Chapter Five: The Greatest Offense

Unfortunately, it took far longer than Henry would have liked for him to recover from his drunken stupor. By then, it was far too late in the day for him to go after Danielle. He was resolved not to keep her up to ungodly hours in the morning, figuring that perhaps, some rest and time would soften her heart a bit more before he went to her again.

When the morning of the ball arrived, Henry finished his last fittings, sort of listened to whatever his father was saying to him about propriety and preparations, and left the castle. It was midday so Henry hoped that the Baroness and her two biological daughters would be at the market, leaving Danielle by herself.

Sadly, when Henry rode through the gate, he was greeted by the sight of the Baroness and Marguerite. It appeared that they had just returned. For a second, Henry considered turning around in an instant. But he couldn't. He would have to brave the harpies in order to see Danielle.

"Baroness," Henry dismounted. "Marguerite, it is a pleasure to see you today."

The excitement on both their faces was almost comical. Surely, they didn't believe he was here for Marguerite.

"Your highness," Marguerite curtsied lowly. "The pleasure is always ours."

"To what," The Baroness added, "do we owe the momentous visit?"

Deciding that he was through with pretense, Henry answered honestly. "I am here to call upon Danielle de Barbarac."

The change was instantaneous.

"Danielle?" The Baroness swallowed.

"Danielle?!" Marguerite hissed.

Henry tilted his head. "Yes, Danielle. We have… an understanding of sorts."

"Danielle?!" Marguerite shrieked. "An understanding?! Whatever in God's name do you mean?!"

"Marguerite dear," The Baroness chided. "Go inside for a moment while I speak to the prince."

With an indigent huff, Marguerite stomped inside the manor and slammed the door shut. Waiting a few moments more for her to be out of hearing range, the Baroness looked at Henry with false confusion.

"Your highness, I can assure you that there is no one by the name of Danielle de Barbarac in the household. Now, we have a girl by the name of Danielle, but she is a bastard child of one of the servants. She bears no title whatsoever. If your majesty has come to believe that she does, it is only through lies."

Henry clenched his fists at the blatant slandering of Danielle's name. However, this was not the hill he wanted to fall upon. Right now, the most important thing was reaching Danielle.

"Nevertheless Baroness, it is imperative that I see her," Henry stated.

"Oh," The Baroness appeared shocked. "Well, I am sorry to say your highness that Danielle has run away."

"Run away?" Henry's brow furrowed.

"Yes, yesterday in fact." The Baroness continued. "You see, there was a disagreement in the household, and Danielle, ever the ill-mannered servant lashed out and nearly struck Marguerite. Now whatever it is that she told you about herself, your highness must also realize that Danielle has the temper of a drunken man. I cannot allow such a thing to go unpunished in my household, so I locked her in her room. Later, when I went to let her out, she was gone. She seemed to have climbed out of the window. Many apologies your majesty."

Henry was well aware that the Baroness' story did not make sense. Did he believe that Danielle had a temper? Absolutely, however, she would not have struck at someone for the sake of hitting them. Her ire was warranted. He also knew that Danielle loved the manor. It was her father's and judging by the way she spoke of him; she would not have simply left. Still, he was not going to get any honest answers from the Baroness.

He was going to have to conduct his own investigation.

"I see." Henry grabbed the saddle of his horse and hoisted himself up. "Then I am sorry to disturb you."

"Your grace!" The Baroness interjected as Henry was about to ride off. "Is there not… any other reason you've come to our humble abode?"

Henry smiled. "Not at the moment."

He then rode out of the manner's gardens. However, he circled round back, remembering that Danielle had told him of an obscure servant's entrance near the orchard where they had first met. Tying his horse to the tree, Henry picked up an apple and took a bite of it before entering the garden from the back. He was quiet when he approached the manner and he heard Marguerite nearly screaming while cursing from inside.

"Mother how could she!" Marguerite whined. "How could that spineless, idiotic wench ever capture the attention of the prince!"

"Hush now Marguerite!" The baroness scolded. "I'm sure it is a passing fancy. You understand that men, especially royal men often have needs. Needs that cannot always be filled by noble women. Danielle probably presented herself to the prince as a harlot. I'm sure once he realizes he will never find her, he shall never pay her another thought."

