Chapter 80
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It had been two days since Caius left.
Louise woke up in the morning and sat staring out the window, then jumped to her feet. Pauline approached her, surprised.
"Do you need anything, Madame?"
She had been on edge since the day before, watching her master's every move.
"No.................."
Louise wiped her sweaty palms on the hem of her dress. Then she said what was on her mind.
"Since the mansion has a slope...... I'm going to have to do some deep cleaning, and I'm sure His Excellency will be glad to know that when he returns, he’ll be the true owner of Burg."
In truth, no matter how things turned out, Caius would not be staying in Burg any longer.
But Louise was determined that just as he had gone to do his job, she would see it through to the end. Keeping herself busy would mean less time sitting around and worrying about him.
"Oh, I think that's a great idea!"
Pauline enthused.
"We've put off spring cleaning this year because we were redecorating for the wedding, so I'll be right back to let the maids know!"
Her steps were light as she left the room. She was glad to be doing something, however laborious, rather than watching her master sitting around sulking.
Louise's suggestion was put into action with lightning speed, and dozens of servants were mobilized for the cleanup.
Every inch of the mansion was busy.
Chimneys that had become obsolete were swept, the plasterwork was given a fresh coat of paint, and the wallpaper, damp from the winter, was replaced. Carpets and curtains were changed from winter to summer.
Louise was inexplicably relieved by the mansion's refreshing transformation. The pessimism that had been creeping up on her had been swept away.
She traveled from room to room, directing the work herself. She could have hung the curtains with pins by hand to calm her nerves, but there were too many prying eyes.
But the mere sight of Louise pacing from place to place kept the nervous hands of her employees even busier.
Maid Verena followed behind her with a look of satisfaction on her face, as if she thought she was somehow keeping them in line.
In fact, it was a change from the day Louise had first come to Burg.
They came to Miriam's room.
"Which one do you like, the colorful one or the modest one?"
Miriam picked the colorful one with a careful touch.
"Can I use this one...............?"
The curtains Miriam chose were gorgeous, with large pink roses embroidered on an apricot-colored background and scattered with chartreuse leaves in the margins.
"Of course."
Miriam's face brightened as Louise readily agreed. Then, while Verena was away, she whispered in a tiny, accusatory voice.
"I've never hung anything so colorful before. Verena said it was good for me to keep the room subdued."
Louise smiled wordlessly. Behind her, some servants began setting up ladders and changing the curtains.
Miriam stood steadfastly in the middle, watching as the curtains were replaced.
Louise, meanwhile, stared at the dustless seashell sideboard. It was supposed to be a tea table.
On their first day in Burg, she had been wary and wouldn't go near it, but now Miriam smiled shyly and explained the unasked-for question.
"These actually came from my mom's jewelry box."
The ocean was a long way from here, and inwardly Louise wondered where they came from.
The Countess had died in childbirth, so Miriam would have no memory of her mother, and yet these relics of a mother she had never met were so precious to the lonely girl.
Louise looked at Miriam with affectionate eyes.
"I see. I thought you had picked it up yourself."
Then a shade of color came over Miriam's white face.
"Miriam never went to the sea."
Unfortunately, this was not the time to promise the naive girl that they would go to the ocean together next time. Instead, Louise had an idea.
"Miriam, you know what? The big pearl necklace I wore at my wedding."
Miriam nodded, remembering the pearl necklace. It wasn't an easy piece of jewelry to forget, even if it was enormous.
"It belonged to my mother, and your brother made a pendant out of the pearl and put it on the necklace."
The young girl's inexhaustible sea-blue eyes blinked slowly.
"A necklace, then, so you can wear it all the time?"
Miriam's gaze fell to the hollow of her neck, and Louise smiled quickly.
"I can't wear it every day for fear of damaging the pearl, but sometimes when I wear it around my neck, I feel like I can feel my mother, because she said it was very............... precious to her."
The pearl had already been returned to its original owner, but the girl didn't need to know that.
Miriam listened thoughtfully, then looked down at the shells with a pensive face. Arranged in rows, they still glistened even the years had passed.
"..................These shells must have been important to my mother, too, because she kept them in her jewelry box, even though they weren't jewelry."
"You said your mother was from Duren, and Duren is an estate by the sea, so maybe they were a reminder of home."
After explaining, Louise asked cautiously.
"Do you want me to make you a necklace out of these shells, Miriam, so you can wear them often, and if you can't wear them in winter because they’re cold, they'll look great with your summer dresses."
Miriam looked at Louise as if she had heard something strange.
"But.................. can you make a necklace out of seashells too?"
Louise replied with a big smile.
"Of course, I used to live by the sea, and my mother taught me how."
She called a maid over and asked her to bring a sewing box. After removing a needle from the box, Louise took some oil and burned the tip of the needle.
As she did so, she glanced over at Miriam, who, thankfully, seemed only momentarily startled but soon recovered her composure.
As she began to poke holes in the shells with the needle, Miriam stood and watched intently.
Louise held her breath and watched her hand carefully, not wanting to break the precious shell.
After drilling a hole in the shell, she rummaged through Miriam's jewelry box and found a thin, long gold string and a few tiny pearls.
She made a small knot in the gold string, threaded the pearl through, tied another knot, and threaded the shell through.
After a few repetitions, she had a shell necklace with a pearl in the middle.
Miriam said in a choked voice.
"Actually, people thought my shells were pathetic. I don't mind, but.................. I feel sad because I feel like I'm making my mother feel pathetic too, because they belong to her."
"It's not pathetic, lots of people have a hobby of collecting pretty things."
Miriam continued to fiddle with the necklace as she listened to Louise.
"Now that it's such a nice necklace, no one will think my seashells are pathetic, and it's all thanks to you."
Then she blushed brightly and threw herself into Louise's arms, clinging to her neck.
Louise patted Miriam on the back and put the seashell necklace on her.
The girl smiled, happier than ever. The shell necklace matched the colorful summer curtains newly hung in the window.
At last, the tea table could serve its purpose.
It was a gift that might be her last.
Louise only hoped that Miriam would be safe after all this.
She didn't want the little girl who didn't know anything to get hurt by grown-ups. That one day she would sit at that table with a friend her own age and laugh.
And, if possible, to be as happy as she was hurting.
She knew it was a very difficult wish to fulfill, but she hoped for it deep down.
***
The next day, Louise had a similar day, but no matter how busy she was, time passed slowly, and her appetite was so poor that she barely ate all day.
She felt sorry and uncomfortable that her restlessness was making Pauline restless, so Louise said as soon as the sky grew dark.
"I'm tired and want to go to bed now."
The idea was to try and distract Pauline a bit.
In fact, she thought she might hear from Caius as early as today.
If he had succeeded in seizing the throne early in the morning, as planned, he would have sent word early. If the messenger had ridden his horse through the night, he would have reached Burg by now.
As it was, going to bed did not bring sleep.
But Pauline, to Louise’s surprise, did not retire immediately.
“Madame, are you waiting for His Majesty to send you some news?”
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