Her brother Percival had come inside. It was becoming apparent that the bread prices were rising and having spent most of her time on her husband’s lands, after she was pregnant and went to the estate to await the birth, she knew they were suffering.

There were many pleasures to enjoy in the court, lavish parties, amusements not found anywhere else, clothes that Jacqueline loved.. But Jacqueline often had found herself in the land, having hated the court where she did not feel she belonged. Most of them turned their noses up at her, and she made a few friends, but never many.

She spent the time on the land, knowing how much they were angry over the high taxes that never split evenly. When just over the border, they were much better.

Though, with the move, Godefroy fretted about eating into his own revenue that he gained from there. If they paid, there was no certainty about how high it would be.

“Have you heard about the National Assembly?”

“I did, and that the King has kicked them out. The conflict is now the center of gossip,” she told me, having some curiosity. Without her husband around, she wanted to know. “I want to know more.”

Percival gladly abided, his enthusiasm profound. “I was with them, just now, as they found a new location. An indoor tennis court, and they decided to just declare it.”

He sided with them, for the philosophers, and a lot of writers. Some even raised just what was the point of having a King that could do nothing. Of one that could not solve the problems of his people and only let them to be taxed even further.

And he was ambitious and interested in perhaps a better life than he was born into.

He was supportive, for if they could count by head, they could match and pass some reforms. Nobles had sympathies, and Jacqueline believed they had to change and it would give the King the support.

“I saw some sympathetic nobles there,” he said. “Ones that believe that it’s time to change.”

“Was my husband there?” She asked.

“I was. It was an interesting sight.” Godefroy, with his hands behind, his back straight, stepped inside.

The two of them could not be more different, Godefroy with his breeches and fine clothes, and powdered wigs. Although her brother had very much adopted the stern black dress of the new national assembly and had never liked it much, and dropped it.

“What do you think about it?” Percival asked, perhaps wondering whether he had a new ally.

She was sure that they believed in different things.

He took a seat. “The peasants were all there, and eagerly supporting it too. And because the Marquis de Ronsard went, and I was curious, for he always had sympathies having served in a revolution before.”

“One that made us broke,” Jacqueline pointed out, more than aware of what went on.

Her husband didn’t disagree, either. “Yes, one that pushed us further into the brim. Without, we might have had a stronger King when it all came crashing down with the Dauphin.”

But it was too late for what could have been now.

“Yes, but isn’t he also responsible?” Percival asked. “He went into war and never got back the money. As he was incapable of doing so and so, are we sure that he is the best idea to follow?”

“Yes, but he also has the best advisors around.” She wanted to hint so that this wouldn’t go into another heated discussion over the night that only gotten longer and more ridiculous as it went on. Soon, it was incomprehensible as they were both drunk and she simply retired and asked the servants to drag them both to bed.

Percival wrapped his hands. “Given your solutions is to tax the peasants who have almost nothing to offer instead of actually doing anything, I’m not sure that it’s right.”

Jacqueline put her hand on her forehead, having been at each other’s throats since the day they outvoted the third estate.

“I serve my country in other methods. Like service, being a good lord, taking care of the peasants living on my land when they are ill, I should get paid in exchange.”

“You spent most of your time at court; my sister probably saw more of the county in the few years she was there you inherited than you did in all your life.”

He shut up, but with clenched fists, and twitching.

“Enough, the both of you.” She didn’t want to hear it from them any longer. This was giving her a headache. She knew why they were arguing. Both had interests, ambitions that came from them. Godefroy wanted to maintain what he always had; Percival wanted to take the opportunities that should have been opened to him if they were by merit and not by birth.

“Let the estates decide who shall win out, and what needs to be done. It’s called because the most powerful man doesn’t know and his own advisers could not gain enough support for any measures. The nobles voted down the last measure, and this was an attempt to get the other parts to involve themselves,” she said. “Besides, the peasants right there are starving. I’ve been there because the both of you are nothing but insufferable. But neither of you are starving or on the verge of starving.”

She had just about enough of the constant arguments.

“My apologies,” Godefroy said. “I shouldn’t have started it, I know you tired of it.”

“After the last family dinner, I started eating one with you and one with my family.” It was just to keep them apart.

“I’m just too passionate about it,” he said.

“I’m going to retire.” She knew it. There was no role for her. She knew it too. It was the most troublesome part. She may have had her own convictions but she would never argue for them, but she believed they had to resolve their differences to fix what was necessary.

But she held her own tongue, and moving into her own rooms.

Percival had followed her, sheepishly tugging at his own hat. His hair was long, and brown just like hers, but while she powdered hers, his was a plain brown.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know about it, the bread riots happened.”

“You know it too, that without bread they will riot and loot, because to them, nothing matters anymore. If they have no food, it’s just a matter of time.” She turned around. “That should be what we focus upon, not all this bickering. If you want it for the sake of advancement, fine, but I think you should be more concerned with the state of the treasury and whether the peasants are going to starve this year.”

“But if we rise, we have more reason to remove the barriers than the nobles ever did. They got it through the right of birth, and their ancestors doing something good hundreds of years ago or slowly inched their way up,” Percival continued to argue. “We would have little reason to do so.”