Lady Therese De Beauharnais of Roche

2 October, Year 32 of King Frederick V of Monrique's reign

Bordeux Castle, Bordeux

Monrique

The whole of Lady Madeleine's case came down to the following clause, one that juries all over the country followed so religiously that it was bolded and underlined by the author of this law book:

Of Monriquan land no portion of

the inheritance shall come to a woman:

but the whole inheritance of the land

shall come to the male sex.

I sighed heavily, tapping my quill against the page. Prejudice did not belong in a justice court, yet it was all I saw in these books, and through the research I had been doing since yesterday.

However, I was hoping that the plan I was coming up with would at least warrant Lady Madeleine an opportunity to argue her case, and to set in motion a momentum for change in our current succession laws.

As I released another sigh, a commanding voice broke into my reverie.

"Give me that one."

My best friend, Lady Olivia of Tessensohn, stood in the middle of her chambers, surrounded by gowns of all colours, sizes and materials, and by the Modiste and her assistants. She grabbed each one at random, examined their hue against the candlelight, and then held it up against her body to view herself in the looking-glass.

This has been going on for over three hours, and I had long begun to regret coming over to her chambers to study.

"That looks very nice on you, my Lady," the Modiste supplied helpfully at that moment, "but then again, you look remarkable in every one of these gowns."

"I am aware. That is why I am finding it so difficult to choose," Liv snapped, before, "what do you think, Tess?"

I did not look up from my book. "I think that you are wasting your time, as well as that of your Modiste."

"Oh, come now, Tess," she whined, stamping her feet, "it will hardly take you a few seconds to give me your opinion."

Releasing an exasperated breath, I glanced up at her. She was holding up a bright, yellow gown, which had puffy lace sleeves and black sequined hemming at the edges.

"You look like a bumblebee," I told her bluntly, "if you would like to have everyone's eyes constantly on you at any event, go ahead and purchase it."

The Modiste's eyes grew round at my honesty, and she attempted to salvage the situation. "I am certain Lady Therese meant that you look as fresh as a bee in the break of dawn – "

I raised an eyebrow. "Do not put words in my mouth, Madame."

She flushed at once. "I – "

Liv waved her off. "My friend is correct," she sighed, tossing the yellow gown at the poor woman, "the colour clashes with my eyes, in any case."

Raising my eyes to the heavens above, I returned to my thoughts.

In the meanwhile, Liv was scowling at me. "You have become such a bore, Tess," she complained, "in the past, you used to look through these dresses right alongside me."

"The past is long gone."

"I can see that," she eyed me warily, "what do you keep reading about all day?" She tried to peer at my law book.

Oh, nay. Some secrets are better kept to oneself.

"You tell me this first," I subtly pressed my book closer to my torso, "you already have so many gowns that have hardly been worn. Why the need for another?"

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "You are well aware that Lord Testalt is going to be engaged to Lady Evangeline in a fortnight's time," she continued her search, "and everyone is going to attend the event. Surely I must wear the best gown to stand out – "

I wanted to sew her mouth shut that very instant.

Of course I was aware that Lord Testalt's engagement was going to be held in fourteen days. Of course I was aware that the whole society would be in attendance to bless them a happy future.

A future I had once, long, long ago, dared to dream of for myself –

Shaking my head, I looked out of the window. It did not even matter anymore. Lord Testalt was a long-lost battle. I had an endless list of things to do and worry about at the moment, and that man was the least of my problems.

Yet, he was the one I frequently thought of these days.

" – are you even listening to me?"

I sat up slightly straighter. "I am."

At that moment, three knocks sounded on my door, saving me from her probing questions.

"Come in!"

One of the maids opened the door a little, and peeked at me. "Lady Therese," she sounded breathless, "I have been told to inform you that – "

Suddenly, she disappeared, and the door was flung wide open. A familiar woman, dressed in blood red damask, swept into the room. Her ocean blue eyes scanned the entire chamber, before they landed on me, cold and hard.

I bit my lip. She was angry, as usual.

