VW: Second Life
Location: Chateau de Lourmarin ,Lourmarin sur Mer
Country: FR
A Caribean Adventure......
A Caribian Adventure by Alikasah01 and KianaDumont Resident
Chapter 1
The Letter
It ist he year of the Lord 1774. It is the rise of a new Era in France, but this year already started sad........
Our King, his Majesty Louis XV died at May 10 th and a lot of things changed in France.
Monsieur le Dauphin became the new King Louis XVI and Mme la Dauphine became our new Queen Marie-Antoinette.
High hopes were set on the new King and Queen in their young age.
But that is another story..... It is also the year when I experienced the biggest Adventure of my life......
First, I think, I need to introduce myself...... I am Alexandrine-Josephine de Fiennes, Comtesse de Lourmarin. I was born in March 25 th 1750 into the Noble family of the de Gramonts.
My childhood was protected and nice, I never had to fear poverty or hunger. My dear Father granted us children almost every wish, but he died very early.
To provide a controlled condition of a safe environment for a young noble Mlle like me, I was married in 1768 to a four years younger distant Cousin of the de Fiennes Family.
Jules-Philippe de Fiennes, Comte de Lourmarin......
It was an arranged marriage, my dear Mother always feared that I could end as an old Spinster because I was already 18 years of age.As a young girl you always have the imagination of Romance and true love, but I was aware what the society expected from me....
I do not know much about my husband, he is always a bit reserved towards me. One might think he has a difficult character, but it seems he acts normal, like the gentlemen of his age do in these times. I could never complain , at least he treats me in a nice way. Even when I am not blessed with children in our marriage.....
Soon after the marriage, I was introduced to the Royal Court of Versailles, which was a bit hard for me in the beginning , due to the strict Etiquette. I soon learned, that some Courtiers seemed nice, but werent necessarily nice at all. The advice of my dear Mother to watch always my reputation was very helpful and it certainly safed me from bigger trouble.
Jules-Philippe left for the French Colonies. I am not certain if it was Martinique or Saint Lucia..... Jules-Philippe did not tell me and it was not suitable for me to ask. A woman of my position had other tasks to take care of, than to worry about Politics, colonies or the duties of a Comte. All I did know is , that he is ordered by our formerly King Louis XV to bring back cane sugar to France.....The french Aristocracy developed a huge appetite for sugar and sweets. So my husband returned to France from time to time.
Once from his journeys Jules-Philippe brought back a little black boy called Ali, who was employed as our servant. This little Moor was a sign of wealth, I was told. Even Mme duBarry la Maitresse de roi owened one. Therefore Ali was good educated and well dressed. Very soon he was baptized and recieved the proper catholic name Jean-Matisse.
Jean-Matisse, or Matisse like I used to call him , has always been a trustworthy, loyal and devoted servant. We can call ourselfs fortunated that someone like him is taking care of our Household.
One day...it must have been in June or July.....I returned from my duties at Versailles to our own Estate in southern France... I was relaxing in the Chambre du musique, while Matisse played something on the Harpischord.....I saw a young Messenger on a horse heading to my Palais. He handed out a letter to one of the Valets. Matisse who promptly stopped his play, brought it to me on a silver tray. I opened it and read the following lines........
I just thought . No..... No..... That can not be true! . I droped the letter and felt the weaken of my legs......I felt dizzy and the world around me, turned into black.........
............to be continued
Merci Monsieur Gandt.....I am honoured by your interest
Mon Dieu! poor cousinJules-Philippe. I shall pray for his safe return.
Merci ma chere Cousine, I appreciate your participation
My dear Donna Alexandrina,
This is dreadful news indeed. I would gladly offer my services as a negotiator -- I have often helped with the redemption of captives from among the Barbary pirates of North Africa, in my diplomatic work on behalf of the House of Savoy and the governments of several other Italian states...but I am afraid as this is a matter under jurisdiction of the government of France, there is nothing I can do...for a number of reasons that we need not go into at present.
It is fortunate that you have the attentive and loyal company of your young man, Jean Matisse. It is always important to know that there is someone you can trust and who looks after your interests to the best of his abilities...and as much as the circumstances permit. Even when it is an employee, rather than a spouse or blood relative, a faithful companion is good to have...in fact sometimes, that sort of companion is more reliable and less self-interested than those relations who should be attentive to your own interests. And in this case, I certainly hope that whoever is responsible for negotiating and arranging ransom for your good husband, is not someone who would benefit were he to NOT be redeemed from his captivity...it is unfortunate how often I have seen such situations arise, and they do not turn out well.
But I hope for a better result in this case. May God go with you until we meet again.
yours,
Don Aldo
Merci Dear Don Aldo, your kind offer and your participation is highly appreciated. I do think the only thing we can do is wait and pray.....