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Post by anjelrocker on Jan 18, 2012 23:33:10 GMT -5
His bastard brother had passed away and he was quite happy for that fact since he never did like the man. However, he had been unable to have sons by his wife and had only had two daughters. Then, perhaps if he had not been with his mistress, the infamous Lady Manon then his whore of a wife would have had a son and Lucien would not be the new Duke. The idea of returning to his childhood home was not something that he wished to deal with but then, he did not want to see her either. However, he was going to have to deal with his one time lover and her daughters. She had two of them, pretty little girls like their mother but he supposed that they were going to turn into heartbreakers as well. Like their mother...
Stepping from the carriage, he was dressed quite well with his metals and uniform, he had gone to the front and was considered somewhat of a war hero for his military advancements. His rank was that of a Captain, having rose up rather quickly. However, he had saved others lives and did almost suicide missions because a part of him no longer wanted to live. He had put everything that he had into his military career. He had been surprised as he stared at the little girl, seeing her for the first time as he decided to answer her question but ignoring her mother for the moment.
After all, the sins of her mother were not to be blamed on the young girl as he smiled. "I am the new Duke and you must me my oldest neice, Lucia." Despite being bitter, he was always kind to children as he looked over to see the other little girls who was trying to walk over to where her mother was before falling on her rump and whining. Lifting her arms for her mother, she was picked up as his eyes looked to her. Arienne...
She had been the woman that he had loved. No, he still loved despite that evening when she had destroyed his heart. As she stood there with one daughter clinging to her skirts and the other in her arms, Lucien felt envy for her and his brother. He had always wanted to be a father and he had wanted children with this woman and yet, it was never going to come to pass. "Milady..." He offered a bow to the Dowager Duchess, having not had the word that he was to wed the Dowager so that she could become his own Duchess.
---
Seven years since she had fallen from the Eiffel Tower into the France of the old world as she walked down the lane to her home. It had been a late evening since she was quite an amount of work with the ledges, rubbing her eyes, Valerie wanted to see her two children and check on Vincent. He had been named after her father and his middle name was Jerome's father, he was a good little boy but he was sick and she knew that it was something that could not be cured.
She had brought him to Dr. Blackwell whom she knew was from around her own time but he had said that it was something that could not be helped in his own time. However, she knew with the medicine of her time that perhaps there was a chance. And so, she was going to have to make a trip to Paris and find a way to bring herself as well as her son and daughter to 2007. That was if time continued in her own time. However, the idea of her husband returning with her seemed impossible as she entered her home.
It was not as if she did not love Jerome, she did... but since Vincent had been sick... she knew that their time together would be cut short. She knew that it was cruel to take his children away but, her son living was more important and what sort of mother would she be if she left her four year old daughter, Bianca. Smiling as she entered to see both Jerome as well as their housekeeper and someone whom she considered a friend, Helene. "I am sorry that I am late... how are the children?" She would have tomorrow off as well as Sunday which was when they would go to church as a family.
Looking up the stairs, she looked worried about her children as she pulled off her cap as well as her shawl. Her hair was not her natural hair colour having been dyed red, it was now a dark brown since she had had to cut it. That had been a strange conversation when she had to explain why her roots were a different colour. However, Jerome did not know the truth since she had been lying for far too long... even her children did not know either and yet, she had taught them songs and things that she had had from her own childhood.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Jan 19, 2012 9:34:04 GMT -5
When their eyes met, she was likely to of collapsed but managed not to. "Your grace," she repeated then looked at Christine, smoothing out her curls and calming her then looking to the nurse. "Thank you Celia but I have it from here," she said. The woman nodded and curtseyed before leaving them all in the courtyard. She took a deep breath and looked at her former lover then down.
