Let Them Have Cake (11 page)

“I understand, but where did you take them?”

“I have cousins in the countryside. The Franchet family. They will care for them like they are their own. I, of course had to return here,” Anna answered truthfully.

“And I am very happy that you did return. I was so worried and angry with you for leaving so abruptly. But it is impossible to stay angry with my love.”

Geoffroi’s voice had become deeper with an almost guttural quality. His eyes had a fire in them now that was lacking earlier. Anna read the meaning in them and melted into his arms as he reached for her. Silently, he took her hand and led her towards the tiny bedroom off the gathering room.

Anna pulled back a bit, resisting him.

“What is it, my love? Have you forgotten me? Come. I’ll help you remember.”

She was unable to resist any longer. She’d been alone for too long.

“The green of the dress suits you. It makes your eyes look like emeralds.” He began nibbling her ear and neck and removing the pins that held her elaborate hairdo in place. He went on to unbutton the delicate buttons on the dress.

Ah, this is why I saw myself in this dress when I was at
Versailles
. Should I be doing this? This feels so right. But is
he really Jeff? Or is Jeff really Geoffroi and I Anne-Marie?

She pressed her body close to his, closed her eyes, and allowed him to do his will.

The dress was pulled over her head and placed lovingly on the wardrobe hook by Geoffroi. He removed his own riding boots, his leather jacket, and then his peasant shirt with the full, puffy sleeves. Anna gently ran her hand over the curly red hairs on his chest, and along his taut abdomen. Apparently the perfect abdominals were passed down through the generations as well as the great looks. He even sounded and smelled like Jeff.

He untied her corset and released her breasts from their prison. The petticoats were the next to go. He stood back and looked her over thoroughly, his approval showing on his face.

“You are thinner. And you’re pale. Was this month away very difficult for you? I realize those outside of the palace walls don’t have as much food but I would think your relatives on the farm would be able to raise enough to keep themselves, and you fed.”

She was relieved that the only difference in her body and Anne-Marie’s was that she was thinner.

“It was all just so very tiring. I suppose I did not eat as much as I usually do here in the hamlet,” Anna explained.

Geoffroi accepted this explanation and removed the rest of his clothing, then guided Anna into bed. “The fire has yet to
warm the entire cottage. Let us get under the blankets.”

Anna snuggled into the cozy bed and held the blankets open for Geoffroi. She didn’t completely understand it all yet, but was certain Jeff was this man reincarnated.

Geoffroi pulled her close and nuzzled her hair. “I have missed you so. I truly thought you were lost to me forever. I searched the grounds here at the hamlet and thought I saw you through the trees. I thought I saw you at the palace as well, but both times you disappeared in the mist.”

Anna returned his embrace as her passions heated her throughout. This was Jeff, and this time they would make love. She would make sure she did not fall asleep, even though his hands were massaging her just like Jeff’s had. She pulled away slightly and took his face in her hands. She gazed into his blue eyes and saw the reflection of candlelight flickering in the pupils. She stroked his beard and was surprised to find it felt silky to her touch. She sank back into the pillows as Geoffroi positioned himself over her.

Geoffroi lovingly spread her hair out over the pillow. He gently opened her thighs with his leg and entered her in one slow, teasing stroke.

Anna felt him fill her. It felt so natural, so perfect. She raised her hips to meet him. This was how she’d dreamed it would be. They belonged together in every sense of the word. She’d
waited her entire life for this moment. She’d found her soul mate.

Their bodies rose and fell in perfect unison. Geoffroi rolled over onto his back, positioned Anna on top of him, and pressed her shoulders back until he could look into her eyes.

“My love. My beautiful Anne-Marie. Thank you for coming back to me.”

At these words, Anna’s passion intensified and they increased the tempo of their lovemaking until both were spent and collapsed into each other’s arms.

Anna lay peacefully in Geoffroi’s arms. Her cheek rested with her ear on his chest listening to the rhythmic beating of his heart. It was the healthiest sounding heartbeat she’d heard in a long time. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub it beat. It had been awhile since she’d thought about work and listening to hearts with her stethoscope. She wondered if she would ever get back to her former life? She wondered if she would want to. At least in this life she had the man she loved.

Chapter Eleven

             
Rain poured down in huge sheets on the barn roof, trapping Anna inside. Big-eyed cows stared at her from their stalls while they chewed bits of hay. Anna gazed into the soulful brown eyes of the cow nearest her, seated herself on an overturned barrel and began talking to the cow.

             
“It looks like I’m stuck here for awhile Bessie. Is that your name?”

             
The cow mooed softly.

“Well, it is now. You look like a Bessie. Or maybe a Daisy. One time I went to
Northern California
to visit my Aunt Grace. Aunt Grace was a practical woman. She had a cow named Daisy and sent that poor cow out to be bred. Well, the bull got a little too excited and gored poor Daisy in the neck.”

The cow blew air out of her nose and shook her head mightily.

“Daisy died and when I came in to dinner that night Aunt Grace was preparing to serve poor Daisy steaks to all of us for
dinner. ‘Waste not, want not,’ Aunt Grace had said. ‘Who wants to go in to town for some of the Colonel’s chicken?’ Uncle Thomas had asked. We all got up then, and went to town. Aunt Grace stayed home and wasted not.”

             
The cow mooed again and stomped her foot.

