Chapter 12
The Missing Half
Ladrieu, Arielle, Bonaventure
For all their professions of love for him, the younger Joseph de Ladrieu found his cousins to be more frightening than lovable. It was better to be loved than hated, of course, but the end may not be much better when you are the object of love for the daughters of the notorious Black Widow of Arielle. At very least, they seemed committed to furthering the family line, so there was at least some surety for his life until that was accomplished.
Although he was officially the Count of Arielle, the younger Joseph had no role in the governance of his lands, with his father assuming all of the responsibilities as Count-Regent. His father seemed to deliberately keep him away from those responsibilities in a bid to hold on to power even when Joseph came of age. However, while the younger Joseph was kept at a distance, Mariana and Iliana never seemed to be far. It was not that his father had any particular affection for the girls but rather that he was caught up in their web.
The two sisters were this fearsome presence in the younger Joseph's life whose influence could be felt all throughout the land, but after the attack on the barracks, Mariana was missing and presumed dead. One of the officers, a Lieutenant Blanchard, managed to successfully get Iliana out amid the attack, but without her elder sister, this once terrifying child was only a pale shadow of her former self. She lay on the floor in nothing but her shift, hugging one of her dolls and sucking her thumb like a toddler. She had neither eaten a single morsel of food nor drunk so much as a drop of water in all this time, and of course she had neither bathed nor changed her clothes either. She would not respond when anyone would speak to her but would instead mutter incessantly about her beloved sister.
As Iliana was an object of fear, leaving her to wither away would have been an easy choice to make, yet that was not what the younger Joseph did. Maybe he did love her and maybe he was merely ensorcelled by her and her sister. Whatever it was, it drove him to take desperate measures to reach her.
And so he found himself standing naked in his bedchamber before one of the maidservants who tended to Mariana and Iliana.
"Are you quite certain about this, young master?" the maidservant asked.
"Do it," Joseph said firmly.
"As you wish."
The maidservant proceeded to dress Joseph in one of Mariana's ensembles, from the drawers and chemise to the crinoline, the bodice and skirts. His face was made up and tinted lenses set on his eyes before adding a long wig of straight, silky black hair and finally the bonnet to complete the look. When it was all finished, Joseph could scarcely recognize himself when he looked in the mirror, but would it be enough to fool Iliana?
Joseph was all too aware that regardless of his intentions, this ploy might throw Iliana into a rage. This could very well be the death of him, but he had to try all the same.
As he made his way to Iliana's room, he noticed how he had to be more conscious of his surroundings due to the voluminous skirt. He was thankful the maidservant did not get too zealous with the bodice, but even so, he could distinctly feel his chest being constricted as he tried to breathe. And then there were the shoes...
The only way to find out if this would work was to try it.
"Iliana," he said.
It was fortunate that his voice had not yet begun to change. Still, he did not sound that much like Mariana. He did not dare attempt an imitation of her, fearing that any poor mimicry would only make things works.
"Iliana," he said again.
Iliana stirred at this and slowly craned her neck around.
"Sister...?"
Joseph stooped down and said her name again.
"Iliana."
Tears welled up in Iliana's eyes before she cried, "Sister! Oh, Sister!"
She threw herself at Joseph, rather clumsily as her body had grown unused to movement after days of being curled up on the floor.
"Sister! Where have you been? Without you, Sister, Iliana, Iliana...!"
Her mind had deteriorated to the point of referring to herself in the third person. It could very well make it easier for Joseph to sell his deception.
"I'm here now," Joseph said. "That's all that matters."
Iliana buried her face in Joseph's skirt. He reached out and placed his hand on her head.
"Now come. Let's get you cleaned up and then maybe you can eat something. You're the daughter of a countess, and one day you'll be a countess yourself. It won't do to have you in such a state."
Iliana's hands clutched at Joseph's skirt as her crying ceased and the tension loosed from her shoulders.
"It won't do to be in such a state," she said.
And so she had gone back to echoing the words of her 'sister'. It would seem that Iliana was back, but for how long? And what would happen when she realized the truth?