Back at the palace, Danielle, Jacqueline, and the queen were having their afternoon tea.
"So Jacqueline, are you ready for your wedding?" Danielle asked.
"I am as ready as I'll ever be, I am jealous though, I want my wedding in the garden too!" She jokingly replied.
"Jacqueline, you wedding will be beautiful, no matter where it is, so don't fret... Oh I can't wait much longer for this, I've got a surprise for you, I knew you would eventually marry Captain Laurent, I had my mother make a special gown just for you, It is up in my room, would you like to go see it?"
"Oh Danielle, I would love to lets go see it!" Jacqueline said, excited as a child on Christmas day.
All three of them quickly walked up the stairs to Danielle's bedchamber. Danielle opened the door, and crossed the room to her dressing chamber; she took a box off of a shelf, sat it on the chair, and opened it. She pulled out a beautiful white and gold brocade gown.
"Oh Danielle, it is beautiful." The queen gasped.
"Danielle, it is the most beautiful gown I have ever seen, It is amazing," Jacqueline said as she held it up to her and looked at herself in the mirror.
"try it on" Danielle replied.
The queen and Danielle left the room and went into Danielles sitting room to wait for her.
Jacqueline walked out of the room with tears in her eyes
"what's the matter dear?" the queen asked.
"Oh I am just so overwhelmed, I never imagined myself looking like this, I always thought I'd be helping my sister into a gown like this, I'm just so happy." she replied.
Danielle hugged her stepsister. There was a knock at the door, and Danielle shouted "come in" It was Captain Laurent, as he opened the door he saw Jacqueline standing there looking like an angel, he was at a loss for words.
"Yyooo…yoouur majesty, we have found one of your necklaces at the apartment of Rodmilla De Ghent." He said to the Queen but was starring lovingly at Jacqueline.
Shyly Jacqueline said "Hello"
he replied "hello Jacqueline."
"Thank you Captain Laurent, It puts my mind at ease that some of my missing possessions have returned to me." the Queen replied.
Later that evening, Danielle lay in bed reading a book contently, Henry entered the room, but she didn't noticed. He sat on the edge of the bed with one hand behind his back and kissed Danielle softly.
"What do you have behind your back ?"Danielle asked playfully.
He then revealed a bouquet of wildflowers.
" I rode past a field of wildflowers today, and I thought you might like them."
"Oh they are beautiful Henry, Thank you."
"But not as beautiful as you." He replied.
"what has gotten into you? you've been gloomy all day?"
" I just thought you could use some cheering up, after all you have had a rough day."
"Yes about that, I've realized a necklace is just a necklace, its value was only sentimental, I still have my mother, even though she is miles away."
Meanwhile in Paris...
When they arrived at the Bettremieu house, it was nearly dark and the family was just about to sit down to dinner when their guests arrived.
Marguerite and Rodmilla stood impatiently waiting at the door as the servant announced their arrival to the family. They both stood there in awe. The house was twice as big as Manor De Barbarac, and just as exquisite as the Palace.
"Ah Rodmilla, we meet again, it has been quite some time since we last saw each other." Monsieur Bettremieu said as he saw Rodmilla standing at the doorway.
"Yes indeed it has."
They got re acquainted with each other and went into the Dining room where the servants had just set two more plates.
A young man stood at the dining table waiting nervously for Marguerite to enter the room. "Rodmilla, Marguerite, this is my son, Evrard Bettremieu." He introduced to them.
Marguerite who was back to her old charming self gracefully walked over to him and held out her hand. He nervously grabbed her hand and kissed it gently.
"It is so good to meet you; you are better than I imagined." Evrard said clumsily.
He then pulled out a chair for her and she sat down, he then sat next to her and she reached for his hand under the table, he felt the soft touch of her hand and was surprised to see her so forward but it put him at ease.
After dinner, Evrard walked Marguerite to her room. Marguerite who was trying a little too hard to make him like her, walked right next to him, holding his hand. When they got to her room, she held her hand out for him to kiss, but as he leaned in, like a hawk she dove in and kissed him on the lips. You could tell by the look on his face that no girl had ever kissed him like that before and he was stunned, he stepped back but Marguerite wasn't ready to give up, she took his hand in hers and began to open the door to her room when she heard her mother coming up the stairs. She then pretended like he said something funny and laughed in shrill high-pitched tone.
"Marguerite, there you are dear, Madame Bettremieu was just telling me about a lovely garden here in Paris, maybe you and Evrard can visit it tomorrow." Rodmilla said as she saw her daughter standing there with Evrard.
