The Ambassador's Daughter

Chapter 32

Louise lay in the bed, her eyes closed, her brow slightly puckered as if she had a headache. Her right arm had been set in a cast when she arrived at the palace. Her left arm now lay over her stomach, slowly rising and falling with every breath. Her right arm lay beside her, over the blankets. Someone had recently been in to give her a bath. Her long hair was damp and braided back from her face. After being washed, the cuts and bruises on her face seemed to stand out more vividly, like they'd been re-opened by the sponge.

Elise reached out and gently touched her daughter's face. Elise was filled with a mixture of revulsion and disbelief. She had heard Steve Rogers's report and King T'Challa's report seemed to agree with Steve's. Her own husband had been the mastermind behind Louise's accident. The cuts, the bruised ribs and the broken arm, not to mention the concussion and whatever emotional injuries Louise would suffer were all William's fault. "But I don't understand," Elise said, looking up angrily at the brooding young man standing across the bed from her. "What did William want from Louise that he couldn't get just by asking her? Louise has a stubborn streak, to be sure, but she does know her place. She would never defy a direct request from her father!"

Bucky snorted, "Like staying at home and not visiting the palace every day? Or was that a general suggestion?" Bucky asked. Elise pressed her lips tightly together, struggling to maintain her composure. She failed and let loose a tirade in French that would have made a sailor blush. Bucky raised any eyebrow. "Calm yourself, Madame." He replied calmly, in French. Elise's eyes widened. She had not realized that he spoke French. "I am the reason your daughter is in the state she is."

"You!" Elise shrieked. The door flew open and Steve and T'Challa burst in. "Your Majesty!" Elise practically screamed, "I demand that this...this...vagrant be removed from this room. Immediately!"

"I understand, Madam," T'Challa replied calmly, "But this is my home, so I will allow him to remain."

"Do you care nothing for my daughter?" Elise demanded shrilly. "This man has actually admitted to causing Louise's injuries!" Bucky could see the relief in Elise's eyes. If she could blame Bucky and not her husband for Louise's state, then the world made sense to her.

"Mrs. Brandt," Steve cut in, "Bucky is my best friend, but he has a tendency to blame himself. I assure you, he is no guiltier of causing Louise's injuries than Louise herself." Steve ignored Bucky's sound of protest.

"Then why is my daughter laying in a hospital bed, unconscious?"

"Because the ambassador wanted to use her to get to me." Bucky growled, shrugging away from the wall and moving to look out the window, if only to avoid looking at Louise any longer. "You know who I am, I suppose. You know what I am capable of. So did your husband. However, he knew something more. He knew I...I would not let anyone hurt Louise. So he staged her kidnapping and drew me out in an attempt to turn me into the Winter Soldier. So, because of her relationship with me she is laying in that bed."

"Her relationship with you?" Elise gasped, "What, exactly, is her relationship with you?"

"I..." Bucky paused as if considering his next words. "I'm the reason she continually broke curfew and climbed out her window." Elise let out a strangled squeak and sank into a chair next to Louise's bed.

"Madam," T'Challa cut in calmly, "Mr. Barnes needed your daughter. I have seen her with him and I believe she needed him, too." Elise clenched her jaw looking remarkably like Louise. "I assure you, Miss Louise was not forced into anything. She was presented with a plan and she chose to be part of it."

Louise groaned just then, distracting her mother. Every eye in the room was drawn to Louise's face. Her eyes fluttered, but did not open. "I suggest we move this conversation to another location." Steve said quietly, motioning towards to door. Elise stomped out into the hall. The men followed. T'Challa led the way to the conference room.