I found this chapter really hard to write. I didn't realise how many loose ends I had created for myself to knot together!
I only own Amorette.
When Franc surprised Amorette in the little village near her house in Provins, she wasn't sure what to make of the visit. At first she was wary of his intentions but he seemed jovial and friendly. She invited him back to her home to dine as was customary and he gratefully obliged, taking her basket from her and carrying it himself as they meandered their way out into the country. Franc was greatly changed, that much was clear. He was no longer inept and helplessly sweet. Amorette suspected that one or two women had crossed his path and hardened his resolve a bit.
He was much broader in stature than she remembered and held himself like a man should. The blond shock of hair was still there but it was swept back behind one ear and there seemed so much life about him. Amorette was glad to see such a change in her old friend. Amorette had always worried for his sensibility after she refused him a few years ago but there was little chance of him still suffering over it. No, he was worldly now with a different outlook on life altogether. Amorette was sure he had set his sights on someone far prettier and grander than herself.
They passed the evening contentedly by sharing a meal and stories. They played cards after a while and Amorette could see an improvement in his skills there too. He had probably accompanied Buckingham on one of his many trips around Christendom and had his eyes opened. As a young boy Franc was always left behind when Buckingham and his friends went off on their excursions but now Franc was able to tell her tales of all of their exploits because he had been thoroughly involved. Amorette was pleased for him. Strangely, she thought him a far better catch now. He was not so much a repetitive product of his father's upbringing. There were still the odd topic of politics or religion that would still cause confusion or boredom but on the whole Franc was more tolerable now.
When the time came for Franc to leave he said his amiable goodbyes and marched in the direction of her stables. Amorette released a breath she didn't know she had been holding and turned away from the front door. The next time the two might happen upon each other, chances were that Franc would be married and would no longer have any romantic interests towards her. She still saw a little glint in his eyes that had her feeling wary but he seemed to have been better schooled to control such urges.
Just as she placed a foot on the bottom stair the door swung open again with a gentle thud. Franc rushed towards her, paid no heed to her protests and grabbed one of her hands in his. Dropping to one knee he gazed up at her intently. "Tell me Cometess, what is it I am to do to secure your love and I will readily do it?"
Amorette tried to pull her hand out of his but he held fast, his worry of her imminent refusal very visible. "Franc we discussed this once before and my feelings have not changed. I am flattered that you should choose to ask me once, but twice? I do appreciate the admiration you have shown me but really? Did you expect me to accept this time when nothing has changed between us?"
Franc still held on tightly to Amorette's hand and she gave up trying to fight his grip. The first time he had asked, he had looked downright disappointed and ashamed when she had refused him but now he looked incensed. He tightened his grip on her hand slightly and pulled her behind him into the parlour. Closing the door behind them, he finally let go of her hand. "Mademoiselle is this some kind of trick? Are you and your father laughing at me behind my back? He tells me repeatedly that you and I should be wed and that I should endeavour to win your favour. Then when I come to you and bare my soul you could not refuse my offer any quicker!"
Amorette turned away from Franc as she felt her patience for her old friend diminish slightly. "Franc I have no contact with my father. He wishes for me to marry someone of his choosing because then my money and lands would be in his control. Don't you see what he's doing? I will not do you the discredit of saying that you wish to marry me only for my money but if that were the case you would not see a penny of it anyway because my father would find a way to wheedle it out of you!"
Franc seemed confused as he leaned against the back of the couch. "So you won't marry me because you don't like the fact that I have connections to your father? What a lame excuse if I may say so Mademoiselle! I don't give a damn about your relationship with your father because this is about you and me!" With that he quickly stood to his full height and took a few steps forward but Amorette raised both hands, ready to push him away. He stopped when he saw her stance and seemed to recover himself.
"Yes Franc that is my lame excuse. It's all I have and it will have to be enough. I don't believe a woman need offer a man any more than her disinterest as a valid reason for refusing his proposal but I have given far more than that! In the event of marrying someone I would need to trust that man implicitly with my money and lands. Whilst I do not believe that you would deliberately give over my assets to my father I do believe that he would have ways of manipulating you into doing so. I've no more to say on the matter Franc! If you wish to remain a friend of mine I implore you to leave my home now. If you don't, I shall have to call the local magistrate to forcibly remove you and I think that really would tarnish our companionship forever don't you?"
