Brocade Series 02 - Giselle (2 page)

Giselle was a married woman.

It wasn’t her marital state that the Antillions disliked so much,
although that was what she’d always suspected. Giselle had reasoned
that her
pere,
the
comte,
didn’t like that she was a
duchesse
, with a higher title than his
.
She was
wrong — it was much more.

Isabelle answered a late visitor’s knock at her door and came
back with a strange sort of awe on her face. “It’s your father,
Giselle.”

Giselle was ashamed at the way her hand shook as she replaced
her wine goblet on the table. She had nothing to be frightened or ashamed of. She
always had some wine before dressing for bed. It helped her sleep.

“Mon
pere.”

She bent into a low curtsy.
He came for my
twentieth birthday!
She tried to hide her joy, but knew it wasn’t
successful.

“Giselle,
” he said gravely.

Her emotion
died. She felt it. The warmth of her cheeks receded, leaving her feeling weak and chilled. She was
grateful he didn’t seem to notice, but that was stupid. The
Comte
d’Antillion rarely noticed his daughter, and when he did, it wasn’t a
good thing.

“You are well?”

“Yes, Papa.”

She gestured him to a settee and
seated herself with an elegant gesture in her usual chair.
She watched as he eyed the structure for a bit before seating himself.

“You don’t look well.”

“I’m sorry, Papa.” She looked at her folded hands.

“You’re eating?”

“Yes, Papa.” She straightened further against the chair’s back. This was terrible! The meeting was going poorly already.

“That’s good
. Francois is now officially betrothed to the
second daughter of the
Comte
Duisebonne. That was the best I could
do.”

Giselle wondered why he was telling her this
. He never talked
to her about the family before. She kept silent and waited.

“She has a dowry of seven-hundred acres of prime ground and
a thousand
louis d’ors.”

“That’s a fortune, Papa!” She exclaimed.

“No.”

His cold eyes appraised her after the one word
.
Giselle felt like an insect spread out for his inspection. Despite
her best intentions, gooseflesh rippled through her arms. She fought
the urge to clasp them about her.

“It would take a dowry as rich for all my sons,” his voice
softened a bit in pride, “to make up for what you cost me.”

He stood abruptly and turned away from her as if the sight was more than he
could bear.

“But, Papa….”

“Don’t speak to me, Giselle!”

She gasped and felt tears fill her eyes.

“Not until I’ve finished what I’ve come to say.”

Giselle opened her mouth to say
‘Yes, Papa,’ like a dutiful daughter, but then closed it. She knew any word would give away her
emotion, and he’d hate that worst of all.

“When you were born, I cursed you,
and I cursed God. I drank
until I couldn’t walk, but nothing had changed. I still had a
daughter.”

Giselle wiped a tear as it escaped her eye on the tip of a finger.
She already knew his feelings, so why bother crying?

“When you were small
…a little over one year old, my neighbor
to the south, Berchald, came to see me.”

She watched Papa walk to the window and move the drape aside. She didn’t say a word as he unlatched the thick-paned glass
and pushed it open. Giselle shivered in the sudden draft, but he
seemed unaffected.

“Somehow, he talked me into a betrothal
. His nephew and
heir, Etienne, was a lad of ten. God help me, I signed the
agreement.”

The drape fell back into place, shielding her from the cold of the elements, but not the chill of her father
. His eyes, when she dared glance at them, were filled with disgust. She lowered her gaze
instantly.

“Nearly a third
! Don’t you understand, Giselle? Somehow, that weasel of a man talked me out of Savignen Valley and all its
riches!”

Giselle gasped, finally understanding how much he had lost
.
Savignen was renowned throughout France for its vineyards and
wines. It had no equal. Giselle’s betrothal price was Savignen
Valley? She could scarcely believe it.

“I
thought, since you were such a sickly child, you’d never reach marriageable age. I was crazed with anger, drunk with
disappointment. I don’t know which to blame. Perhaps a
combination. It doesn’t matter, really. I agreed. It doesn’t matter
why at this point.”

“I’m sorry, Papa,” Giselle whispered
, looking up.

“Silence!”

He stopped her with a raised hand. Giselle’s heart hammered
loudly in her breast as if it had acquired a mind of its own. At least
she understood why Papa had always looked at her with such an air
of detachment. She actually preferred that to his full attention, now
that she had it.

“I’ve sent notice to the
Duc
du Berchald that you’re arriving
within a sennight.”

He turned his back on her again
. “I’ve sheltered you since the marriage and sent good Antilli gold after bad, while all of Savignen’s
riches fill your husband’s coffers. I’ll do it no more.”

“Non,
Papa. Wait! I beg—” Giselle stood from her chair.

“Control yourself, Giselle.”

She ignored him. She no longer cared if he admonished her.
He was making the solid wood of the tower floor feel like it was sand, and it was nothing to him? She rushed to his side and reached
for him. “Please Papa? I’ll eat less!
I’ll
make my clothes last longer!
I’ll do anything! Don’t do this to me.”

