De Rohan Residence
Paris, Kingdom of France
“I can’t believe my husband gave you the message! That means…” Joanne shook her head, struggling to stay focused as she grew faint with the shock. She sucked in a deep, unladylike breath, regaining some control. She stared at Beatrice. “What does that mean?”
“I think it means that he wrote the message, doesn’t it?”
Joanne nodded vigorously. “Yes, of course, but why? What does it all mean?” She thought for a moment. Her husband had obviously written the message to himself, pretending to be someone else. He had given it to Albert, with strict instructions to give it to Beatrice and never tell anyone he had done so. Her eyes shot wide open. “Wait, was the seal broken when he gave it to you?”
Albert shook his head. “Not at first. He broke it himself before handing it to me.”
Joanne tapped a finger rapidly on her knee. “Then that explains that. He told you to tell Beatrice that it was about me, and broke the seal to give her the opportunity to read the message, as he knew she would be unable to resist the urge as she is loyal to me, not him.” She threw her hands up in frustration.
“But why do this at all?” asked Beatrice, her cheeks burning with emotion. “Why not just let you be arrested with the rest?”
Joanne jabbed at the air with her finger as the pieces began to fall into place with this new key bit of information. “Because we now know that an imposter had been hired to impersonate me. If I fled, which he knew I would, as this was the purpose of having you read the letter he had forged, it would make me appear guilty in the eyes of the Court. Then when his guards caught me, they probably would have killed me, rather than bring me back to Paris, and there would be no need for a trial!”
“I can’t believe he would do such a thing, M’Lady! His own wife!”
Joanne frowned, debating whether she should reveal what she knew. She sighed, there no point in protecting the honor of a man who would have her killed. “Things haven’t exactly been happy these past few years. Have you not noticed the cutbacks? We’ve had to lay off many of our staff, we stable fewer horses than we ever have, and the meals are leaner.”
Beatrice blushed, eying the floor as Albert looked away. “Yes, M’Lady, we have noticed that, I mean, the staff have, but none would dare say anything.”
“Of course you wouldn’t. But you might as well know now that we are nearly broke. My husband lost most of our money through several unwise investments and a horrendous gambling habit. It cost us some of our lands we relied upon for revenues. I fear if something drastic doesn’t change, we will be forced to rely on the charity of others before long.”
The door to Beatrice’s room burst open, and Louis Forbin, the captain of her husband’s guard, stepped inside, his thigh bandaged, his brow covered in sweat from the effort. He appeared to pose little threat, though the two men standing behind him suffered from no such afflictions.
“Albert, my boy, you were given specific instructions not to see Miss Beatrice.”
Albert paled to the point of blending in with the whitewashed wall lit by candlelight and fire. “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I was summoned by, umm…”
Joanne rose. “He was summoned by me. And what gives you the right to enter these chambers unannounced?”
Forbin sneered at her, his contempt clear. “My master does.”
“Well, I am your mistress, and I order you to return to your station.”
Forbin laughed. “I’m afraid I don’t take my orders from you, M’Lady, only from your husband.”