"Yes mother, we shall see" she said shrilly. She then turned to Evrard and whispered " Good night Evrard"
Danielle had a lot on her mind as she woke that morning, with all the things that had happened in the past month, her necklace being stolen, her meeting with Gustave's lovely fiancé and Jacqueline's wedding. She had hardly seen Henry; he was busy with the University. She slowly got out of bed and stumbled to the window and opened the curtains. It was a gorgeous day, not one to be wasted inside the dark stuffy castle; she cheerfully crossed the room to her dressing chamber, when something on the table beside the door caught her eye. It was a vase with two flowers in it and a note attached to it. She curiously opened the note and read it aloud.
I Dearest Danielle, I feel as if I haven't seen you in weeks, I am taking a break from the university today, meet me in the garden...I have a surprise for you. love, Henry /I
Quickly, she went into her dressing chamber, fixed her hair and got dressed. she put the flowers from the vase in her hair, and went off to find Henry in the Garden. As she walked through the maze of hedges, she curiously wondered what Henry was up to. When she came to a table filled with all different kinds of food, she looked around, but Henry was no where in sight. As she walked toward the table, she saw a guard standing against a tall hedge.
"where is Henry, He told me to meet him here." Danielle asked curiously.
"I'm not quite sure your highness, he told me to stay here, but I do believe there is a note on that table with your name on it." he replied.
Danielle walked over to the table and once again there was a vase with flowers in it, only this one was larger than the last. she picked up the note and read it to herself.
I Dearest Danielle,
Unfortunately, I will not be able to join you for breakfast, but after you enjoy this lovely brunch, meet me in our bedchamber, I have a wonderful surprise for you. Love, Henry /I
After Danielle finished eating, she walked quickly up to her bedchamber. When she went in, once again Henry was no where to be found. The only person in the room was Danielle's attendant Jeanne.
"Oh Hello Jeanne, I didn't know you were going to be here today, has Henry been in here? he seems to be sending me on a wild goose chase." Danielle exclaimed as she saw her attendant walking out of her dressing chamber.
Jeanne stopped and looked at Danielle, " hello milady I am sorry I haven't seen Prince Henry, but when I was in your dressing chamber, I did happen to see a note on the table, there are also flowers, their quite lovely." She politely replied.
"Okay, thank you, Its such a beautiful day, its not one to be spent in the palace, why don't you take the day off, you can just finish what you were doing tomorrow." Danielle shouted to Jeanne as she went into her dressing chamber and grabbed yet another note and read it,
I Danielle, I know you are probably getting tired of running around the palace looking for me, this time I promise I will tell you exactly where I am, you will find me in the guest bedchamber, follow the rose petals outside the door, and I will be there... /I
She peeked out the door and saw a trail of red rose petals going down the hallway, she followed the trail to a door that was cracked opened a bit, she gasped with excitement as she stepped into the room. Immediately Henry turned around and shouted "Surprise!"
Shocked she put her hands over her mouth and then exclaimed "so this is what you've been doing all week long, Oh Henry it's absolutely stunning, you did all of this, by yourself?"
"Yes, I did, well mother helped me pick out the curtains...and the blankets...and the furniture... the only thing I didn't do was paint those little animals over there on that wall, that was compliments of Signor Da Vinci and Gustave. Do you like it?"
"Oh Henry, It is the most wonderful nursery in the world, I adore it and I am sure the baby will too." She exclaimed with delight as she looked around the room, she then ran up to Henry and they held each other for what seemed like forever.
As he kissed her forehead, he jokingly said "there is only one thing missing, the baby, he is the luckiest baby in all of France, in all of the world."
"Where did you find all of these things, this blanket is softer than the one we have on our bed." she said as she felt the blanket that lay in they crib beside her.
"Danielle, there is something else, I didn't want to bring it up right now but I can't keep this from you any longer." Henry exclaimed.
Danielle with a look of worry on her face said "what is it Henry?"
"While I was in Avignon, that is where I got most of the stuff in here, I was in the linen store, when I overheard some people talking in the back room. They were talking of this man, he supplies the store with all of their fabric, apparently he used to live near hautefort and he got into some trouble and for the past 10 years he has been living in Bordeaux, Danielle, I think its your father, I know that none of this makes sense, but just listen to the rest and it will all come together."
Danielle had a look of confusion on her face as Henry continued.
"I asked these people about the man, they said he had a family before he moved to Bordeaux, a daughter, and two step daughters, his wife, who married him only because she was facing hard times and she needed money, but in her heart she despised her husband, and he had realized he made a mistake when he married her, but there was nothing he could do about it, but his wife had a evil scheme to get rid of her husband. She had an affair with a very rich and powerful man Allard Ghuesquiere, but he was already married so instead she married this man. Well her plan was to pay someone to frighten her husband by telling him if he did not leave the province with nothing more than the clothes on his back, his entire family, including his precious daughter would be killed. He feared for his daughter's life so he agreed to flee the province, but first he was to fake his own death. He moved to Bordeaux, where he started a textile shop with the money that was given to him by Allard Ghuesquiere. He secretly sent money back to his wife, to make sure his family would not fall on hard times without him. Using his new name, Martin Selosse, he claimed he was her husband's lawyer, for he never knew his wife was behind the whole scandal. Allard Ghuesquiere was on his deathbed and eventually told Martin the whole story and how his wife had been behind it the whole time. He was infuriated at his wife, he thought of coming back home, but he never did, so he tried to live his life as best he could, but now all the lies and betrayal he put his family through have got to him, he is literally going mad because of it."
