Brocade Series 02 - Giselle (4 page)

“Monsieur
has just been explaining why his brother, the
duc,
couldn’t come in person, Giselle,” Papa said. “I’m certain you’ll
find the answer as interesting as I do, won’t you, my dear?”

Papa had never spoken like that to her before
. There was an insinuation in his tone that she couldn’t place. This Navarre heard it, too.
She watched Papa pour cognac for himself and drink it, purposely refraining from asking Navarre if he’d like one, too.

Although Navarre stood an arms-length away, she felt him
stiffen at the insult.

“My brother, Etienne, would’ve come, but he’s
been…indisposed for some time,
Monsieur
le
Comte.”

“Indisposed?”

Giselle spoke without meaning to, and she wasn’t prepared
when Navarre looked at her again. She couldn’t tear her eyes away, although the sheen of dislike in his was easy to see.

“The
duc
suffered a riding accident when he was twenty-one,
Madame”

He bowed, then looked away
again.

“A riding accident?” Papa asked. “He’s not disabled, is he?
We should’ve been informed earlier,
Monsieur”

Giselle looked at Papa, seeing him as Navarre was, and she felt
the shame. It was as if the emotion he’d always shown her was
directed entirely at the man beside her. She was used to it, but it embarrassed her to see it exhibited. She stiffened and turned back to
her new relative.

“When am I expected,
Monsieur?”

She tensed for the strange power of his gaze, and wasn’t disappointed
. Purplish-blue eyes questioned her, and Giselle’s heart
pumped more color into her cheeks. She didn’t flinch as she lifted her chin. He had no reason for his dislike of her. She wasn’t an Antillion.
She was a Berchald, just as he was.

He smiled slightly. “When your luggage has been collected,
Madame.”

Mon Dieu!

Giselle couldn’t continue looking at him if she
couldn’t control the reaction better. Her cry was audible as she
looked away. She could only hope he wouldn’t guess the cause.

“Chateau Berchand isn’t far,
Madame
la
Duchesse,”
he said
softly.

“Of
course it isn’t.”

Giselle squirmed in embarrassment as her Papa interrupted
rudely.

“It’s on the other side of Savignen Valley
. Just as it’s always
been.”

She recognized the bitterness that filled his words for what it
was. She felt a kinship with Navarre as they both looked to the
comte.

“
I must keep you no longer,
Monsieur.
I’ll await my
kinswoman outside.”

He turned to Giselle, surprising her. She didn’t have any
experience on how to stop him as he reached for her hand again. She
desperately tried to control her breathing, but confined in the dress as
she was, all she could do was gasp for air.

“Don’t keep me waiting overlong, Giselle.”

Oh my!
He’d called her Giselle!

She managed to nod as he
released her hand and moved away. Her eyes followed him
. She had to remember that he wasn’t her husband. He wasn’t Etienne. But how was she supposed to do that?

“Thank you for your hospitality,
Monsieur
le
Comte.”

Navarre bowed stiffly
to her father, an insult in itself, then he walked out the front door. Silence followed him. Giselle tried to control herself. Something was wrong. She was experiencing tremors. She had to stop the reaction. But how?
She was still
fighting her own pulse when her papa spoke.

“If
this Etienne is disabled, you are to return home, Giselle. At
once. Do you understand? The wedding will be annulled at once. At
once, do you hear?”

Giselle caught herself almost nodding and saying
‘Yes, Papa,’
like she’d always done, but something stopped her. She knew what it
was, too. It was the man awaiting her outside.

“This isn’t my home,
Monsieur
le
Comte
d’Antillion. It’s a
surprise that you would say so, for it hasn’t been for some time.”

She curtsied formally to him, and felt sudden strength filling her
. Louisa
was right — she was free.

“Good-bye
,
Monsieur le Comte
.”

She walked to the stairs, vaguely surprised that
he had no reply, and that she had been so brave. She climbed the first flight sedately, but was racing them before s
he reached the chambers. And that was stupid. She was out of breath.

“Well?” Louisa asked.

“Well
…what?”

“
I saw how you acted. Come. You have to tell us. We’re on
tenterhooks, aren’t we, Isabelle?”

Isabelle simply shrugged, and Louisa tossed her hands. “
I will
not tolerate this attitude. I want to know what you think, and I want to know now.”

Giselle giggled, and it felt strange, too
. Everything did. “I find
this Navarre large, rude, overpowering…and extremely handsome. Does
that make you happy?”

“Only if I get to see your face when you meet the
duc.”

Louisa
clapped her hands, as if she were responsible for the turn of events.

“As I recall, Etienne is even paler than Navarre. His hair is lighter.
He is taller, too.”

“No one could be taller,” Giselle replied. “I’m dwarfed, I tell
you. I won’t stand for it.”

“Oh, Giselle.”
Louisa chuckled. “As if he could change his size. You say the silliest things, sometimes.”

She was right, and Giselle had thought much the same thing
already.

“Hurry
. Take up your
pelìsse,
so you don’t keep him waiting.’’