Marguerite nodded. "It still irks me."

"I know my darling, but that is the way of the world." The Baroness said icily. "Now that we have gotten that whole misunderstanding cleared up, we must prepare you for the ball tonight. To the washroom!"

"Yes, mother." Marguerite complied.

Henry watched the two ascend the stairs. Having come no closer to finding out where Danielle was, Henry was tempted to leave and search elsewhere. Although… he wouldn't really know where to start. He was saved though, by a quiet whistle from across the garden. He looked over to find the other sister, Jaqueline if he could remember correctly. She motioned for him to come closer, keeping her head down to avoid being seen by the women upstairs.

Taking small steps and avoiding any twigs, Henry crossed the garden without being caught. Once he was standing in front of Jaqueline, he noticed that the girl looked like she hadn't slept all night.

"Your highness, it's horrible!" She burst into tears.

Not knowing quite what to do at the sight of a crying woman, Henry could only stand awkwardly.

"Err… What is?" He managed to say.

"What they've done," Jaqueline said through her sniffles.

Suddenly, a sense of urgency overcame Henry as he began to understand what Jaqueline was referring to. "What they've done to Danielle?" He said hoarsely.

"Yes, your highness." Jaqueline cried. "They sold her to Monsieur le Pieu, yesterday evening!"

Henry felt his stomach turn. "Sold her?"

"Yes! Oh, it was too cruel!" Jaqueline exclaimed. "Especially after everything they did to her! I couldn't even sleep last night."

"What... What—" Henry couldn't even manage another word.

"Your majesty you must go at once! Danielle is in no shape to be there. I fear she is gravely injured and ill."

"How—"

"You must go!" Jaqueline insisted.

Henry swallowed before nodding. Clearly, the time for answers could come later. Right now, he needed to gather his men and go after Danielle.

"Thank you," he said somberly to Jaqueline.

"Please save her, your highness," She answered. "She doesn't deserve any of this."

By the time she had finished, Henry had already slipped out of the garden. He reached the orchard and hopped on his horse. Desperately, he rode back to the castle. Once he arrived, he called for Laurent and a few others to accompany him. He was on his way out when he heard his father shout for him.

"Henry!"

"Not now father," Henry didn't even bother looking back as he mounted his horse.

"Henry! You cannot leave now! The ball is within a few hours!" His father ran or rather hobbled into the courtyard.

"Father!" Henry steadied his horse. "The woman I am going to marry is in peril danger. What use even is the ball?"

Ever flustered, as usual, his father reprimanded, "Henry! I won't stand for any more tomfoolery! Come down at once and return to the palace!"

Henry sighed. "Father, if you ever once believed in me, then I beg of you, do so once again. I know I have disappointed you of late, I recognize that. But please…" he pleaded.

The king frowned before giving a long exhale. "… Then be quick my son. I will try to hold off the nobles as long as I can."

Henry nearly beamed. "Thank you, father, I shall try to be back as quickly as possible."

"God speed, my son." The king nodded.

With that, Henry was off, riding as fast as his horse would allow. He would find and rescue Danielle, of that, he was sure.

When Danielle came too, she was surprised to feel marginally better than when she had first blacked out. Her eyes opened and she found herself in a decent room, covered in furs. She sat up slowly, massaging the knot on the back of her head. It was then she realized that her wounds had been properly dressed and the once stinging sensation had devolved into a dull ache. She stood up to find that she was wearing a particularly fine dress.

Then, the memories began to come back to her.

Her whole body shivered as she recognized where she was. Her stepmother, after declaring her hatred of her, had sold her to Monsieur le Pieu without a second thought. Her breath was uneven, and she started panicking. Glancing around the room, she spied the thick wooden door that separated her from the rest of the keep. She tried to open it but found it was locked.

Over to her right was a large window. The sky was dark, and Danielle sensed it would rain later. Looking down, it was a good ten to fifteen-foot drop to the ground. However, there was an innocent stack of hay at the base of her window. Should worse come to worst, Danielle knew that she could jump out and probably not break her neck. But first, she would wait to see just how things would play out with Monsieur le Pieu. Maybe, though she admitted the idea was farfetched, she could convince him to let her go and Danielle could live the rest of her days as a peasant, free from the confines of society.