Amorette threw open the door and stood with her hands upon her hips. Her chest heaved as she tried to fight the anger boiling within her. She knew by the look on Franc's face that he was going to admit defeat. Without a goodbye or even a glance he left the room and a few seconds later Amorette heard the front door slam ominously. She let herself sink into a nearby chair as she started to cry.
"Yes you did!" Franc cried. "Just then. You said that your attacker wore a musketeer's uniform."
Amorette knew that her mind was all over the place, but the fact about the musketeer's uniform was something that she had deliberately chosen not to voice to Franc, so how did he know about it? Amorette tried to shuffle away from him along the narrow stone wall she was sitting on but he grabbed her upper arm in a vice like grip. Amorette tried yet again to jerk away but it was no use. She slowly brought her eyes up to meet Franc's and what she saw there had her recoiling in fear. There was only one thing for it, and Amorette couldn't help the question that sprang to her lips in that moment. "Franc those bath oils that you gave me as a gift for my birthday, did you put something in it?" He didn't answer the question. Instead a small wicked smile started to grow upon his face until it reached his eyes. "Oh god Franc what have you done?"
A group of sailors were disembarking their ship for the last time. They crossed the gangplank and began to swarm around their little spot on the Quay. Franc roughly pulled Amorette to her feet and dragged her along with him into one of the bustling streets. Amorette didn't care how much it was going to hurt her arm to pull away from Franc because once she did; it would be ever so simple to loose herself in the crowds. She jogged along beside him for a few moments as she tried to keep up and saw her chance when a cart came rattling down the cobbled street in the other direction. Amorette yanked her arm free and dived towards the other side of the street just as the cart passed. Amorette had underestimated Franc's reactions massively. He dived after her and caught her arm again. This time Amorette knew there would be no escape as she felt the barrel of a pistol pressing into the small of her back. "I have more than one shot with me Cometess. Rest assured if you attempt to distance yourself from me again you will not be the only wounded party today."
Amorette shuddered as his breath tickled the back of her neck. She glanced around her at the haphazard market stalls and their patrons. A gaggle of young grisettes were laughing euphorically just ahead of them and a mother walked hand in hand with her little son. Amorette didn't move an inch. She simply waited until Franc realised that they were blocking the street and pushed her forward. They walked out into the main market square where everyone was too preoccupied to notice her frightened face. Sick of being prodded and pushed Amorette halted where she stood and turned back to look at Franc before he could walk into her. "Franc shouldn't we go somewhere quiet and talk?" she asked as people swarmed around them.
"What, so that you can run from me as soon as you get the chance? I don't think so!" Franc pulled her behind a nearby stall so that they weren't being jostled by people but made sure that he was still able to survey the nearby area carefully.
"Franc won't you tell me what all of this is about?" Amorette attempted to calm her voice as she spoke but really she was searching the streets before her for anyone that she knew. Although Franc still stood behind her she could feel the reluctance to talk radiating from him. Amorette knew it wasn't perhaps her smartest of moves but she found herself turning ever so slowly to face him. Gently she placed her hand upon his pistol and pushed it down. He obliged as he brought his eyes to meet hers and Amorette thought she might just be in with a chance of stopping all of this if she just listened to what he had to say.
"What is it always about?" He shrugged and his sarcastic tone grew more enhanced. "They say that cleanliness is next to Godliness and I happen to believe that is true. Did you really think I would stand back and watch as you flaunted yourself around those musketeers, the English Ambassador and even the Duke of Buckingham? The impurities of women like you need to be stamped out and prevented from developing again!" Amorette was starting to lose understanding of the conversation now. They were standing so closely together that Amorette's head was almost resting on Franc's shoulder. That was the one single reason that she glimpsed the musketeer standing right behind them. D'artagnan swiftly pressed a lone finger to his lips and Amorette wasn't foolish enough to do anything other than play along. Worried about the musketeer jumping into the path of Franc's gun she quickly glanced down towards the pistol and back up at Franc. She hoped D'artagnan caught the motion.
