The Runaway Royals - Part Sixteen
"Have you found Henry yet?" Danielle asked excitedly as Hélène entered the room. She longed to see her husband. To feel her face cupped in his palm, to run her fingers through his hair. This was the only way of being sure that she was still alive. The vision she had dreamed while she slept was so real to her. How did she know that this was not Heaven?
Hélène shook her head at Danielle's question. "I am sure he will not be long. He said he had to go and get something and Lord Grey has gone with him so I am sure they will come back soon." Hélène hated having to lie to her mistress, but she could not put her through the pain of worrying about Henry. It may yet turn out fine.
"Hélène could you please help me dress, I should like to sit at the window. It looks to be a beautiful day outside."
"Your Highness, I must ask you to reconsider, you are certainly not strong enough to leave your bed yet. I should remain in bed for at least another week if I were you."
"Oh don't speak such nonsense. I feel fine." And this was the truth. She felt as if she had just woken up from a particularly good sleep. She was rested and relaxed and, save for the headache which had gone within an hour of her waking, perfectly healthy. "I would like to write a letter to Jacqueline and I would like to do it at the desk at the window."
"As you wish Your High..." Danielle gave her a disapproving look. "I'm sorry, Danielle"
"That's better." She pushed the sheets aside and allowed Hélène to help her to her feet. "Exactly how long was I asleep for?" She asked as they made there way over to the dressing room. She had been acquainted with most of the particulars of the accident, but had no idea how long she had been asleep for. She may have not seen her henry in months and did not know it.
"I believe about sixteen hours."
"Sixteen hours! Is that all. I had expected that I was gone for at least a week. You'd gotten this worked up in sixteen hours. I should not believe if it if I did not know that you would never lie to me." Hélène suddenly felt a pang of guilt, for her deception over the Prince.
It took nearly two hours for Danielle to be ready to Hélène's satisfaction. Her meticulous eye for perfection had not been affected by the traumas of the past day although her skill was affected by having only one hand to work with. She gently washed Danielle's hair, ridding it of the matted blood, that so nearly killed her. She then proceeded to arrange her hair in braids. Then finally she helped her into a gold gown. She had returned the blue gown to the former Duchess's quarters, she did not want to see the Princess in that. After all it was to be her death shroud.
The two women then made there way back into the main chamber. Danielle seated herself by the window and Hélène took up a book by the unlit fire. They spent some time just sitting there in silence. Neither had there mind on what they were doing. Danielle wondered how long it would be before she could see Henry. Hélène was thinking the same thing to an extent, but curiously she was worrying more about harm coming to Steven. She could only attribute it to is being such a comfort to her in the past day. Suddenly there was a knock at the door which roused the two ladies from their day dreams. Hélène stood and went to open it. The Duc de Bordeaux was standing there. "I was wondering if I could have a brief audience with Her Royal Highness?" Hélène turned to ask her mistress, who simply nodded in agreement. She opened the door and Danielle stood to receive him.
"Your Highness, His Grace, the Duc de Bordeaux." The elderly man entered. They exchanged the customary bow and curtsey. "Danielle, if I am not needed here, I have some business with the doctor."
"Of course. Take as long as you need. I'm not going anywhere."
"Thank you." Hélène curtsied to her mistress and her host before quietly exiting the room.
"Please sit down Your Grace," Danielle said, motioning towards a table that had been set up for her meals. "Should I ring the bell for refreshments?"
"Oh no Your Highness. I do not want to take up so much of your time."
"Please Your Grace, to be honest I should be glad of some different company. For weeks now the company I have kept has been somewhat unvaried." She pulled the cord which would ring a bell in the kitchen and alert the staff to her. She then took a seat at the table opposite the Duke. "I have to thank you for your hospitality Your Grace," Danielle said. "I do not know what we should have done without your kindness. My husband and I shall be forever indebted to you. You not only took us in, but you did it not knowing that we were royalty. Hélène has relayed the particulars of the affair to me and you actions are indeed truly charitable."
"It did not take long for me to recognise the Prince. He still has that twinkle of mischief in his eye that he had when he was a boy. Just the same as his brother and his father when they were children. I am just glad you came to me when you did. It is such an honour to have you here under my roof. I must admit that I had heard of your marriage and was beginning to despair at myself for not having made the journey to Hautefort to congratulate you. Most improper of me I know, but now you have saved me a journey." Danielle smiled. His frankness was refreshing after the stuffiness of court.
