Post by Nicolette Deveraux on Mar 10, 2015 19:59:35 GMT -5
In the continued spirit of evaluating the family to find their respective talents, Nicolette invited her cousin Emile to join her for a ride through the Gardiner forest. She wanted plenty of privacy to speak with her cousin, intending a most frank discussion indeed far from prying eyes and ears. There were questions to pose to Emile that she could not, would not risk others overhearing despite the inherent risk of taking him far from the castle and the protection of guards. She was no coward, however, and prepared to face the matter head on. Forewarned meant she could be forearmed in the forthcoming battle.
That there would be a battle, she harbored little doubt, but Nicolette was shrewd enough to work within the boundaries of limitations imposed by fraternity and shared parentage. Knowing Benoit as she did, the future Crown Princess wished to take stock of his second son in order to confirm her thoughts and discover the truth of Emile, if it could be done. Now she waited for him in the courtyard, looking none the worse for her late night and the unintentional disaster that occurred in her chamber thanks to a clumsy cousin, an overreacting uncle and a tangle of suspicions, accusations and explanations. She stood beside her mare, stroking the soft neck and murmuring to her, keeping an eye on the door by which she anticipated Emile's arrival.
They were not especially close, whether by design or by circumstance she could not be certain. Indeed, she looked on Martine with greater familiarity than she did the young Princess's brothers. This promised to be a most interesting game of give and take today; Nicolette was prepared to face a potential master in Emile, the mystery among the cousins.
Emile Deveraux