Cécile: Gates of Gold

The Coming Ball

Since Cécile learned the truth about her parents, time moves even slower than it did before. But one day, Madame learns that Cécile has the uncanny ability to learn a word, and remember its spelling. Madame explains she’d like Cécile to proofread all of her outgoing letters to check for spelling errors from that point onward. Cécile’s job wouldn’t be to comment on the letters’ contents, and she must respect Madame’s privacy.

Cécile understands. From Madame’s letters, she learns a lot about court, the King, and operas, plays and concerts. Madame writes of the hungry in the streets of Paris, and the war France is having with Germany. Madame references entire German villages that had been burned to bits. She learned that despite her lavish life at the palace, Madame didn’t own very much. Since her husband died, she was completely dependent on the King’s favor. Françoise, as first lady-in-waiting, owned all of Madame’s gowns and dresses. The first chambermaid owned all of the linens, petticoats, and nightgowns. All Madame owns is her writing implements and her dogs.

One evening, while Cécile was reading one of Madame’s letters alone, she heard a familiar scratching at the door. She opened it to find Philippe standing outside. In the past couple of months, he’d grown two inches. He exclaims he has good news. The war with Germany will be ending by the end of the month! And in celebration of the coming peace, the Princess Marie-Adélaïde and the King are making plans to have a grand Christmas ball. It’ll be a celebration for the whole court.