"The solicitor, M. Durant is here..." she said simply. "He is in the upstairs solar. I am sure he wants to speak with you," she said taking a deep breath and then turning. "Lucia come..." she said, walking inside, trying to keep her wits about her. Lucia frowned, glancing at him before turning and walking with her mother inside the house. The whole house was in a flurry as a meal was prepared for the new Duke. Lucia frowned as she went into the sitting room with her mother and watched as Chrissy was sat down on the floor and some of her rag dolls placed by her.
"Momma..." Lucia asked and her mother looked at her.
"Yes Lucia?" she asked curiously as she stroked her honey blonde hair, giving her a gentle smile.
"Is he going to toss us out, or send me back to the nuns?" she asked and her mother sighed.
"I won't let him take you away from me. Not like your...like the former duke did," she said and then kissed her brow and hugged her. "You are my little princess and I couldn't bear it if you ever got taken from me again. I will speak with the duke...he..." She took a deep breath and looked at her daughter. "He is going to marry me and he will be your new father...and I am certain he will be much better a father than the other Duke was..."
Lucia swallowed. "Is he going to hurt you momma?" she asked.
Her mother sighed. "No, he won't hit or beat me. I promise," she said then kiss her brow before getting up and sitting on the settee, adjusting her black dress.
-----
Sighing, Arienne kept herself as happy as she could for the sake of her daughters and after laying the younger of the two down for a nap and leaving Lucia to do her lessons, she slowly approached the solar, taking a deep breath before gently entering, seeing him looking over documents. Monsieur Durant had already left the house after explaining everything to Lucien. She watched him. He looked as handsome as ever, perhaps more gray around the temples, but overall, still the man she had fallen in love with. She took a deep breath, walking in completely and shutting the door behind her.
She had her hair half up, half down, her weight a little under and her facial features pale. She was still beautiful but had the look of someone more fragile than what she once was. Even after having two children. She was twenty-four now. Older, wiser, and probably more pessimistic for it. Her sister was happily married to Dr. Blackwell with a child on the way, after years of courtship between them. Her oldest brother had a son by his wife, Jacques was in New France, and Henri had died on the front. She wrote Valerie but only when she had been able to sneak out a letter, but this last month, she had written once a week. Telling Val all of what had happened.
"Your Grace," she said simply. "Lucien...." She swallowed hard. "I suppose you still hate me," she mused. "But I think bad blood between us....is...fruitless...especially since the king has ordered....for us to get married."
-----
Jerome ate some more then got up and walked to her, kissing her. "Fine...Vincent is sleeping, and Bianca is as well...I sent them to bed with a little lullaby and they've been out for a good half hour. Sit down love...I'll fetch you some dinner," he told her then went to the kitchen, returning quickly with some bread and cheese and a bowl of soup. "Here you are love..." he said then kissed her neck before sitting down again by her.
"How was work?" he asked her curiously. While most men would hate the idea of a woman working while being a wife and mother, he knew his wife wouldn't of ever said yes to him if he had not agreed to let her keep working for Arienne. And then to be fired by her rat bastard of a husband. Thank God the son of a bitch was dead. It made his life a lot easier and he wondered if his wife would be going to visit her friend any time soon. As it had been three years now, and few letters, since she had seen Arienne.
A woman who was so selfless she should be a saint. He knew that Arienne had her faults but she was a pious woman and one whom self sacrificed so much that it was to the point of self destruction. She had saved Lucien's life only to see him go off to war, and she had married a man to save Lucien from death, only to be treated like nothing better than a brood mare. And for what, two daughters and three miscarriages.
He sighed. "Also, a letter from Arienne," he said, reaching over and handing it to her.
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Post by anjelrocker on Jan 19, 2012 16:43:43 GMT -5
It seemed that his brother had not been taking care of the land holders as the solicitor had explained the situation to him and he was frown down at the documents, he was now in his mid-thirties and had started greying pre-maturely. However, it had been the stress of war and all that he had had to deal with on the front as well as being the now former Captain of the guard. Being that he was the Duke now, he had taken earlier retirement thinking that he was going to settle and set up a home for his sister in law and his neices. And perhaps, he would find a wife for himself.
