A Little Twist of Fate - The Sequel
Prologue
It was market day in Avignon, easily the busiest day of the year. It 's the only day of the week where ladies could meet and catch the local gossip or run into friends.
Such was this day for Marguerite as she propped up her year old son, little Francois Henri in a tiny chair behind her stall. She was trying to avoid the stares that the locals were sending her way. She should be used to them by now, but she wasn't and she didn't think that she ever would be.
This wasn't the best way to make a living but she had to do something since the death of her husband earlier that year. The thieves that killed him cleaned him out of everything, including their money.
She had nothing to her name except the stall that she was sitting behind. Francois gambled quite a lot and was always in debt. There were even rumors of his infidelity circulating about.
Apparently, this was nothing new to the de Richaud family. Marguerite had heard all the stories before she even met the man, mostly from her sister, Jacqueline who was seeing his brother, Laurent. That was exactly the reason that she suggested that they leave the province of Hautefort once and for all.
Not to mention the fact that she had become pregnant with his child a few months earlier. So they first moved to St. Etienne's where Francois set up a blacksmith shop, the trade that he had learned when he was a child. They lived above in a small room, which he explained was only temporary and awaited the arrival of their child.
He worked steadily for a while until, upon advice of a coworker, made a few wagers. They started out small, but increased in intensity and within six months were out of control. His excuse had been that they needed extra money for the baby.
But the extra money never materialized and Marguerite took to selling things to meet expenses. When Francois was murdered however, she sold the shop, paid off all of his debts, and left for Avignon to start anew.
She moved into a local inn and worked as a maid to support herself and her son. On the weekends, she sat behind this stall and offered some old and new baby clothes to the public on market day that she had sewn up herself.
On this particular day, she was tired and wanted nothing more to go back to the inn and rest a few minutes before doing her odd jobs at the inn. As a customer approached and as she stood up to greet them, a wave of dizziness swept over her, which she ignored. She had been having those lately, nothing to worry about for she recovered quickly.
But she was not so lucky the second time it happened.
Prologue
It was market day in Avignon, easily the busiest day of the year. It 's the only day of the week where ladies could meet and catch the local gossip or run into friends.
Such was this day for Marguerite as she propped up her year old son, little Francois Henri in a tiny chair behind her stall. She was trying to avoid the stares that the locals were sending her way. She should be used to them by now, but she wasn't and she didn't think that she ever would be.
This wasn't the best way to make a living but she had to do something since the death of her husband earlier that year. The thieves that killed him cleaned him out of everything, including their money.
She had nothing to her name except the stall that she was sitting behind. Francois gambled quite a lot and was always in debt. There were even rumors of his infidelity circulating about.
Apparently, this was nothing new to the de Richaud family. Marguerite had heard all the stories before she even met the man, mostly from her sister, Jacqueline who was seeing his brother, Laurent. That was exactly the reason that she suggested that they leave the province of Hautefort once and for all.
Not to mention the fact that she had become pregnant with his child a few months earlier. So they first moved to St. Etienne's where Francois set up a blacksmith shop, the trade that he had learned when he was a child. They lived above in a small room, which he explained was only temporary and awaited the arrival of their child.
He worked steadily for a while until, upon advice of a coworker, made a few wagers. They started out small, but increased in intensity and within six months were out of control. His excuse had been that they needed extra money for the baby.
But the extra money never materialized and Marguerite took to selling things to meet expenses. When Francois was murdered however, she sold the shop, paid off all of his debts, and left for Avignon to start anew.
She moved into a local inn and worked as a maid to support herself and her son. On the weekends, she sat behind this stall and offered some old and new baby clothes to the public on market day that she had sewn up herself.
On this particular day, she was tired and wanted nothing more to go back to the inn and rest a few minutes before doing her odd jobs at the inn. As a customer approached and as she stood up to greet them, a wave of dizziness swept over her, which she ignored. She had been having those lately, nothing to worry about for she recovered quickly.
But she was not so lucky the second time it happened.