Immortal Beauty Read Online Free PDF

secret and she immediately felt the need to usher Honorine back into the house so there would be no witness. She smiled begrudgingly at the old woman who obviously cared so much for her and she allowed the woman to place the cloak securely around her shoulders, even letting her tie the satin ribbons that pulled it together. Well, at least she was warmer now and her smile became truly genuine.
    “Thank you my dear. Now you can go back to your room and catch up on all the sleep that you have been missing lately.” She took the pale wrinkled hand into her own and held it in a gesture of intimacy and kissed the sweet woman on both cheeks. She smiled again at the wild figure of Honorine at night. She would have frightened anyone who did not know her. She hurried the maid inside and returned once more to the grand park which lay before her sliding gently all the way down to the Seine. She followed one of the immaculate paths all bordered with irises and roses and even at night the fragrance could be overwhelming. She moved slowly and regally away from the chateau toward the sounds of the river. Now she was in the midst of the small forest of chestnut trees and found herself afraid. These were dangerous days as the poor were growing poorer and the rich were becoming richer and more indifferent to the needs of the masses. The government increased the taxes each year for some endless war campaign that never seemed to cease. Paris was devoid of young men as they were all off fighting for France. There was unease about the Austrian princess and no one could say a kind word about her with the rumors of her spending and gambling and even hints of a lesbian lover! It seemed as if she were throwing her riches in the faces of the starving people and laughing the whole time traveling from one party to the next. Times were changing and Helene was suddenly grateful that she never accepted any invitations to court. Of course she simply declined because she found the world of Versailles and the intrigues of the court bored her beyond imagining. She was born with a title and money and never once thought of it as anything other than the way it has always been. Now she was not so sure. She gathered from her servants the horrors of the people. Their suffering was growing daily and Helene could no longer turn a blind eye. She had to be careful though as her friends and relations had no interest in changing the way of life that gave them the upper hand. The were happy with the system that took a small part of the population and made them entitled while most of the people had no rights at all and these days no bread which only caused more unrest. Her friends would never relinquish their titles or property to help the common man. Yet in America the common man had overthrown the queen of England and now in Paris there was so much talk of revolution that she felt she could not stand another mention of such things. It filled her with terror. Even now it was impossible for her to go shopping in the city for the mobs had become unstable and violent. One of her maids was accosted after descending from her mistress’ carriage because it was obviously the carriage of a rich person. Her maid escaped relatively unharmed but her description of the event so horrified Helene that she decided not to try to gain access into Paris until all this trouble was over. The ambassador Benjamin Franklin was considered a hero and was worshipped by the French. Even the court at Versailles granted him audience of His Majesty. This was surely not a good idea. His very presence sparked the flame of unrest into a wildfire that threatened all of Europe. He was living proof that the common man could rise up from the ground and aspire to better things. These were all very dangerous things in and of themselves and combined they scared Helene in a way that she had never been frightened before. She found herself being drawn from her idle and luxurious life into a battle that she wanted