is the Ancient Greek explanation for the seasons.