Danielle stood there in utter shock, she was torn, so much of her wanted to believe that her father was still alive, but she still had doubts.
"You really think this man is my, my father, Its so...so... bizarre." Danielle muttered.
"I know that if there was only one thing I could do for you, It would be to bring your father back to you, You adore him with such a passion, In my heart I believe that this man could very well be your father, I mean if you think about, that does sound exactly the kind of cruel things Rodmilla does, maybe if you met the man, you would know for sure."
"Its so odd Henry, I mean I've my mother has already returned from the dead, but my father as well, its is too good to believe. "
"Well, I've invited him to the ball on Saturday, I hope that is okay with you, even if it isn't your father, the man has had a devastating life, he deserves to have a little fun."
Danielle put her head on Henry chest, as he held her tightly, her mind was astir with the thought that her father could be alive. Just then she remembered..…
"The ball! I completely forgot, I am supposed to be with the dressmaker right now" she blurted out as she pulled away from Henry's loving arms.
As she walked towards the door she shouted "I'm sorry, I must go"
Henry then shouted back " I thought when I married you, you'd stop running from me!"
As she walked down the hall toward her bedchamber, she met up with Jacqueline. Her heart was telling her to ask Jacqueline about Allard Ghuesquiere, she hesitated but finally listened to her heart,
"Hello Jacqueline, you're back from your Honeymoon so soon." She said to her sister.
"Oh hello Danielle, yes we are back, but we didn't want to miss the ball, so we returned." She replied.
"Jacqueline, did your mother know someone by the name of Allard Ghuesquiere?" She asked curiously.
Jacqueline thought for a moment and then replied, "yes, she did, when Marguerite and I were younger we used to call him Alla quire, we hated that man, why do you ask?"
"You will find out soon enough, I am supposed to be with the dressmaker right now, or else I would tell you, but would you like to help me pick out a gown for the ball, I would really enjoy your company and you can tell me all about your honeymoon."
She nodded and followed Danielle into her bedchamber, the Queen who was already there, let out a sigh of relief when she saw Danielle come through the door.
"Danielle darling, I was beginning to think you forgot about today, what kept you." She asked her daughter-in-law.
"Oh I am awful sorry, but Henry kept me busy all morning running about the palace on a wild goose chase trying to find him, he surprised me with the nursery, It is absolutely...before she could continue she was shocked to see her own mother walk out of her dressing chamber.
She cried out with excitement "Mother! What are you doing here? I didn't think you could make it to the ball."
She ran to her mother and hugged her as the queen and Jacqueline looked on.
"Well, you didn't think I would let any other dressmaker in France make my Daughter's ball gown, and I also missed you horribly."
"Oh mother, I missed you too, did Isabelle, Marie, and Bernard come with you?"
"No, but they are on there way right now, they will be here for the ball they wouldn't miss it for the world."
Danielle's mind was ablaze as she tried on all the different dresses her mother had made for her. When finally, she tried on one that made her look absolutely stunning. As she stood in front of the mirror in her bedchamber, with her mother fixing the dress so it looked just right. The dress she picked was Royal blue velvet and had a split in the front revealing a beautiful baby blue silk fabric with intricate embroidering around the neckline.
"Its so beautiful, I don't want to take it off" Danielle said as she twirled around in front of the mirror.
Meanwhile...back in Paris,
The time had seemed to fly by quickly, Rodmilla and Marguerite had been in Paris for nearly a month. Marguerite had charmed her way into Evrard's life, he had fallen head over heels for her, like most men do when they first meet Marguerite. She tried her hardest to hide her whinny, shrill side that had driven Prince Henry away, and replaced it with a sweet, Innocent charm, she thought she could change anything with a smile.
"Evrard, Darling could you please try not to step on my dress, if it gets ripped I'll have to get a new one." Marguerite said shrilly as she looked away and grinned.
"I'll buy you a million dresses Marguerite, I love you, I would do anything for you, Marguerite, and it would make me eternally happy if you agreed to be my wife." He said clumsily.
"Its so soon, I'll have to think about it." she said as she ran off.
Evrard called after her, but she was ignoring him as she walked into the house. She quickly ran towards her mother's room where she was sitting starring shrilly into the fire, thinking up her next scheme.
