Bal Masque Read Free

Armand and the Dupres’ plans.” Lucienne shrugged. “I wish it were his life someone else was arranging. How long would he put up with anyone else making choices for him?”
    “It’s the way of things. The gentlemen make the rules. Ladies make themselves agreeable.” Marie busied herself tidying the chamber. Lucienne roamed the room, finally settling Ninette in her lap and again staring, a bit sullenly, out into the landscape. The silence between the two women lengthened. Jasmine from the broken bottles still permeated the air, though Marie had wiped the dampness from the pine floor and swept shards of glass and feathers out of the crevices.
    As Marie removed the last trace of Lucienne’s outburst, she considered the girl’s intense expression. She knew such silent concentration suggested a plot in the making. Was Lucienne still thinking she could convince her papa to consider another suitor? Or was she still angry that she couldn’t wear the lavish ball gown or attend the grand bal masque ? Lucienne was very still, thoughtfully stroking the cat, a shaft of slanting light outlining her against the window. She twitched the curtains together but continued to cast a lingering look through them.
    “Perhaps Papa will do something for me, a little thing to make all this less obnoxious.” She spoke softly as if voicing random thoughts.
    “What is that , chèrie ?” Marie glanced back, unsettled by the disingenuous look on Lucienne’s face.
    “Perhaps Papa might be willing to arrange something so I can wear my wonderful masquerade gown. Haven’t I been very good about agreeing to his arrangements? He should be willing to humor my one little whim.”
    Marie could almost hear the whir of plans. Lucienne continued to look through the sheer curtains. “Lucienne, what are you thinking? You said yourself the time of the wedding is for the convenience of the Dupres. Since he’s willing to concede to their time requirements by reducing the usual Mardi Gras celebrations, I am certain he will not change the date. He does not back away easily from something once he has decided.” Very much like his daughter, I think, she added to herself .
    Lucienne walked from the windows to put the kitten on the white counterpane. She cast Marie a sideways look, her elfin eyes bright as black diamonds. “Oh, no, he most certainly won’t do that. But he does like to get his money’s worth out of any purchase—a horse, a piece of land, whatever. And he paid for the butterfly dress even though Grandmère ordered it. He won’t like for his money to be spent for nothing. And I will need yet another expensive gown for the wedding—one that will probably cost even more since it will have to be made in a rush—so he might see value in letting me wear the butterfly dress.”
    “But, p’tite , the butterfly dress, a beautiful dress to be sure, is not suitable for a bride. It is a—a costume, not bridal wear, at all.”
    Lucienne laughed, a brittle edge in her tone. “Oh, it certainly is not. Not the usual bride’s dress, at least. But if I remind Papa that the whole parish will be disappointed if Mille Fleur doesn’t have the annual masquerade ball—and if I point out the wasteful extravagance of having paid for a gown I can’t wear—I might get his attention. Then I’ll suggest we combine the wedding and the ball.” A smothered chuckle colored her words. Marie glanced at her charge with doubled suspicion. “I can wear my wonderful gown, his money will be spent with a purpose, and he will be saved the cost of a second dress.” With eyes as wide as Ninette’s, she continued, “All our friends and family will be so pleased if the ball goes on as usual. It will be less work for Mama and the servants this way.” She added in a measured, reasonable voice, “The wedding will be unique, and that will appeal to Papa. He loves to be the first with a new fashion. This may be unconventional, but it’s far less trouble than what he