Eleanore's Diary
1737, February, 9th
I am not sure how to begin. It was just at sunset when Philippe noticed two horsemen on the road. I don’t know how he saw them for it has been snowing for a day now with no signs of stopping. Apparently a group of King Louis militia got lost on their way to Paris. The two commanding officers got separated from their men and landed here. They told us that the roads are impassable, which is not surprising. They are welcome to stay for there is nowhere for them to go now.
We have given them each a petite boudoir on the first floor near the salle à manger; rooms for our children one day, but for now they are empty and will serve the officers well. They are down the hall from our boudoir, affording us all some privacy. Thank goodness we have stores of food to feed them, for I imagine they will be with us for at least a week.
In some ways, it is nice to have company. It is so desolate here, yet watching the snow fall is so beautiful, so peaceful and quiet. Besides Philippe and I are two servants. The rest have gone home to their families for the winter. In spring time they will return to us.
Philippe is a quite man, prone to dark moods and perhaps it is his age, but he is so serious, so content to share his time with drink and not with me. I never thought I minded, as I thought this was the way of things, of an arranged marriage made out of convenience with no love to be considered. Now I am not so sure and in a strange was it’s the presence of these two officers that has stirred me up and got me thinking that perhaps there is more to the union between a man and a woman than convenience and necessity.
The first seems to be no more than a boy, perhaps fifteen as I am or a year or two older. I can’t remember his name but he seems kind enough. His table manners are quite good and he converses easily with us. He smiles frequently which I find him amusing. But it is the other officer, a Monsieur Andreas Martin who has me so intrigued. He’s handsome but it’s more than just being handsome. There’s something dark and commanding in him that calls to me. I find myself staring at him, which is impolite for a married woman.
Dark auburn hair frames a sculpted, stern face and his voice caresses my skin. But it is his eyes, the color of the ocean in wintertime, that look right through me and make my skin flush and my knees wobble under my skirt, and a feeling, I get about him. A feeling that he comes from some distant place, a place unknowable, cruel and barren. Someplace not of this world.
I am not sure how to begin. It was just at sunset when Philippe noticed two horsemen on the road. I don’t know how he saw them for it has been snowing for a day now with no signs of stopping. Apparently a group of King Louis militia got lost on their way to Paris. The two commanding officers got separated from their men and landed here. They told us that the roads are impassable, which is not surprising. They are welcome to stay for there is nowhere for them to go now.
We have given them each a petite boudoir on the first floor near the salle à manger; rooms for our children one day, but for now they are empty and will serve the officers well. They are down the hall from our boudoir, affording us all some privacy. Thank goodness we have stores of food to feed them, for I imagine they will be with us for at least a week.
In some ways, it is nice to have company. It is so desolate here, yet watching the snow fall is so beautiful, so peaceful and quiet. Besides Philippe and I are two servants. The rest have gone home to their families for the winter. In spring time they will return to us.
Philippe is a quite man, prone to dark moods and perhaps it is his age, but he is so serious, so content to share his time with drink and not with me. I never thought I minded, as I thought this was the way of things, of an arranged marriage made out of convenience with no love to be considered. Now I am not so sure and in a strange was it’s the presence of these two officers that has stirred me up and got me thinking that perhaps there is more to the union between a man and a woman than convenience and necessity.
The first seems to be no more than a boy, perhaps fifteen as I am or a year or two older. I can’t remember his name but he seems kind enough. His table manners are quite good and he converses easily with us. He smiles frequently which I find him amusing. But it is the other officer, a Monsieur Andreas Martin who has me so intrigued. He’s handsome but it’s more than just being handsome. There’s something dark and commanding in him that calls to me. I find myself staring at him, which is impolite for a married woman.
Dark auburn hair frames a sculpted, stern face and his voice caresses my skin. But it is his eyes, the color of the ocean in wintertime, that look right through me and make my skin flush and my knees wobble under my skirt, and a feeling, I get about him. A feeling that he comes from some distant place, a place unknowable, cruel and barren. Someplace not of this world.
posted by Denise K. Rago at 12:32 PM
4 Comments:
Intriguing. I love it!
Thank you Marie. Eleanore is Christian's mother and her diary unsettles her son who discovers it in the present day.
Hey Denise,
I see Christian comes by his sensuality honestly. Loved this excerpt. Is if from Book 2 or 3 of the series?
Book Two.
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