Intrigued (30 page)
Autumn’s hand went to her mouth to stifle her cry of anguish. The priest stood and made the sign of the cross over the dead man, closing his eyes afterward. Orane, with unusual foresight, took Madeline from her mother’s lap and hurried from the bedchamber with the sleepy child. Only when the door had closed behind her did Autumn begin to weep with great, sobbing gulps of sorrow while Lily and the comte stood by, unable to help her.
“He died shriven and in God’s good grace,” Pere Hugo said in an effort to comfort the grieving woman.
Autumn looked at the priest. “He died too young and suddenly, without warning. What kind of a God does that,
mon pere?
Answer me that? What kind of a God takes a young man from his family without warning and in the prime of his life?”
mon pere?
Answer me that? What kind of a God takes a young man from his family without warning and in the prime of his life?”
“I cannot answer that, madame la marquise, but I know that whatever God does has reason, even if we do not see it or understand it,” the priest replied.
“Tell that to my fatherless children,” Autumn said bitterly.
“You will love again one day, madame la marquise,” the priest said.
“You dare say that to me
now? Get out! Get out!
I will never love again. Never!”
now? Get out! Get out!
I will never love again. Never!”
Part III
MADAME LA MARQUISE 1656–1662
Chapter
13
13
“Y
ou cannot hide yourself here forever,” Jasmine said to her daughter. “Sebastian has been dead a year now. You must go home to Chermont, Autumn. Madeline should be raised in her own home, not her grandmother’s house.”
ou cannot hide yourself here forever,” Jasmine said to her daughter. “Sebastian has been dead a year now. You must go home to Chermont, Autumn. Madeline should be raised in her own home, not her grandmother’s house.”
“If I were dead, would you not raise her, Mama?” the grieving widow said to her parent.
“Yes, I would, but at Chermont, not Belle Fleurs,” Jasmine replied firmly.
“You could not live at Glenkirk after Papa died,” Autumn returned.
“I had lived at Glenkirk for over thirty years, Autumn. All my Leslie children but you were born there. But if my children had been young when your father died, I should have remained there. They were Leslies, and entitled to be raised on their own lands. Sebastian’s family have lived at Chermont for more centuries than I can count. Madeline is the last of them. Should she not be raised on her own lands too?”
“I can still see them bringing him home from the vineyards on that board. I see him lying in our bed gasping with every breath.
I see him dying there.”
She began to weep as she had almost every day since her husband had expired.
I see him dying there.”
She began to weep as she had almost every day since her husband had expired.
Jesu!
Jasmine thought irritably.
She is making a vocation out of her mourning. I did not think Autumn so fragile, but between Jemmie’s death, Sebastian’s death, and the loss of her baby, it has been too much for her. Was I this heartbroken when Jamal died, and I lost our child? I cannot remember, it has been so long. But she will weep herself into the grave if I do not do something about it.
Jasmine took a deep breath, then said, “You are going back to Chermont tomorrow, Autumn. If your bedchamber distresses you, then close it up and choose another chamber. God only knows Chermont has enough of them. I will go with you, and remain a time until you have acclimated yourself once more.”
Jasmine thought irritably.
She is making a vocation out of her mourning. I did not think Autumn so fragile, but between Jemmie’s death, Sebastian’s death, and the loss of her baby, it has been too much for her. Was I this heartbroken when Jamal died, and I lost our child? I cannot remember, it has been so long. But she will weep herself into the grave if I do not do something about it.
Jasmine took a deep breath, then said, “You are going back to Chermont tomorrow, Autumn. If your bedchamber distresses you, then close it up and choose another chamber. God only knows Chermont has enough of them. I will go with you, and remain a time until you have acclimated yourself once more.”
“I cannot!”
Autumn wailed.
Autumn wailed.
“God’s boots, I have listened to you whine and moan for over a year now! I will have no more of it,
ma fille!