             
“How insensitive of me. I should know better than to tell you a story like that. How about this one? A young woman finds herself back in time hundreds of years, doesn’t understand how she got there, begins impersonating another woman, and then realizes she’s going to be in a whole lot of trouble if the woman she’s impersonating suddenly reappears. And, to really complicate things, that young woman is sleeping with the other woman’s lover. What do you think about that?”

             
The cow heard a creaking sound and turned her head towards the barn door.

             
Vally Broussard stood staring strangely at Anna. “Who are you talking to Madame?”

             
“It’s silly, but I was talking to the cow.”

             
“I do it myself at times. She listens well.”

“Monsieur Pelloutier sent me to find eggs from a couple of hens that escaped from the chicken house and are nesting here in the barn.” Anna held the basket out for the farmer to see. “The rain started coming down so hard that I got stuck out here.”

             
“I see, Madame. I was afraid that you were ill again. You
had such headaches before you left with your children.”

             
“I’m fine. Please don’t worry.”

“The rain has almost stopped. I think you can safely get back to the house now.”

             
The little farmer bustled off to tend to his chores. Anna rose from her seat and walked over to the cow.

             
“Bye, Bessie-Daisy. Thanks for listening. I don’t have anyone else here I can talk to. We’ll do this again, soon.” Anna stroked the cow’s soft neck and left the barn.

             
She picked her way carefully around the mud puddles and raised her skirts high as she walked.

Jacques Rouleau approached Anna from the general direction of the farmhouse. He gazed blatantly at her exposed ankles but turned quickly away when he saw Anna blushing.

“Madame. We are all gathered in the home. The Queen has asked that we entertain her today. She is in need of some activities to take her mind off of the peasants. She would like you to arrange the little figures in her hair again. I am going to paint a portrait of her here in the home she loves to be in.” 

“Are there new incidents of unrest reported?” Anna asked.

“No Madame, nothing new has been reported.” He took her basket of eggs and quickened his step.

             
The farmhouse was a hive of activity. Women hovered around the Queen, powdering her hair and face, straightening her
skirts, and positioning pillows for her comfort.

             
“Madame. Please. I must ask you something before we go about our duties.” Jacques said.

             
“What is it, Monsieur Roleau?” Anna asked.

             
“This is very difficult for me.”

             
“Yes, please go on.”

             
“I’ve been thinking about how much you used to enjoy horseback riding. I’ve recently begun to ride more frequently and wanted to ask if you would like to go riding with me tomorrow?” Jacques turned his gaze towards the barn before continuing. Geoffroi was just returning on his beautiful chestnut horse from a day of hunting in the countryside.

             
“I’m only asking because I know you don’t like hunting so you don’t go out with Monsieur Andrieux,” Jacques continued.

             
An awkward silence followed. She didn’t know how Geoffroi would react to her going riding with Jacques. Still, she didn’t want to hurt Jacques’ feelings, either.

             
“Yes, Monsieur Roleau. I would be delighted to go riding with you tomorrow,” Anna answered.

             
Jacques Roleau turned a bright crimson and hurried off to gather his painting supplies.

             
Anna entered the large general room. Queen Marie Antoinette was seated in her usual place of honor, surrounded by her ladies.

             
“Anne-Marie. Please. Come place the little figures in my hair. I danced so much last night that they all moved around.” The Queen gestured towards the stool next to her chair, indicating that Anna should sit there.

             
Anna began arranging the little figures back into the scene she had done for the dance. She could picture Carol and Denice doubled over with laughter at this whole scene.

Anna thought about her nurse friends at home in
California
, miles and years away. For a brief moment she thought she might cry at the thought of never going back to her life.

             
“What is it Anne-Marie? Are you thinking about your children? Or perhaps your husband, though I know he’s been gone for some time.” Queen Marie Antoinette held Anna’s hand. Empathy shone from her eyes.

             
“Yes, it is my children. I am missing them already and I’ve only been away a few days. I’ll be all right in a moment. I know it is for the best,” Anna replied and wiped her eyes with the handkerchief Queen Marie Antoinette handed her. She tucked the white linen handkerchief into the sleeve of her dress. “Thank you, your majesty. I will launder this and return it to you.”

             
“You need not bother to return it. Please don’t give it another thought.”

             
Jacques returned with his easel, paints and canvas.

             
“Let us plan one of our little plays. We need some
festivities to cheer us,” said Queen Marie Antoinette.

             
The household members gathered around the Queen.

             
“Monsieur Roleau, will you do some sketches for us?” the Queen asked Jacques.

             
“I would be delighted, your majesty,” Jacques replied with a sweeping bow.

             
Monique approached the Queen. “I have an idea. We could do a play about life in
Austria
. Perhaps about a large royal family.”

             
Queen Marie Antoinette clapped her hands in glee. “Fantastic! I have many fond memories of my childhood and my family in
Austria
. Let’s write a play about a family like mine.”

             
Jacques Roleau began his sketches. The Queen described the ballet she and her brother, Ferdinand, had been in. They had danced the
Il Trionfo d’ Amore
at the wedding of Archduke Joseph and Josepha of Bavaria in 1765. Ferdinand and Marie Antoinette portrayed a shepherd and shepherdess. Their brother, Max, was cupid in the production. Jacques made sketches of Marie Antoinette dressed in a blue dress with a tight bodice. The neck was cut low, and the skirt was extremely full. Her hair was piled on top of her head, and her high forehead was accentuated. Ferdinand was dressed in similar attire but his skirt stopped at mid-thigh, and he wore white tights underneath.