“It’s too late Giselle.” He pried her hand from his arm.

“But, Papa. Please!”

“Isabelle, give her a posset
. She has taken ill.”

He pushed from
Giselle and walked stiffly from the room. She
didn’t know if he looked back either, her face was buried in her
hands.

~

It was Louisa who opened Giselle’s eyes. Her governess noticed the
shock on Giselle’s face the next morning. Or perhaps it was because
Giselle wouldn’t get out of bed
.

“What happened, Giselle?”

Giselle turned her face away.

“Isabelle, why does she lay there as if her life were over?”

“The
comte
came last night.”

Giselle knew it was Isabelle pulling the drapes open
. Giselle
longed to box the woman’s ears, only she never had, and she didn’t have the strength at the moment.

‘The
comte?
What did he say?” Louisa’s voice sharpened.

“Oh Louisa, how can I bear it?” Giselle cried
out and buried her
face into her pillows.

“If
someone doesn’t tell me what’s happening, right now, I’ll send for the
doctors.”

“Not the doctors!”

Giselle gasped. All those medical men
wanted to do was attach leeches and drain her blood. She detested
them almost as much as she did Papa.

“My
father is…he’s—.” This was terrible. She
caught the sob just as it sounded.

“Yes?”

“He’s sending me to my husband’s family.” Giselle finished
.

“Thank the Lord!” Louisa clapped her hands and
started jumping in a little circle
.

“How can you say such a thing?”

Giselle
wasn’t successful at keeping anger
from her voice. Louisa was never anything but a champion.
Giselle felt betrayed by the other’s emotion.

“Because it’s true
! I’ve been praying to God every night for
you for this very thing. I can’t believe my prayers are finally being
answered!”

Giselle stared
. She couldn’t believe it.
Louisa must not care for her at all.

“It’s a grand day, and you lay abed. Up!”

Of course it was a grand day for Louisa, She wasn’t the one being sent away like excess baggage. She must be happy because her term of
employment was over. Giselle had no idea how little the other
woman must care. Giselle narrowed her eyes, and looked away from
the sunlight. She’d ordered Isabelle not to let in the sun, but that command was disobeyed too. She was surrounded by people who didn’t care. She
tried to keep the emotion from her voice, and the words came out as
flat as she expected.

“I’m being exiled, and you rejoice
. My thanks.”

Louisa laughed. “Don’t be silly, Giselle. You aren’t being
exiled. You’re being set free!”

Giselle’s mouth opened, then shut. She hadn’t looked at it like
that.

“I’ve watched you wallow in self-pity for too long, already,”
Louisa continued. “I don’t think you’ve allowed sunshine into this
chamber in months. It’s gloomy and depressing, just as your life has
been. That’s why I had Isabelle draw your drapes. It’s a new day,
Giselle. The start of a new life for you. The future is all yours. Just
think of it!”

“I’m trying not to,” she grumbled.

“You’ll be chatelaine of Chateau Berchand, with many
servants to command. There will be menus to decide, entertainment to provide, and don’t forget, you can order any piece of clothing you
fancy — at will! I look forward to seeing you in a new wardrobe,
furnished with the latest in Paris fashions. I’m almost too overjoyed
for words.”

Wardrobe?
Giselle wondered.
Entertainment?
“Aren’t you forgetting something, Louisa?”

“What?”

“What? Are you so dense? I may be chatelaine of the castle,
but
I’m
not alone. What of my husband? Well? What of him? I’ve never
even laid eyes on him.”

This time she was trying to keep fear from her
voice, but
fell woefully short. Giselle knew it as she met Isabelle’s glance.
The maid knew exactly what she was feeling.

“Oh, him? There’s little to fear, Giselle. I promise.”

Louisa’s
voice lowered and she moved her eyebrows up and down
suggestively.
Giselle stared at her. So did Isabelle, although she had to stop
her infernal fidgeting to do so.

“Remember the wedding, Giselle, when you were six? You
must remember something.”

Oh…she remembered, all right
. Mama had made certain Giselle wore her
daffodil-yellow frock, complete with a lace pinafore on top. She was
very excited, even if she had instructions to stay away from Papa.
She didn’t know why she’d been told that, for she loved him.

“
I recall it, Louisa,” she said.

“
Then you must remember your cousin, Janelle? Remember how lovely she
was in her white gown? It was a wedding gown. She was your standin.”

Giselle hadn’t seen
Janelle since, but she still recalled how beautiful Janelle looked. She had kissed Giselle as she left for the town
chapel, and called her
“Ma petit duchesse. “

After Janelle had left, Giselle had asked Louisa, “What’s a
duchesse?”

“It’s a title, Giselle. You’re being married by proxy today.
The
Duc
du Berchald has petitioned for and been granted His
Majesty’s permission for the ceremony. Isn’t it exciting? You’ll be a
member of the Berchald family. Your new title is higher even than
your papa’s.”