"Explain it to me Franc. Help me understand all of this. Tell me why you killed those women?" Amorette knew her best option was to keep Franc talking until D'artagnan thought of something. He was slowly retreating from where they stood now but Amorette forced herself to look away from him. She had to keep focused on Franc and hope that he didn't do anything Rash. Turning them around a little so that neither of them had D'artagnan in their eye line Amorette gently gripped Franc's arm. She forced down the urge to run as far away as she could from him and tried to keep her voice gentle and steady. "You think that those women were unclean Franc? Why?"
Franc glanced down at her hand that was gently gripping his arm and back up at her. For a few seconds he seemed to be weighing up their options before he sighed. "Unclean, impure, promiscuous and dangerous. I watch you all you know, flirting and scheming to lure men to your beds as if you were in a field picking daisies! One by one I had to warn them, but still they carried on. Odette and Karlotta were on their way to meet their suitor when they met their deaths. They did not heed the warnings of the Tarot drawings and they paid for it with their lives."
The words washed over Amorette like scalding hot water. Somehow Franc knew about the Queen's liaison with Aramis. Why else would she have received one of those sketches? Then her mind fell upon Buckingham and she realised that even if now was certainly not the right time, she had to defend her own sex. Perhaps if she had known about the four musketeers and their captain standing just a few feet away she would have kept her thoughts to herself, but something within Franc's countenance told Amorette that he didn't want to let her out of this alive. "I understand what you are trying to tell me Franc. But there is something that I wish for you to think of before we go any further. We both know a man who encourages such behaviour in women, creates it almost. Buckingham is a scoundrel of the highest calibre who shares his bed with a different woman every night! I should know; I've been lodging with him for a number of months now. Perhaps you should think on the fact that most women do not start out that way. They fall in love and then they are mistreated by the one they love. It begins a downward spiral into searching again for the same kind of love elsewhere. We've all loved someone who didn't love us back Franc! I'm sorry but I'm going to have to sorely disagree with you. A woman who makes her own choices in regards to her love and happiness is not unclean or impure. As long as she is fully aware of the world around her, she is only strong and decisive. Actually I think those women were to be applauded for being politically outspoken and for using their bodies as they wished to."
The barrel of the pistol pressed into her stomach this time. In Franc's eyes she saw anger now and knew that what she had said would never have talked him out of his evil thoughts. "Is that why you kissed Athos' friend? He wouldn't love you back so you used his friend?"
Franc had seen the kiss that she and Aramis had shared all those weeks ago in Chartres when he had come to meet them and Amorette found that she wasn't overly surprised. "Aramis is my friend Franc, as you are. We've both been left rather bereft of love and we thought it made sense to try. We get along well, so I suppose we needed to see if there was that spark. There wasn't though. But that doesn't make him or me a bad person. Athos has no claim over me and nor I over him. Why may I not kiss his friend if said friend is also willing. I may do as I wish because I am a free being who independently exerts her own will. I am not a dog or a mule to be chained and mistreated. I view all women the same way I view myself Franc."
She watched Franc's nostrils flare. "You tried with Aramis who you call friend but you would not try with me! I have always been there, offering myself to you as the best of matches. Three times now I have opened my heart to you and have received only scorn or degradation in return. Do you know how humiliating it is for a man to be refused by his chosen? Whilst you may think you are empowered and independent, really you are only living out the fantasies of a teenage girl who reads too many darn romance novels and poetry. You think it makes you attractive, to be so sure of your own feelings but in doing so you damage the reputation of the men around you! Besides, it all amounted to nothing for you anyway. Everyone has seen you follow Athos around as if he somehow holds the key to eternal life. He never will give you the love that you desire, and he doesn't deserve the affection and high regard you hold him in!"
The penny dropped. Amorette felt the lioness inside her chest lift her head and begin to roar. "That's what this is all about isn't it? I wouldn't marry you and you're upset about it. all of those other women, every single one who received one of those sketches had spurned or rejected you in some way or other! The bath oils were all gifts from you to us all and we never saw it coming! My guess is Buckingham threw you into their paths in an attempt to help you and somehow you have become this monster!"
Franc's hand clenched around Amorette's throat firmly. "I'm no monster! It is you Amorette who is the monster!