Even Liv's countenance drained of all colour at the sight of her.

"I want this chamber cleared in the next two minutes," she ordered, "I will have a private audience with my daughter, if you please." Her cold eyes never left mine.

She was instantly obeyed. The Modiste and her assistants gathered all the gowns they could, and scrambled out immediately as if their lives depended on it.

Liv squeezed my hand hard in support. It was her way of assuring me that she would be right outside the door, listening to every poisonous word of this conversation, should I need her assistance.

I flashed her a ghost of a smile, and gently pushed her towards the door.

When the door closed behind her, my mother's lips set into a thin, furious line. "How dare you take off from Roche without informing me?" she snarled, "I am your mother – "

I set my law book on the table beside me loudly. "My misfortune. No need to keep reminding me of it," I leaned against my chair, "now, I have no particular desire to see your face longer than necessary, Your Grace. Why have you come here?"

Her eyes fell on the book, and they grew, if at all possible, even colder.

She said nothing. She advanced towards me, like a predator towards its prey, careful, scheming, dangerous. The familiar chill of disgust trickled down my back, as I held my ground and unflinchingly met her gaze.

"'Tis true, then?" her voice was deceptively calm.

"I beg your pardon?"

"'Tis true, then, that you have ceased searching for a good husband among eligible members of the peerage? You have ceased obeying me?" it was almost a hiss, "choosing instead to dabble in this nonsense against my orders?" She nodded at my book.

I wanted to roll my eyes.

She meant to frighten me with those words, but she could not. She meant to reduce me to nothing but a bundle of quivering nerves with that simmering, smouldering gaze, but I was untouched, unperturbed by it.

A note of derisive laughter left my lips. "Ceased?" I gazed at her in dry amusement, "why, I was never searching for a husband to begin with, Your Grace. Did you not realise that, even when I had rejected Lord Andre's proposal?"

Her eyes narrowed. The barb had struck home.

It was clear that she was still sore and stinging from my rejecting Lord Andre's proposal - a proposal she had worked very hard with Lord Andre and his family to bring about behind my back.

Only for me to wreck it.

I was not sorry.

If looks could kill, I would have died there and then. "You ungrateful wench. Do you not realise that I am doing this all for you? Indeed, what have I not done to marry you off well?" she glared at me, "I have been trying to arrange your marriage with the Crown Prince since you were five years old - "

I pursed my lips. My mother's matchmaking efforts were nothing new to me.

Indeed, her ambition was so great, that she had set her eyes on the current Crown Prince of Monrique – Prince Nicholas Seymour, who was, at that time, only a second son to King Frederick - as a future groom for me since the moment of my birth, when it became apparent that I was not the male heir that she could groom and raise to greatness. She dreamed of climbing up the social ladder, and gaining more power, wealth and honour than our family already possessed as the ruling house of Roche.

However, it was not until I reached the age of five that she truly began to make her plans, and forced me to execute them. She had mapped out every little detail of how I should behave in front of Nick to earn his friendship and keep his interest in me, and eventually, charm my way into his life and his heart and marry him fifteen years into the future.

At that age, I had barely understood what was going on.

What more, it had been a difficult task. Even at five, Nick had innumerable friends, all of whom were very loyal to him, and vice versa. The Seymours had a special charisma, one that Nick had learnt to wield at a very young age.

And the most beloved of his friends had been my cousin, Lady Juliette Van Helsing.

I closed my eyes now at the thought of her, feeling regret and shame filling me. The pair had been so close once upon a time. A friendship so strong that it had even made me utterly jealous, young as I had been.

Mama had not liked that either. She feared that Jules might win Nick's heart in the future.

Thus, she advised me to create misunderstandings between them. Provoke them to hate each other with a passion. Encourage Nick to torment and bully Jules, so that the distance between the two friends could never be bridged.

In the end, however, all of it was useless. Everything that Mama had worked for dissipated into thin air, when Nick had returned two years ago to Monrique after his decade-long studies abroad and reacquainted himself with Jules.

