Unchaining Alice

Chapter 15

"Will you give all you can give
So that our banner may advance
Some will fall and some will live
Will you stand up and take your chance?
The blood of the martyrs
Will water the meadows of France!


Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!"

Do You Hear The People Sing? - Les Miserables

I seriously think this song epitomises how I envision Alice and Jacques in the revolution. Especially "The blood of the martyrs will water the meadows of France" Chilling line!

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Chapter Fifteen

James felt as though he was having an out of body experience when he thought about Alice. She excited him in ways he never thought he could be excited. Never before had he wanted to talk and spend time with a woman but Alice had sparked a fire in him that he simply could not, nor did he want to, extinguish.

As not to bother her, he decided to leave it a few days before he went to her and asked to court her. She would accept, he was sure. His charismatic charm had to be good for that at least.

He could imagine it. He could imagine taking her on picnics and taking her to the opera (not that he would enjoy it but women seemed to) as some were sung in French. He might even learn a little French to impress her. He hadn’t had the talent for Latin or German in the schoolroom but if he put in the effort, French could possibly become a part of his vocabulary.

When he awoke on the Wednesday following their Sunday dinner, he knew it was the day. He rose from bed with a skip in his step. The smile could not be wiped from his face and he was sure it would widen when he heard the ‘yes’ escape Alice’s pretty, pink and plump lips. How he longed to kiss them. But he would be a gentleman. She was an innocent and he would strive to keep her that way.

When he arrived at breakfast his parents and his brother were already eating.

“You’re awfully chipper this morning,” his father remarked.

“Is there a certain young lady responsible for that?” his mother asked coyly.

James didn’t respond. He simply smiled and took his seat between Sebastian and Henry as he tucked into the glorious breakfast that was laid out before them. He knew that once he and Alice married eventually that Henry would have to move down a seat as his wife would sit beside him. He loved how that sounded in his mind – his wife. Lady Alice Alcott. Alice Alcott. It simply rolled off one’s tongue.

Towards the conclusion of the meal, Mr Carter came into the dining room with the day’s mail, no doubt full of ball invitations that he had no interest in attending, not now he’d found the lady he wanted to dance all his dances with.

Sebastian flipped through the letters. “One from mama here, addressed to you, my dear. Why is that?” Sebastian asked, amused, as he handed the letter to Emilia.

Emilia rolled his eyes. “Catherine enjoys my penmanship far better than yours, darling,” she giggled as she used her butter knife to break the wax seal on the letter.

“A few invitations here … oh, James you have one.” Sebastian handed the letter to James who peered at it curiously. There was no return address on the letter and he did not recognise the handwriting. It was slanted and nearly illegible. He broke the seal with his fingers and unfolded it carefully.

James,

Someone like me, a lowly street urchin, does not deserve such a prestigious family to boost my social standing with their money and connections.