Versailles – Scullery Corridor, Before Dawn
Marie waited in the shadows behind the kitchen barrels, where steam rose from pots and the air smelled of flour and onions. Brigitte was finishing her morning shift, humming to herself as she loaded trays for the west wing.
Too confident.
Marie stepped forward, blocking her path. Her voice was low. Calm.
"Brigitte."
The tray clattered to the ground. "You—? How are you—"
Marie said nothing. She only stared.
"I didn't… I didn't mean for them to come after you like that," Brigitte stammered, her bravado cracking like sugar glass. "They said it would just scare you off."
"Who?" Marie asked coldly.
Brigitte hesitated.
Marie stepped closer. "You think they'll protect you now? You're just another servant, Brigitte. A tool. One that's no longer needed."
Brigitte's breath hitched.
"It was the Duchess d'Artois," she whispered. "Her lady-in-waiting—Madeleine—she gave me the key. Said if I let someone in, I'd be reassigned to Paris."
Marie's voice was like ice. "And you believed them."
Tears welled in Brigitte's eyes, but Marie turned and walked away.
She had what she needed.
Now it was time to burn the lie.
---
Versailles – Montmorency Wing, Late Afternoon
The Duke of Montmorency moved through the drawing rooms with the quiet efficiency of a tactician.
He didn't seek confrontation. Not yet.
But when he passed Duchess d'Artois, he let his eyes linger just a moment longer than proper. A polite bow. A smile that held no warmth.
She noticed.
Later, a sealed envelope appeared in her chambers—unmarked, unsigned.
Inside, a single line:
> I know what you did.
No name. No threat.
But it was enough to unsettle her.
And Montmorency smiled.
---
That Night – A Secret Meeting
Marie slipped through a servant's gate and stepped into the garden's edge.
A hooded figure was waiting—tall, still, familiar.
She didn't speak first. Neither did he.
Only when they stood within reach did the silence break.
"I thought you'd forgotten me," she said softly.
"I was finding the right blade," Montmorency replied. "For the right throat."
Marie looked up into his eyes.
And for the first time in days, she let herself breathe.
---