To cut a long story short, within the next year, the pair had not only mended their feud, but had also fallen in love with each other. Indeed, they had been engaged that year, married the next, and were now expecting their first child.

Mama had been furious by the development. But I? I had been relieved.

I was relieved that I could give up a scheme I had long begun to hate carrying out, I was relieved that I no longer needed to drown in the guilt of my own deceit every night, and most importantly, I was relieved that I could cease obeying the orders of a woman whom I was certain lost her sanity several years prior to my birth.

Thus, for these past couple of years, I had been attempting to maintain the peace between myself, Jules and her two best friends, Kat and Lisa, who had always stood up for her against me - to atone for all the years I had wronged them, grieved them and tortured them. They had, very kindly, decided to give me a chance.

However, I would never forget who brought about all of this pointless misery in the first place.

I faced her now. "Do not bother assuming you did me a favour by trying to arrange my match with Nick," my voice was frosty, "rather, you managed to ruin many lives, including mine."

"You insipid child. If it is anyone's fault that your life is ruined, it is yours," she hissed, "if you had played your cards right, if you had done exactly what I had told you to, it would have been you who would be carrying Monrique's heir now, instead of that whore. If you had gained any sense at all this past year, you would be happily engaged to Lord Andre by now, and eventually married him."

I closed my eyes, exhausted all of a sudden. I was so tired of this, so tired of her.

Rising from my seat, I grabbed my book from the table and faced her. "I refuse to have this conversation with you, Your Grace. Either you will leave this room," I stated quietly, "or I will. Take your pick."

Her eyes blazed. "How dare you - "

I turned away, walked out and slammed the door shut behind me.

***

"You are telling me," Lady Madeleine repeated slowly, "that I have to gain the support of other women."

I sighed under my breath, leaning against her door.

It was not that she was insipid. She was only repeating my words over and over again in the hopes that I would come up with another idea to release her from imprisonment earlier.

However, this idea was the only one that had even the slightest chance of saving her – and aiding my own cause.

"You cannot win this battle alone, Countess," I explained for the umpteenth time, "at its core, your case is about the rights of Monriquan women to inherit. You must rally such disadvantaged female heiresses to your cause if you want to present a strong defence."

There was strength in numbers, after all.

However, she shook her head. "Surely there must be another way?" she pressed me, "I have some friends in Auvenge who can help me gather my people, and rise in my name to release me – "

I closed my eyes. I was fast losing my patience. Mayhap I should not have come straight here after meeting my mother. However, I had needed a distraction from my mother, from Liv's probing questions, and my own prickling conscience, and this was the best place I could think of at that moment.

"Countess," I interrupted her now, "the rebellion of one earldom, especially one as small as Auvenge, can be easily put down. The army will round up your friends, and they will suffer – along with you – for your foolhardiness."

"But – "

"You need to realise that you are fighting against an age-old prejudice," I continued sharply, "and the first step to fighting any battle is to gather comrades with the same goal. Thus, you need to gather all the women who are in the same position as you are to fight alongside you."

The Countess gripped the grill of her door until her knuckles turned white. "All right. Then tell me this, my Lady," she whispered, "how will I do that when I am rotting in here?"

I did not even blink. "I could do it on your behalf."

She stared at me, trying to determine whether I was jesting or nay. When she realised that I was perfectly serious, however, she sucked in a sharp breath.

"You?"

A wry smile tugged at my lips. "As much as it pleases you to think of me as a nobody," I crossed my arms, "mayhap it would interest you to know that many of these women are my childhood friends and acquaintances."

Her eyes widened in curiosity. "Who are you?"

I raised an eyebrow. This was the first time she had asked me anything about myself.

"My name is Therese, and I am a noblewoman," I answered her quietly, "for now, at least, that is all you need to know."

"Indeed?" she still unconvinced, "in any case, Lady Therese, you are well aware that my hearing is set a month from now. How will you travel to all the lands of these women and seek their aid in such a short period of time, and how - "

"You will leave all of that to me," I cut her off, "at the moment, however, all I ask of you is a little faith in my abilities."

