The Painter's Apprentice

Chapter 15

There is a surprising absence of security at the entrance of the Petit Trianon when I arrive for the card party. A lone guard checks my name on a list in the guard room and ushers me inside. With no liveried servants to guide the way, I follow a trail of lit candelabra up the stairs and the muffled din of voices. It leads me to the closed dining room door, so I knock.

The chatter on the other side doesn't stop, but the door swings open to reveal a small party assembled around a long wooden table. Chandeliers filled with candles bathe the room in golden light and Marie Antoinette sits at the head of the table, observing silently. Her eyes flick to me when I enter and she smiles.

Hadrian holds the door open for me with surprise etched onto his features. "Mademoiselle Florette! A pleasure to see you here."

"You look surprised," I say with a directness that disrupts the formality of his greeting.

Hadrian grins. "I am. I was under strict instructions not to keep all workings of the Order away from you."

I glance at Destan where he sits towards the center of the table. "I believe that policy has changed," I reply.

Destan can hear us, surely, but his gaze doesn't flinch from the corpulent, red-faced man dressed in an overly frilled ensemble who talks animatedly across the table at him. His frustration with me is justified, but his cold dismissal bites like a winter wind.

Lavernia's face lights up when she sees me and she waves me over. I take the seat beside her and Hadrian stays close and takes the chair to my right.

Lavernia takes my hand in hers. "I am so glad you are here. Don't be afraid to speak up. We are all equals here."

The table is crowded with many unfamiliar faces, but I recognize a few of the men and women gathered. Lafayette sits beside Destan and seems to have been drawn into the argument with the loud, frilled man across from them. A pair of gentlewomen whisper quietly to one another. The woman with jet black hair shows her companion an emerald ring that flips open to reveal an ominously large metal barb. But there aren't only elites in our midst. Several servants and chambermaids sit around the table, talking with ease. I get the feeling no one in our midst would question their presence. I think it's rather ingenious to involve the palace staff. Few people can move through Versailles quite so unseen as the servants can.

"Welcome, everyone," Marie Antoinette finally says. She doesn't need to raise her voice for all conversations to cease. "Let us begin the business for which you have all come here tonight. Our friends in Paris are certainly desperate to see some movement from us and with news of riots daily, we need to act soon."

Daily riots. I fear Paris has changed much in the months since I left.

Marie nods to Lafayette who then stands to speak. "The Children of Marat are no longer a radical faction. They grow in number and strength. The French Guard sends one to the Bastille and two more rise in their place. France will be torn to pieces unless we make a radical change of course. The French Guard can no longer be left to deal with this insurrection alone. The National Assembly must be called together, and the National Guard given the authority to establish order."

When he sits, several members of the Order bang their fists on the table as if to signal their agreement.

A tall, thin man dressed all in black stands. "That sounds like a convenient plan coming from the man in charge of the National Guard." A few lone fists pound the table.

Lafayette stands to defend himself. "I have no intention of commanding the National Guard myself. It is time we let a new generation lead France."

He sits and throws a pointed smirk at Destan whose expression remains determinedly unchanged.