A Truthful Companion By My Side E-Book

Claudia Haase

• Herausgeber: BoD - Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 97

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

Princess Agatha is alone at court with her cultural interests and intellect. She does not find any suitable conversation partners in her companions and ladies-in-waiting. Her curiosity is aroused all the more by the smart Ernestine and her unconventional lifestyle - and finally she finds the person with whom she can share all her passions. The young Countess Ernestine doesn't think much of the aristocratic goings-on at court. She represses the thougth that she was once promised to a crown prince as his wife. However, she could imagine a life together with Princess Agatha. But no sooner have they become close than the royal family insists on an early wedding ceremony with Agatha's brother. Gentle readers, immerse yourself in the love story of two aristocratic women who lived at Bergfels Palace and Sturmstein Castle in the transition from the 17th to the 18th century!

Leseprobe

Contents

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Acknowledgments

Chapter One

Bergfels Palace, 1712

Agatha

My eyelids are heavy, and it takes me a while to blink and embrace my surroundings. The morning sun shines in through the window and announces the dawn of a new day. How grateful I am to be able to experience it!

Even if I do not know whether I will be able to hold out until the evening. Only the fervent desire to say farewell to my beloved Ernestine has given me the strength not to hand myself over to Charon, the ferryman of death.

Tired of being upright, I seek to lie down, but my chambermaid, Yolande, is at hand in an instant.

"Your Highness, I told you to take care of yourself! Wait, I am coming to help!" Yolande whirls around the bed and stuffs countless cushions into my back so that I am a little more comfortable.

"You know that too much blood flows into your head when you lie down. It is unhealthy and caneven lead to death," she reminds me reproachfully.

My vision is clouded, and I can only see the objects in the room, not recognize them. This is probably not only due to the lack of daylight in my room. Yolande's glowing red cheeks appear in front of me, her eyebrows raised. Concern is written all over her face.

I shiver, even though I can hear the cozy crinkling and crackling coming from the fireplace. Nevertheless, for a while, I thought I was at Sturmstein Castle with Ernestine, where there is a constant draft through all the cracks in the walls.

But no, I am in my bedchamber in Bergfels Palace. I saw the first light of day here not quite sixtytwo years ago and will obviously be leaving this earth soon.

Memories creep up inside my head. Ernestine fanning me after dancing and showering me with all her love. Ernestine, who grinned mischievously and told me she had hidden a love letter to me in a gap in the castle walls. I think of our walks and rides together and how we talked intensively about music, literature, our horses... but I also recall the saddest time in my life, when my young friend was struggling with her fate and...

Oh, if I could turn back time! How I would love to float across the ballroom dance floor one last time with Stinchen, as I call her in secret.

Instead, I am dragged down by my tiredness that catches up to me.

Ernestine

This slow jerking is unbearable. More than thirty years ago, I would have shouted at the coachman to stop. I would have hopped out of the carriage and found a reason to make my travel companion dismount and move a few meters away from us. It is evil enough that my brother, Count Cuno, forced a chaperone on me!

In no time, I would have jumped into the saddle with my skirts ruffled and galloped across the country toward Bergfels Palace.

With my skirts ruffled? No, I would have snatched a pair of my brother's practical Rhinegrave breeches for the journey. They are much more suitable for riding.

Then I would have covered the distance to the palace in an instant. Even if I'd had to take a break due to the onset of dusk, I would have sneaked into a farmer’s hayloft and left before dawn.

But my back is bothering me, and my knees are always giving me pain. According to Queen Blanchefleur, my sister, it's because I spent too much of my childhood running through the woods or jumping on horses. In addition, I should also stop eating so much, and in general, I should not forget that I have sinned all my life.

Those were the days when I roamed the woods without a care in the world! But now I need a proper bed to sleep in. Although I am a lot younger than Agatha, at my age, it's unthinkable to get out of the carriage without a helping hand. Especially with this puffy traveling dress that my sister recently talked me into purchasing. It is ideal for trips through the country and supposedly le dernier cri, the height of fashion, in its shape and color.

Now, my heart is broken. I am full of sorrow for my princess, my dearly beloved, who has accompanied me most of my life and stood by me in my most difficult hours. I hope and pray I will see my dearest Agatha alive.

A foolish argument, a difference of opinion, divided us a few weeks ago and I fled in anger to Cuno, my brother, to Sturmstein Castle. I wish I had gone to our grandparents' prestigious palace instead; God rest their souls! I would have reached Agatha much more quickly from there. A second cousin lives there these days, and she would certainly have taken me in.

How much I now regret having to travel such a great distance!

I force myself to think about something else, otherwise I will start crying again. And by all means, I do not want to face Agatha with reddened eyes. I want to be as flawlessly beautiful to her as I was on the first day we met.

Chapter Two

Thirty years earlier, in 1682

Ernestine

"Now take a look, Ernestine!"

