Disclaimer: The characters of Le Chevalier D'Eon do not belong to me.

Lia plays the coquette. Is it Lia and Durand fluff? Or…

Spring on a Swing

Durand could not believe his luck as he pushed her on the swing, sending her soaring through the air in an arc of bright colour. It was a beautiful spring day and the sky a lovely blue the colour of cornflowers. Her skirts were a brilliant red and her petticoats a primrose yellow. She laughed and he thought it the most musical sound he ever heard. They stumbled upon the old swing by chance during their picnic after Robespierre wandered off. It looks sturdy enough and Lia was all for indulging in a spot of childlike fun.

This was not like the Lia de Beaumont he knew. Lia was serious, cool and aloof, much like a cat. She was no giddy girl or weak damsel. This coquettish creature on the swing was so far removed that he thought it might be a dream. If it is so, please don't let it end…

He had tried on many occasions, since he first saw her at Versailles as the new attendant to the Queen, to charm her, win her heart. At first it was just a game to him. She was another lady-in-waiting, another potential conquest Sir Durand could chalk up to his name. Then she became more than an ordinary court lady. Lia became a knight of the Secret du Roi. They became colleagues and it became necessary for them to keep up their professional veneer. The Duc d'Broglie would not approve if the Secret du Roi's members fall into a romantic entanglement. The brunette had been taken to task on occasion for his romantic liaisons.

Durand would try, but each time, his attempts to woo her were firmly rebuffed. Durand had a bit of a reputation and his colleagues in the Secret du Roi knew it. Durand was never serious about the ladies he courted, until now. He was in love with Lia de Beaumont. Durand woefully admitted to himself he would probably be in her thrall for life.

"Swing me higher!" Lia called out with a girlish giggle. He obliged and she squealed in delight as she sailed through the air in a graceful arc, almost flying over the hedgerow before them.

A slipper flew off her foot. Durand grinned as more of her skirts flew up to reveal her slender calves and ankles. Whoever was standing on the other side of the hedgerow would probably have a quite a view. Suddenly worried, Durand tore his attention from Lia over to what lay beyond the waist-high hedgerows in the shadow of the elms. Was there someone on the stone bench under the elms? Some courting nobles liked the privacy the elm-bench offers. He could not be sure. Lia swung back towards him and he pushed her.

At the very height of her soaring arc, Lia ripped her shepherdess-styled hat off her hair and tossed it into the shadows of the elms with a laugh. Her wayward skirts and petticoats flew every other way to reveal a glimpse of her thigh. There was someone else watching them from there, Durand suspected. But who?

A cough announced that his suspicions were well-founded. Maximilien Robespierre stepped out from the elm-shadows into a pool of sunlight. In his hand was Lia's discarded slipper and Lia's beribboned hat sat rakishly upon his head. The expression on his face was a mixture of amusement and annoyance.

"Lia, you have my full attention now."

Durand sighed regretfully as Lia swung back towards him. He felt quite the dupe as she flew off the swing and ran past the hedgerows to the elms where her true love waited. On bent knee, Maximilien slipped the slipper back onto Lia's foot with utmost reverence. She reclaimed her hat with a smile and bestowed a chaste peck on Maximilien's cheek. The empty swing swayed gently in the spring breeze as the brunette knight watched the blond couple. Durand knew he has lost and wished them all the best.

Author's Notes:

This piece is inspired by a Rococo-style painting of a woman on a swing.

Yes, Lia can be very daring. She has to be given she probably broke a dozen rules for proper lady-like behaviour being a swordswoman and spy for the king.

Durand is the gooseberry here.