The Sunflowers: A Novel of the Sun King's Court

Chapter Twelve

Cecile.

"I'm dreading going to this salon, even if it means we'll meet Maman's friends," Cecile told Margot as they finished dressing for their outing. "They say one must have esprit. What's esprit, Margot? How do you know you have it when you don't even know what it is?"

Margot let her maid pin her last chestnut-colored curl in place, then turned to Cecile. "It means that you're witty and spirited, and that you have an appreciation for that particular kind of thing. There's no reason to be terrified, Cecile. Once you're there, and once you've listened to the conversations there, you'll catch on. It's really not that difficult to pretend to have something smart or amusing to say."

"But you're so good at being amusing!" Cecile exclaimed as Margot got up from her dressing table and allowed Cecile some time there so that her hair could be done. "It's so easy for you. Your uncle made sure that you were well-educated and that you could talk of anything and everything. My father couldn't have cared less and now I don't even know what to say or how to start a conversation!" She collapsed down upon the stool dramatically, like a wilting flower, while the maid took up a brush to see to her hair.

"First, you would do better to sit up straight," Margot sai, coming to Cecile's side so that she could see to her powder and rouge. "No one will think you have anything important to say if you hunch over like a kitchen girl over the fire. And your mother said to appear to be interested in the conversation in front of you, so much so that people ask for your opinion. Remember that the salons aren't the domain of men, but of ladies, so thet must defer to us, and treat us with the utmost respect."

"Maman said that? And when did you hear her say that, Margot?" Cecile asked as the maid ran a comb through her golden curls.

"While we were practicing our walk and our posture yesterday. Didn't you listen to her, or was your mind somewhere else?"

Cecile bit her lip, averting her eyes from Margot's. Of course her mind had been somewhere else, thinking over and over of the illicit book by Dr. Faustus that Margot had tucked in between her feather mattresses a few nights before. She still wondered if anyone had found it, for it would be easy for a maid to come upon it while changing the feather beds. And then what would happen if the maid went to the housekeeper, who would in turn go to Margot's granduncle, the Comte? What would he say once he had discovered that she and Margot had sneaked into his chambers while he was away on business and had gone throuh his private books and papers? Moreover, what would her mother say? Her mother was a rather devout Catholic, as far as she had always seen, and she was sure that her mother would be shocked and be forced to the convent to take vows and spend the rest of her life praying for the immortal soul of her daughter...

"It was," Cecile admitted, and Margot eyed her with an exasperated expression on her face as she opened her pot of rouge. "I hadn't slept well that night," Cecile went on pointedly, "so I don't think I was feeling well enough to listen to closely to Maman as you were."

"If you can't sleep, then you can always have your maid bring you something to help you sleep," Margot reminded her. "Warm milk always helps, or wine, or even sleeping draughts..."

"It hasn't happened since," Cecile insisted, grimacing as the maid pulled her hair back at the crown and pinned it down. "I've slept much better since then, thank you, Margot."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Margot said, adding some rouge to her cheeks and lips. Just enough to add some rosy color, not too much like Cecile notieced her mother was wont to wear. Because Maman is trying to look young enough to attract a wealthy new husband, Cecile thought to herself, the corners of her mouth turning down in a frown.

"Do you think you could do mine for me when my hair is all done?" she asked Margot.

Margot looked down at her gently, a warm smile spreading across her face. "You know I will, Cecile," she replied. "Wait for Perrine to finish your hair, then I'll help you with your powder and rouge."

Perrine finished Cecile's hair in due course, and she stepped back to allow Margot to help Cecile with her powder and rouge. When Margot was done, she straightened, inclining her head to study her handiwork. "It makes you look older," she pronounced. "The key is not to use too much, my mother always said. But look how sophisticated we both look!"

And once they had dressed, Cecile in light blue and Margot in dark blue, they admired themselves in the mirror. In the space of a few months they had both grown from innocent girls into young ladies. And yet still, Cecile felt inferior to Margot, with her sparkling blue eyes, burnished chestnut hair, and even teeth, while her own hazel eyes, the color of water, her mother always said, seemed so dull compared to that, and her golden hair had a little too much brown in it to be beautiful.

"You do look lovely, Cecile," Margot said as they hurried downstairs to cloaks, masks, and gloves. "I think you'll light up the room when you walk into it, just like La Montespan does. People always notice her, whether or not she talks."

Cecile didn't know what to make of that, but murmured a thank-you all the same. To be compared to La Montespan was still a dubious thing in her mind, she thought as they climbed into the coach, though La Montespan was lovely and witty and everything that a lady of the court should be, and because of this, she had captured the heart of the King.

As the carriage made its way to the d'Albret house in the Marais district, Margot and the Baronne chattered gaily about who was to be at this particular salon, while Cecile half-listened, her heart in her throat and her blood thrumming through her veins. Once the house was in sight, her throat went dry.

She felt lightheaded as she followed her mother and Margot out of the carriage and into the house, where they waited in the vestibule to enter the d'Albrets' grand salon. The smells of jasmine, musk, rose, and orange blossom perfumes made her dizzy. She clasped Margot's hand tightly to keep her feet steady. When the doors to the grand salon opened, she drew a deep breath and followed the waiting guests inside.