Her eyes searched mine for a long while. "I trust you. Truly, I do," she finally spoke, "it is my father – and the jury - whom I do not trust. Do you...do you truly think your idea will work?"

"In all honesty, I cannot guarantee that," I met her gaze, "but you owe it to yourself, and your earldom, to at least try."

"I know..." she trailed off.

I gently patted her hand. "It is a win-win situation. By doing this, you will be strengthening your case – and you will also give the other female heiresses in this same predicament a chance to fight for their rights," I reminded her, "a chance that they may not otherwise receive."

Like me.

She took a deep breath. "I have nothing else to lose at this point, in any case, Lady Therese," she sighed, smiling slightly, "all right, you may go ahead and approach those women on my behalf. May the Lord go with you."

I broke into a beam for the first time that day. "And also with you."

***

"I would like to request for an audience with the Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Consort, please."

One of Jules' Ladies-in-waiting, Lady Brigitte, stared at me as if I were daft. "Lady Therese, might I remind you that it is 21 00 hours?" she frowned, "given Her Royal Highness' condition, she has to rest – "

"I would not have come at such an hour if it was not urgent, my Lady," I cut in quietly, "it is imperative that I speak to her at the earliest opportunity."

"My apologies, my Lady," she shook her head, "but it is simply not – "

"Brigitte," a familiar voice interrupted her from inside the chambers, "who is it?"

Lady Brigitte leaned back behind the door. "Lady Therese of Roche, Your Royal Highness," she answered, "I am asking her to seek an audience with you in the morning – "

At that moment, Jules appeared at the door. She was already attired in her nightgown, holding a thick novel in one hand, and cradling her swollen belly with the other.

I frowned in concern. Her cheeks were sunken in, and dark circles ringed her eyes. Except for her baby bump, she was but a stack of bones.

Confinement was doing her nothing but harm.

However, she now beamed at the sight of me. "Tess!"

Her hazelnut brown eyes were shining, as she turned to Lady Brigitte. "This is my cousin sister, and she may visit me anytime she wishes to," she stated, "you and the other Ladies-in-waiting may retire for the evening if you wish. I will retire later."

Lady Brigitte nodded, and bobbed a curtsey, before she left us.

Once she was out of earshot, Jules stepped forward to hug me tightly. "This is a wonderful surprise," she mumbled, "it has been such a long time. How have you been? How is Oncle Tom faring now?" Anxiety coloured her voice.

I held her as gently as I dared to, in case I harmed the baby in any way. "No better, no worse," I sighed heavily, "but my final examinations at the Court of the Lady Justice are fast approaching, and Papa did not want me to forgo them for his sake. That is the only reason why I have returned."

Jules, Lisa and Kat had chanced upon me during one of my classes last year, and were some of the few people who were aware that I was training to become a Lady Justice. It was not a secret, in that sense, but I did not want to make it public knowledge, and open myself up to gossip at all kinds of events.

I preferred keeping my life private.

My cousin pulled back from me now. "I wish I can do something to help him," she whispered, her voice breaking at several points, "I feel utterly useless and awful, cooped up in this castle."

"Nay, please do not stress yourself, Cousin," my voice was soft, "Clara and I have been taking very good care of Papa, as have his physicians, and he is fighting hard to recover. We must keep faith."

She nodded. "I keep him in my prayers every day," she told me quietly, "you will let me know if he needs anything, yes?"

"I promise, I will," I assured her.

"Good," she took a deep breath, before she seemed to remember something, "oh, how incredibly rude of me. Please, come in, Tess. We shall talk more inside." She linked an arm in mine, and led me into her chambers.

I eyed her with some concern. "You look like you could use some rest, Jules," I remarked, "would you like me to come tomorrow instead?"

She shook her head, as we walked past her Ladies-in-waiting, towards her bedchambers where we would not be overheard. "I am perfectly fine," she waved off my concern, "if I look under the weather, it is only because I am tired of being imprisoned here."

