The Heart of Lady Alaine
Summary
A nuptial torch gutters in the château de Trionville while revolutionary drums thrum across the Loire valley; aristocratic lace collides with republican wool in one fateful dusk. Alaine de l’Étoile—her surname already a cosmic jest—binds her future to Ernest des Tressailles, a Bourbon hussar whose courage collapses like a paper cornet the instant a firing squad rattles its muskets. Through loopholes in the donjon’s stone, dawnlight fingers the condemned man; terror petrifies him, and the marriage bed becomes a catafalque in anticipation. Alaine, appalled yet galvanized, bargains with Marc Arron, the granite-faced Jacobin who secretly carves her silhouette into the marrow of his mind. The bargain: her shimmering femininity for her husband’s pulse. The twist: Arron dons the white-and-gold pelisse himself, a sacrificial matador who strides toward the window at cockcrow, shouting dual anthems of love and republican virtue while musket balls perforate the sunrise.
Synopsis
Ernest Des Tressailles, a young Bourbon officer, arrives with some companions at the castle of Trionville to marry Alaine de l'Etoile. While they are at the wedding feast, Republican troops arrive, but Ernest escapes only to be captured later. He is sentenced to be shot the following morning. He is paralyzed with fear and Alaine, though surprised and disappointed by his cowardice, determines to save her husband at any cost. She entreats Marc Arron, the stern Republican, to save Ernest. At last Marc Arron. influenced by her beauty and his love for her, accedes to her entreaties, and exchanges clothing with the condemned man. In the garments of the latter he sits down to await the hour when he must atone with his own life. Alaine is captivated by his courage. Marc Arron informs Montaloup, a member of the committee of public welfare, that he has permitted Ernest to escape. Montaloup pities him for his blunder, but Marc Arron rejects all sympathy. When Ernest later on returns voluntarily, Marc Arron refuses to accept the pardon offered, as he wishes to set an example for all true patriots. In the white and gold uniform of the White Hussars he strides to the window and commands the soldiers to fire, while he shouts, "Long live Alaine. Long live the Republic."