"Mother, Mother, It's happened, He's asked me." She shouted as she leaned against the door behind her.
Rodmilla stood up from her chair and exclaimed " you mean that fool actually asked you to marry him?"
"Yes mother, he is totally infatuated with me, I've got him eating out of the palm of my hand."
"well you did say yes, right?"
"Well no, not exactly, I told him, I'd think about it, make him fret over it for awhile."
"What! You fool, you go down there this instant and tell him you will marry him, your having doubts aren't you, Marguerite we have discussed this so many times before, This is our only chance of living this kind of lifestyle, if you don't marry him, we will be living out on the streets!"
" I know mother! You've told me that, a million times already. I don't love him, and he thinks he is in love with me but I know he really loves that frumpy girl, Catherine. I've seen the way he looks at her, that's true love. I want true love mother."
"Marguerite, you silly girl, there is no such thing as love, there is only an illusion of love, when I married Auguste, I didn't love him, but I did what I had to, for you! If you would of married Prince Henry, he didn't love you, and you didn't love him. You think that marriage is based upon love, it hardly is, in these hard times marriage is security to a better life, now you will go downstairs and tell him that you will marry him or you my dear daughter will regret the day you were born."
"You are right mother, love does not exist, I will go down and tell him that I will marry him"
The next few days at the Palace were a blur to Danielle, since the arrival of her mother she had spent most of the time with her. Before she knew it, It was time to prepare for the ball, as she sat in her dressing chamber, In her undergarments, 3 women stood around her, one was fixing her hair, one was applying her makeup and the other was just stood there making sure the other two were doing an adequate job, once in awhile she would tell one of them to do something but she was otherwise useless. Danielle, who felt as if she had been there for hours, sighed with relief as the useless woman looked over her and said, "that looks perfect. We are done." Then her attendant Jeanne came in and helped her get into her ball gown.
"Jeanne, do you think this is too...too much, I feel as if I am not real, like I am a painting hanging over a fireplace, I am not used to this, It doesn't feel right." She asked her attendant as she stood in the mirror, looking over herself.
"I think you look like just right, you're a princess Milady, and you're going to be the most beautiful person at the ball."
"Oh, I just wished I had my mother's necklace to wear, It would look perfect with this dress."
"You mean this one?" Jeanne questioned as she pulled the necklace from the jewelry box.
Danielle gasped "Yes that is the one? Where did you find it?"
"Your mother brought it up yesterday, I don't know where she found it, It's really quite confusing." she replied.
There was a knock on the door. "Danielle, are you ready yet? It is almost time to go down." Henry shouted from the other side of the door.
"I'm coming!" She replied.
Hand in hand the walked to meet the King and Queen, who were standing at the end of the hallway waiting patiently.
The queen who saw the look of nervousness on Danielle's face, smiled and said "Its alright to be nervous dear, this is after all your first Royal Ball, but don't worry, I will help you get through the night." She smiled back and they then began to walk toward the ballroom.
As they entered, Danielle could hear the sound of her heart beating over the sound of the trumpets. As they continued to walk, everyone around them bowed politely. When she saw her mother and her family, she began to calm down. As they took there seats, the King stood to address the mass of people who at the moment had their eyes glued on Danielle, which of course made Danielle only more nervous. But as Henry grabbed her hand, she looked over at him and forgot there were any other people in the room.
The king began to speak "tonight, we are here not only to celebrate our Son's marriage, and his Wife Danielle but also to celebrate the news of our first grandchild, who is to be born in the New Year."
Everyone cheered with joy, and as the music began to play, Danielle began to get used to her surroundings and left Henrys side and went to talk with Jacqueline and her other sisters. Henry searched the room for Martin Selosse, who was hiding himself in a corner of the room.
"Martin, you made it, come I will introduce you to my wife and family." Henry exclaimed as he saw Martin sitting in a corner alone.
He followed Henry through the crowd. Henry walked over to Danielle, who was chatting away with Jacqueline. He cleared his throat and muttered " Danielle, I'd like you to meet someone." As she turned around and saw Martin, her heart stopped, she held her hand over her heart and gasped. Martin, who was also paralyzed with shock, mumbled "Danielle?"
"Father, is that really you?" She choked out as she looked at the ragged old man in front of her, she faintly recognized him.
"Yes, Dani, I am here, I am here" he cried out as they hugged each other.
Nicole, who was busy talking with Gustave's fiancé about wedding gowns, had noticed Danielle hugging the man who seemed so familiar and she ran over to where Danielle was. As she saw Martin standing there she realized who he was.
"Auguste?..."she said as she stood there in shock.
"Nicole, I thought I'd never see you again." He replied. He then took her hand, and for the first time in 18 years, kissed her.