Lucien had had mistresses over the last seven years as well as lovers but none had been anywhere to the degree of Arienne when he had been in love with her. Hell, he was still in love with her but he was bitter because of her betrayal. It did not help that he was being order now but the King to wed his sister in law. Some information that he had received by the lawyer as. Glancing up at her, his face was showing no emotion as he said simply to her. "It seems that I will have to write the King about that then..." He did not want to see her, seven years and he was as bitter as he had been on the day that she had said that she made a bet with his brother. The bastard was dead but it seemed that the two of them deserved each other.
"After all, I would not want to put you through something so distasteful." He said simply. "I will see to it being that you are now the Dowager Duchess, that your daughters and yourself are taken care of." Eyes that had mirrored his brother's looked up at her, "And if you must know, I loathe you with every inch of my being... I still think that you are a disgusting power hungry whore and the idea of being wedded to you sickens me to my very core." He wanted her to hurt and cry as he had look before.
"I assume that you wish to wed me and got the King's approval because you do not want to give up the title. I am afraid that I can not allow that, I will wed who I want to... and it is no longer you." Looking down, he dipped his quill into the ink blotter and signed one of the documents. "If that is all that you wish to discuss then I do not wish to speak. I am quite busy, milady." He hated himself for being so cruel but he knew that if he was kind to her then she would once again walk all over him and break his heart again.
---
Smiling when her husband kissed her neck, Valerie was feeling guilty for her plan to take their children to her own world as she said. "Oh, it was not so trouble. I have to work with the ledges so that the taxes will be paid to the Countess." She said referring to the woman who owned all the land in the city as she slowly ate at her soup, bread and cheese. It was in fact deliciously as she complimented Helene for her work on the evening meal. "Since it is that time of the year, but Monsieur Riel and and wife gave me two days off so I plan to spend time with the children." She felt guilty that she had not been there with her children, but she enjoyed her work and did not think she could give it up.
It gave her a sense of purpose. "A letter from Arienne?" Her tired face seemed to look a little more cheerful since this was the third letter she had received since the death of the Duke. The man had been a bastard and had even tried to make her his mistress. Since she had refused because she had had two children by then and a loving husband, the man had fired her. She had had no choice but to leave, leaving one of her dearest friends behind as she had had to take on another job.
Opening up the letter, she glanced over it hoping that they would be able to visit. Of course, she worried about Vincent's health knowing that she had to act soon. "Oh... Lucien took over as the Duke." She said quietly remembering the day when she had had to comfort the crying young woman seven years before. "It says that she wishes us to visit them..." Looking up, Valerie was smiling hoping that some good would come of this news.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Jan 19, 2012 18:14:37 GMT -5
Arienne held her tongue though she really wanted to say something to deny the fact and throw it back in his face. Because of what she had done to him. She had gotten herself into this mess. Slowly, she looked down, sterling herself, and trying to keep herself from bursting into sobs. Tough none if it was true, they were deserved remarks. She swallowed and looked at him. "Loathe me all you like, but also, before you go on making assumptions write the king and ask him if I played a hand in this. I never wanted to marry again you understand. S the fact the king got a dispensation for us during the time that the former duke was sick, you have to see I did nothing...but I understand your doubts. But I am not the same woman I was back then. And I hope you can cease from calling me a whore. And for the love of God, at least show me a small courtesy of respect in front of my daughters. Lucia especially since she is at an impressionable age..."
She swallowed hard then took a deep breath. "Dinner will be served in a couple of hours...it's my hope that you will join myself and my daughter Lucia but if you do not, I well understand..." she curtseyed and headed for the door. Pausing, she glanced at him then took a deep breath. "I hope one day, you will find it in your heart to forgive me," she said softly then turned and walked out of the room, a single tear falling down her heck as she walked away.
