To Dream of Snow Read Online Free PDF

different times coaches ahead stopped for two maids and a young page to vomit in the bushes. As it was in the country others of both sexes took the chance to relieve themselves behind bushes and trees, men to one side and women to the other. The Comtesse never appeared, but her lady’s maid discreetly emptied a small boat-shaped receptacle such as most ladies used on journeys. The seamstresses had discovered one in a cupboard under the seat, which had been supplied for them, but although it bore the d’Oinville crest it was thick white china and not like the Comtesse’s own of flower-decorated Sèvres porcelain
    That night the seamstresses slept at an inn where they were given supper. The Comtesse stayed at a nearby château with people whom she knew, and this was to become the pattern of the journey. Whenever possible, overnight stops were timed to enable her to stay in comfort at the home of an acquaintance. Yet the seamstresses were not forgotten, a senior servant paying as promised all bills for their food and lodging. Not that there was much comfort for them. If they were lucky there would be a wash-house where they could bathe themselves and dry their washing overnight, the very nature of their work making them all naturally fastidious about cleanliness, but this facility was not always available. Frequently they had to sleep three or four in a bed and were sometimes plagued by bedbugs, but the sense of adventure had not waned and they were up early each morning ready for the new day.
    The journey rolled on with the days, but it was not until a week after the French border had been crossed and Aixla-Chapelle left behind that Isabelle began to throw off her nervousness, no longer looking wide-eyed and scared at every halt. Rose persuaded her into a game of cards and after that the two girls gradually formed a friendship. Before long they had become close, talking non-stop and giggling together over private jokes. Marguerite was astonished and pleased by the change in the girl. It was as if Isabelle were blossoming like a flower in her newfound sense of freedom.
    The other women passed their time by knitting, darning stockings, dozing and chatting as well as by playing cards and memory games. Occasionally they bickered when boredom set in, but never seriously enough for Marguerite to intervene. Sometimes she read to them from one of the books she had brought with her. There were also other diversions along the way. An exceptional one took place during a change of horses when two accompanying travellers drew their rapiers fiercely in a personal quarrel. The Comtesse promptly barred them from following her entourage any further.
    Without exception all the travellers took exercise at any opportunity, even if it was only a short walk up and down during a temporary halt. Violette flirted with one of the armed guards, who frequently rode alongside the seamstresses’s coach to exchange a few pleasantries with her.
    It was always amusing when a flock of sheep or a herd of cows swarmed about the coaches, even if it did cause some delay. Once they were held up in a forest by a boar hunt as the prey doubled back and left the hunters crossing and recrossing the road in confusion. Rose, Jeanne and Violette jeered and shouted from the windows, clapping when the boar appeared to have got away. Then they collapsed laughing into their seats, kicking up a flurry of petticoats.
    In any populated area there were always the pedlars, who ran alongside the coaches, offering their wares for sale. Most enjoyable of all were the street performers, who appeared from nowhere whenever the entourage came to a standstill in a town or city. So day after day went by for the Frenchwomen as wheels rolled over everything from rutted country roads to rubbish-strewn city streets while the voices of local inhabitants changed language as great distances were slowly covered. By now private mansions where the Comtesse could stay with