"It also saved me the danger of having to travel with this." He pulled a box from his robes and unveiled a beautiful diamond and sapphire necklace. "This is my wedding gift to you Your Highness." Danielle gasped. It was divine. "It belonged to my late wife, Emmeline. It had been her dearest wish to give it to the next Duchess, her son's wife. But as you may know we were blessed with sons. The Prince Henry, I believe, was the closest thing she ever had to a boy of her own. Therefore as his wife, I believe that you should have this."
"My lord, this is beyond generosity. Please do not feel obliged to make such an elaborate gesture, I know how you must cherish these things of your wife's."
"I do feel obliged. I feel as if I am fulfilling one of her wishes by giving this to you. I am sure she would have approved of my actions." Danielle could not speak. She simply nodded appreciatively at his kindness. "You remind me of her very much Your Highness." Danielle was touched at this. To liken her to the woman he shared his life with was the greatest compliment he could bestow.
"Thank you, your Grace. You do not know what that means to me."
"It is true. She was not much older than you are now when we married. Of course I was much older than she. Her father had been a wealthy tradesman in the area of Bordeaux and had supplied my first wife with silks for her gowns. I lost my first wife in childbirth when our daughter was born. I was very fond of her and felt a profound loss when she died. Our marriage had been arranged so there was no love between us, but we had mutual respect. We had been brought together in friendship over several years as she had miscarried several children before she became pregnant for the final time. Emmeline came to care for the child, Celine. She became a mother to my daughter and a year and a half after the death of Françoise, she became my wife. By that time I had developed feelings for the lady which I can only describe as passionate. It was the sort of love one dreams of as a youngster, but never believe is actually possible. I believe that she felt the same way about me. She was my soul mate. She made me believe that only deepest love should be an inducement to matrimony. That is the reason I was not in attendance when the Prince was to marry Gabriella of Spain. I knew that there could be no respect between them, let alone love."
Danielle was fascinated by this old man's story. It seemed that he had lived a lifetime of love, which everyone should be entitled to.
"We were married for twenty years, in which time she gave me another five beautiful daughters. Antoinette, Cecile, Juliette, Henriette and Marie. They brought me joy that I did not believe was possible. Whilst they lived here with the nanny, Emmeline and I were at court, but she pined for her children. In the end she could bear to be away from them no longer. The only thing keeping her at Court was her affection for the eight year old prince and his little friend Hélène. She knew that her children had to come first. So we left, never to return."
"Tell me about Henry when he was little." Danielle said.
"Well he was a born rogue, like the rest of the Valois men. Always causing mischief, always being a tremendous pain to his nannies, but he was a handsome rogue. All he had to do was show those big blue eyes to a woman and she could not resist stuffing him full of sweets and playing with him. My wife especially. I would come to court to do business and she would come just to seek out Henry and Hélène. I cannot count the amount of times I caught her climbing up trees to retrieve lost balls and other such objects. The only times she ever enjoyed at court were when she was with those rambunctious pups."
"I can see that she was a wonderful woman."
"She was that Your Highness. When she returned to Bordeaux she would write to Henry and send gifts for him, but I believe that after she left is when he became close to his mother. I think she was glad that her leaving did something good for him. She did not see him again after leaving, but she thought of him a lot. She turned her attentions to her own children and taught them the virtues of charitable behaviour. Some of their closest playmates were peasant children from the town. They were always welcome here at the Chateau and she lavished affection on all of them. She taught many to read and write and many young ladies, who would never have learned anything became very accomplished thanks to dear Emmeline. She turned part of the north wing of the house into a school. It has fallen out of use now. Marie taught there for a while but she is at the English court now and there is nobody to carry on the tradition. The pupils who have passed through here live all over France now, some of the girls are wives to wealthy men, others are teachers to aristocratic children. Many boys became tradesmen and men of note. There are few whose lives have not been changed for the better because of her. Yes she was a wonderful woman."
"She sounds like the sort of woman, I could only dream of being like. For all the world I do not think I could be as good as her. But I shall try my best."
"And you will succeed my dear. I see Emmeline's vivacity in you. Her wit and determination live in your eyes. You will be a wonderful Queen my dear." Danielle blushed. This was a lovely old man.
Just then there was a knock at the door and a maid entered carrying a tray of cakes and drinks. She set them down on the table and quickly scuttled out, quite obviously intimidated by the presence of a Princess in the room. They each took a drink before the Duke continued.
"Now my dear would you like to hear about your husband when he chased my wife into a lake when he was just seven?" Danielle nodded eagerly, she could tell that she was going to have an entertaining afternoon.