Runaway
Chapter Six
By Katrina Chance
The carriage carrying Melisande and Anthony traveled back to their home village with Marguerite sitting across from them. The young woman was silent, contemplating what she was being made to do. She would be a servant in the de Allers household for a period of six months, then her mother Rodmilla would be a servant in the household for a period of one year. Rodmilla and Marguerite had fought the punishment until Melisande had explained to them that Danielle's mother, Nicole, was a noblewoman, which made Danielle a noblewoman as well and that Danielle should have been treated with respect, instead, she was treated with contempt. Rodmilla and Marguerite had accepted the punishment and Marguerite had been placed in the carriage to begin her six months as a servant.
Melisande stared out the window of the fast moving carriage, wondering if it was wise to let Marguerite be a servant in the manor, but knew that the next six months may be a humbling experience for the young woman. And it would help her get to know her sister a little bit better. And it would also be a humbling experience, she hoped, for Rodmilla when her turn came.
Marguerite sat quietly, looking out the window, feeling shame for the way she had treated her stepsister. All along, her stepsister was a noblewoman and she had treated her horribly. She now realized that Jacqueline had been right. Danielle deserved the same happiness that they did. She was glad that her time as a servant was shorter than her mother's. Marguerite could tell that they placed more of the blame for the wrongful treatment of Danielle on Rodmilla instead of her. They had said that Marguerite was only following her mother's actions and therefore could not shoulder as much of the blame for the mistreatment as was on Rodmilla's shoulders.
Henry, Jacqueline, and Laurent rode into the same village where Danielle was now living several hours later. Henry could feel his heart speed up in anticipation as he rode toward the town square where many people gathered to spread the town gossip. They had gone to that part of each village to see if there were any clues as to where Danielle was.
Upon their arrival at the square, they all noticed that the gossip they could hear was about a young noblewoman that seemed to be somewhat new to the village.
"The new young Lady de Allers is so nice!" one elder woman told her good friend. "This morning she greeted me as if I was a noble like her!"
"I can understand that. By what I've heard, the woman that raised her treated her as a servant when in fact she was the daughter of a noblewoman herself. Her grandfather Alexander du Loncret was a Marquis, for crying out loud. She deserved to be raised as a noblewoman and her stepmother wouldn't raise her that way!" her friend told her what she had heard.
Henry listened intently to the two elderly women and then asked them, "What is the first name of this new young Lady de Allers?"
They both turned to him and, recognizing him, they rose and bowed before him before the one answered, "Her name, your highness, is Danielle. Lady Danielle de Allers. Earl Thomas and Comtess Melisande de Allers adopted her. The Comtess had been friends with Lady Danielle's mother Nicole du Loncret."
"Thank you. And do you know where I can find the Lady de Allers?" Henry asked the woman.
"The Manoir de Loir at the southern edge of town, your highness. Why do you ask?" the woman asked him.
"Because, I need to see her. Thank you for all your help," Henry said before the three of them spurred their horses and headed for the edge of town and to the new home of Danielle.
Danielle finished her walk in the garden and walked inside the manor and headed for the study. She picked a new book from the bookcase and sat down in her favorite plush chair to read. She spent a lot of her time since her adoption by Melisande and Anthony reading in the study, walking in the village and talking to the villagers, enjoying the beautiful gardens, or talking to the servants. Melisande loved that Danielle was so nice to the servants and the peasants of the village. Danielle had grown up in that circle so she treated them as if they were her equals.
Danielle became absorbed in her book and didn't even pay attention to the time until she heard the bell of the door being rung. She looked up and looked out the window and could tell that it was almost sunset and that she should light a few candles if she wanted to continue to read and to have the servants start to prepare dinner. Then she heard the bell being rung again.
"I guess I'd better go and see who it is before I light any of the candles," Danielle said as she closed her book and got up from her chair. She walked into the main hall of the manor and opened the door. When she saw who was on the other side, she could hardly believe it.
"Henry, what are you doing here?"
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