Musketeer's Daughter:Unanswered Riddle

Chapter 29: Sorrow

Supper was delicious. Not as extravagant as what she partook at the château, but there was love in every bite.

"Mmmm." Ysabeau savored the food, but not very much the company. The air was strained, never relenting from the first moment she stepped foot at home. Philippe cared less for Mathieu's hostility but sought her attentions whenever possible. Like now.

His elbow brushed against hers, his laughter warm and infectious. "I wonder what they will say if your gown is discovered."

Ysabeau flushed, and peeked out the corner of her eye at Mathieu. His fingers gripped his bread as he cleaned his trencher of its thick gravy. "Would they know it is mine?"

"I doubt it." He tipped his goblet and set it down. "A wonderful repast. I look forward to more." Philippe winked at Ysabeau.

"I do not miss the corset, that is for sure. It is refining. I could not take breaths."

"Either suits you, mon amour," Philippe said, his eyes caressing her mouth.

His first word of affection before Mathieu! Ysabeau lowered her eyes, heat washing across her cheeks.

"What other adventures did you enjoy, Ysabeau?" Mathieu's voice strained through his teeth, his gaze hard.

"Ah." She thought of how she bested Philippe as a musketeer before the courtiers, the first dance with the King, how every gentleman vied for her attention, how she fled from Philippe but felt like an invalid with her garb. How she intruded upon André, how he invited her. How the King . . . "Oh." Again, the heat throbbed her face up to her ears.

"I see."

"Never a dull moment living at court." Philippe winked at Ysabeau and turned to Mathieu. "I assume you are well aware of Ysabeau's skill?"

Mathieu's eyebrow flew into his hairline, and his eyes iced over. "Skill?" He turned to Ysabeau. "Please do not tell me you, you . . ."

Philippe's laughter filled the dining hall with its rich warmth. "She is a great fighter and the courtiers did not know any better."

"What? Does Andrién know?" Mathieu, pushed from the table, anger darkening his gaze.

"Of course he knows, why else would I be dressed as one of his comrades?" Though she used a lighthearted tone, it did not erase the fear behind her meaning. Ysabeau was done dining. Philippe rose with her, his arm out.

"Let us go for a turn about." He covered her hand with his, and she could see the mysteries he longed to divulge.

Her heart kicked. At last, a moment alone with him and she wanted to ask if he would know of the Queen-Mother's sudden interest in her. "What of the spies?" She caught Mathieu scowling as they exited the chamber.

"Do you have a place where eyes do not pry? A way to get there without detection?"