-----
Jerome smiled. "I am sure that we could arrange it," he smiled then heard a loud bang upstairs. He got up quickly and rushed upstairs, seeing vincent's little body convulsing on the floor. Quickly, he grabbed the wooden spoon they kept close by, placing it in his mouth to keep him from biting his tongue as tremors shook through his small frame. He hated feeling so helpless where his own son was concerned but there was little to be done but let the episode pass. After a minute or two, which seemed like eternity, the tremors finally stopped and Jerome took the spoon from his son's mouth and sighed as Vincent looked up at him then hugged him. Jerome sighed then lifted him up and put him back to bed.
"There we are son...it is all done," he said softly then swallowed and retucked him in before sinking onto the bed, covering his face with one hand as he tried to keep his composure. He took several deep breaths then lifted his head, glancing back at Vincent as he had drifted off back to sleep. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he got up, seeing Valerie at the door.
"He is fine. The tremors passed. I doubt he has another one of those fits," he said knowing most would put such a boy in an asylum but he knew that the boy had a fine mental health. If only he knew what kept causing him to have all of these tremors.
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Post by anjelrocker on Jan 19, 2012 20:28:29 GMT -5
"Like hell I will..." He muttered to himself as he watched her leave the room in a flurry of skirts. He would have the common delicacy to treat her with respect when he was around her daughters, whether the damnable woman deserved it or not. After all, he did like children and he supposed that treating her daughters unfairly because of whom their mother and father are was completely uncalled for. The idea of giving her forgiveness, well... that was a completely different situation because he did not thing that she deserved that from him. He had given her his heart and she might as well of ripping it out and stomped on it and then tossed it into the flames of hell. Glancing down at the documents, he was reading over the details of the contracts. Something that he would go over carefully which was bound to take him a few hours.
He wondered if it was wise to go down for dinner with her and his neice. Of course, it would be rude to his new staff but the idea of having to share a meal with Arienne... well, he did not want to think about it as he was grumbling bitterly to himself thinking that a glass of wine or something of the sort would do him a bit of good.
He had once thought of Arienne as a self sacificing young woman who had become the King's mistress in the stead of her older sickly sister but now, he knew that it was most likely because she had wanted to be risen and married into a powerful house. It was why she had set her eyes on him but when his older brother had offered then she had bounced at that chance. The bet between her and his brother... well, that had been cruel. Closing his eyes, Lucien rubbed his temples as he continued with his work.
---
Hours later, he was going down the halls of his former childhood home as he had remembered running up and down the halls with Josephine when he had been only a boy. It had been before his sister had passed of childhood illness, she had been a bright and vivid young girl and strangely enough... Lucia as well as Christina reminded him of his sister before she had passed. Her thought of his mother, she had been a cold woman who had not showed love for her children... it had been his nursemaid who had given all of them love, some form or another as he thought of the woman who had raised him with fond memories. She had passed when he had been sixteen and he had weep for the robust nursemaid as he had for his younger sister.
Shaking his head of the memories, Lucien looked to see the young blond girl watching him with a curious look as another head seemed to poke out behind her. It seemed that his neices were wondering about the tall scary soldier of a man. "Evening... Lucia and Christina?" He said as he went down to one knee so that he was not so tall and forboding to the two of them. "Almost ready for supper, no?" He smiled at him.
---
Her hand was at her chest as she had tears in her eyes as her face looked pale, Valerie did not know about the suizures but she knew that there was medicaltion in her own time that could help her son. The idea of him being put into one of these asylums was something that she would never stand for. And so, she had to find a way to bring Vincent and even Bianca to her own time so that they could live a healthy life.
After all, in this world... they would think it the work of the devil and if a preacher or someone saw him have a fit on the streets. Well, they would take her child away from her. And she would kill if they were to take Vincent. "They are more frequent..." She said softly to Jerome as she glanced into the room to see that her four year old daughter was still asleep despite her brother's suizure. Closing her eyes, she leaned against the door frame knowing what she must do and yet being afraid to return.