All at once Amorette saw movement out of the corner of her eyes and a hat that was all too familiar floated into view. She couldn't shake the thought that she had made the same mistake the night before though and was ashamed that she had foolishly made the same mistake again. In her moments of need she ultimately wanted Athos near and her sub-conscious mind was trying to trick her into seeing him. "You knew that I would think that you were Athos last night. It was all planned wasn't it! Were you planning it all from the moment you came back to Paris? You stole my book of poetry months ago from Buckingham's rooms and you slipped through those tunnels last night and into my room to take me! That's why we went to Buckingham's rooms isn't it? You wanted to leave the book back where I'd find it!"
A flicker of Franc's eyes told Amorette there was yet more to this story to be discovered. He sighed playfully and removed his hand from her throat to curl a loose tendril of her hair around his fingers. You know Amorette, you were the one woman I thought pure. I placed you upon a pedestal and kept you there even when all of the signs were staring me in the face. Then you started to meddle. You came to me about Iseult asking all those questions and forcing your way into other people's affairs that I realised you were just like the rest of them. So desperate to climb your way to love that you had forgotten those who you kicked on your way up. I had to take action. It was simple enough to procure the information from Buckingham. He didn't speak of the tunnel to anyone but I found his secret stash of the Queen's letters from all those years ago. After that, I took your book purely to see if you'd notice. It came in handy after all."
Amorette let a gasp escape her throat as it dawned on her just what his words meant. "Iseult didn't die naturally did she Franc? You killed her! My cousin said there were two messengers, but I only employed one. I thought it odd at the time but in all the commotion I let it slip my mind. You told me she was frightened of someone and I should have realised what that meant. She was frightened of you. You sought her out but I asked questions before you could have your way with her so you killed her before I could make contact and learn all of your secrets."
Porthos grabbed a fistful of Aramis' doublet to stop him storming into Franc's path. "Why are we just sitting here!" cried the marksman. "If we don't step in Amorette is going to end up like the rest of those women!"
"We wait because he won't do it here. He will slip up or Mademoiselle will find a loophole." Athos' expression was impassive, but they could all see the tight grip he held upon the butt of his pistol. Franc wasn't going to get the chance to make another move.
When he nodded ever so gently he confirmed his guilt and Amorette jerked away from his touch. He looked pained and he turned to look around him. Up and down the street he glanced and Amorette saw his gaze linger on a young family just up ahead. He was fingering the catch of his pistol and Amorette knew that she had to do something fast before his destructive streak ran wild in the market square. She braved the one question that she knew would pain her the most. "What is it exactly that you want from me Franc; what do I have to do to make you see that I've done nothing wrong? Can't you just stop all this and we can discuss what it is you need from me?"
Franc stared at her, mouth agape for a few moments before laying a heavy gaze upon her. "What I need of you Madam? I needed you ten years ago when I wanted you for my wife. Do you really think it's that easy to forget the pain you caused? I do not see any way you could possibly make it up to me now. We will go somewhere until it's dark and then we will continue where we left off last night."
Amorette almost felt all of her resolve waver when a thought occurred to her. D'artagnan was bound to be back by now and even if he wasn't, Amorette needed to get Franc off the streets before someone else got hurt. "Would you let me make it up to you Franc? I know now that you've always had a care for me and I've neglected all thoughts of us ever finding a way together but won't you ask me once more to marry you. Let's do what you've always wanted. We can marry and go away somewhere and no one ever has to know about any of this."
Franc snorted dismissively. "You'd do anything to save your own life wouldn't you?" Amorette forced herself to stare into his eyes longingly even though the thought of what she was doing was making her feel physically sick. She watched as his disbelieving expression slowly faded and was replaced by sheer determination. "If we are married you will obey me in each and every which way, do you understand me. I will not tolerate disobedience and discontent. You will be my wife in every way. There will be no more talk of independency and freedom. You will do what I say when I say it. You will leave Paris and all of your friends behind. You will not utter another word about all that has occurred here!"
A bubble of fear was steadily growing in Amorette's stomach, but not for what would happen if all of this went wrong. She feared being married to a man so bent on destroying her. Despite all of this she nodded solemnly.
