The Runaway Royals - Part Nineteen
"I'm sure he will be here soon," Danielle said quietly to Jacqueline. She had been staring out of the same window in the sitting room for over an hour. Danielle could only put it down to the expected arrival of a certain captain who had been sent for by Lord Grey yesterday. Danielle could not wait until they finally stopped avoiding their feelings for one another and got married. Helping to plan a wedding would certainly give her something to do. The Captain was obviously smitten with her and if this vigil was anything to go by, she felt the same way.
"Sorry," Jacqueline replied, not understanding what Danielle was saying.
"Captain Laurent, I am sure he has been located now and will be on his way back. He will be so pleased to see you."
"Oh yes, of course." The truth was, Jacqueline had not been thinking of Marc. She had not thought about him since he had tried to visit her and she refused to receive him. She suddenly felt a little bad about not even giving him a second thought. She had seen him leave the manor the previous day. He looked so dejected. It was true that in those two weeks between Henry and Danielle meeting and marrying it had seemed like they were growing close, but now all of that seemed so long ago, as if it had all been an illusion. What she had thought she felt then, she did not seem to feel any more.
Her thoughts had been geared towards the manor. With Crown backing there was so much she could do to the place to make it successful again. She could buy back much of the land sold by her mother and make the farm productive again. They could keep more than just the pig and perhaps she could open the stud farm which Monsieur de Barbarac had planned before his death. There were days when Jacqueline missed Auguste very much. She known him for maybe only a month when he died but she had liked his company and she was given the impression that he was fond of her. When he visited her mother before their marriage he had spent much time describing his manor to her, saying how friendly his own daughter was. He even confided his plans for a stud farm where he would breed the best horses in the province if not France. These were plans he had told nobody, not even Danielle. Now Jacqueline would love to do this, for his memory. And with the presence of a guard as competent as Captain Polignac, she had no fears for the safety of the manor or its inhabitants.
She looked around the room. It was a perfect picture. The candles had been lit for the evening and the room was sparkling with warmth from the people in it. The Queen was sitting at a desk writing a letter and her lady-in-waiting was doing her embroidery. The King was discussing politics with the Duke. Hélène and Lord Grey were engaged in a very intimate conversation which was being conducted very quietly, away from everyone else. But the most heart warming sight was Henry and Danielle, who had given up on getting a conversation out of Jacqueline and returned to her husband. They were sitting together on a chaise, Danielle leaning her head on his chest, and he was reading to her from an Italian book. It looked like Dante.
Jacqueline stood and walked over to Danielle. "I think I may go and take a turn about the gardens, there is still enough light outside and dinner will not be for another hour."
Henry put down his book and looked at her sternly. "Jacqueline you cannot expect me to permit my sister-in-law to go wandering about strange gardens alone at dusk. What sort of brother would I be if I allowed that?" Danielle was touched at her husband's protectiveness over her family.
"It will not start to get dark for quite a while yet and I would so like to get some air before dinner."
Danielle also liked it that Jacqueline was gaining more confidence. A few weeks ago she would never have had the courage to argue with the Prince's judgement, brother-in-law or not.
"Oh Henry what harm could it do. I don't think there are going to be Spanish invaders out there waiting to kidnap my family," Danielle said. Henry was still not convinced, but he thought it was best not to argue with Danielle.
"Very well, but I cannot let you go alone." He stood up and left the room. A few minutes later he returned with one of the guard who had accompanied them. "Jacqueline, if you are insisting on this walk, Captain Polignac will escort you."
The captain bowed to her and she lead the way. As they left the room, Jacqueline had to admit that she was not exactly displeased about Henry's choice of escort. She was curious about him. He was going to be at the manor and so they would be in close contact with each other, her curiosity was natural. He was also very pleasing to look at, she just hoped he was as charming as he was good looking. If he were she would certainly have no complaint with him being at the manor.
When in the gardens and walking though, she found that she had nothing to say to him. She wasn't sure if she was nervous of speaking to him, or if she simply had no conversation. They walked for some time before Captain Polignac saw the need to break the silence.
"These gardens were built for the Duke's late wife Emmeline," he said. "She loved to play with her children out here or to read. She was a great reader."
"You know the Duke's family," Jacqueline said, a little surprised. It was unusual for soldiers to be acquainted with nobility unless they enjoyed a very high status in the guard. As a captain without specific duty, there seemed to be no reason for him to consort with aristocracy.
"The Duke's second daughter Antoinette is married to my step-brother, the Marquis de Marseilles. He is my late step father's son."
"So you are of a noble family then?" Such inquisitiveness was not really proper, but Jacqueline was intrigued by him.
"I am the eldest son of the late Duc de Polignac." It took Jacqueline a moment to work out what he was telling her. She was astounded. If he was a duke, why was he serving as a guard? He seemed to read her mind.
"My father left me with a full compliment of highly competent staff to run the estates, I thought I would do my bit for my country, while I am still young."
"That is very commendable sir." Just then she realised how long they had been out there. "Dinner will be ready soon, I think we should return to the house."
"As you wish milady." He escorted her back to the chateau. As they entered he took his leave of her and went to take care of some business.
Inside she was greeted by a whole host of guards. In the middle of them was Captain Laurent.
"Milady Jacqueline," he said with some surprise on seeing her. "Have you been out walking?" Jacqueline nodded. "Alone?"
"No Captain Polignac escorted me." Then, as if by magic, that very man appeared behind her. A look of anger crossed Laurent's face. If Jacqueline did not know better she would say that she was jealous. She could tell that he was about to say something, but he was cut off by the gong for dinner.