After all, Jerome could not return with them. "If anyone gets word of Vincent's fits... you know that the church will do something... He is fine thought..." She said looking up.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Jan 19, 2012 21:49:12 GMT -5
Lucia smiled brightly giving a curtsey. "Your Grace. Momma is busy speaking with Madame Bordeaux. I am sure she will be here really soon. I am Lucia..." she said brightly. Then she glanced at her sister. "Christina is the youngest," she said then bit her bottom lip, looking at him nervously. "Moma says you won't send me away to the nuns, like papa did. You won't do that will you?" she asked worriedly. "They were always mean to me...even worse than papa was when he saw me..." she trailed off and looked own, shuffling her feet nervously. "Please don't send me back to the nuns your grace," she whispered, her tiny gaze slowly looking back at him. "I like it a lot, being close to momma. She never hits me or Chrissy like papa did...and...I like it here with her..."
------
Jerome looked at her and sighed, leaving the room and shutting the door. "I won't let the church take him from us Valerie. He is sound of mind. He just has these fits. Most times, he is perfectly normal. I don't want our son being said to have the devil's affliction...everything these days...is the devil's affliction," he swallowed then sank down on the hall chair. He sighed.
"What are we to do Valerie...?" he asked but the question was mostly to himself. Soon they would be getting questions and if he ever had a fit in public, there would be no saving Vincent from those god awful asylums. Places with good intentions but whose execution was so poorly lacking, it did more harm than good to those they were trying to save.
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Post by anjelrocker on Jan 19, 2012 22:30:46 GMT -5
'Like Papa did...' He was watching the young girl with a curious look when she had said that since he had believed that hitting a child was considered wrong. Of course, a child did need a firm hit to the bottom when being punished so that they remembered not to do something but he did not know of the context of what the little blond girl was saying. "Well, I do not plan to send you away to the nunnery if that is not what your mother wishes for you." He said with a smile as if to reassure the young girl that he did not have any intention of sending her away from her mother's side. He thought that was cruel in a sense but then, perhaps it was nice to know that she seemed like a good mother to her children. Despite what had occurred seven years before...
He did not want to child to fear him as he beckoned the youngest to come over as she was hiding and peeking out from behind the door. She looked to be about a toddler who was only learning to walk as she moved so that she could take those few steps towards where her older sister was standing before she fell down. It was in the instant that the baby started to cry from falling down as Lucien, who had dealt with some children before but certainly not these two as he lifted Christina up to coddle her so that she would stop crying. After all, she was only a baby girl and when they were upset from falling then you comforted them.
"Shh... it's alright cherie." He said to his neice as he looked down at his other neice, who was watching him. "Do not fear, I will make sure that you stay with your momma..." He would also make sure that his older brother's daughters were cared for since he felt that it was his duty as the current Duke.
---
Shaking her head, Valerie did not know what to say to her husband. He did not even know the truth about her, how could she tell him her true intentions were to take their children so that her son could live a full and healthy life. "I do not know, Jerome..." She said quietly as she took a step to where he was sitting as she reached out to touch his shoulder. Despite her intentions, she loved this man but her child's life was more important then her own happiness. She knew that she would hurt him but she was doing it for the good of their family. Atleast, she was sure of it.
"We need to see if this is something that does not happen often after a certain age..." She hoped but if this was something that would effect him for the remainder of his life. Well, then she would have to settle into her life in the future if it was possible to return. "I love you..." She said in a whisper as she was patting her husband's head as if to comfort him when he himself was feeling stress.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Jan 19, 2012 22:56:13 GMT -5
Lucia beamed. "I think I like you your grace," she said. "I would ask you your grace, to be nice to momma. Papa never was, and he let that woman tell momma what to do. I had to call her momma too but I'd didn't. Papa always got mad about that..." she said with the stark honesty of most girls her age. She watched him caring for her sister, realizing she had never seen her papa act so kindly and hold Chrissy. It was only ever momma or nurse who held her.
