AN: Good morning all you lovely people! (Or good evening or afternoon, whenever you're reading this...) Thank you for all your lovely comments and compliments - I'd give you all hugs if I could. Even the smallest comments are incredibly encouraging :) And here is Chapter 3!
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Chapter 3 – Of Horses and Human Nature
"What do you mean you've never ridden a horse!?" Greer exclaimed. Her sentiments were shared by the other three girls sitting at the inn's dining table with her and Mary. The entire place was filled with music and laughter as the guests ate the feast that the inn was giving.
Greer's actual name was also Mary, as was every girl at that table, but to avoid confusion they had all taken nicknames, chosen from words in a ballad that a strangely-accented troubadour had sung when they were all seven: Aylee, Greer, Kenna, and Lola. Peddler's-daughter-Mary had kept her name, since she was the eldest of the five. They had always been fast friends, and had kept up correspondence with their travelling friend when she was in Paris. It was Kenna's father who owned the inn where Mary was staying.
"I just never found the need to. We've always travelled by carriage, with Frisson the horse pulling it ahead of us. Besides, Papa is so protective of me, I doubt he'd ever let me try even if I wanted to."
"Right, let's go then," Lola said, grabbing Mary's hand and pulling her from the inn's kitchen towards the stables. "The least we can do is show you how to get onto the horse."
"It can't be that difficult," Mary said, slightly embarrassed as they entered the stable. "I've seen people do it all the time."
They approached a horse that the stable boy had just finished saddling for one of the guests. "Alright then," Kenna said, "show us how it's done."
The horse suddenly seemed far too tall and intimidating to Mary. Nevertheless, she was determined to show her friends just how easy it would be. She brought a foot up to the stirrup, intending to push herself up. Her skirts, however, thought differently, and her foot ended up falling short. With a puff of straw, she fell into a haystack beside the horse
The four onlookers were giggling as they helped Mary out of the hay. She gave them a cross look before a smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "It's not funny!" she tried to protest, but soon they were all holding their sides with uncontrollable laughter, while trying to pick the hay out of her hair and dress.
"This time," Lola said, "we'll help you, and I'm fairly certain it'll turn out better. Now, if he's any gentleman at all, he'll offer you his hand. Greer, if you would."
"Why do I have to be the man?" she complained.
"You're probably the strongest out of us all. Besides, it's all to help Mary, so no fretting about it."
Greer glared at Lola, but complied and held her hand out to Mary. Mary took it, then looked to her comrades for the next instructions.
"Hold your skirts away from your feet in the other hand," Aylee offered.
"You should probably wear something lighter tomorrow, so it's not as heavy to manoeuvre," Kenna added.
"But wear a heavy cloak," Lola said. "You'll get really cold, especially if you get up to anything more than a trot."
"Put your left foot into the stirrup," Greer guided, and Mary did so. "And now push up on my hand and the stirrup, and swing your right leg over."
This time Mary succeeded, and sat proudly in the saddle. The girls all applauded her.
"You're a natural!" Lola said, and they all laughed good-naturedly.
"My little girl's all grown up, eh?" a voice said from the darkening stable doors, and all of the girls quickly fell silent.
Mary almost fell out of the saddle again, causing her father to rush over to her side and put a stabling hand on her arm. "Papa! I didn't see you there. I'm sorry..."
"No worries, my dear. I'm glad to see I'm leaving you in good hands. The road is no place for a good woman, and that is what you are now. These girls will take good care of you."
"We definitely will, sir!" Greer said enthusiastically, making the old peddler laugh.
He patted his daughter's arm and smiled sadly. "I'm glad."
And with that, Mary's father left the stables and walked out of sight.
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"Their behaviour is horrendously blasphemous, Henry," an irate Catherine was saying to her husband at the dinner table at the Valois manor on the other side of town. The five children all had their heads bowed at their meals, eating as quietly as possible. The servants, too, seemed to be avoiding the dining room to save their hides from that fiery woman. "And if that unfortunately lazy Father in that pitiful chapel won't do anything about it, then I'll have to."
"He's a good man," Henry said in a calm voice, though he knew Catherine would not listen to him, "and he does good work for the townspeople."
"Do you call dancing to flighty, untempered music 'good'?" Catherine's voice was rising, and poor little Margaret looked like she was trying to hold back tears. "Do you call the worship of pagan gods 'good'? Do you call the evasion of moral practices 'good'!?" Henry was looking at his wife with pursed lips, as if he wanted to disagree, but held his tongue. "Clearly the devil has been leading these people down the wrong path for far too long. They face eternal damnation, Henry, and by the Lord's will we have been sent here to help them."
Henry muttered something that sounded like, "If His Majesty can be called God," but Catherine ignored him.
"I don't know how I could have missed it for nearly two years, but it's time for a change or two around here. I promise you that by the end of this year, the people of this town will be on the Way of Righteousness again. The older ones may be too far gone already, but the children can still learn. I will not let them be eternally damned."
She went quiet then, and seemed to be mulling something over in her mind. A brave servant took the opportunity to clear the plates and serve the second course.
The meal was completed in silence, except for Claude's timid question, "Has there been any news from Beth?" and her mother's curt "No" in response, her mind clearly on something else.
Francis and Sebastian shared a look across the table. They both felt sorry for Claude. She was missing her elder sister, Elisabeth, who had been married off the year prior to an older gentleman, to whom Papa had owed many debts, who had already had two wives before her. Surprisingly, they seemed quite happy together and all the letters that had came back since were filled with how spoiled and happy Elisabeth was.
But Claude, who had grown up under Elisabeth's wing, did not care how her sister was enjoying herself. And she did not care that her mother's attention was on her now more than ever, even though she did thrive under it. She had lost her best friend and confidant, and Francis and Sebastian both understood her pain. They, too, had shared a nursery and childhood adventures. It was not an easy thing to let go of those ties.
The dinner ended when Catherine left the table hurriedly. Henry looked alarmed, and followed her, running slightly to keep up. The children scoffed their food down quickly, relieved at the sudden lifting of pressure with their parents' departure and promise of escape.
"Who's up for some scary stories?" Sebastian asked as they went to the drawing room. He always seemed to have a story to tell, and his siblings, especially Charles and Margaret, adored him for it. "I heard the best story last night from a mysterious traveller who was passing through the town..."
"But Maman says that those stories are evil, Bash," Claude said, looking genuinely frightened at the thought.
"Ah, but this is not one of those stories, dear Claudette," Sebastian explained as they settled around the fireplace. He remained standing, ominously by the fire, while they each chose chairs, or sat on the rug. "This is a story of a good, Christian man, who was just trying to do his good Christian duty. Brothers and sisters of mine, have you ever heard of Saint Lawrence?"
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AN: Saint Lawrence, if you don't know, was a clergyman (his exact title escapes me...) who is said to have been roasted on a spit for committing some kind of blasphemous crime. It's an interesting story! Also, I myself do not know how to ride a horse, so I did my very best description of what I imagine riding a horse to be like. If there is anyone out there who does actually know and might have been offended by anything I said, feel free to correct me!
I promise the next chapter will be all about Mary, Francis, and Bash. Bash is still illegitimate, I swear, and it'll all be explained in the next chapter. At this point, I'm amazed that I've managed to get very nearly all the children who survived infancy into the story, except for Henry Jr., who I might just omit for the sake of not having two Henries to deal with... Anyway, that's me done drabbling on! If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to leave a comment or PM, and I'll get back to you post-haste!
Until next time, mes amis, adieu!