The Nymph of Versailles

Chapter 23

"I can't eat. I'm fasting to prepare myself for the convent," Louise declared.

Quiet murmurs of praise from around the lunch table answered her.

"You still plan to join a convent?" Madame de Sévigné asked. The king ate, taking no part in the conversation. The queen hadn't joined them for lunch, preferring to stay in her rooms to eat and pray. The king often took his lunch alone, so whenever he invited anyone to join him they didn't dare turn down the opportunity.

"I'm joining the Carmelites."

Athénaïs snorted. When the king's gaze fell on her she faked a cough to disguise the noise. The Carmelites were the strictest order. She didn't see how Louise could go from the splendor and luxury of court life to a strict, impoverished life as a nun. If she joined the Carmelites Louise would go from silken gowns and pearls to bare feet and scratchy hair shirts.

"I think it's wonderful. It's an admirable path to walk," Scarron added. The king had invited her to dine with them to show Athénaïs he supported her decision in governess.

"Won't it be hard to go from Versailles to a convent?" Sévigné asked, voicing the doubts everyone was thinking.

"I've already started preparing. I'm wearing a hair shirt right now and at night I sleep on the floor of my room instead of the bed. I'm certain I will be prepared by the time I reach the convent."

Athénaïs caught her sister's gaze and rolled her eyes. She didn't believe for one second Louise would go through with her plan. Louise enjoyed the praise too much. Even now she flushed beneath it, looking as proud as a peacock as she reached up to brush her hair out of her face. It was bad enough Athénaïs didn't get to sit beside the king since his brother claimed the spot, but to watch Louise preen and hog the limelight was torture. After lunch the courtiers would make fun of Louise and how she was crying wolf for a second time. Louise couldn't see through their false praise and mockery. Athénaïs had tried to warn her the day before, but Louise called her a jealous witch and slammed the door in her face.

With his eyebrows raised in amusement, Monsieur leaned in to whisper to his brother. The king chuckled and nodded. Athénaïs leaned forward, wishing she could have heard the comment.

"I plan to have a final portrait painted with my children before I go."

"They'll treasure it," Madame Bétonne gushed. "It will be a nice reminder for them."

But a picture of a mother wasn't the same as having a mother. Louise would walk away from not only jewels and finery, but her children as well.

"Madame de Sévigné, you've known Madame Scarron for a while, haven't you?" Athénaïs asked with an innocent smile.

"Yes, although I never expected her to be at court with me. The Paris salon hostesses miss her."

"I don't blame them one bit. I was always disappointed when I visited a salon and she wasn't there."

Louise pouted at the loss of attention. Her gaze drifted across the piles of food on the table. She was supposed to be fasting, yet had joined them anyway. She began to reach for a roll before yanking her hand back.

The conversation switched to other matters. Halfway through the meal Monsieur made a raunchy religious joke that made Louise gasp in horror and Scarron look as though she'd sucked on a lemon. The king laughed as much at their reactions as the joke.

Let him give her up this time, Athénaïs thought. If Louise was crying wolf, let it fall apart on her and force her to stay at the convent. She'd outstayed her welcome for far too long.