I won’t be talking abo͘ut yǫur r̺ole in m͚y death, because, well. You said it yourself̛ - you did̎n’͂ţ ev́en kn̈ow who y̑ou were tal͝king about̯. B̓ut͓ I will never forg͍iv̡e y̛o̫u thè wͬay y̚ou treateͫd̃ myͫ wife̠. You h̠ad been throu͠gh hell, I’m aware of̺̾ that and͌ I know you were punished f̌or being born͠ in the wron̅g fami̊ly. Ye͊t yͯou réturned, demanding resp̢ect as your birthrigh̋t?
Ne͘y
Marie-Thérèse felt a shiver of terror run through her at the sound of that voice, grating like a cemetery door and inhumanly deep, even before she recognised the timbre. Turning around to see who she was dealing with, a vision straight out of the depths of Hell awaited her. This creature had the face of Marshal Ney, but at the same time it was not the man whose face she had seen the portrait when he was alive. Everything about him was different and seemed infinitely more dangerous. He was red as a demon, his anger oozing at the point of covering the emptiness that surrounded them.
"My God, what has become of you..."
She remembered very well her meeting with Agalé, whom she had known for a long time because her mother had been Marie Antoinette's lady-in-waiting. This brave lady had come to ask for her help on the eve of her husband's execution, in complete despair, having tried everything, but to no avail. It was only much later, when she heard the testimony of the Maréchal de Ségur's son, that Marie-Thérèse realised the extent of what had been committed.
"Monsieur, I'm not asking for your forgiveness. As for me, I don't think I have enough mercy in my heart to forgive you for betraying my uncle and taking him for a fool when he needed your support the most."
She lifted her chin, holding his gaze, maintaining a calm, dignified stance in front of him.
"What is done cannot be undone. What use would my voice have been? Your friends and family moved heaven and earth to save your life and instead of going into exile when you still had the chance like they wisely suggested, you chose to stay and die. By the time Agalé came to me, it was already too late and all of us knew it."
She took a step closer.
"What exactly do you want from me? An apology? To take revenge? Torment me if it makes you feel better. I will pray for the salvation of your soul even if I can see from your appearance that you are already lost."