Isabelle assisted her with the light shawl,
fashioned in the same yellow shade as her petticoats. Giselle watched her image in the mirror as
the maid draped it over her shoulders. Then, she met the women’s
eyes. They both had the strangest smile on their faces.

“Aren’t you coming?”

“Isabelle and I will follow with your clothing. You are a
married woman. You’ve no need for a chaperon. We were informed that this
Navarre came in a light chaise, and we wouldn’t have fit, anyway.
He’s a nobleman, Giselle. Don’t fret. You’ll be well taken care of.”

Giselle’s eyes went wide.

“
What? I have to travel with him…alone? I can’t!
You don’t know—” She caught her tongue, before she spilled it
. They didn’t know how much he affected her.

“
We don’t know what?”

“
I’ve never done this. How can you ask it of me?”

“Giselle.”
Louisa clucked her tongue.

“
I can’t do it, Louisa. I can’t. What will I speak of?”

“Say nothing
. Let him talk. That’s what men enjoy most, isn’t it,
Isabelle?”

Giselle had never known Isabelle to have a man, so it was no
surprise that the maid simply lifted her eyebrows and said nothing. Oh…Giselle
was so woefully ignorant of such things. How could she possibly ride beside this Navarre? The sight of him stole her breath
and gave her shivers. Being alone with him would be more than she
could imagine.

“Go,
Giselle. Enjoy your first ride. It’s the first of many new experiences. You must tell me all about it the moment you arrive at
the castle. Just think! You’re riding in a new chaise, wearing a
beautiful new dress with a handsome escort at your side. And before
you go to sleep tonight, you’ll meet your husband, Etienne. Isn’t it exciting?”

Giselle’s expression answered for her
. She knew how worried she looked, for she glimpsed herself in the mirror before she left.

Louisa
was right. Again. Giselle counseled herself as retraced her steps down the staircases. It is
a new experience. She should feel excited and a little fearful. There‘s nothing wrong with that. Dare she tell this Navarre that she’d never traveled before? How could she? She couldn’t even look at him. How could she speak with him?

Her chin rose.

She wouldn’t tell him. It couldn’t be that frightening, and if it was, it couldn’t last long. And…she was going to
meet her husband!

Giselle’s heart skipped a beat as she neared the doors
. That wasn’t a good sign. Then she passed the
Major Domo,
and walked out and into such sunshine, her eyes squinted. And there was Navarre, standing beside one of his horses, stroking the animal’s nose. Giselle gulped. He had a very large horse.
Giselle would have been terrified, for it was so very large in
comparison to her.

Oh…why wasn’t she
tall like Isabelle? She’d rather
be statuesque, instead of tiny. It couldn’t be helped. Giselle walked down the steps, across a red carpet, and approached Navarre.

“Ah
. There you are. Come. Allow me to help you up,” he said.

Giselle eyed him warily as he walked to the half-open door of
the open carriage.
Help me up?

“Have you no parasol
? I’m afraid your skin won’t last long in the sun.” He looked around. “Perhaps you should send for
one. Have you a maid?”

Giselle nodded and watched as he sent a servant
off on the errand. She felt even more foolish. She should have thought of a parasol before she came down.

“You don’t deliberately whiten your skin, do you, Giselle? I’ve
heard of women who do, and it’s a dangerous beauty secret. Come.
I won’t harm you.”

Giselle longed to say something to his chatter, but she was
afraid her voice wouldn’t work. It had something to do with the immense hands reaching for her.

“You’re
very small.
I’m
not certain what Etienne will
say about that. We’re not used to such women.
I’m
afraid you’ll
break at any moment.”

His hands easily encircled her waist, and Giselle couldn’t help
blushing. It was too intimate, but she hadn’t any resource to tell him
so.
He lifted her high into the air and onto the narrow bench.
Oh my!
Her skirts made it even more strange. She’d never had such a
volume of material about her. It made it difficult to feel the
structure beneath her. It was also high in the air. She shut her eyes
.

If I fall….

The vehicle swayed. Giselle squealed in terror and her eyes
flew
open.

“Giselle?”

He spoke softly, and glanced to where she’d gripped his arm. It was simply Navarre stepping in that had made
the vehicle sway. Giselle
waited for her heart to calm, t
he relief was so strong, she felt giddy.

“What is it?”

Giselle couldn’t answer
. He was too close. She could see
muscles in his thighs! They were clearly defined through the green satin breeches. She’d never seen any man to compare. Oh.
This was terrible
.
She
had to concentrate to unlock her fingers from his arm as she
studiously avoided looking anywhere near him.

“You’re frightened
? Don’t be. It’s not a terrible thing to be a
Berchald. You’ll see. Look. Here’s your maid with your parasol.”

Giselle
looked down at Louisa,
terrified again. The woman was so far below them.

“Enjoy your drive, Giselle.”

The governess squeezed Giselle’s hand. She tried to smile in reply, but it felt more like a grimace.
Beside her, she heard Navarre cluck his tongue, and Giselle
grabbed the rail beside her in surprise. The chateau moved past in a blur, and
she tightened her grip. Perhaps, if she looked above the horse’s head
instead of at the ground, it wouldn’t seem so fast.