Do you think your tears will change anything? Do you think they will bring Sebastian back to you? Do you think that looking down from heaven he is happy with your behavior, and how you have ignored his daughter in your self-pitying humor? You are not the first young woman to lose a husband after so short a time, nor are you the first woman to lose an expected child. My grandmother mourned six husbands, yet after each loss she survived to live and love again. So will you, Autumn. I am not asking that you forget Sebastian or the happiness you had with him, but it is over. You must get on with your life!”
ma fille!
Do you think your tears will change anything? Do you think they will bring Sebastian back to you? Do you think that looking down from heaven he is happy with your behavior, and how you have ignored his daughter in your self-pitying humor? You are not the first young woman to lose a husband after so short a time, nor are you the first woman to lose an expected child. My grandmother mourned six husbands, yet after each loss she survived to live and love again. So will you, Autumn. I am not asking that you forget Sebastian or the happiness you had with him, but it is over. You must get on with your life!”
“How can you possibly understand?” Autumn said tragically.
Jasmine slapped her daughter hard. “How dare you!” she cried.
Stunned, Autumn’s had went to her cheek.
“Mama!”
she said.
“Mama!”
she said.
“Do you think my life began with your father?” Jasmine demanded. “I lost two husbands to murder before I married James Leslie. I lost a child in the womb, and another just when she had learned to say,
‘Mama.’
That baby had a smile so sweet it broke the heart each time she exhibited it. You were born to me when I believed I was past having babies. You have been a joy to me, and to your father, may God assoil his good soul; but because your siblings were grown you have been raised as a single child might have been. You have known nothing of real sorrow until now. This is real life, Autumn, not some romantic fairy tale. You must take the bitter with the sweet. If you cannot, then perhaps it is better that you pine away and orphan your daughter entirely.”
‘Mama.’
That baby had a smile so sweet it broke the heart each time she exhibited it. You were born to me when I believed I was past having babies. You have been a joy to me, and to your father, may God assoil his good soul; but because your siblings were grown you have been raised as a single child might have been. You have known nothing of real sorrow until now. This is real life, Autumn, not some romantic fairy tale. You must take the bitter with the sweet. If you cannot, then perhaps it is better that you pine away and orphan your daughter entirely.”
“Mama!”
Autumn was shocked by her mother’s harsh words.
Autumn was shocked by her mother’s harsh words.
“Do not
mama
me,
ma fille.
Go and tell Lily, Orane, and Marie to start packing. We leave on the morrow.”
mama
me,
ma fille.
Go and tell Lily, Orane, and Marie to start packing. We leave on the morrow.”
Looking at her mother’s face, Autumn realized that there was no argument she could make that would change Jasmine’s mind. She curtsied to her parent and departed the room.
“About time you told her the truth of the matter,” the duchess’s old serving woman, Toramalli, said pithily. “We have all spoiled her rotten in our delight at having another bairn again, my lady. These young women today are nothing like we were in our youth. They seem to lack the strength of character we had.”
Jasmine laughed. “She is young yet. I think she will be all right if we stop cossetting her as we always have done. Now, we must pack if we are to go to Chermont with Autumn. Rohana will come with me. You, Toramalli, and the others can remain behind. There is no necessity for us all to be uprooted, and I intend staying less than a month. Just long enough to get her settled once again.”
“You’ll not travel even so short a distance without Red Hugh,” Toramalli said firmly. “Two women all alone in a chateau without realiable protection? The master wouldn’t have it, and neither will we, my princess. I’ll not trust these Frenchies to look after your safety.”
“Will there ever come a time when you do not consider my well-being, dearest Toramalli?” Jasmine said with a smile.
“We were born to serve you, my lady,” Toramalli said, “and so we will, my sister, Adali, and I, until the day we die.”
The servants at Chermont almost wept with joy as they welcomed Autumn and little Madeline back. It was seeing them that made Autumn realize how selfish she had been in her grief. Lafite and the others had known Sebastian since he was born. They surely had felt his loss almost as deeply as she had, and then she had taken the very future of Chermont, Sebastian’s daughter, away from them, leaving them doubly bereft. Jasmine saw the change in her daughter at once and was greatly relieved.
