The cart sped away through the night.
"Why are we going there?" asked Frollo. Esmeralda, Frollo and Jaques were crouched in the back of the hay cart, heading towards St Martins where Phoebus was about to marry Fleur DeLys. Clopin and Pierre were driving, although that seemed too strong a word for roughly guiding the lurching cart through the Parisian crowds this morning. Failing to drive seemed more appropriate.
"To force the king to pardon you."
"You cannot. We would be better advised to head into the country and disappear – possibly to Rome. I've always liked the sound of Vatican City…"
"You would," Esmeralda muttered, more harshly than she meant to. Frollo bridled a little, but said nothing.
The ceremony had already started when the group arrived, the four men jumping down from the cart. Frollo raised a hand to help Esmeralda down and she took it, smiling sweetly at him. Clopin made a gagging noise in the back of his throat.
"When you two have quite finished, maybe we can continue?" They headed into the church, Frollo straightening his hat and Esmeralda surreptitiously picking straw off his cloak.
The congregation was droning a hymn as they entered the church. In the front pew to the left, Esmeralda could see the king sitting next to Minister Bourbon. Both were watching the young couple with mild interest. Esmeralda took a quick look at the bride. Fleur DeLys was wearing a pale blue gown, flowers knotted prettily into both her hair and the trim of the dress. She was truly stunning and Esmeralda felt a pang of jealousy. Then she looked up at Frollo and the feeling waned a little. The hymn ended and the congregation quietened.
"Here goes," whispered Clopin. He marched forward, flanked by Jaques and Pierre. Frollo and Esmeralda brought up the rear. As the group walked forwards, heads in the congregation turned to follow them, gasps and whispers chasing them up the aisle. Most of the senior politicians in Paris had assembled for this wedding, Monsieur DeLys, Fleur's father, being very influential in court. Esmeralda wondered why the cathedral had not been used for such a wedding, then shrugged off the curiosity in favour of staying alive. Their little group stopped in front of the king.
"Sorry to interrupt Captain Phoebus. This will only take a few moments," Pierre announced to the 'shocked' Phoebus and his bride. Pierre knew he had only moments before Bourbon or the king shouted for the guards. "It's about Bourbon's brothel bill sire – he hasn't paid it for a month and there's an army of whores outside waiting for their money." There was a stunned silence for a moment, until the susurration of fervent whispering re-started. Frollo closed his eyes slowly. He knew why the gypsy had chosen this particular phrase – he needed to stall the king's instinct to call the guards – but felt that Pierre had overstepped the boundaries of decency somewhat. Bourbon eased his way forward through the crowd. Esmeralda shuddered as the new Minister of Justice eyed her over before replying. He gave a little smirk before turning to Pierre.
"Are you sure you have the correct Minister, gypsy? I myself have never associated with the ladies of the night, unlike some…" he raised an eyebrow at Frollo, who missed the gesture as he was still wincing from Pierre's earlier comment. He caught the tone of voice however.
"Oh, but that is not correct sir. I have sent the king numerous accounts from my – acquaintances," started Frollo.
"Spies," interrupted Bourbon.
"Spies, yes, detailing your actions, aha, in the poor quarter."
"Your reports are of no significance Frollo as you well know." Bourbon gave a triumphant snarl at Frollo.
"Why not?" asked Monsieur DeLys. Bourbon faltered a little before continuing.
"Minister Frollo, the respected, decent, and hard-working Minister Frollo, is a traitor. We caught him last night. He was to be hanged this afternoon. I suppose we shall have to bring the execution forward a little." Bourbon grinned again.
"What did Minister Frollo do?" asked a woman from Phoebus' side of the church.
"He killed an English spy!"
"Surely that is to be applauded?" asked a gaunt man dressed in black that Esmeralda vaguely recognised as Minister Dubois.
"The spy, a mister Thomas Greenwood, was a dangerous spy caught in Paris last month. He held valuable information on a plot by the King of England to invade France. His survival was of the utmost importance. Frollo knew this and killed him anyway. Do you deny this sir?" Bourbon whirled around to face Frollo.
"No, I cannot deny it."
"Then you are guilty as charged. You deliberately disobeyed a direct order from your king and…"
"That can't be right. I caught Greenwood months ago at Cologne. He was nothing important and gave up the little information he held straight away. He was spying on our king, yes, but simply to find out if the king had any intentions of marrying." The speaker, a surly gentleman standing just behind the king, looked confused. "His majesty had ordered me to set the spy free, but then a group of soldiers arrived and brought him to Paris on your orders…" The man stopped, words failing him in the face of Bourbon's stare.
"Why did you kill the spy?" asked Dubois.
"I had visited the dungeons to interrogate the spy and he lashed out at me and tried to strangle me after I fell. I killed him in self-defence. The guards did not come when called. I had no other alternative." Frollo watched the faces of the judges around Bourbon. They were all, to a man, glaring at him with fixed, hard, eyes filled with rage. Only three, Gauche, Chevreuil, and Décharné looked vaguely disappointed that Frollo seemed to have a reasonable defence.
"Why didn't the guards come when called?" asked DuBois.
"They had been ordered not to," replied Phoebus, coming forward. "I was informed by a reliable source last night that Minister Bourbon has been conspiring with others to bring about Minister Frollo's downfall. The guards were ordered not to assist in the event of the drugged Greenwood attacking Minister Frollo."