She heard footsteps and turned, seeing her mother and beamed. Watching as her mother paused and curtseyed. "Your Grace...I hope the girls weren't being a nuisance," she said. Lucia saw a saddness to her mother's features but only for a moment. Something she did often before pretending happiness. Lucia smiled. "I wasn't being any trouble," she promised, accepting her mother's kiss before skipping into the dining room.
Arienne sighed at her daughter's precocious nature then walked over to Lucien and Chrissy, offering her arms to the younger of her two children. "Come now Chrissy...a little love before Nurse Puts you to Ned," she coaxed, glancing at Lucien then back at her daughter. "Come on ma petite..."
-----
Jerome sighed and grabbed her waist, kissing her belly and then tugging her down to his lap, kissing her deeply. "I love you more," he told her. "I am the luckiest man to have a wife so good as you mon Cherie...I don't deserve you I think," he said then kissed her again before sighing and just holding her to him. The same way he had when she had been pregnant with her first child. Their beautiful son.
He swallowed and then sighed, looking at her. "I will speak with your employer tomorrow, asking if he and his wife can handle the bookings for a week or so. I think we néed a little vacation away from here in the country. And it would be nice to visit Arienne and see how she is doing...especially since Lucien is soon to arrive if he has not already...you know the trouble she will be having. It is only a day's trip. We could reach her home by nightfall tomorrow. How do you feel about that?" he asked running his fingers through her air and loosening it. His thick fingers running through the silky strands.
Maybe if they got away for a few days, it would give his wife some welcome relief.
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Post by anjelrocker on Jan 20, 2012 0:09:53 GMT -5
The little girl's arms were around her uncle's neck as she was having her back rubbed in circlar motions and Lucien was continuing to comfort her before saying. "She is unsteady on her legs and while do towards her sister, she fell..." He said to Arienne deciding to be respectful to her because of the request of his other neice. It seemed that his brother was a bastard to her like he was with all things in his life, how short it had been. He could not help but wonder who the other woman had been? Certainly not a mistress of his brother's living under the same roof... something that he thought was quite scandalous. Never the less, there seemed to be alot that he did not know of the last seven years.
"They were not giving me trouble in the least, your daughters are well behaved..." He said as he looked down the wall as Lucia was skipping into the dining room as he slowly passed Chrissy to her mother as she whimpered and put her head on her mother's shoulder with a little soft pout on her lips. "Ah, this one will be a little heartbreaker when she grows up..." He had not gotten his own context as he looked up into the eyes of Arienne before looking away. "Like her mother..." He said in a low voice before moving himself away so that he could go to the dining room to be served the evening meal.
---
It was so nice to be in her husband's arms since there marriage seemed to be a little strained do to the fact that they were both dealing with Vincent's illness in their own ways. It was something that was on her mind even when she was working with the numbers and figures of the local inn. "I can ask them myself, Jerome..." She said quietly but if you are there with me then I suppose they will simply have to let me leave for a time. Her fingers gently caresssed his cheek as she rested her head on his shoulder and leaned back slightly as she smiled.
Turning her head, she kissed him. "Ah, sometimes... it is I who thinks that I do not deserve you... I would have been lost if you had not helped me that night so long ago..." Val was nibbling on his ear as she smiled wanting to stay like this for sometime. "A trip sounds quite fine... the children will be happy for it." Hopefully, the country would be good for her son's condition.