They were just settled when Lafite came to say that Michel Dupont, the master of the vineyard, wished to speak with her.
“I know nothing of the vineyards,” Autumn voiced the thought aloud.
“Michel is a good man and can be trusted,” Lafite said boldly. “If you wish to learn, he will be pleased to teach madame la marquise. And certainly la petite mademoiselle must learn her heritage. The Duponts have been at Chermont for over a thousand years, madame.”
“He may enter,” Autumn said.
Michel Dupont was a tall man with a robust build. His face was tanned and lined, attesting to his many hours out in the sunshine. His nut-brown hair was peppered with silver, and the blue eyes that briefly met hers were kind. He bowed, cap in hand, and waited for Autumn to give him permission to speak.
“Is the harvest going well, Michel Dupont?” she said, attempting a show of interest.
“Very well, madame la marquise,” he answered with a small smile.
“The vintage will be good?”
“It will be very good,” came the reply.
There was a long silence. Then Autumn said, “I know nothing of the vineyards, but I know I must learn, and when she is old enough, so must mademoiselle. Will you teach us, Michel Dupont?”
“Gladly, madame la marquise,” he said with another small smile.
“Why did you wish to see me?” she inquired.
“The harvest is bounteous, madame la marquise. We have more grapes than we can use this year. Archambault wishes to purchase what we cannot use. I would have your permission before I agree.”
“Our winery is small, then?” Autumn’s interest was now engaged.
Michel Dupont nodded. “We often cannot use all we grow,” he admitted to her. “Monsieur le marquis was thinking of enlarging the winery, but then . . .” He broke off suddenly, looking down at his well-worn boots as he attempted to avoid the unpleasant subject of his master’s demise.
“Are there plans?” Autumn asked him softly.
“Oui,
madame la marquise, there are.”
madame la marquise, there are.”
“If my husband thought it advisable to have a bigger winery, then we must have one,” Autumn said slowly. “Sell what we cannot use to my cousins at Archambault. Then we must begin digging the foundation for the new winery before the frost hardens the ground. That way the men can work during the winter months, and our winery will be ready for next year’s crop. If we do not have enough laborers, then we shall hire more. There must be men who will be glad of winter employment hereabouts. I do not know a great deal about vineyards, Michel Dupont, but I do know about business and its affairs. We must expand to be profitable.”
A delighted grin split the vineyard master’s face. He bowed to Autumn. “It shall be as madame la marquise orders. I shall keep you fully informed.”
“Then, if there is nothing more, Michel Dupont, you may go,” Autumn said, smoothing the deep violet silk of her gown, well pleased with herself. She felt she had done well.
“One thing, a small thing, madame la marquise. Would you not ride through the vineyards before the harvest is in with la petite mademoiselle upon your saddle? The people would be very encouraged,” he finished meaningfully. “They have mourned too, if I dare to say it.”
Tears sprang to her eyes.
God,
Autumn thought,
I really have been selfish.
She blinked the tears back, but one escaped, pearling down her cheek so that she brushed it quickly away. “I will come tomorrow, Michel Dupont,” she replied to his humble request.
God,
Autumn thought,
I really have been selfish.
She blinked the tears back, but one escaped, pearling down her cheek so that she brushed it quickly away. “I will come tomorrow, Michel Dupont,” she replied to his humble request.
He bowed again.
“Merci,
madame la marquise,” he said, and backed from the room.
“Merci,
madame la marquise,” he said, and backed from the room.
Autumn rose and went to the windows. The vineyards were a tired yellow-green in the hazy early October sunshine.
Oh, Sebastian,
she thought to herself.
How I loved you, but Mama is right. You are gone from me, and nothing is going to bring you back. I have to get on with my life, not just for my sake, but for Madeline’s as well.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment and felt the tears pricking at them again. Opening them she let the salty drops roll down her cheeks.
Adieu, mon coeur. The time has come to let you go. Adieu!
