Chapter 2 – Axel Ferson
The night had fallen upon the Trianon. Paper lanterns had been lit all along the lawns, and a large tent with a beautiful gold-stitched tapestry, a lovely gift from one of Marie Antoinette's sisters from Austria, had been draped across to shield out the insects and bugs. Beneath the tent was a dinner table set for a party. Polly was extremely popular and shared most of the Queen's friends, and invited a good lively crowd. Certainly not King Louis, who was off doing God knows what, as most everyone in the Queen's circle put it, especially the Queen herself…was not invited. Even if he was he'd have something better to do.
The sun was only beginning to set, giving a lovely, glowing essence to the air and atmosphere. Marie Antoinette loved that sort of raw beauty – the natural state of the earth in it's "golden hour" she called it.
She was up in her Sliding Mirror Room, a secret room in the Petit Trianon that allowed her privacy, powdering her own face and applying her perfume for the night. Marie loved that she was able to get herself ready at the Trianon rather than being swarmed by servants at Versaiiles. Her hair was braided down her neck with lovely paper mache flowers strung along the end. Marie was ecstatic to finally have guests at her estate again – it had been waayyyyy too long since, and her impending boredom had become a little unbearable. Thank god for friends llike Polly, Marie Antoinette thought to herself.
The Queen bounced down the marble staircase in anticipation for the party, with Polly dragging her hand by her side. The Duchesse had asked for a troupe of musicians to play some of the favorites of the Queen, who of course blushed with joy to some of them – especially the L'innocenze Giustificata sinfonia, a favorite of Maries. It was perfect for the indigo-evening atmosphere on this pleasant night.
And then the guests began to arrive! Some walking up from the palace where they resided, others in horse-drawn carriages from their maisons and estates nearby. Marie loved parties.
(Note: I am making up many of the guest's names and some of the associations/ideas in order for me to write more freely. This is fiction - I do not intend to stick entirely to historical names/events and keep up with who could have potentially been a real friend of Marie Antoinette's so bear with me. But Duchesse Polignac was real).
Of course, the Polly's lastet lover Comte de Vaudreuil (who she called Vaudy but he hated being called that) was there with her, as well as many of her and the Queen's friends; the Comte d'Adhemar, who talked extremely loud but told the funniest stories at the dinner parties, as well at the Comte de Guines. The Queen's fashionable, yet jaded friends – Madame de Guemene and Madame Dillon were almost always welcome as guests at the parties of Marie Antoinette. The Duchesse had invited a few interesting people, including a foreigner, the Prince de Ligne, who was a very witty Belgian aristocrat, and was secretly in love with the Queen.
As the Prince arrived at the party he leaned down to kiss her hand, calling her a "white soul". Marie blushed but honestly hated him… One of the Queen's closest friends, Count Eszterhazy was also present – whom she had always felt she could talk to for hours about every detail of her life; she called him Ez for short. "Ez!" She exclaimed when he waltzed up to the front of the tent. Marie knew that just like Polly, Ez could keep even her darkest secrets – and he knew how she also had been feeling that summer so far. The Duchesse had also invited her scandalous sisters-in law, Diane and the Comtesse de Polastron who were extremely promiscuous, but nobody would ever admit it or say anything of it out loud.
Jean Godin des Odonais and the heiress, Isabel had arrived – faraway traveling friends of the Duchesse. She kissed the swiftly on both cheeks, whispering in Jean Godin's ear "Did you bring any party favours?" He slyly replied, "Always party favors for our favorite, Polignac!"
The best news of the night so far was that no where near to be found was Count Mercy – Marie Antoinette's watch-dog of an ambassador for her mother's empire in Austria. He kept a close eye on Marie Antoinette's whereabouts, which would be a little too close for comfort for a night like this. Marie Antoinette hated his constant ranting about her parties, playing games and gambling, and her crazy, rowdy friends! All she wanted was to do what she felt like doing.
A gentle wind had picked up. As the dinner party was processing into the tent, admiring the décor and greeting one another, and Marie Antoinette had felt almost everyone had filed in until a lone pair of footsteps could be heard in the grass, approaching the tent.
"Ferson. What a pleasant surprise." Marie Antoinette blushed, her heart stopped. A tall, handsome man with brown hair and a chiseled face stood before her, with a gentle smile. Her eyes and his locked for what seemed like an eternity.
"It is an honor to join you tonight, Madame." Ferson replied, leaning down to one knee and kissing her hand, bowing his head. Marie blushed even more. The guests all stopped to stare at the sight, and giggled softly. It seemed as if the entire party became silent to stare at the exchange between Ferson and the Queen. Marie could feel her heart beating out of her chest. She looked over at Polly who covered her smile with the white silk gloves she was wearing. Marie knew – this was the person Polly had been talking about.
"Come, come! Sit next to the Queen!" The Duchesse guided Ferson, pulling out one of the chairs to the table. Along with Ferson was his friend and also one of the many part-time lovers of the Duchesse from Sweden, Barrington Beaumont, who hugged and greeted Polly, who seated him next to the young Madame Besenval. "These two young men have traveled all the way from Sweden!" The Duchesse exclaimed, "and they are here with us tonight!" The Duchesse started clapping, so the dinner party clapped along in awe and excitement.
Marie Antoinette gulped, and took her seat next to the very handsome, gentle Ferson. She peeked at him out of the corner of her eye, and their eyes locked again. Suddenly, it seemed all of the memories fell in to her from the top of her head. She remembered - the two had met before, first at a masked ball when she was younger, for just a moment when they had exchanged very innocent remarks. She made no intention to let him know who she was – she was just a Dauphine at the time, and had always been a married woman since. But it was obvious to him that she had been the Dauphine upon her leaving – and Ferson was irrevocably infatuated. Second, a short time ago at the palace to honor the soldiers, she had honored him for his service briefly. She had not seen him for a very long time since, but even then it had only felt like yesterday that she had locked eyes with such a soul that felt so utterly unforgettable to her… How curious for him to be here tonight, she thought to herself. How so very very curious, and wonderful. Her head was spinning, and she hadn't even started drinking yet!