Mistress of the Revolution Read Free Page A

entered the room and knelt, along with my brother and mother. She motioned to me to follow suit next to her. The Marquis led the prayers. I made the mistake of sitting on my heels when kneeling, but my mother turned towards me and slapped me on the side of the face. I was reminded of proper manners and corrected my position. At last everyone rose and it was time to retire.
    I did not sleep much that first night at Fontfreyde. The wood floor creaked as if someone had been walking in my room. Maybe it was the drac , the nasty little fiend that haunted every house, grand or small, in Auvergne and delighted in playing tricks on its inhabitants. The autumn wind shook the old place and filled it with uncanny noises. I thought I heard the racket of the chaço volanto , the flying hunt, with its howling hounds, ghost riders and horses at full gallop in midair.
     

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    My brother gave me the much-awaited riding lessons. Jewel lived up to his name and proved to be the sweetest of animals, although he did keep growing for another year or so. My brother taught me to ride sideways, like a lady. I soon gained confidence and made rapid progress. I also taught myself, when no one was looking, to ride astride. I would fill my pockets with apples and carrots stolen from Joséphine’s cellar and lead Jewel away from the château to practice.
    I envied the freedom afforded men, who could use both of their legs for balance without having to use the long whip required of a woman on a side saddle. I admired the daring displayed on horseback by my brother, who had been an officer in the Light Cavalry, and knew that I could not hope to match his skill without also riding astride.
    My audacity nearly cost me my riding privileges and much more. My mother learned of it and had me summoned to the drawing room. She was seething with anger, her mouth tighter than usual, and slapped me until my face stung.
    “Just wait,” she said. “Your brother will know of this as soon as he returns from town. Stupid, willful, disobedient girl. All the expense, all the care lavished on your education, all will be for naught. You are no better than your sister Hélène. I will see to it that the Marquis gives you the correction you deserve.”
    I feared my brother’s anger far more than my mother’s slaps or any punishment. Even the deprivation of the pleasure of riding would have been nothing compared to the loss of his good opinion. I spent a dreadful afternoon in anticipation of his return.
    At last one of the maids told me that I was expected in the Marquis’s study. No criminal under examination shook more in front of his judge than I did that day. I stole one look at him. His expression was more severe than I had ever seen it. My sole comfort was that our mother was not there. I knelt before him in silence.
    “Mother tells me that you have been riding astride,” he said. “Is it true?”
    “Yes, Sir. She is very angry with me.”
    “So am I. I cannot tell you how disappointed I am in you. It must never happen again, Gabrielle, do you hear me?”
    “It will not. I would never think of disobeying you, Sir.”
    “I am not so sure. What I do not like about your conduct is that you hid it from me.”
    “I did not think it worth mentioning, Sir. If I had thought that it would anger you so, I would never have done it.”
    “I have an excellent reason, which you are too young to understand, to forbid any riding astride, especially on such a large animal as Jewel. Let me say only that it might later do you a great disservice with the man you will marry. Do you promise that you will never do it again?”
    “I do.”
    “And do you promise never again to conceal anything from me, even if you believe it to be a trivial matter?”
    “I do, Sir. It pains me so to have caused you one moment of uneasiness. You have always been so good to me. I terribly feel my own ingratitude. I would welcome any punishment if you would but forgive me.”
    “Mother has asked