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Post by Raynesleigh on Jan 20, 2012 11:54:43 GMT -5
Arienne sighed and ran her fingers through her hair then swallowed hard, trying to keep herself from crying at that offhanded remark. She took a deep breath, giving her daughter her love before handing her off to the nurse with a promise to wake her up the following morning, and then she turned and walked to the dining room where her daughter was already seated. She smiled at her oldest then looked at her true father for a moment. He would never believe her if she told him. No...he thought her a whore. And would question her statements. better he think Lucia would be his brother's child. Not that it mattered. Once he wrote the king, she knew that once again she would be in a marriage. One where she would be unloved and treated like nothing more than a whore. It was a mess she had tried to prevent, but the irony of it was that the man she loved so much, who had she tried to save from death, would treat her with cruelty.
With Maximilian, it had been cruelty of the physical kind. Rape, brutal beatings, having his mistress Manon being flaunted before her and allowing his mistress to rule over her and the household she was supposed to run. She had learned to separate herself from reality, caring only for her children. When Lucia had been beaten, at five years old, for no reason whatsoever except that she had not called Manon mother, she had lost it and fought back. Pushing him off of her baby while six months pregnant with his child and he had slammed her into the nearby mirror, causing a shard of it to slice a now scar down her back.
He had beaten her his most savage but she had fought him back, leaving a few marks of her own, stopping only because she was miscarrying. A son. He had just fired Valerie not to long before and after miscarrying, he had soon found a place to put Lucia. A convent. And so her daughter had been taken from her and not long after, she had gotten pregnant ith Chrissy. A child, now nearly two. Manon had left after her husband's funeral and it was only now that she had her freedom. But if the King had his way, her freedom would be short lived. She sighed, taking a deep breath and then took a seat by her daughter.
As the first course was served, she thanked the maid and then looked at the man she had wanted since being the King's mistress.
Lucia smiled at him then looked at her own plate and ate with relish. All Arienne could be thankful for was that her daughters would not be mistreated with Lucien as their guardian.
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Jerome smiled softly then sighed. "Then we will leave tomorrow and arrive if not tomorrow night then the morning after." He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through her hair and kissed her deeply. Then he sighed and ran his fingers through her hair once more, admiring her beauty and quiet strength. She was a beautiful woman, in her late twenties, but still beautiful and young and the woman he couldn't imagine living without her or their two children. He sighed and lays her head against his chest. "I can only hope that the country will help him...I don't want to lose our children, either one of them," he mused thoughtfully. Then he sighed and stood up, pressing her against him and wiping her tears.
"It will get better my love..." he told her then kissed her. "It has to." He sighed and walked with her to their room and then shut the door, gathering her close. He couldn't imagine reverting back to his bachelor ways. He had never cheated on her, never had eyes for any other woman but her. He kissed her deeply then sighed and drew away then kissed her again before laying her down on their bed to make love to her.
-----
Two days after his arrival, Arienne found herself out in the courtyard wearing a simple dark gray dress to show her official mourning while playing with her two children outside the room. She was laughing and singing and dancing with Lucia as the nurse she had hired sat with Chrissy. Lucia smiled as they danced together, singing loudly the tune A La Claire Fontaine. She took a deep breath as they finished the song and then turning to the front road, she saw a carriage comig up the road and paused when she realized who it was. Valerie. She doubted she had ever been so thankful to see such a woman and her family.
She gathered up her skirts, walking quickly across the yard, calling her Nurse and Lucia after her and then moving to the carriage as Jerome exited and helped his children and Val from the carriage. "Oh God Val," she said gratefully. "I've missed you," she said, hugging her best friend tightly and then drawing away as Lucia hugged her 'Uncle' Jerome's legs, glad to see him. She took a deep breath and drew back, hugging Jerome as well then drawing back. "come...come I'll have something made up...for you all to eat...Nichole," she said, looking to the nurse and taking Chrissy from her. Letting her take a break for a while.
"Is your brother in law here yet?" Jerome asked. She sighed and glanced at him.
"Yes..." she said simply. "He arrived yesterday..." she mused, glancing at him then back at the house as she led them all inside. Calling for someone to gather their things. "how long are you all staying?" she asked as she smiled at her friend's son and daughter as they and Lucia immediately started playing together.
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