The Nymph of Versailles

Chapter 32

Gabrielle strode into Athénaïs's salon like a whirlwind ready to tear apart anything in her path. "While you were busy playing basset last night, the king visited Angélique. There are rumors that he is giving her a villa to stay in." She rested her hands on her hips, staring her sister down like a disappointed mother.

Athénaïs dropped her hair brush. She closed her eyes and leaned against her toilette table. "She will be a passing fancy like all the others. She is a stupid girl. Nothing more than a pretty face."

"Don't write her off so quickly. Keeping the king is getting harder. You need to get rid of her and fast. Maintenon already tried to save the girl's soul and told her to repent. Angélique laughed in her face."

Athénaïs reached for her cup of tea. "Maintenon fears her too?" If Maintenon had set her sights on the girl, then she was likely a threat to both of them. "Maybe she'll convince her."

Gabrielle shook her head in disbelief. "Since when are you desperate enough to root for any of her plots?"

"Oh, Gabrielle. I can't keep all this up," her voice came out shrill as she lost control of it. "I know he'll leave me eventually and my heart isn't in keeping him when his love wanes for me. I fear my ambition alone isn't enough. I can't get a break before another woman shows up ready to ride off with the king." She sighed. "I am exhausted and I don't know what to do. The more I fight the stronger Maintenon's grip becomes. Even if I can get rid of Fontanges I still have to get rid of Maintenon. The odds are always getting stacked higher against me. My downfall is only a matter of time and I live with that every day."

Gabrielle grabbed a pillow and tossed it at her. "As does every other woman. This isn't the time for self-pity. You need to go see the king immediately. Seduce him. If that fails, we'll make a visit to La Voisin for more powders. This is reality, sister. Fight for what is yours."

"We've used enough powders. They do nothing. La Voisin is useless to us and I'm not going to go beg for witchcraft and risk getting named in the investigation."

Gabrielle crossed her arms. "Then you'd better get back in the king's graces before it's too late."

"Why are you so pushy about it? I've given your family as much as I can. I can't get you anything else."

"What about you? Unless the king gives you a parting gift like Louise got you can't make it on your own without him and I don't know if my husband and I can support you enough. You need to keep going. If you can't keep the snakes away then get yourself a nice parting gift. You are the mother of his children. That alone ought to earn you something."

She climbed to her feet. Her shoulders sagged as she fought back letting out a scream of frustration. "I'm going. I have a better chance of getting rid of Fontanges than Maintenon. However, the older Louis gets, the more he pines after the younger women."

"Men do that. They like to prove to themselves they are as capable of getting a pretty face as when they were younger. They feed his ego. Try to show him he needs more. Fontanges is known for being the exact opposite of witty and clever, unlike you. Go."

She turned, and then hesitated. Without looking back she said, "Once he gives me enough gifts for me to look after myself, I'm done. My pride can't take much more of this. Enough is enough. I won't let him keep embarrassing me. No man is worth this pain." Keeping her head high she continued forward.

Less than a half an hour later she was in her carriage heading for the palace. She couldn't get a leash on her emotions as she stewed inside. She shifted and fidgeted. One moment she went from biting her bottom lip to keep from lashing out in anger at herself to squeezing her hands and fighting back the urge to cry.