I frowned. "Surely the Queen allows you to walk at least within the Castle grounds during your confinement?"

"Nay, I am not even allowed to step outside these rooms until my baby is born," she sighed, "but I do sneak out at night whenever I feel well enough to. Well, here we are." She gestured at me to step inside her bedchambers, before she shut the door behind her.

There was only one woman who was seated within, and that was her best friend, Lady Alyssa Hale of Warwick. She sat curled up on the windowsill, staring out the window, and looked up when we entered.

"Look who it is!" Jules smiled faintly, as she sat down on her bed.

"Good evening, Tess," Lisa greeted me cheerfully, "how have you been?"

"Better than her, clearly," I pointed to Jules.

Lisa released an exasperated huff. "She takes no care of herself," she complained to me, "none at all. You tell me, Tess: now that she has a child on the way, do you not feel that she should start sleeping and eating on time? I have to nag at her to do everything – "

Jules gave her a side-hug, chuckling. "I love you, Lisa."

Lisa simply raised her eyes to the heavens above, and reluctantly rested her head against Jules'. "I love you too," she answered wryly, "but it is difficult, nevertheless, handling you and your nonsense alone. I miss Kat."

Jules sobered at once. "As do I."

My heart sank at that. Several stories and rumours had been circulating about the suddenly cancelled royal engagement these past couple of weeks, from Bordeux to down south in Roche – each more ridiculous and far-fetched than the last.

And I could not find Kat anywhere around the Castle in these two days since I arrived here.

"I have been hearing all sorts of things, and I do not know what to believe," I bit my lip, "is it true? Did Prince Richard break off their engagement?"

Lisa stared at me in surprise. "You do not know?" her eyes widened, "I thought your family was rather close to the Harringtons."

"We have not met them in quite a while," I admitted, "what with us having to handle Papa's illness, and them being busy with preparing for a royal engagement. What happened?"

Jules nodded in understanding, grave. "I suppose it is best if you hear it from us, as opposed to the others," she sighed, "or worse, from Queen Eleanor." Her countenance darkened.

It was thus that she and Lisa took turns to summarise the story of how Prince Richard had fled his own engagement without so much as a warning, leaving his poor fiancée to pick up the shards of her shattered heart, and move to the Longbournian Nations to piece her life back together again.

I was stunned into silence when they finished. "Merde. Why would he do such a thing?"

"I have driven myself to madness thinking about it," Lisa threw her hands up in the air, "and I refuse to do so anymore."

"Captain Dupont and his team did a thorough investigation. There was no evidence of struggle, and his chambers were as neat as always. His bed was made, his curtains drawn back, and all his cupboards were wiped clean of all his clothes and belongings," Jules confided in me, "even the vase on his bedside table contained a bunch of handpicked daffodils – just like he does every morning, hail or shine. Nothing was amiss."

"After much investigation, they were forced to conclude that Richard left on his own," she continued, "but it does not make sense. He returned home from a ten-year captivity merely two years ago. Why the hell would he willingly leave home again?" She was rather disturbed.

Silence reigned for a few moments.

"At least Harrington has decided to stop dwelling on this, and move on with her life," I remarked solemnly, "I will write to her tonight."

"That is a good idea," my cousin smiled tiredly, "she can use the support." She leaned against her pillows, stifling a yawn.

It was in that moment that I suddenly remembered why I had sought Jules so late in the evening in the first place.

"But that is not the only letter I need to write," I took a deep breath, "although I am happy to see you again, I must admit that I did not come here tonight on a mere social visit."

Jules exchanged looks with Lisa. "I cannot say that I am surprised. Like me, you are averse to social visits," she answered wryly, "well, then, dear cousin, how may I help you?"

Lisa's forehead creased. "If it is regarding something personal, I can leave the room – "

"Oh, nay, please stay," I stopped her, "I can use your opinion on this too."

Jules leaned against her pillows, curious. "Go ahead. What is the matter?"

