A Powerful Little Love

Chapter 11

                  

Silence descended upon the tavern when Porthos burst through the door.  For a few seconds he scanned the large room until he found his three friends sitting towards the back.  He stopped just short of the table that D'artagnan, Athos and Aramis sat around and bent double as he tried to catch his breath.  As the seconds trickled by the mumble of conversation broke out again.

"You'll never guess who is back at court!"

Dainty, pretty slippers stepped out of the carriage onto the snow dusted cobblestones of the courtyard in the Louvre Palace and Amorette gasped as she looked up.  Despite her vision being slightly obscured by the brim of her hat, she was still taken aback by the splendour of the Louvre.  She winced a little as her new slippers rubbed against the back of her ankle rather painfully.  She should have worn them in a little.  They were in a new style and not something Amorette would normally have chosen but they went with the dress and hat.  The whole outfit was in fact not something that Amorette would have ever picked out for herself.  The deep purple colour had alarmed her slightly when she had dressed earlier that day.  Amorette thought that it washed her out a little, but when she had pinned her hair up and placed the hat on her head she had admitted rather reluctantly to herself that she would cut a very stylish form when she attended court.

The hallways of the Louvre were bustling with chatter as Amorette made her way towards the presence chamber.  She felt her cheeks burn red as she noticed more than one Madame admiring her dress and quickened her pace.  Praise was still not something she felt entirely comfortable with, even after all these years.  Bustling into the presence chamber amid the rustling of her dress, Amorette was tempted to tear the hat from her head and stamp up on down in it.  She hated attention of any kind, and now she was about to become the focus of all of Paris court.  That had probably been Buckingham's plan all along in purchasing the dress for her.  Sighing with exertion Amorette made herself sit on her hands so that she wouldn't fuss with the dress.

When her old friend finally met her in the presence chamber, Amorette finally understood her flamboyant dress.  The Duke of Buckingham was wearing a suit of exactly the same shade of deep purple silk.  Amorette snorted with laughter as Buckingham grinned.  Closing the door behind him he came to sit beside her on the bench.  "You just couldn't help yourself could you?" Amorette cried as she grabbed a fistful of her skirts and shook it in his direction. 

Smirking, Buckingham slid a gentle arm around her shoulder.  "We'll cut quite the form dressed in the newest fashions.  No one in Paris is wearing a dress cut that way yet.  You'll be the talk of court.  You deserve such an entrance."

Amorette winced.  "George you know I don't want to make an entrance.  I'd rather they were in awe of someone else."

"Too late for that now isn't it!"  Buckingham let a light chuckle escape his lips and tapped the brim of Amorette's hat.  You suit a hat by the way.  It's quite becoming you know.  My wife hasn't the head for hats, they look awful on her but you really do look quite the fashionista.  So, is he here tonight?"

Amorette glanced at her friend hesitantly before deciding to play dumb.  "Is who here?"

"The musketeer," Buckingham muttered just as a steward opened the door and motioned for them to follow him. 

"How should I know, and why would I care?" said Amorette as Buckingham offered her his arm and she took it. 

Clasping Buckingham's arm tightly, Amorette felt a little less frightened by what was about to happen.  "Come now Mademoiselle, we both know you care very much.  But I'm not one to cause you any unnecessary embarrassment so I'll save the conversation for another time."