Mistress of the Revolution Read Online Free Page A

there.”
    Joséphine, a dire look on her face, wagged her finger at me. “So even if you managed to hide your shame until your marriage, you wouldn’t be able to fool your husband on your wedding night. He’d be awfully angry and he’d lock you in a convent for the rest of your life. Think of it. All because of one lapse.” She paused. “Now you’ve been warned.”
    “Have no fear, Joséphine,” I said with a great deal of conviction. “I will never, ever let any man do those things to me.”
    “Well, you’ll have to let your husband do those things to you, of course, and he might teach you some more as well.” She patted my cheek. “But that’s all you need to know for now.”
    I winced and put my hand to my stomach.
    “Poor dear,” she said, “I forgot you’re in pain. Let me give you some lime-blossom tea. And don’t worry about Her Ladyship. I’ll tell her about your curses.”
    “Oh no, please. She will be so angry with me.”
    “Of course not. You can’t help it, can you? But she needs to know right away since now you’re fit to be married.”
    I shuddered in disgust. “I will never marry.”
    Joséphine laughed. “Listen to you! As if it was for you to decide.”
    She provided me with scraps of cloth and instructions for their use. I felt the cruelty with which nature had treated us females. As for the idea of marriage, I hoped that it would never be mentioned again.
    A few days later, the Marquis handed me a letter.
    “Who is writing you?” he asked.
    “It is Félicité de Peylamourgue, Sir. She was my friend at the convent.”
    Félicité was short, with a round face and dull brown hair. She was also kind and cheerful, though not too clever even by the convent’s standards. The prettier, more brilliant girls had despised me in the beginning. Later, once they had found me less stupid than initially believed and worthy of their friendship, I had shunned their company.
    “Is she related to Monsieur de Peylamourgue?” asked my brother.
    “She is his daughter.”
    “Good. A minor family, but authentic, ancient nobility. I would not want you to make friends among the vile bourgeoisie. Note that I am giving you this letter sealed.”
    “Thank you, Sir. I appreciate your trust.”
    “I know, dearest, but we have to talk about it. Some young ladies become entangled in scandalous romances. On occasion, their friends are complicit in those affairs, in particular by forwarding letters from suitors.”
    I stared at him. “Sir, I would never do anything so wicked.”
    “I believe you. Still, I will have to watch you more closely now.” He caressed my cheek, smiling. “I remember holding you on my lap when you were a little girl, reading your book aloud. It seems like yesterday. And here you are, already a woman.”
    I shuddered, shocked that he would broach such a subject. He drew back and looked at me more sternly.
    “Now that you are all grown,” he continued, “I want you to allow me, to ask me even, to open all of the letters you receive, starting with this one. Likewise you will show me all the letters you write, and I do mean all of them, including to our sister Madeleine. I would be fully within my rights to demand it, but I want to hear you request it. What do you say?”
    “You may do what you want.”
    He frowned. “Of course I may do what I want. That is not what I meant, and you know it. Do not trifle with me, Gabrielle. Will you ask me, your guardian, to read all of your correspondence, as a kindness to you, to protect you from evil?”
    “Yes.”
    “Say it, then.”
    “I am asking you to read my correspondence.”
    “As a kindness to you?”
    “I am asking you, Sir, as a kindness to me, to please read all of my correspondence. I promise to show you all the letters I write.”
    “And you will not tell anyone, including of course your correspondents, about this arrangement of ours.”
    “No, Sir, I will not.”
    I handed him Félicité’s letter. He opened it,