Breaking her out of her thoughts, the door opened, and Danielle moved away from the window. She didn't want her plan of escape to be known. Entering the room was Monsieur le Pieu himself. There was a smug cruel smile on his face and Danielle knew there would be no convincing this man of anything.

"So, you are awake then?" He said slowly.

Danielle swallowed, "Obviously."

Le Pieu frowned. "Surely, you must realize that we are beyond the point of insolence. You are my servant now… though you need not be for long." He stepped forward. "This is just a taste of what I can offer you: dresses, a warm bed—I even had them take care of your wounds."

Danielle took three steps back and nearly tripped over the bed. "Monsieur, whatever my stepmother told you was a lie. I am a free woman, and she was wrong to sell me. I offer you my thanks for what little you have done for me but that is all you shall receive from me."

"Yes, the Baroness told me of your unfortunate circumstance. Fortunately for you, I do not really care." Le Pieu smirked taking another step forward. "You must know that after all, I have done for you, I deserve a bit more than thanks."

"Sir!" Danielle found herself trapped against the bed. "You must let me go!"

"I think not!" He snarled, reaching to grab Danielle's hand to pull her into an embrace.

However, Danielle would have none of it. She growled and as he pulled her close, she mustered the strongest kick she could right into his groin. The effect was instantaneous. He went cross-eyed as all the air escaped his lungs when he fell to his knees.

"You…" He wheezed. "You bitch!"

Danielle didn't bother to stick around for whatever else he might say. Deciding that it would be easier to leave through the window than to navigate through the unfamiliar keep, she jumped. Hay flew everywhere as she landed on the haystack, but she quickly rolled off of it. As she looked around the courtyard, she began to hear dogs barking and men shouting from inside.

She knew that she couldn't outrun them on foot. Luckily, the haystack was there because the stable was next to it. She grabbed a pitchfork and slammed it into the stable boy, knocking him out instantly before miraculously finding an already saddled horse. She had no shits to give about propriety at this point, so she tore off her outer garment and hopped onto the horse, riding away in less than three minutes.

"Yah!" She urged the horse faster.

By the time she galloped through the courtyard, she was beginning to see Le Pieu's men coming out of the castle, yelling at her and waving swords. She paid them no attention and left his awful castle behind. As she rode, she wasn't sure where she was going, she just knew that she had to get away, and get away quickly. She knew that they were going to follow her, and Danielle didn't want to think of the consequences of being caught again.

Danielle began thinking of people she could go to. The manor was out of the question. If she arrived back there, it would be less than an hour before she was back in the hands of Le Pieu. She might find refuge with Gustave for a bit, but it was too close to Le Pieu's residence. If she was thinking logically, there was only one person she could be safe with who was close by. But thanks to her own doing, he probably wanted nothing to do with her.

To her horror, she began to hear horses behind her. This drew her out of her thoughts as pure adrenalin kicked in. She was now riding for her life. She didn't even turn to look behind her, instead beating her legs against the side of the horse and easing on the reins.

"Please God," She whispered desperately.

The thundering of hooves grew closer, and Danielle dared to glance behind her. However, when she did, her horse was startled by a clap of thunder from the sky. The horse stood on its hind quarter's effectively throwing Danielle to the ground. She rolled into the fall leaves and started to cry as she watched her only hope of freedom run off into the distance. She curled in on herself, her chest heaving as she felt the tears pouring out of her.

She didn't notice the horses that had been chasing her stopping or one of the riders dismounting. Her head hurt and she was sobbing so hard, that her nose was running.

"—ielle"

"—anielle"

"Danielle!"

She was barely aware of the strong familiar arms wrapping around her. She looked up but through her tear-filled eyes, she could barely see. Yet the masculine scent of smoke and pine let her know who was holding her.

"—enry," She sobbed. "Henry!"

"My love!" He whispered into her ear. "It's alright. I have you."

He began rubbing soft circles into her back, the pain having been forgotten. She slowly let herself uncurl and tentatively put her arms around him, letting herself melt into his embrace.

