Quinn du Paras
Aristocrat
His Lord the Future Duc du Paras, House Paras; engaged to Joie de Mornay
Posts: 1,898
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Post by Quinn du Paras on Jun 21, 2008 11:11:54 GMT -5
The ride back to the City had been much more pleasant, though coming back to my house had made me feel crushed with shame at the wreckage I’d left and how I’d reacted. Thinking I would be gone longer than I was, the servants had only gotten around to cleaning the worst of the mess and nothing had been burned yet. For that I was unendingly grateful.
I helped with the rest of the cleaning, then made myself presentable and went to see if Joie had returned. She hadn’t, but I left word with the servant to let her know I had called.
This was a routine I fell into, no matter what else I was doing that day; I made myself tidy and went to see if Joie was back. Nothing yet, but I didn’t give up hope. Mother had been right and this was just the beginnings of my penance.
Then, the day came when I could barely make the trip. I felt feverish and my stomach ached terribly, but I dragged myself to her house. I stopped halfway to the door, conversing with the waiting servant from there. Joie had still not returned. I left word and then turned to make my way home. Just outside her gate, I collapsed before I could reach my carriage.
The next thing I knew I was in my bed with a healer standing over me. I heard him telling my headman that I had the plague, the one sweeping the City. Two of the girls in my kitchen had come down with it a few days ago. They continued to murmur, but I drifted into a fevered haze.
“Joie,” I breathed. “Joie”
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