We didn’t get many visitors other than my godmother. He tapped his nose and continued smiling but stayed silent.
“Papa! Is she here?”
“Patience, patience. You’ll just have to wait and see.” He got up and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead. “Now go to your room, please, and start packing.”
Chapter Two
My room was on the second floor, up the curved wooden staircase and tucked away in an alcove at the end of the hall. The task went slowly, but I made progress in the next few hours.
And the first thing that would come with me was Maman’s mirror.
The mirror had been my grandmother’s—my mother’s mother—given as a gift to Maman on her wedding day. Its frame was inlaid with painted wood pieces in the shapes of intricate flowers that curled around one another with birds perched within them.
When I was small, I would lie on her bed and watch as she prepared for a ball or social outing. Claudine would be there, curling her hair, pulling it into intricate knots, and adorning it with flowers or pearls. Sometimes when we were alone, as Maman applied a bit of rouge and powder on her face and dabbed red stain on her lips, she would put a touch on me as well. I don’t remember much of my mother, but those moments are imprinted in my memory, how beautiful she looked in that mirror, how she would smile at me when our eyes met. Maman had soft brown hair and sweet brown eyes; everyone tells me I look like her.
After she died, Papa gave the mirror to me, and it’s been hanging in my bedchamber ever since.
“Where is my sweet Cendrillon?” said a voice from my doorway, gentle and full of humor. “Oh, ma filleule?”
I turned to see none other than Lady Françoise de la Valliere entering my room, arms outstretched for a hug.
I ran into her arms. “I just knew you were the visitor. Hello, Marraine!”
Lady Françoise laughed and said, “Why? Your father has no other friends who come to visit?”
“Of course not,” I said, but I didn’t quite mean it.
I was sure that my father had other friends at court, but none of those friends ever visited us at home. Lady Françoise was the only one, which made sense, as she was Papa’s oldest friend. They’d grown up together at court and remained friends to this day, rising through the ranks to become favorite courtiers of the king. I’d known Lady Françoise my entire life. She was my godmother and held me at my baptism. I don’t know what Papa and I would have done without her support after Maman’s death.
“Still, you’re the best one,” I said.
We linked arms, and I led her to the only settee in my chamber that hadn’t been packed away. Lady Françoise looked beautiful, with glossy black curls piled atop her head. Her red dress was set aflame by the light streaming through the windows.
“Now that you’re coming to court, we’ll be able to see each other nearly every day! But I’m sure you won’t want to spend too much time with me, not when you’ll be making so many new friends.”
My pulse jumped at the mention of court. I grabbed Lady Françoise’s hand. “That’s not true—I’ll be completely lost at court without you.”
Lady Françoise squeezed my hand and peered into my face. “What’s wrong, ma jolie belle? You look very pale. Are you feeling all right?”
“I’m nervous,” I blurted out. “About going to court.” The weight in my chest eased as the words passed my lips, even though my body tensed as I waited for her reaction.
“Nervous about court? Do you not want to go?” she asked, her expression frustratingly neutral.
“No! I mean, I’m excited to go to Versailles, to see the palace, the world that you and Papa live in, but—”
“But what?” asked Lady Françoise, her perfectly arched eyebrows raised in alarm.
“But I’m afraid too. Worried I won’t be able to achieve what Maman had dreamed for me. She was like you—always so composed, so capable. She could handle anything. I’m not like that,” I finished weakly, embarrassed by how immature I must sound.
Lady Françoise smiled softly and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me tightly to her side and enveloping me in the calming air of her jasmine perfume.
“Your mother was a wonderful person,” Lady Françoise said, giving my shoulders a reassuring squeeze. “One of my dearest friends. And she loved you more than anything else in all the world. Nothing you do could disappoint her.”
“But—”
“No. I won’t hear any argument on the matter. I knew her longer than you did, and I am sure she would be happy as long as you’re happy. You must not allow the fear of disappointing her cloud your mind, because it simply wouldn’t be possible.”
I opened my mouth to speak, to protest, to agree, to start crying. I wasn’t sure. And it didn’t matter, because Lady Françoise carried right on, as if she knew I needed further encouragement.
“I understand how you’re feeling about court, though. It can be difficult to adjust when you’re new. Adhering to the strict rituals, getting used to the meddlesome courtiers, meeting the king and the royal family . . . It can be confusing and will take time to get used to. That’s normal.”
“Is it?” I leaned against her just as I had as a child.
“Of course! You’ve never been to court before, and your life here is very different from what it will be in Versailles. Why wouldn’t you be nervous? Still, Versailles is more wonderful than even I could imagine. It’s a marvelous circus of parties, and you will meet the most interesting people in France and from around the world! Perhaps you’ll fall in love with one of the handsome nobles or even a prince! That alone makes it all worthwhile.”
I slumped back into the cushions and released the breath I’d been holding. Lady Françoise laughed and leaned back next to me, without a thought for her hair getting mussed or her bodice wrinkling.
As much as I loved her, I wasn’t sure I wanted to share the other reason I dreaded the move, the one that kept me up at night: becoming a courtier might mean my two best friends would be taken from me.
On the rare occasions Papa invited his court acquaintances to the château, they would see me playing with Marius or Elodie, smile condescendingly, and comment on how lonely it must be for me, having only the servant children to play with. They said an introduction at court would afford me a whole host of playmates befitting my station. Sometimes they said it in front of Marius and Elodie, and I would see Marius’s cheeks burn red and Elodie’s eyes fill with tears. Then they would pat me on the head and saunter off.