“Never mind.”
“That jewel you gave her was worth fully half the amount Louis needs to pay his war debt. Will she give it to him?”
“I doubt if it will occur to her. She sees it only as an amusement.” Jean Marc smiled crookedly. “Like her lamb and her cow.”
“You could suggest it to her.”
“If I chose to interfere. I do not. The Andreas family has always taken care of its own, let the Bourbons do likewise.”
“Is that not a trifle ruthless?”
“To choose survival? Why do you think our house has existed through centuries of war and political strife when others have been destroyed? Because we’ve never aligned ourselves with either warring faction and devoted ourselves to preserving what we had built. It’s not the kings who rule the world but the bankers.”
“So you became a banker.”
“Exactly. I can’t escape the taxes, but I can offset them by charging the nobles and clergy fat interest rates. I thought it only fair. Don’t you sympathize with—”
“Wait!”
Juliette de Clement was running toward them, her mop of dark brown curls flopping about her flushed face. She stopped as she came up to them and looked squarely at Jean Marc. “You shouldn’t make Catherine go to the abbey. They won’t be kind to her there.”
“The good sisters?”
“No, the other students.” Juliette made an impatient motion with her hand. “She’s bourgeoisie. Do you think the other pupils will like having her there as their equal? They’ll treat her as they do the lackeys and pages here at Versailles. They’ll treat her as they do me in a cruel fashion and—” She caught her breath and continued urgently. “Can’t you see? She won’t know how to fight them. She can’t even tell a servant to loosen her corset, for heaven’s sake.”
Catherine flushed. “I’m sure they won’t be unkind. Why should they?”
“I told you. Because you’re not one of them. That’s reason enough.”
“You’re of the nobility and you’ve treated me kindly.”
“But I’m not one of them either. My mother is a Spaniard and the queen loves her. Everyone is jealous of the queen’s affection for my mother and contemptuous of me. They do try to hurt me but I won’t let them.” She turned fiercely to Jean Marc. “Tell her. She doesn’tknow.”
“However you know, do you not?” Jean Marc’s gaze narrowed on Juliette’s intense face. “By the way, did you pinch that poor child when Her Majesty was lowering the royal wrath on my head?”
“I wouldn’t pinch Louis Charles. I like him. I merely nudged him.” Juliette frowned. “You were behaving very foolishly, Jean Marc. In another moment she would have sent you away and told the king to punishyou. He’s very good-natured but he usually does what she tells him to do.” She returned to the main issue. “Catherine will be unhappy at the convent. Don’t send her there.”
“I’ll consider your objection. I admit it has a certain merit. Catherine has obviously never learned to do battle.”
Catherine smiled gently at Juliette. “Thank you for your concern.”
“De rien.”Juliette lingered a moment, gazing at Catherine. “Listen to me. If you go, you mustn’t believe the best of them. Strike first and they may leave you alone.”
Catherine frowned and shook her head.
“You see?” Juliette rounded on Jean Marc.“C’est impossible!”She turned and strode away from them.
“Juliette!”
She glanced back over her shoulder at Jean Marc.
“Are you not going to bid usadieu?”he asked softly.
“I have no liking for farewells.” Juliette’s eyes were suspiciously bright. “I’ve said what I wished to say.”
The next moment she was running back toward the queen’s cottage.
Jean Marc watched her until she was out of sight, then turned and began walking again.