"Is this true Bourbon?" demanded a noble who looked for all the world to be a hundred and eighty years old. "If so, you should remember what King Louis would have done to an ambitious cad such as yourself! Count yourself lucky it is his grandson you have to deal with."
"Of course it's not true!" retorted Bourbon angrily.
"Perhaps sir, you are claiming that my sources are not reliable?" replied Phoebus smoothly, glancing at the King ever so slightly. The monarch tensed.
"I am sure that Minister Bourbon had the best intentions behind his actions towards Minister Frollo, however they may have been, aha, later interpreted…" he babbled, nervously tapping the crown on his head.
"I am sure he did," drawled Frollo. "No doubt he disliked my treatment of the gypsies." There was a muffled murmur of agreement. "I must apologise for offending you Bourbon, but it was brought to my attention that it may be prudent to treat merchants and entertainers of the quality we see in the gypsy class a little better in order to bring mutual benefits to our two very different societies."
"I suppose your whore told you that did she?"
"Please do not talk about my fiancée like that Bourbon." There were a few, female, gasps around the room and some knowing snorts of laughter from some men.
"Fiancée? Don't make me laugh."
"The king has given me permission to marry La Esmeralda. I am indebted to his generosity." Frollo gave a bow to the king, who by now had turned crimson and was scarcely breathing in fright. The king nodded rapidly and gulped air. The crowd parted around Bourbon, who was clearly trying to think of some way out of this.
"Minister Bourbon, I am confused," stated Clopin. The congregation was now gathered as an audience around Bourbon, who was shaking, and Clopin, who was slowly circling the man. "You, a respected, albeit perverse, judge in Paris, a Minister in the King's court, plotted to bring about the fall of the great Minister of Justice, Claude Frollo," Clopin waved a hand at Frollo, who gave a smirk and a half-bow, "and to take his place as the King's advisor and Minister of Justice. Why would you do such a thing? Surely it couldn't be pride, ambition and a lust for power because we all know you wouldn't do something like that – would you?" Clopin let the sentence penetrate for a few moments before continuing. "Would you sir?"
"Minister Bourbon, it may be prudent for you to resign your post as Minister of Justice," interjected Frollo, "unless of course you would like this brought to a full trial, where the witness Phoebus mentioned would of course be called upon to testify?"
"No – no trial! I think the poor man has suffered enough," spluttered the King. "Hang him as a traitor."
"If I may sire, I believe we discussed banishment? That is the usual treatment for aristocratic lunacy, is it not?" Frollo raised a polite eyebrow at the King, who nodded in acquiescence. "Perhaps some of you gentlemen," Frollo gestured to the guards, "would be kind enough to escort Minister Bourbon home and help him to pack?" Four guards marched forward and escorted the now silent Bourbon from the church.
An uneasy silence descended on the congregation. It was broken by the king.
"It seems I was mistaken about you, Frollo. I would be honoured if you would take up the reins as Minister of Justice again."
"I accept with pleasure sire – although not for long I am afraid."
"Whyever not man?"
"I have always desired to visit Rome sire and have been planning to leave for some time. I would be happy to continue as Minister of Justice until a suitable replacement could be found however." He bowed to the king and gave a sly wink to DuBois.
"Of course." The moment passed and the tension drained from the air.
"We must be going sire – I have much to see to." Frollo held out his arm for Esmeralda and escorted her to the top of the aisle. He suddenly tapped his head with his hand and tutted. "Ever so sorry Phoebus – please, your grace," he nodded to the priest, "do continue."
Frollo and Esmeralda walked out of the church silently while behind them Phoebus married Fleur DeLys and a very worried King of France vowed to leave the politics of his court to his ministers from now on. At the bottom of the steps, Frollo took Esmeralda into his arms and tilted her chin upward with his hand.
"That could have gone very differently you know. We could have been killed upon entry to the church."
"Unlikely – Phoebus and his friends picked all the guards today."
"Still, without the support of the nobles and DuBois in particular, we would have been doomed."
"Yes. DuBois has always been a decent sort. And Marie and the old softy,"
"Lord Gunther?"
"Yes, indeed, Lord Gunther. They were very helpful. Monsieur DeLys of course wanted to protect his daughter's future husband and has always liked you."
"You planted the supporters?" Frollo's face froze.
"Not all of them. Enough to cause a snowballing effect to gain support for you." Esmeralda grinned up at Frollo. He hugged her close, then released her.
"You are truly amazing. You must thank your gypsy friends for me."
"You could thank them yourself."
"I think not my dear."
"Why not?"
"DuBois won't harm the gypsies and the king is too afraid his involvement in the plot against me will be revealed to insist that DuBois take action against them. I will of course no longer be Minister of Justice. I release you from your obligation to stay with me." He leaned over, kissed her lightly on the forehead, backed off and turned away. "You know, I've never loved anyone else Esmeralda." Gathering his cloak, Frollo walked away from her without turning. Esmeralda watched him leave the square in front of the church, her heart pounding.
She was free. Her people were free. Phoebus was married. She was free to do whatever she wanted. She could choose to do whatever she wanted and to go wherever she wanted to go. It was her choice, not her guilt or her obligations that could drive her now. She looked up at the church and grinned to herself.
"I hear Rome's lovely this time of year," she whispered to the tower, before running after Frollo.
THE END
So sorry it took so long to complete! Hope you enjoyed it and please let me know what you think. MA XXX