The company of guards quickly dispersed leaving only Jacqueline and the Captains Laurent and Polignac. The royal family and their entourage soon emerged from their sitting room. Everyone got into their positions. The Duke had planned a very formal dinner in honour of the Princess's deliverance and so everything, and everyone had its place.
The King escorted Danielle in and Henry his mother. Then the Duke and the Queen's lady-in-waiting, followed by Jacqueline and Laurent and Hélène and Steven and finally Captain Polignac on his own. For guards to join in such occasions was rare, but Polignac and Steven were aristocracy in their own right and Laurent was the adopted son of a comte. Protocol demanded that the Duke issue invitations to join the party.
All sitting at the table were keen to celebrate this occasion, but none were so eager to toast the salvation of Danielle than Henry. He found it unbelievable to think that just one day earlier he was so sure that she was going to die, he was willing to allow somebody to take his life too. He knew that his stupidity and cowardice would stay with him for the rest of his days, but he had learned from his mistakes. He would abide by the promise he made to her. His every waking moment would be dedicated to her protection. Never again would he put her in such danger.
During the first course, there was little conversation. The royal family did not feel comfortable discussing things in front of outsiders, and the others did not feel comfortable talking in the presence of royalty. However, the Duke could not put up with such formality in his home. As a good friend of the King and Queen, he felt that he could open the conversation without affronting them. He stood and picked up a glass.
"Your majesties, your royal highnesses, dukes, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to propose a toast in honour of something I have not yet been able to celebrate. A toast to Prince Henry and Princess Danielle, may they have many years together and be as happy as I have been in matrimony." The rest of the party raised their glasses.
"Prince Henry and Princess Danielle." The love struck Royals could do nothing but look at each other. At that moment they were lost in a world of each other. Henry leaned over and kissed his wife. Nobody could condemn this sentiment, no matter how unfitting it was to the occasion.
The atmosphere had suddenly changed from one of great austerity to one conducive to conversation. To make sure it stayed that way the Duke launched into one of his anecdotes, involving Henry. "Marie, did your son ever tell you about the time he chased Emmeline into the lake at Hautefort?" The Queen shook her head and looked over at Henry who was smirking at the memory.
"Oh please Your Grace, tell them," Danielle said excitedly. She would never tire of the Duke's dry humour and would take any chance to listen to his stories, especially where they concerned Henry.
"Well, one day I had been invited to court to advise his majesty on matters of state and of course my wife accompanied me, but of course she was not interested on catching up with the court gossip along with the other ladies. She had come armed with a bag full of sugared plums and was determined to have a good day with a certain young Prince and his little lady friend." At this point he looked at Henry and then at Hélène.
"Do not blame me. It was all his fault," she said pointing at Henry. He feigned a look of mock innocence. "It was all his idea. he forced me to do it." She then laughed that silver bell laugh that Steven loved.
"Well, anyway, the two of them conspired to convince her to play hide and seek with a view to playing a practical joke on her. So they decided to hide and she would come and find them. Well Hélène had chosen a rather simple hiding place and she even giggled to attract my wife to her whereabouts. When she was quickly discovered she pretended to be annoyed and pointed out where the boy was supposedly hiding. However he was not there at all and this misdirection gave him a chance to spring out on my wife with a handful of mud. Of course, Emmeline, never one to spoil the game ran from the little ruffian. However He was the one controlling the chase and he soon saw that she was not paying attention to where she was going. He threw the mud in one direction in order to make her go the other which led her straight into the shallow part of the lake. By the time Emmeline was able to find her bearings these two rascals were rolling around on the floor laughing. Eventually they went to help her out of there which is when she got her own back. The two of them ended up in there with her and all hell broke loose."
Everybody was laughing by now, especially Henry and Hélène. They were always happy to be reminded of their games with the Duchess. The tension that had existed before was now gone and everybody fell into easy conversation with each other. Hélène spoke only to Steven. The Duke relayed more of Henry's mischief to the royal party. Jacqueline was caught in conversation with Captain Polignac. She found him to be very charming company and was enjoying her chat immensely. Much to the disgust of Captain Laurent.
After pudding had been eaten and everybody was relaxing with their wine, Francis decided that this was the time to make his announcement. He had been unsure about it but now, he knew that this was a good idea. He stood and the room fell into silence.
"I would like to take this opportunity to make an announcement. As you all no my son has, in the past been a little wild and his mother and I have sometimes despaired that he will never grow out of it. But since his marriage we have seen a marked difference in his attitude. Because of this I have decided to hand over the commandership of the Royal Guard to him. I believe that now is a good time for him to start practising those skills of authority he will need as king."
Henry was stunned. Just two weeks ago his father would not have trusted him with a tin soldier, now he was handing over control of the country's elite force to him. This was more than a surprise it was a miracle.
He stood to say something in reply. "If you think that I am ready to take on this task, I will do it with pride father and I am sincerely grateful for the trust you display in me. My first action as Commander in Chief of the Guard will be to have a company accompany my bride and I on the rest of our honeymoon. We have decided that we would like to complete our journey."
Francis dropped his glass. He could not believe what he had just heard. After all that had happened, he was still determined to go against his strict orders and continue with this ridiculous pantomime. He forcefully stood, almost knocking his chair over completely. The atmosphere thickened instantaneously. Everybody was fearful for the showdown that they were sure would ensue.
Surprisingly the King did not say a word. He glared at Henry for a moment before leaving the room, a cloud of anger over his head. Henry turned to the rest of the diners and made his apologies before following his father out. Their bitterness and resentment for one another had festered for too long. They were going to do this now and have this futile feud finished once and for all.