Then she turned away from the windows. Strangely, her heart felt lighter.
Oh, Sebastian,
she thought to herself.
How I loved you, but Mama is right. You are gone from me, and nothing is going to bring you back. I have to get on with my life, not just for my sake, but for Madeline’s as well.
She closed her eyes for a brief moment and felt the tears pricking at them again. Opening them she let the salty drops roll down her cheeks.
Adieu, mon coeur. The time has come to let you go. Adieu!
Then she turned away from the windows. Strangely, her heart felt lighter.
Jasmine noticed the change in her daughter almost immediately. She said nothing. The plans were found for the new winery, and the preparations began to build the addition. Autumn had been back at Chermont a week when a visitor arrived one morning. It was her old suitor, the Comte de Montroi. Amusing as ever, his blue eyes twinkling, he greeted Autumn with a smile and a jest, and almost immediately Autumn was laughing.
“Guy Claude, you have not changed, I see,” she said with a small chuckle. “What brings you to Chermont?”
“I am the bearer of an invitation,
ma belle,”
he replied. “The king has just arrived at Chambord to hunt, and he wishes you to join him.
Cherie,
how did you manage to catch the eye of the monarch from this backwater?” The comte accepted a silver goblet of wine that a servant offered.
ma belle,”
he replied. “The king has just arrived at Chambord to hunt, and he wishes you to join him.
Cherie,
how did you manage to catch the eye of the monarch from this backwater?” The comte accepted a silver goblet of wine that a servant offered.
“I cannot imagine I have caught his eye,” Autumn said. “I met him several years ago. He was a child, but very bold.”
“He is still bold where the ladies are concerned,” the comte told her, “but he is no longer a child. He is eighteen, and a man full grown. The women throw themselves at him. The queen mother labors night and day with the cardinal to marry him off. Not that that will keep his eye from roving,
ma chere
Autumn. He has the blood of Henri the Fourth and Francoise the First in him. It is hot blood.” He sipped his wine. “Excellent vintage,” he pronounced. “Is it yours or Archambault’s?”
ma chere
Autumn. He has the blood of Henri the Fourth and Francoise the First in him. It is hot blood.” He sipped his wine. “Excellent vintage,” he pronounced. “Is it yours or Archambault’s?”
“Ours,” she said.
“I was sorry to hear of your loss,” he said to her.
“We have survived,” she responded dryly.
“When shall I tell the king to expect you?” the comte asked.
“Say to his majesty that I would be excused as I yet mourn my husband. I thank him for his kind invitation and for remembering me, but I should be poor company.”
The comte’s blue eyes grew troubled. “I do not think you should refuse the king, Autumn,” he said to her.
“I do not think the king should invade my mourning,” she replied.
“The marquis has been dead a year now, hasn’t he?” the comte responded. “I believe a year is a respectable time of mourning for one’s husband. The king will certainly think so, Autumn.”
“The king may think what he wants. I will not go to Chambord, Guy Claude. It is unthinkable!”
“I shall deliver your message,
cherie,”
the Comte de Montroi said reluctantly. “The king will not be happy, however.”
cherie,”
the Comte de Montroi said reluctantly. “The king will not be happy, however.”
“I cannot imagine the refusal of a country widow should matter much to him,” Autumn said with a laugh. “His invitation was a polite one and nothing more. I’m certain such invitations have gone to others in the region. My absence will hardly be noted or spoken about.”
The Comte de Montroi departed, troubled. Louis might only have met Autumn once, but she had obviously made a deep impression upon him. All he had spoken about on their journey from Paris was the beautiful widow of Chermont. He remembered every nuance of her features. Her odd eyes. The scent she wore, which the king recalled as being fresh and wholesome. Louis, the comte realized, wanted more than to render his personal condolences to madame la marquise. He wanted Autumn in his bed, and she, innocent as she remained, hadn’t the faintest idea with regard to the king’s intentions. He already knew what the king’s reaction to her refusal would be. Louis would not be pleased at all.
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