Chapter Seventeen
While Mable and Theo were nursing their fledgling companionship, the other residents of the castle indulged in the most colorful form of spoken word; gossip. Much like a small town, the "Beast's" -as he was called by the staff- castle held a little more than two-hundred people and news traveled fast about the Beast's new guest, the Lady Mable.
Only Madame Cecile and Madame Labelle were allowed into her private rooms. Monsieur Lune and Madeleine were often seen in her company. Monsieur Carnier would often talk to her between chopping and instructing, and the other cooks were quick to defend her. Among the swordsmen and warriors, Maestro was the only one who had seen her, let alone spoken to her. Mable had not been back to the barracks and stables since her first visit.
Many of the men and women in the castle knew Mable by sight. The maids, the menservants, the footmen and the scullery maids had barely talked to her, but had gotten glimpses of her in the corridors. They were too nervous to approach her themselves. They were all too worried that word would get back to Lady Mable, or worse, the Beast.
The maids and servant girls flocked to Madame Labelle after seeing the Lady a few times. Lady Mable always favored them with a polite nod, or a soft smile, but few had spoken to her enough to get to know her. So, like chicks, they fluttered back to the mother hen. Madame Labelle was gentle with them, laughing at their outrageous notions.
"She is so strange!" cried one of the sillier girls. "We know nothing about her. We do not know of her family. She acts as if she has never had any servants before." A few of the servants around the girl nodded in agreement, mystified by the Lady's lack of proper servant-mistress etiquette.
"She has not had the privilege of having any servants in her house, and that is all I will say about her background. It is none of our business anyway." Madame Labelle said defensively. She knew about Mable's home life intimately, having spent several lunches exchanging stories of their respective childhoods. It was common knowledge that Madame Labelle and Lady Mable had sparked an unlikely friendship.
Another woman spoke up, ignoring Madame Labelle's uncharacteristic frown.
"She does some strange things, like helping make the bed and cleaning the room. What Lady spends her time cleaning, especially when there are servants to do it for her?" The woman shook her head in shame.
"She is used to doing housework at home. You cannot expect her to just sit around when there is work to be done. I think it is a good thing that she helps clean. It will help her feel more at home. We want her to feel comfortable here, after all." Madame Labelle addressed the roomful of women sternly, "She is our guest, my dears. We do not question her upbringing or her ways. We do as she asks, whatever the request, because the guest is our upmost priority. Now, I know you are all a bit disappointed. We had expected a woman who would be willing to break the spell. But since we can't have her, we are lucky enough to have Lady Mable. It is good practice, for when the woman who will break the spell comes along. That is unless you geese want to stay like this for another hundred years?" Madame Labelle stared at them. They shook their heads. "Good. So, let her clean her room if she so desires. I wish to hear no more about it."
Madame Labelle sauntered out of the room, her head held high. After of moment of idle chatter, the maids dispersed, to get on with their duties. Madame Labelle could be strict if she chose to be, and it was obvious that she liked the Lady Mable.
"If Madame Labelle holds the Lady Mable in such a high regard, then she cannot be all that bad, can she?" commented one of the older maids. A few maids nodded assent. Madame Labelle was an excellent judge of character, and if she said the Lady Mable was an honored guest, then so be it.
The others just looked troubled. They respected and trusted their leader, but strangeness was not something they liked or were comfortable with. No matter what Madame Labelle said, they were too interested in having the spell broken than getting to know this odd guest.
The menservants still had their share of questions, but unlike the maids they approached the Seneschal individually, instead of in a group. Monsieur Lune seemed very fond of Lady Mable. Madeleine, too, spoke highly of the Lady. But having only gotten a few smiles as she made her way to breakfast or dinner, the men found themselves speculating on the type of person that could break the curse.
"She is not what we expected," said one man to Monsieur Lune. He was careful with his phrasing. Monsieur Lune did not like to hear anyone criticize Lady Mable. "She isn't a beauty, and seems very temperamental. She isn't what a man expects of a Lady." He winced when Monsieur Lune whipped his head around to look him in the eye. It wouldn't do to anger Monsieur Lune, but he felt it had to be said.
"Yes, she can be a handful." Monsieur Lune said, chuckling. The man gave a short sigh of relief that his superior wasn't upset with him. "But different is not always a bad thing. Lady Mable is a charming young woman, one with the courage to voice her own opinions. I find that encouraging. It means that she is comfortable with us. And if Lady Mable can become comfortable with us, and this whole, cursed place, surely another Lady can do so as well. In her own way, Lady Mable has given hope, something we have not had for decades."
The manservant couldn't help but agree.
"But she is not willing to be the Lady, Monsieur Lune. Why do we help her if she has no intentions of helping us? Our Lord is a Beast, a monster, and she does not care!" Another, less intelligent, man posed to Monsieur Lune later. He cowered when the Seneschal glared at him.