My sister Blanchefleur was very excited. She spent the whole day in my guest room in our grandparents' palace. To keep the trip to the impending ball at Bergfels Palace as short as possible, we spent a few days with Mama and Papa at their place.

Blanchefleur turned to Elsbeth, our chambermaid who had traveled with us. "Does she see this seam here? There is something wrong with it. Check this spot!" She clicked her tongue in displeasure. "And my cheeks are scarlet! No young gentleman will want to dance with me at the ball!"

She continued to complain as she turned back and forth in front of the large wall mirror.

She was constantly tugging at her evening dress and drove Elsbeth to despair with her choice of clothes. I, on the other hand, found it hard to concentrate on the French novel I was translating.

"You can really see every wrinkle in this mirror. It is really unflattering. I do not know what our grandmother finds so beautiful about it. When I look at myself in it, every little flaw comes to light."

Once invited to a gathering hosted by the Archbishop of Sens, whose hall was lined with more than fifty mirrors, our grandparents were enthused about these mirrors, whose frames were made of gold, silver, or ivory. They had acquired some magnificent pieces, one of which adorned the guest room.

It was rumored that the French king was green with envy and was planning an entire hall of mirrors for his palace. Of course, it had to be bigger and more beautiful than the archbishop's.

He was even more displeased that my grandparents had beaten him to it and purchased some of the most valuable and highest quality crystal mirrors.

"Chère Maman, please tell Ernestine to hurry!" my sister shouted at the top of her lungs. "Otherwise, she will make us miss the first dance at the ball."

Mama rushed up and I involuntarily hunched my shoulders in the face of the thunderstorm that followed.

"Ernestine! Incroyable! Simply unbelievable! This child sits around calmly and pretends to be a scholar! That is not proper for a young woman your age."

A shadow fell over the paper. Mama had stepped behind me, and when she saw the lines I had just written, she let out a short scream.

"Not only are you addicted to reading, but you are also picking up a pen yourself! I am speechless. I will ask your father, the Count, to consult our personal physician. After all, there must be a medicine that will put you on the right path and teach you how to behave in a manner befitting your origins." She stood in front of me and shielded the daylight with her figure. "And please look at me when I talk to you!"

I looked up at her unwillingly.

"Instead of sitting in front of these written sheets and straining your eyes, think about how you are going to dress! All the noble families from the surrounding area will be attending and I want you to stand out amongst the nubile young women. Even if you are promised to the most illustrious Crown Prince Baldrich, I want him to see how much all the other hand-some young men desire you."

"But, Mother, I am no longer a little girl." The fact that she had to bring up that damned crown prince made me even more upset. I did not want to think about him.

"It's all the more incomprehensible to me that the marriage was not accomplished long ago. You are old enough. You are seventeen!"

As if this conversation was not sufficiently unpleasant enough, my sister intervened. "What do you think, Ernestine? May I accompany you asmaid of honor on the wedding procession to the palace?"

"That would be quite appropriate," Mama replied, joining my sister. "I think your dear father should push for a wedding soon. Otherwise, the royal family might change their minds."

I had to restrain myself from exclaiming, Yes, please, I would not object to that! Instead, I seized the moment and quickly sent dear Elsbeth out to get me some fresh water to wash my face.

"I just cannot decide," Blanchefleur continued to moan, alternately stroking the fabric of two dresses that she had laid out on my bed. The rustling of the fine silk fabric almost drove me angry. If she carried on like this, she could damage the fine embroidery.

"Blanchefleur, take this delicate, cream-colored ball gown. It emphasizes your virginity perfectly." As soon as she finished, Mama came back to my desk and took my head in her hands. She eyed me critically and tugged at my short hair.

"Ernestine, you need help with the hairpieces. It should be a dainty updo. It is a shame that you refuse to grow long hair! And the count supports you in your attitude, too."

"Mother, you know as well as I do that most of our friends and acquaintances have practically no hair left on their heads because of the heavy wigs. It is more practical this way."

Mama puffed. "If only you wore the hairpieces!"

Our chambermaid coughed.

"Madame?" She stood in the doorway with the wash bowl in her hands and looked at me. She hesitated, but I firmly waved her in. It would be a shame if she spilled the luxurious water.

"Elsbeth, what on earth is this lavoir for? I will not allow my daughters to come into contact with water that fills their heads with vapors. The very thought that germs could penetrate their pores during washing and make them ill... Ugh!"

"Mother, leave it alone. I've asked Elsbeth for it and I am only going to wet my face a little. Writing has made me hot. A little cooling before I apply the powder will do me good."

I nodded encouragingly to Elsbeth and pointed to the dresser where she should put the bowl down. Mama backed away from her as if she was carrying a poisonous substance.

"Even Louis XIV washes his face, hands, and mouth every day after getting up, so what could be so wrong with that?" I added in defense.

"This is not France, nor the court of the Sun King,