A LITTLE TWIST OF FATE

Chapter 28

Henry sat on the steps of the greenhouse with Danielle's shoes in his hands. He didn't know what to do now. Every time he tried to speak with her and be honest with her, she always ran away and left him standing there. He was beginning to have doubts about their future together, no matter what his mother or aunt wanted for him.

He looked at her shoes, trying to imagine where she would run off to, when he heard a creaking noise and felt a slight jolt behind him. He turned around to look; it seemed to be coming from inside the abandoned greenhouse.

He stood up, accidentally dropping one of Danielle's shoes. He walked over to retrieve it, leaving the other on the steps behind him.

"Looking for this?" a voice came from behind him. Henry turned, recognizing it. He smiled, reached out to her and they embraced one another.

"Aunt Thérèse, what a pleasant surprise! What are you doing here? I thought that you would be inside with Rodmilla or my mother."

Thérèse handed him the one shoe that had been behind him. The other lay not that far from where Thérèse was standing, which was still on the steps, only inches away.

She shook her head in answer to Henry's question. "No, I couldn't sleep, Henry. I have more important matters to take care of at this moment." She looked around the grounds. She needed to change the subject. "Have you seen Danielle at all? I've looked everywhere."

Henry sighed. "Funny you should ask that because I was just about to ask you. She ran from here almost an hour ago now, according to the bells of St. Etienne's."

"Then why are you sitting here, young man, when you should be going after her?"

Henry shrugged. "I haven't a notion where that girl might be."

Thérèse shook her head. "Come, come Henry. Where does she usually go? Surely you would know. You've followed her around long enough."

Henry's cheeks turned bright red. "You are right, you know, but I am not sure now if she is the one for me. It seems that every time we're alone, we seem to always be at each other's throats."

Thérèse shook her head. "Relationships do not always run smoothly, my nephew." She smiled. "I should share something with you, Henry. Auguste didn't just drop her off at my doorstep one morning, as Vivienne and Isabel like to say. I asked her to come to live with me at the request of her father who wanted her to grow up in a loving atmosphere."

Henry nodded. "Understood, but then there is the matter of her reputation as servant to overcome."

Thérèse nodded. "It's true, Henry, but I do know for a fact that your parents do not put much credence into the lies and gossip that those two old crones have spread throughout the entire province. This is how a person's reputation can become tarnished. You need to see Danielle for all the good she has done and not in the tall tales of others."

Henry frowned. "Then she truly is not a servant? You know this for a fact?"

Now it was Thérèse's turn to be surprised. "And you claim to love the girl?"

"Yes, Aunt Thérèse, of course I do, but.."

Thérèse shook her head. "No, Henry, no buts about it. Have you ever known me to lie to you? I would hope that you knew better than to accuse me of that."

She smiled and handed him the other shoe, which had, until now, lay at her feet. "Here, return these to her and bring her back home safely. "

Henry nodded, a little impatient now. "I know all of this, what I want to know is if she loves me as well."

Thérèse laughed. "of course she does, Henry, and what's more is that she's never loved any other."

He frowned again. "What about Alex? I thought that they were.."

"Engaged? It's one sided and Alex knows it. There is no future in this engagement, believe me."

Henry smiled, kissed his aunt on the cheek and ran off clutching the shoes in his arms. He ran so quickly that he hadn't realized that he dropped one of them. Well, no matter, they were coming back here, as least he would tell her that.

Henry had gotten to the edge of the de Barbarac property when he heard something deafening, like the explosion of small fireworks. He wanted to turn around and go back, but something else drove him onward. Whatever it was couldn't have been that bad.

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