Chapter Three: Celebration at the de Barbarac Manor
At the de Barbarac Manor, Louise and Paulette were hard at work, preparing supper for the Baroness and her two daughters. They kept glancing at the door, wondering if Danielle would ever come back. Both women were quite startled when Gustave burst into the kitchen, panting for breath.
In a low voice, he asked, "I've been sent by Danielle. Before you say anything, has the Baroness found the dress or shoes?"
Louise proudly stated "That hag will never find them, not where I've hidden them!" She smiled triumphantly as if she'd won the last victory of a war. "Besides, the Baroness would consider it too filthy and below her to look where I've placed it. Heaven forbid she should dirty herself by walking through the servants' quarters! Hmph!"
The sound of the Baroness screeching for her supper had Paulette rushing the supper to the awaiting family, trusting that Louise would tell her everything when supper was over.
"So they're in the servants's quarters?" Gustave inquired anxiously.
"They're safe in my chamber. I'll go get them this instant." Leaving Gustave standing in the kitchen, Louise ran up the stairs as fast as her old bones could carry her. Diving underneath her and Maurice's bed, she quickly moved the loose floorboard and pulled out the bundle of heavy wool she'd wrapped the dress and shoes in earlier. Standing up and then rushing back to Gustave, she thrust it into his arms. "Give this to her as quickly as you can. It can't stay here while the Baroness is tearing apart the house. While it may be beneath her to invade the Servants' quarters, it isn't beneath Marguerite."
As Louise was trying to push him towards the door, Gustave quickly stopped her and told her of the good news. "Danielle and the Prince are engaged; she's at the castle with him now. You mustn't let the Baroness find out anything at all, so once you've finished celebrating with Paulette and Maurice, never speak of it again until after the masque!"
Louise was overjoyed, and gave Gustave a tight hug, not realizing until the very last moment that her momentum was going to knock them into an old rickety chair. Even landing with a particularly loud crash could not quell Louise's joy.
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The de Ghents all jumped when the loud crash sounded abruptly from the kitchen. The Baroness was already irritated with the servants, especially since Paulette had told her that Louise was feeling ill, and would not be able to serve supper.
Rodmilla glared at Prudence, or was it Pricilla? "Go and see what that racket was! And make sure it doesn't happen again, or I shall dock your wages!"
Paulette nodded obediently and hurried towards the kitchen. The Baroness turned back to her daughters, and continued to prattle on about how Marguerite would dazzle the prince at the masque and become queen.
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When Paulette entered the kitchen, she saw Gustave helping Louise up, and the scattered remains of the broken chair.
"What happened in here?" She inquired.
Louise started weeping and told her the magnificent news, along with the warning of keeping it quiet and away from the ears of the Baroness and Marguerite. They asked Gustave about telling Jacqueline the news. He paused for a moment and thought.
"Danielle told me to tell only you, and the less people that know, the better."
Gustave left the happy women to their celebrating and headed home. 'I'll just go to the castle in the morning and give Danielle her things then. It's way too late to go now, and I will probably need to be well rested.'
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Heylo! I would just like to say that it is very early in the bloody morning and both Dragonwolf and I are EXTREMELY slap happy. twitchtwitch Did I forget something? … … … Ummm… Oh! The bloody disclaimer! I don't own Ever After, I'm just borrowing the characters and if anyone tries to sue me, well, it wouldn't do anything cuz I don't have any money, so it's a waste of time, right? Oo Dragonwolf would like to put this insert… bouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncybouncy
My insert… (methinks Dragonwolf needs a straight jacket. Teehee (.;))
Dragonwolf77: "I'm not actually this insane normally…or abnormally as some might look at it, but I've had entirely too little sleep…hmmm…I need cookies and more coffee…"
Laters!
Loreli F. S.