"What the hell is she doing?" Porthos growled.
Athos opened his mouth to speak but his head was jerked back in the direction of Amorette and Franc when the lady let out a yelp. Franc had leaned in to kiss her and she pulled back, her hands flat against his chest as she tried to push him away. "Franc I have a condition."
Franc gripped Amorette's arms tightly as in incredulous look crossed his face. "Whatever it is, it's a no!"
"Please Franc just listen. I only want to choose where we marry!" Amorette pleaded with her eyes but she still wasn't sure whether her plan would work.
"Let me guess, you want to be married from your mother's home town and invite a plethora of guests? So that Athos can swoop in?" Franc grabbed her and tried to drag her along, the pistol firmly pressed to her side.
"No, Franc please hear me out! Call it a wedding gift!" Her words at least had Franc stopping again to listen to what she had to say. Amorette knew of a church just outside the city walls and far enough away from the busy Paris streets that Franc would have to forgo his want of hurting anyone else but her. "There's a pretty little church just outside the city that I've always been fond of. It is quiet and peaceful there and no one will find us. If we cross here onto the Rue St Denis we can follow it to the city gates and beyond. Please Franc, spare me this one thing?" Amorette fluttered her eyelashes and used her old but trusted trick of gently laying her hands on the velvet sleeve of Franc's black doublet.
"She's a clever girl," Aramis muttered.
"How so?" asked Athos, his eyes still trained on the pair that were one market stall away from them.
Treville nodded his understanding to Aramis. "She knows that la Belisle doesn't know the streets like we do. He doesn't know his way about so they will cut a straight path to the church and it gets him off the streets before he hurts someone else. The Cometess knows we can get there first. She knows we know the Paris streets like the back of our hand. Porthos, D'artagnan; follow them just in case. The rest of us will take a short cut and beat them to it."
Porthos and D'artagnan nodded and moved off in pursuit of Franc and Amorette but a sharp whistle had them turning back to their friends. "If there's trouble don't forget, he's mine!" called Aramis with just a hint of malice in his voice. With that the two parties swiftly returned to the Paris streets.
Franc half dragged Amorette along the Rue St Denis. Many times she stumbled and almost fell when her ankle gave way but Franc's vice like grip on her upper arm kept her upright. Just as they came upon the city gates Franc pulled Amorette aside and she received another warning to obey him in behaving naturally as they crossed the city walls. Amorette knew it was because Red Guards and musketeers alike patrolled the walls but not a single part of her contemplated trying to escape or attract attention. Franc was still armed and there were still innocent people milling about. The crowds thinned as they crossed the tow bridge onto the Faubourg and ventured towards the church.
The impact of her foot upon the stone steps had Amorette wincing as pain shot through her ankle. She didn't make a sound though and the midday sun disappeared suddenly from above their heads and they were plunged into the relative gloom of the tiny church. They both stopped in the entranceway and took in their sombre surroundings. The air was stifling and oppressive and Amorette not for the first time wondered how priests or monks coped cooped up all day without fresh air or daylight. She turned her attention to Franc and noticed that he too was experiencing a feeling of contemplation in the holy place. At length though he dragged her into the room and they crossed the large flag-stones to where the pews sat in two separate rows. They were the only ones there and Amorette knew exactly what she was about to do when Franc's hand slipped from her arm and he walked a little ahead of her.
"I'm sorry that I lied to you Franc," she whispered into the gloom.
"It's alright Madam. Once we are married none of our past shall matter. I always did know in truth that you saw me as your match!" Franc had an expectant smile plastered over his face and Amorette wouldn't have been surprised if as soon as their vows were spoken he didn't throw her down onto the little floor of the church and try to bed her there and then.
Amorette shook her head, her feet coming to a complete stop beside the back pews. "That's not what I meant Franc." There was no one else here but her, and Amorette knew that she would rather die a thousand deaths than suffer being married to the man before her. A quick glance told her that Franc held his pistol loosely and his gaze searched about for a priest. "I'm sorry because I can't marry you!"
In that moment there was a sharp crack, but Franc's pistol didn't smoke. In fact the sound was not that of a musket firing, but of it hitting the stone floor. Aramis held his own pistol at point blank range against Franc's forehead and Athos stood off to the side a little. It had been him who had charged first from the little side room to knock the pistol from Franc's hand right at the opportune moment. Amorette felt her shoulders sag in disbelief and overwhelming relief.