"We help her because she a woman in need. Because we are decent people who do not take advantage of vulnerable women who find themselves on our doorstep. And never let me hear that name escape from your lips again." Monsieur Lune replied coldly. "Our Master sacrificed much for your miserable life. Do not make him regret it."
After that, the men kept their opinions about Mable, and the Beast, to themselves.
The kitchen staff was far from disapproving of Lady Mable. None would ever go against Monsieur Carnier, but even if he had not liked the woman so much, they still would have found her delightful.
"We should invite her to help us cook more often," the chef Margot cried over shrieks of steam and clangs of pots. "She is always giving us new inspiration. And we do not have enough women in here!"
"One gossiping woman is more than enough!" replied the jolly Henri. He chortled as Margot threw an apple core at him.
"Enough, children, enough." bellowed Monsieur Carnier. He smiled at his subordinates. "I quite agree with Margot, that she should join us whenever she feels the urge. It does my heart good to see you cretins finally push up your sleeves and work." At this, all the chefs grinned at one another and rolled their eyes, "You are correct, she helps keep us inspired. It is her appearance that has made our meals much richer than before, a reason to try harder every day. She has given us new means to work hard and take pleasure in our skills."
Monsieur Carnier was right about Mable giving the chefs new means to work. Indeed, the urge to make the castle spectacular for their guest, despite her mysterious ways, had become normal for all the staff in the castle. Everything from the floors to the tips of the banisters gleamed with polish, the floors always swept clean, and Madame Cecile's flowers seemed brighter against the dusted paintings and tapestries.
The menservants, who had gone about their duties with a resigned air before, were getting their work done with merriment and cavorting in the halls like young, spirited men. The maids chattered like birds while they went about their business, whistling and flirting unlike before. Even the soldiers, who had never caught a glimpse of the Lady Mable, were sparring and training as if the spell would be broken any day.
Monsieur Lune and Madame Labelle saw this change in character, and studied it with benevolence. Despite their first impressions of Lady Mable, the castle staff seemed more assiduous than ever before, and the Seneschal and Head Housekeeper were quite pleased with the results. Not to mention relieved that Lady Mable or Master Theo had ever heard about their conversations with certain members of the staff. Unfortunately, there was nothing the two heads of staff could do about the hostile feelings towards the Beast. The spell kept all of the residents trapped in the castle, and the woods beyond, until it was broken. If one of the men or women should be cast out, they would be doomed to wander the woods until they returned to the castle in failure. So Madame Labelle and Monsieur Lune were forced to keep the troublemakers under their roof, but they were not so upset by this. Eventually, they believed, the spell would be broken and all bitter feelings would be broken along with it.
Maestro was the only one who kept any and all thoughts to himself. Madame Labelle had tried to get his opinion several times, but he evaded her with such force that she decided it was best if she left him alone.
"He'll come around," she reassured Monsieur Lune one day. The two had been sitting in Labelle's office discussing castle issues when the subject arose. "You know how what a pessimist he is. And he is just looking out for Theo's best interest at heart." She reminded Monsieur Lune.
The Seneschal looked unconvinced. "I know he means well, but he can also be a bit rash. Lady Mable and Theo have been getting along quite fine lately, and I would hate to see that crumble all because Jacques cannot control his emotions. Will you talk with him?" Asking Labelle to speak to her beloved was a risk. He knew Labelle didn't like to push the Captain of the Guard unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Oui. I will speak to him. I can at least have him keep his distance from Lady Mable, if not Theo. He seems to make her uncomfortable. I've told him she is a perfectly lovely woman, but he does not want to believe me." Her normally pretty face was scrunched up in irritation. Both Monsieur Lune and Madame Labelle had heard of Maestro's talk with Mable, and neither had been pleased.
"I will speak to him, Lune." Labelle stood, brushing off her skirt. "I hope he is wrong about the spell. I would hate if Mable was trapped here like we are."
"Who knows? Magic is tricky. From what Theo tells me, they have been trying small spells with limited success." Monsieur Lune backed up so Madame Labelle could get by him. They spoke softly as they left the office, in case one of the staff should hear.
"Perhaps she wants to stay and help break the curse after all." Labelle immediately brightened up. "I know she feels that she does not have the skill to be the Lady—"
"It is not a matter of skill, Labelle. It is a matter of love. We cannot force her to feel what may not be there." Monsieur Lune said reproachfully.
"You're right, you're right. It's just so frustrating. The first woman to come along in such a long time…"
"We're all a bit disappointed. But have faith. Even if she is not the one to break the curse, we have still had the pleasure of being with her, have we not?" Monsieur Lune said in his wise way.
Labelle smiled. "You're right again. The right woman will come along someday, I'm sure of it. In the meantime, perhaps Lady Mable can help Theo open his heart. He has certainly become attached to her, hasn't he?"
"Yes, we all have. Hope is the only thing that can keep us in such good spirits, Labelle. Hope and belief that one day, this accursed spell will be lifted off of us, and we'll be free once more. Let us never lose that hope."
The two companions tread down the hallway, both absorbed in dreams of freedom.