"Yesterday, mere hours after my arrival, Lady Helene scheduled a class," I started, "and I was allowed to sit in on a particular case involving Lady Madeleine De La Tours, Countess of Auvenge."

I slowly proceeded to explain to them about Lady Madeleine's battle for her lands, the prejudice of the jury that had prevented her from doing so, and the complications in the law books that had landed her in the dungeons without a way out.

The pair listened intently, growing indignant on Lady Madeleine's behalf.

"What you are saying," Lisa reflected, solemn, "is that unless the law is changed to allow female heiresses to inherit in their own right – without them requiring a fiancé or a husband - Lady Madeleine will be tried and sentenced in Court as a thief?"

I nodded. "The case is not so much about the theft as it is about her right to her lands, Lisa," I explained quietly, "her father and the jury refuse to accept that she is a Countess regnant, simply because she is neither engaged nor married."

"What do you plan to do, then?" Jules wanted to know.

I leaned forward. "Having laws changed is no easy feat, considering they have been around, and believed in, for centuries," I held their gazes, "and I feel that, first and foremost, we need to bring to His Majesty's attention that there is a significant number of Monriquans who are against the current law – before we can even put forth our arguments for having it changed."

"Thus, I was thinking that we should draw up a petition, stating that we would like women to have equal succession rights as the menfolk," I continued fervently, "it will be signed by all willing female heiresses of Monrique, and their supporters. It will be presented to His Majesty, and the jury of the Court of the Lady Justice. What do you think?" I gazed at the both of them.

A long silence reigned, as they contemplated my words.

Eventually, Lisa nodded. "I think it is a good idea. I am fortunate to have a father and a husband who believe in my abilities," she murmured, looking down at her hands, "but there are many women like Lady Madeleine who are not. If you indeed proceed with this, Tess, I will sign the petition." She assured me.

"Thank you so much," I heaved a sigh of relief, smiling, "Jules?"

In the meanwhile, Jules was rubbing her stomach, deep in thought. "From the day I announced my pregnancy, till this very day, the whole country has been praying – nay, begging – for my baby to be a boy," she mused sadly, "one who can be crowned a Crown Prince at his birth, so that his father can be crowned King at the same time, securing the succession."

Lisa and I gazed at her silently. We were aware of the immense pressure she was under to deliver a boy. At times like this, I was relieved she was in confinement, and shielded from the full manic intensity of the prayers and masses being conducted at churches all over the country for a Prince to be born.

"If I give birth to a daughter, she will be the target of everyone's hate and disappointment from the moment she is born. Only because she is a girl, and she cannot be Nick's heir to the throne by law," she raised her eyes to us, exhausted, "and such a logic is completely unfair. I want my daughter to experience the same quality of life, and to have the same rights and privileges any son of mine would, and that includes being crowned a Crown Princess in her own right."

Truth be told, I was slightly awed. I had seen Jules defend people as a Knight, as a daughter, as a friend, as a wife, but this was the first time I was hearing her speak as a mother.

It was rather inspiring, I admit.

Her brown eyes hardened in resolve. "You had best draw up the petition soon, Tess. Write to other female heiresses, and start gathering support," she sat upright, "not only will I sign the petition, but I will also speak in your favour at Court when you present it to His Majesty. You have my word."

I broke into a wide beam. This was more than I had hoped for. If Jules agreed to speak in our favour, instead of merely being a silent signature on a petition, it could boost our defence and increase our chances of winning this battle.

A Crown Princess Consort's, especially one who was pregnant with the country's heir or heiress, words held great weight, after all.

However, I did not forget that she was doing this mainly for her unborn child – for my unborn niece or nephew – and I felt the need to promise her something as well.

"And you have my word that I will go to every length possible to succeed," I vowed, holding her gaze, "if you have a daughter, she will be treated with the same respect as your son would. I promise."

And I promise, that your daughter will never grow up doubting her own abilities or feeling ashamed of her gender, like my mother had caused me to for almost all my life.

***