The next morning, Versailles stirred with the hum of courtly ritual. Perfumed ladies rustled through the salons in brocade and lace, trailing silk like banners of war. Gentlemen with powdered wigs and diamond-studded snuffboxes exchanged polite venom beneath the chandeliers. The court was a stage, and everyone an actor playing at elegance.
Marie moved through it all unseen, a shadow in linen, delivering letters and adjusting curtains with the practiced ease of someone trained to vanish. But today, she could feel the weight of eyes upon her—one pair in particular.
The Duke of Montmorency was seated near the Queen's alcove, laughing idly with a group of nobles. A gold signet ring gleamed on his finger as he toyed with a glass of wine. But his gaze? It flicked to her. Brief. Subtle. But enough.
Marie's breath caught. She dipped her head quickly and turned away, heat rushing to her face. She could not afford this attention.
Neither could he.
---
In the Duchess d'Artois' salon, trouble was already brewing.
"She's pretty," said the Marquise de Villeneuve, lounging like a cat across a velvet chaise. Her eyes sparkled with malice. "That little chambermaid. What's her name?"
"I believe it's Marie," replied the Duchess, coolly sipping her tea. "She serves the Queen, I think."
"A servant?" the Marquise scoffed. "How quaint. And the Duke of Montmorency was seen speaking to her."
The Duchess set her teacup down with care. "Then perhaps she ought to be reminded of her place."
Jealousy in Versailles was not loud. It was quiet, polite, and poisonous.
---
That evening, Marie returned to her quarters in the servant's wing to find something strange. Her belongings—simple as they were—had been disturbed. Her brush was missing. Her spare apron was torn. And on her straw pillow lay a single dead rose.
She stared at it, heart pounding.
Someone knew. Or worse, suspected.
A soft knock came at the door.
It was Léonie, her face pale. "You've drawn attention," she whispered. "Dangerous attention."
Marie nodded slowly. "I didn't ask for it."
"No," Léonie said, "but you have it. And at Versailles, that is enough to lose everything."
...