Men are such simple creatures. Nicole mused. All of them, the Abbot, Richard, even Henri—all so easy to control. You just had to listen to them and they would give you all the clues. Stroke their egos, compliment them or make them feel important and you own them. Nicole had made a vow to herself that she would never, ever again be as vulnerable as she had been that day on the wagon.
Now she could add Phillipe to her list of puppets. Nicole had grown up with Phillipe, a tall and very handsome boy, who had tormented her endlessly about her affliction. His family had sent him to the seminary in Paris a few months before and Nicole had decided that having a priest in your stable of puppets was a wise choice.
Letters from a woman, she knew, would be welcome. He was bound to be lonely, surrounded by nothing but men locked in a seminary. She surmised that he would probably not even recall his teasing when they were younger—it meant, after all, nothing to him. She would start innocently, just letting him know all the news of Loudun, making him feel reconnected with his hometown and in turn, with her. In her letters she would flirt just a little, walking the line of decency. He was, after all, going to be a priest.
Then, when the time was right, she would share with him what she knew. His secret could eject him promptly from the Church—they really frowned on their priests taking part in pagan rituals. Promising to keep his secret, she would assure him she could be trusted—at least until she needed a favor granted.
And that was how you make a priest your very own puppet. Putting pen to paper, Nicole smiled.
____________________
Dominique watched as Nicole entered their home and without a word went to her room. She was thirteen and Dominique supposed that she could not expect her to want to spend time with her mother. Their relationship had deteriorated even more since the baby’s death. Dominique knew that she had been grief-stricken and hard to reach, so she understood why Nicole gave her a wide berth.
While she had tried so hard to shake her misgivings about Nicole’s behavior since the attempted exorcism, Dominique still saw a side of her daughter that gave her chills. But this relationship with Phillipe via letters seemed strange even for Nicole. This boy was in the seminary and would stay there if his parents had anything to say about it. Besides, it seemed not so long ago that this boy was the reason Dominique had comforted a teary-eyed Nicole after a particularly vicious attack. He had actually been the ringleader, whipping the other children into a frenzy of shouted insults and teasing. Those words had an effect on Nicole as damaging as if they had been stones hurled at her—the pain created by their taunts were no less damaging. And now, Nicole wanted to write to him? Dominique just did not understand her daughter and probably never would.
As Dominique started to prepare their evening meal, she thought she heard the front door open again. Walking through the house to investigate, she passed Nicole’s room and saw that she was no longer sitting at her desk. Knowing she shouldn’t, but unable to stop herself, Dominique approached the desk where several sheets of a letter were spread out allowing the ink to dry to prevent smudging. Lord knew the days when Nicole would run to talk with Dominique were long gone. Convincing herself that this was the only way to know anything about her daughter’s life, Dominique peered over to get a closer look at the letter.
As she suspected it was a letter to Phillipe. It made sense at thirteen that she would be interested in boys but why would she pursue a relationship with this unattainable man. The Council of Trent had strictly prohibited priests from marrying—once a young man entered the seminary, becoming a priest was the only choice. The tone of her writing was quite sexual, which gave Dominique pause. There was a maturity in Nicole’s tone that was not in keeping with her level of experience.
But it was one passage that gave Dominique a shiver down her back. Nicole has started innocently enough but her tone had become slightly menacing as it continued, “I hope you know, Phillipe, that your deepest, darkest secret is safe with me. Have not I always been someone on whom you could depend? It would certainly be in your best interests to depend on me. Am I right, Phillipe? If it ever became public knowledge—well, I dare not think what that would mean to your future.”
Dominique was astonished at the manipulation. She was all but telling him that she owed him or she would tell whatever it was that she knew of him. It was really quite chilling. Nicole came home just as Dominique was leaving her room. Dominique started hesitantly, “Nicole, I apologize but I read your letter to Phillipe and…” Before she could finish the thought, Nicole twisted in Dominique’s direction.
“You did what?” she said coldly. The look of hatred on Nicole’s face gave Dominique a fright. “How dare you invade my privacy in such a fashion? I do not wish to discuss my private affairs with you! Or wait, are we good friends now?” Nicole asked, dripping with venomous sarcasm. “Oh, Mother, I am so deeply indebted to you for your love and understanding all these years. What a joke! Let us just get this straight, once and for all. You do not care a jot for me and do not pretend now to be the doting mother. You are such a joke. Just get out of my life and leave me alone.”
Shaking and sobbing, Dominique hurried to the garden so that she could pray and catch her breath. She had never felt quite this alone. Dominique knew that even Henri would not understand and would take her part in this. He would admonish her for ever having invaded her privacy in the first place. This was not a new conversation with him and he always supported Nicole when it came to a disagreement between them. Henri had even gone so far as to encourage Dominique to give up her garden, just so that Nicole would not be exposed to plants that might make her wheeze.
No one would ever believe Dominique when it came to Nicole. Her ability to create whatever persona served her purpose had been masterful. The cold realization dawned that her daughter had become a scheming, master manipulator and there was not one thing she could do about it. Dominique was not entirely sure whether there had been a demonic possession or if her daughter was the coldest, most hateful, heartless person she had ever encountered.