Vanity

Chapter 11

Hey guys,

CHpter 11 and Chapter twelve were originally written together but i decided it would be better to break them up into two parts. This chapter is quite short but i'm goign to immediately post Chapter 12 After this x

Enjoy!!!

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By the time they got back to the palace it was far past midnight but it seemed that Aveline’s screams could be heard all throughout the castle.

Fabienne and her mother and sister ran at full speed towards Aveline’s room but came to a stop outside her door as they heard her cries replaced by an infants.

Idette heard them outside and opened the door, she was dressed in a simple linen dress and her hair and been pulled back tightly, she moved aside so they could enter the room.

The room felt awfully quiet even though all of Fabienne’s family was there.

The first thing her gaze fell on was the bed, Aveline was laying there, fragile, red faced and sweaty with her soft golden hair plastered to her forehead. 

And in her arms was the smallest baby Fabienne had ever seen, Aveline looked up as she saw them enter and a glowing smile lit up her beautiful face, which made the bags under her eyes and the horrid colour of her skin less obvious.

“Mama, Therese, Fabienne, I would like you to meet my son, Edmond”

She looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms with a proud smile, Fabienne looked around the room at her family.

Most people were sitting on chairs, looking exhausted from being kept up into the late hours of the night. But sadly, she noticed she absence of one person, where was her dear sisters husband?

There was a sudden wail from the tiny baby as everyone realised that Aveline had fallen asleep and Edmond had been left unattended in her arms.

All of the women, except Francette, rushed forward but once they all saw the determined look on Madame Bernetta’s face, they backed off to let her pass.

Fabienne’s mother bent down, careful not to awaken Aveline and scooped Edmond into her arms

She noticed the delicate way her mother was holding the baby, as if he was the most precious thing she had ever seen.

Sensing that Aveline needed rest most of the family left, except for Therese, Idette, Herself and her mother.

As Madame Bernetta lowered Edmond into his cot, Fabienne walked over to Idette.

“so, what happened?” She quietly whispered as not to disturb the peace in the room.

“Well Madame, Aveline was in your room playing with Lillianne and Laudine because your room is on the side of the palace that receives the most sun and Aveline had been feeling sniffly that day. I was there, cleaning your room and organising some new dresses that the queen had made for you. I was just starting to put new linens on your bed when I heard Aveline give a cry from behind me, she had bent down to pick up one of the girls but something had gone wrong and her waters broke. I called your brother who was waiting outside the door guarding her, as you asked him to do, and he helped me carry her here. Shockingly that day there were no court physicians in the palace but I have a bit of knowledge when it comes to delivering babies.”

Idette motioned to a nearby love seat and they both sat down so she could continue her story.

“It was hours before your brother remembered to send a rider to tell you, she had the baby shortly before you arrived.”

“And what of her husband?”

“He was here for a short time, he arrived a few hours ago but he just stood in the corner of the room and flinched every time Aveline wailed, as if the sound annoyed him!!!! He left as soon as the baby crowned”

Fabienne tutted in annoyance, how did her sister not see how horrible her husband was. Her whole life people had treated her as a delicate china doll, she had never been exposed to the horrible things the world had to offer, she had barely been allowed to wear a corset or heeled shoes and she had never heard an unkind word sent in her direction.

And now here she was, stuck with a man that used her as a common whore and his child that he had no care for.

Therese and her mother were arranging Aveline into a more comfortable position in the bed so they were both occupied when the baby started to cry.

Fabienne looked around for Idette but she had left the room after their chat, she had no choice but to quiet the baby herself.

She walked over to the cot and as she bent down she was met with a pair of startling ice blue eyes staring back into hers, her little nephew had an inquisitive little face with a mop of brown curls covering his head.

It took a while for Fabienne to get used to holding a baby, and this seemed to make Edmond agitated as she couldn’t get him to stop crying. Finally Therese swooped over and scooped him up into her arms where he instantly quieted down as she rocked him to sleep.

She saw that her sister and mother were handling things well and that she was getting in the way so she decided to quietly sneak out the door and into the corridor.

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