The sun was high in the sky when Amorette finally looked up from where she sat. She was perched on the stone steps of the church and D'artagnan had just sat down beside her. "How did you know we would follow?" he asked gently.
Amorette shrugged. "I didn't. I just thought I should get him off the street in case anyone else got hurt. I don't think he would have given much thought to killing anyone else who happened to get in the way."
Treville appeared at her other side and D'artagnan stood to give Amorette a helping hand up. They stood and watched as the other three musketeers led Franc out of the church and down the steps. Franc was only given the chance to spare Amorette a scathing look over D'artagnan's shoulders as they marched him away. "They're taking him to the châtalet," Treville said as they also made their way down the steps. "There will be an investigation and he will be questioned, but with what you managed to get out of him Cometess and with all of us as witnesses his fate is pretty much sealed."
She moved to follow Treville but D'artagnan pulled her back with a light touch to her shoulder. "I should warn you. We all heard most of that conversation earlier. Athos knows about your kiss with Aramis." Amorette turned to look at the young musketeer and wasn't sure whether he was going to laugh at the awkwardness of her situation or tell her off for potentially becoming involved with Athos' friend.
Amorette feigned indifference and shrugged. "Why should I care what Athos does or doesn't hear D'artagnan. It's not like he cares enough to kiss me himself is it." D'artagnan shook his head knowingly at her and led her down the remaining steps.
Hours later, Amorette lay in bed with a headache that had been growing since she had arrived back at the palace. The sun had set an hour ago and she was desperate for sleep to claim her but it didn't. Claude lay beside her on the bed, a book lying on her chest. Amorette hadn't wanted to be alone but she had been too afraid to ask Constance to stay with her. She was surprised when Claude took it upon herself to stay at her side without having to be asked. Whilst Amorette liked Claude very much, there was something about the woman that Amorette had always been wary of. She knew that Claude was fickle at the best of times and that she always thoroughly put herself first but tonight there was something different in the air, some new unchartered territory.
"Strange that Franc didn't send me one of those Tarot things," Claude mused. "I'm not going to lie and say I've remained faithful to my husband so I actually expected one."
Amorette rolled her eyes as a chuckle almost escaped her lips. Claude did always have a knack for making everything about her. "Perhaps you weren't known to him Claude. Or maybe he intended to send you one but didn't get the chance. It seems he has been too occupied of late with how I've disappointed him."
"Don't say that! Think about what your life would have been if you had married that man! You would be but a shell of the woman you are now!" Just like my mother, Amorette thought as she contemplated Claude's words. "I know you don't approve of my taking lovers but I know you wouldn't kill me for it. I just don't understand it." Claude turned so that she lay on her side, facing Amorette.
Amorette smiled warmly at her friend. "I don't understand it either Claude. Franc wanted what he couldn't have and it angered him that women were making their own choices about their lives. I hate that you feel I don't approve Claude. I know I've been harsh at times but I just wanted you to make sure you were doing the right thing for yourself. In reality I look up to you immensely. You've taken a leap that I've never thought possible for myself. I suppose my feelings have prevented me from doing so but I'm starting to see now that life really is too short."
Claude turned again so that she lay facing the celling. "You've judged me for living my life a little too vicariously in the past Amorette but I want you to know something. Constance told me about what had happened of course, and when the musketeers walked you back into the palace earlier and I saw your face and the exhaustion and fear in it I went to my children and I held them close. Perhaps you were right. My life is mine for the living but I do need to ensure that my children are a part of that life."
Amorette rolled over so that she was on her side facing away from Claude and blew out the candle beside her. In the darkness behind her she felt around for Claude's hand and when she found it she squeezed tightly. She had been very wrong about Claude in many ways.
So there have been a few things that Amorette may have lied about, one being how she knew about that secret tunnel that led to the Queen's rooms. Is it simply because the Queen or Buckingham told her, or is there another more complicated reason? I'm going to clear all of that up in the next few chapters. There's also the inevitable moment with Athos that we've all been waiting for too!