The Nymph of Versailles

Chapter 13

The new dresses worked. They hid her pregnancy enough to keep gossip and her husband away until it was time for her to prepare to give birth. Like a true mistress in power, other women at court followed her style, making the new dresses fashionable. As she stared out at the Rue de l'Echelle, she wished she were back at court dancing and searching to see which ladies had switched dresses to mimic hers instead of being hidden away in this little house. The sparseness of the furnishings made her long for her rooms at the palace.

Louis rented the room for her birth and chose a location that would be sure to keep her away from the gossips of court. A sharp labor pang made her hiss. She squeezed the armrests, hoping the birth would be a fast one. Sweat beaded on her forehead from the exertion it took to hold in her screams. The king would come any minute, and she didn't want him to see her weakness. To see her screaming in agony. The king didn't like being around those who complained of their ills or couldn't control their emotions and pain. She'd seen him walk away from Louise more than once due to emotional outbursts. In the king's world, a lack of control signaled weakness and inferiority. She had asked him to come. Wanted him at her side when their child arrived in the world. But with pain tearing up her insides she regretted the decision.

"Madame, the king is here," Sophie said as the king burst in behind her. Athénaïs sucked in a deep breath as another tremor wracked her body. She squeezed her armrests harder, causing her knuckles to turn white.

"Is it really time?" he asked. His hair was windblown and his clothes muted compared to his usual clothes covered in ruffles and ribbons, making her wonder if he'd ridden on horseback in disguise. While they weren't the clothes she expected a king to wear, anything he wore always looked magnificent on him. It was the way he carried himself—not quite arrogant confidence, but an ease about himself and his place in the world. An ease that had already grown since their romance started.

"Yes. Has the doctor arrived yet?" Athénaïs asked. Her voice came out breathy as she spoke through her pain.

"No, but I sent for one. Let's get you in bed were you'll be comfortable."

She stood and let him guide her into the large bed. The dark bed curtains made the space inviting and private. How different her birth would be from the queen's. She wouldn't have the whole court packed into her room awaiting the babe's sex, only the king, a doctor, and the maid. She wondered how Louise felt during the birth of her first child in secret. Had she been afraid? Angry the king wouldn't recognize the child? If Athénaïs had room to feel anything between the pangs of pain, it'd be anger at her husband for forcing her to hide the pregnancy and child.

"Remember to not tell the doctor who you are lest word gets back to your husband," the king reminded her.

"I won't. You'll stay, right?"

"Yes. I'll be right beside you." He ran his fingers across her forehead with tender care. "No matter what I won't leave."

Her previous children she bore without her husband while he preferred to drink, gamble, or complain about her screams of pain. The king staying was proof of his love, unlike Louise's last child who she bore without him. Her child couldn't be publicly recognized, but her child would have a king for a father and not a gambling addict. After all she would have to rely on the king's love to provide for her child's future.

She gritted her teeth against her labor pangs. "Giving birth never gets any easier." She let out a long moan and the king reached for her hand.

"The doctor will be here soon." He sat down beside her and ran his fingers through her hair. "Do you think our child will have my eyes or yours?"