"I'm so sorry Henry," She cried.

"It's alright my love," He murmured.

"I'm so sorry." She repeated.

They held each other for a while as Danielle gradually calmed down. She stopped heaving and her tears dried. Cautiously, she pulled away from Henry, finally able to look him in the eye. Instead of disgust or hatred as she might have feared, she found worry… and love. He carefully took her shaky hand and pressed it to his lips.

"I thought I lost you." He said slowly.

Danielle shook her head. "No… you could never lose me."

He gradually stood up, gently pulling her with him. It was then that Danielle realized they had an audience. Captain Laurent was standing off to the side with his hands on the reins of Henry's horse. There were a few other guards as well that Danielle didn't recognize. She turned red at the thought of so many men seeing her in such a disheveled state.

"It's okay," Henry said as if he was reading her thoughts.

"I—" She tried to say something, but the sky thundered again.

Henry pulled her a bit closer as if he was going to protect her from the very heavens themselves. "I do think it will rain."

Danielle gave a small smile. "You think?"

He smiled back at her, but it quickly turned into something serious. "Danielle, I know the past two days have been immensely trying for you. And I hate to ask this of you…" He trailed off.

"What?" Danielle was concerned.

"The ball is probably going on as we speak and… I am supposed to announce my future bride there. My father made it clear to me that he wishes for us to be present. If you are able, perhaps we can stop by the manor and get you appropriately dressed. However, if you cannot, I completely understand. My father will simply have to wait."

Danielle didn't say anything at first. She was tired, exhausted even, both emotionally and physically. But after all, Henry had done for her, despite what she had done to him, he deserved whatever she could do for him.

"Alright," She murmured.

"Are you sure?" Henry gently placed his hands on the tip of her chin, giving her no choice except to look him in the eye.

"Yes." She stated.

"You do know what this means, then?" He smiled. "You have agreed to be my bride."

Danielle couldn't help but reflect his grin with one of her own. "Yes, I suppose I have."

Henry embraced her once more, hugging her tightly. She ignored the urge to gasp in pain so she could hug him back. There would be time to redress her wounds later. For now, she needed to get back to the manner and change.

"Can you ride still?" Henry asked as he pulled her towards his horse.

Danielle nodded and excepted his hand to help her on the horse behind him. Once more, she allowed herself to just breathe, holding onto Henry as they galloped through the forest towards the manor. She let herself take in his scent and decided there was nothing on God's green earth that would ever be quite as wonderful. The ride back was too short in her opinion, and it was nearly night.

She was greeted by Paulette and Louise who also hugged and kissed her fervently. Once they thanked Henry immensely, they turned their attention to helping Danielle get ready for the ball.

When she realized that they had hidden her mother's dress and shoes away so that Marguerite would not have the satisfaction of wearing them, she was overjoyed. Louise and Paulette then helped her undress and bathe quickly. They gently scrubbed this time, careful to avoid the bruises in the making, and once again, cleaned and dressed her wounds carefully.

"The last thing we want," Paulette exclaimed jokingly, "Is blood on the beautiful white dress."

Louise carefully braided Danielle's hair while Paulette put powder on Danielle's face. "You're going to be the belle of the ball," Louise whispered.

Danielle closed her eyes, trying not to cry. "You two are the best mothers a girl could ask for." She said softly.

Now it was Paulette and Louise's turn to cry.

As they finished preparing Danielle, Paulette said, "You look just like your mother."

"Thank you," Danielle hugged both of them tightly before leaving the dressing room.

She walked downstairs to find Henry and Maurice talking by the fireplace. She didn't know what they were talking about but they both turned at the sound of her footsteps. She watched as Henry's eyes slowly widened and his mouth opened in shock. She could only hope that it was a good shock.

Maurice was the first one to say something. "You look like an angel Danielle."

She had reached the bottom of the stairs when Henry had come to his senses. He walked beside her and extended his arm to her. "My lady." He then leaned and whispered into her ear, "Now, you have committed the greatest offense—stealing my heart."

Danielle flushed at his words. "Your majesty—"

"Henry," He gently corrected her.

"Henry… of this offense, I am not the slightest bit apologetic." She smiled.