A Powerful Little Love

Chapter 2

For many moments there was silence. None of the four men in the dining room dared to speak, and the lady on the stairs couldn't have even if she wanted to. Amorette was terrified that the musketeers would hear the frantic beating of her heart from where she stood. She began to slip quietly back upstairs, but the beginning of a conversation halted her steps.

"Milady and Amorette are half-sisters. They share the same mother." Athos' words lacked emotion. He spoke as if he had no more knowledge of the women than their names.

"Oh and let me guess," grumbled Porthos as Amorette heard him pull out a chair from the table and sit, "Mademoiselle Amorette had the perfect childhood with parents that doted on her and she never wanted for anything, whilst Milady had a miserable childhood and suffered greatly. That reasoning would never excuse any of her actions."

"Actually, things were quite the contrary to what you suggest." Again Athos had spoken with cold civility, and Amorette began to feel not just anger towards the man but disappointment. They had been the closest of friends once and she thoroughly believed he should have had more of a care for her when he spoke of her life. There was not a note of passion in his voice at all. Perhaps if she had cared somewhat less about him she might have clattered downstairs into the room and confronted him, but despite knowing he cared very little for her she could not bring herself to destroy any good opinion he might still have of her. She stood still on the stairs, determined not to become overwhelmed as he began to tell her story.

"Milady De Winter was born out of wedlock to Phillipe De Breuil and the Cometess De La Feuillette. I believe they first met at French court and the affair was short lived. Her mother and father were both nobility and as would be expected in such a case, Milady grew up loved and cared for. She lived with her father who doted on her. Her every need was catered for. That is until she left home and became the wretch that I met before I married her. She is a product of her upbringing. She is selfish and cruel because that is what she learned from her father. He taught her that her own importance, happiness and survival came above all else. She values her own life and situation above anyone else's. Milady's mother married eventually to an English gentleman by the name of Lord Percy Barclay. Whilst their mother cared for both of her daughters, her previous life before her marriage was not something that her husband permitted talk of. Thus Mademoiselle Amorette grew up without any knowledge of the half-sister that her mother bore. Her father was a cold, cruel and uncivil man who treated her abominably. As a woman she could not carry on his family line and this upset him greatly, but she could inherit the title and money that had been bestowed upon her mother. When her mother did pass away and she became a Cometess she was no longer confined to her father's rule. She had her own land and money and was therefore free. With her mother's death there had also come the news of her half-sister. Amorette was happy at the news, overwhelmingly so. I believe that she felt very alone in the world until she met Milady. For a while she was incandescently happy; she had the sibling that she had always dreamed of. They communicated in letters for a long time before they met. Things had begun to improve for her until she decided to introduce her sister to her closest friend."

"And this friend, was this you?" queried Porthos. Amorette assumed that Athos had nodded because there was silence for a few seconds.

"Wait!" called D'artagnan. "You met her sister first?"

"Yes." Athos' voice still seemed void of any emotion whatsoever. "We met through her cousin Charles. He owns land not too far from my estate. Amorette spent each summer season with her cousins at their home. She was just a young child when I met her, and I was barely a man. I do believe her mother wished for us to marry at some point and her father even discussed the prospect as possible, but I believe he had set his sights a little higher in terms of a husband for his only daughter. After Amorette broke from her father she and Milady arranged to meet. By that stage Milady had already fallen spectacularly from grace, but she was hiding it well. Amorette couldn't have been more welcoming to her, regardless of what her situation might have been. They even lived together for a time and Amorette began to involve her new sister into every aspect of her life, including her friendships. Milady had already quit the home she had shared with Amorette and was living elsewhere when I was introduced to her. The cracks in the relationship were already there, but my involvement with Milady made them gaping holes. The reality was that both sisters were very different. You must understand that Amorette was very dear to me, but Milady was unlike anyone I'd ever met. Instantly I had an inkling that she would be challenging to say the least. Very quickly my friendship with Amorette turned sour."