Marie II of Acadia: Story Two

Chapter Eight

Two months had passed, and Helene and I were on our second try with the pregnancy. We were in the process of waiting to see if the fertilized egg had taken when we attended a dinner party hosted by my maternal uncle, Guy Caldwell, the Baron of Miramachi, and his common-law girlfriend, Louise Granger. My uncle's wife, my Aunt Marijse, had passed away when I was twelve, and though I got along well with Louise, I was not as close to her as I had been to my aunt.

As Helene and I walked in, everyone present stood for us and either bowed or curtsied towards us. Then, my uncle and Louise came over. My uncle kissed Helene and I each on both our cheeks as I greeted him. "Dear Uncle Guy, it is lovely to see you again. We should see each other more than just on holidays."

"I have missed you as well, My Dear Niece. I agree, if only you were not so busy."

"Well, that seems to be the result of being Queen." I turned to Louise. "It is lovely to see you again as well, Louise."

"And you, Your Majesty." Louise smiled to Helene. "Lovely to see you both. Thank you for attending our dinner party."

"Of course, we would not miss it." Helene assured her. "Now, may we sit. I find myself to be starving this evening."

"Of course, My Dear." Uncle Guy motioned us forward and we took our seats next to him at the head of the table.

Not long after, Etienne arrived. To mine and Helene's surprise, he'd come with a guest, none other than Mademoiselle Cloe DuPont. Elise still hadn't returned, and it worried us because there were rumors swirling around the country that Etienne and Mademoiselle Cloe were now dating. Helene and I shared a worried look. We both knew it was time we told him what Deschamps had learned about her family.

After dessert had been served, Uncle Guy welcomed everyone to drink and mingle about the room before the night ended. Helene and I took this as our opportunity.

Helene walked up to Etienne and asked to speak with him before leading him over to the corner where I stood. As soon as he saw me, my brother sighed. "I should have known this was a ploy to get us to speak. I will not hear any apologies you may have, Sister. You wounded me, and I will never forgive that."

I was shocked and hurt but hid it well. "I do not plan on apologizing to you about Elise because I did nothing wrong." I insisted.

"Well then, enjoy your evening."

"Etienne, please wait." Helene tried. "We must speak with you."

Out of care for Helene, Etienne sighed again and turned back. "What must we speak about, Helene? How the woman I love does not want me?"

"No." I cleared my throat. "I had Deschamps look into Mademoiselle DuPont's family."

"And why on earth would you do something like that?"

"It is simple. She came out of nowhere and latched herself onto you."

"We both had a bad feeling about her." Helene added.

"Anyway, we found out the real reason she is in Acadia is not for school. Her father went bankrupt and sent her here to live with her uncle so she could marry well. She does not even attend Universitie Saint-Marie." I explained.

Etienne scoffed. "How ridiculous."

"I agree; it is absurd."

"What I mean to say is, it is ridiculous that you both have made up such a story."

Helene gaped as I held in my anger with all my might. Through clenched teeth I replied— "You believe we made this up? Why would we do such a thing?"

"You would do it so that I would remain pinning after Elise, even though her actions have shown that she does not want me, and you yourself said that she told you she does not wish to marry me. Since she does not wish to be with me, I must look elsewhere. It is expected of me to marry, especially now that I am an Archduc, a title I know will not go to my children. But because of that expectation, I must now search for a wife."

It was my turn to gape. "I do not expect you to marry. You are free to remain single all your days and I would care for you. I would even have my children care for you in the event that I were to pass before you."

"It is not you; the world expects it and our People. I am an Acadian Prince, a Royal child of the House of Montcalm, and I cannot let anyone down." With that said, Etienne left Helene and I standing there, speechless.

------

A couple weeks had gone by, and Helene and I had not gotten anywhere with Etienne on the subject. We had brought my Maman up to speed and she too was now trying to get through to him, but alas, none of us had a hope of him relenting.

One afternoon in the middle of spring, I sat in the lounge area of my study with the Prime Minister and the Head of the House of Lords, Sir Alistair McPherson, when Helene came rushing in.

"You cannot go in at the moment, Your Majesty!" I heard Deschamps calling behind her.

"Helene!" I shot up and was by her side in seconds. At first, I was a little perturbed that she would interrupt a closed door meeting, but my worry was far more evident. "What is wrong? Has something happened?"

Helene was nodding her head so quickly it was almost comical. "Yes, Mon Amour, something has happened."

Deschamps caught up to Helene then and bowed to us both. "I am sorry, Your Majesty. The Queen Consort got ahead of me."

I ignored Deschamps. "What has happened Helene?"

Her smile widened, if that was even possible. "I am with child, Marie. We are going to have a baby!"

As soon as the words registered in my mind, I was cheering. I pulled Helene into my arms and hugged her tight before pulling back and, not caring who was in the room, kissed her passionately. "We are? We are to be Mamans?"

She nodded again. "Oui, Marie. We are."

I did not notice Deschamps bowing to us and leaving the room.

The Prime Minister cleared his throat, bringing me somewhat back to the present, as he and Sir McPherson stood. They both came over and bowed before the Prime Minister said— "We will leave you to your revelry, Your Majesties. Félicitations."

"Oh, Sirs!" I called out before they closed the door. "I hope I can trust you to keep this to yourselves."

Sir McPherson bowed again. "This will not be passed to either the media, the House of Lords, or to Parliament. I assure you, Your Majesty, the news will break when it is the right time."

Lundström bowed again too. "I promise as well."

"Thank you both." With my final word, the men left me and Helene to celebrate in peace.