The Price of Innocence (The Legacy Series) Read Online Free Page A

his creditors to collect his debts—one way or the other.”
    “Debts?” Suzette squawked.
    “Yes, debts, Mademoiselle. It seems that some years ago, your father took out a rather large, unsecured loan, and in doing so, he became habitually behind on many obligations. My clients have been more than generous in giving him ample time to repay, but as time passed, it became increasingly clear that legal action needed to be taken.”
    “Oh.” Suzette shoulders drooped over the revelation.
    “Well,” Monsieur Pelletier interjected, “I assume such debts are cancelled now that he is deceased.”
    “Not necessarily. The law requires that his estate be sold to pay those debts, and I assure you that my clients will definitely sell all of his possessions to obtain some return.”
    Monsieur Dupree’s face turned dark, and Suzette could tell the man intended to carry out his threat. “We have very little,” she pleaded. “What could his debtors possibly gain?”
    “Satisfaction, I’m afraid,” he replied with a grim face.
    “But I will have nothing!”
    “I’m sorry, Mademoiselle, but those matters are not my concern. I am only here to carry out the wishes of my clients. Now that I am aware of your father’s demise, we will request a court order. The estate will be sold immediately in order to settle what he owes.”
    The solicitor sat back down behind his desk, picked up his quill, and turned his attention elsewhere. “My office will be contacting you shortly with an order from the court. Good day.” He had done his duty representing his clients and preferred to say nothing further regarding the matter.
    Frozen in her chair, Suzette turned to Monsieur Pelletier and whispered, “What can I do?” He only shook his head and stood up, offering her his hand.
    “Nothing. Come now. We must leave.” He held out his hand, which she took, and helped Suzette to her wobbly feet.
    * * *
     
    With no funds to give her father a proper burial, Edgar Rousseau, like other poor Parisians, faced eternity in a common grave outside the city walls. The spring day dropped cold rain upon Suzette’s covered head. She insisted on accompanying her father’s body to his final resting place.
    His body, wrapped in coarse burlap, was placed in an uncovered wagon parked in an alleyway adjacent to the mortuary. Suzette sobbed as they lay his remains among other dead bodies. She followed the route of the wagon in a carriage hired by Monsieur Pelletier and his wife. It proceeded slowly down cobblestone streets, while onlookers gawked with curiosity as it passed by.
    Finally, they reached the outskirts of the city and pulled up to the common grave area near the vast Père-Lachaise Cemetery. Suzette exited the carriage to watch the burial. She stood shrouded in her black-hooded cloak, appearing like a mournful angel that had fallen from the gray skies above.
    The rain had thoroughly soaked the burlap bags, and the fabric clung to the naked bodies underneath revealing more than she cared to see. Suzette wished to turn her head away, but she kept her eyes upon the corpse that belonged to her father.
    In somewhat poor taste, workers stood waiting for the wagon to arrive with joking grins across their faces and shovels in their hands. A large, freshly-dug hole for multiple remains gapped open in the wet earth.
    Suzette watched while dispassionate men removed and tossed her father’s body into the ground, alongside other nameless people. When he hit the bottom with a thud , she recoiled at the sight. No one else had come to join them as other nameless corpses were dumped into the muddy hole. When the last body was tossed, the men took their shovels and flung clods of wet soil on top of the burlap mass of death.
    Suzette muttered, “Dust we are, and to dust we will return.” She tossed a single white lily in the grave and watched until it disappeared in the earth.
    Monsieur Pelletier tugged at Suzette’s sleeve. “We should go now. No need to