A Little Chaos Page #4

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Oh, yes, I have written

a book on pears.

I believe I said I liked

them a lot in my book.

I believe you did.

And perennials.

You like flowers, master?

Madame de Barra, I love

all flowers passionately.

However, I am banished from

using as many as I would like

at Versailles by

the Master Le Notre.

He indulges me in

a few small parterres.

I'd hoped to be able to convert

him when we took up residence.

However...

Oh!

You're wise to me now, madame.

May we ignore all that

and continue as before?

Today, I am.

Monsieur de la Quintinie.

Indeed.

And you are.

You are the better for the

move to Versailles, sire?

Very much.

It's good for the children

to be away from the city.

I know it's a crush

for everybody.

I felt, though, that I should

never get the builders out

unless I moved in.

You are familiar with

builders, Madame de Barra?

At present, I am building in

your gardens at Versailles.

Which construction

would that be?

The Rockwork Grove.

I am familiar with it.

I cannot claim it

entirely as my own.

Master Le Notre took

a simple sketch of mine

and made it outstanding, so...

You see my reluctance.

You admire the master, madame?

He is the most

complete person I know.

You make me lonely for

someone to describe me thus.

These are your flowers?

My wife died recently.

Did you hear?

I did, sire.

I remember the day

of your marriage.

I hope so, it cost enough.

Though her father paid

for a large portion.

Astray in his wits, bless him.

A long bloodline,

never a good thing.

She was an innocent, really.

But she was nice.

And devoted to me.

I found this after she died.

It's just an account

of our lives.

The writing's like a child's.

You see here?

"Today I saved a flower

from His Majesty."

And then the time and the place.

This little woman's secret life.

I feel the loss of it.

I should like to marry again.

This time someone I choose,

not the state.

Has Your Majesty

someone in mind?

I have,

but the lady's very pious.

Most evenings I stroll over to her

rooms, and we just sit and talk.

But it is the ease of it I like.

The ease.

Unfortunately,

she is of no birth,

so, you see,

I am at a little impasse.

If you were to be married to

the lady of your choosing,

would it be necessary

for everyone to know?

If the ceremony were

private, between the couple,

who would be in a position

to argue the outcome?

They would be foolish to do so

afterwards, when it was done.

Mmm.

Yes.

So much to contend.

And what of you,

Madame de Barra?

What pulse drives you?

There is someone you love?

I cannot say.

Why?

Because...

Because of something private.

What is so private that it

cannot be shared in love?

The time has come, madame,

for us both

to face down our past

and live in the present.

I shall write a letter

from one gardener to another,

shall we say,

in return for seeds sown.

It will bring you to the court,

where my eye

will always be on you.

I shall not forget our day in

the garden, Madame de Barra.

Are you still fiddling

with your bits, Andre?

It helps me think.

For you.

It has the fleur-de-lis.

Is it from the king, I wonder?

Is it an invitation?

There is something

you need, madame?

Andre? So secret?

I must inform you,

since you ask,

that I leave for Fontainebleau

at the end of the week.

Fontainebleau?

I was not aware

there were activities.

The marquise

must have forgotten.

I will travel there alone.

Plainly, madame,

that is the position.

If you will excuse me.

Madame de Barra.

Is she an aspect of your

life I must now include?

Andre, a builder?

I'm a builder, madame.

You are funded

by that profession.

Very amusing.

Perhaps that is the fantasy

between you and she.

So be it.

However, I must request that

you keep it

separate from our lives.

If this liaison

became common knowledge,

it would make me

a laughingstock.

It makes my flesh crawl.

I remind you, madame, that it was

you who embarked on this path.

You and only you

dictated how we live now,

and you did it, madame,

when I needed you most.

Andre.

I feel us at the edge

of something here.

I'm trying to pull us back.

You knew the damage

you inflicted,

but you have been free to

live your life as you wished

without embarrassment from me.

I ask you now to extend

me the same courtesy.

Andre, you must make

the sensible choice here.

Do not exclude me, I beg you.

I begged you once.

Do you remember?

Allow me to give you the same

advice you gave me then.

You said, "It is a matter

of feeling special."

"If we are unable, one, to

make the other feel special,"

"we must just accept it,"

"seek comfort elsewhere"

"with others."

"It is an honest contract,

my dear."

"You'll grow used to it."

That is what you said.

What's the root ball like?

It's a bit dry.

Soak them overnight.

You may not need to.

Just secure them, then.

We should cover these tiers.

I need more rope.

I need more food.

In the warm.

You go on, I'll follow.

Madame de Barra.

My name is Le Notre.

Madame.

Did you ever see someone

and know that they were to

play a role in your life?

You're a widow, I believe.

How lonely that must be.

I've known for some time that

Andre had some secret happiness,

but my husband's ambitions

are married only to mine.

You're not the first diversion,

and I believe at the moment,

not the only one.

You will come and you will go.

Understand me, madame.

It suits my

husband and I this way.

Pretty thing.

We found the sluice gate that connects

the reservoir to the fountain.

If we fill it, the pressure

in the pipes will build,

and we can flood the grove.

Do it.

Later.

Use the wood to hold it down!

The sluice gate must be open!

We need more hands!

Then pray.

To hell with that.

Thank you.

Will it mend?

It will mend.

The tiers were too weak.

The gate was left open.

You cannot be blamed

for that, or the storm.

What should I do?

Adapt.

Like a well-trained plant?

Like a well-trained plant.

Am I part

of an amusement for you?

Not at all.

I'm unused to all this.

Is it honest?

Are you? No.

I have not been honest since

I watched you in my garden.

Your heart beats fiercely.

Mine just ticks.

I have not gifts

to offer such a wonder.

If you are hungry,

I'll feed you.

If I am mad, you will tell me.

You are not mad.

You don't know all of me yet.

Are you hungry?

Starving.

Are you not happy?

Yes.

That's what is making me cry.

I can't.

I can't.

Don't ask me.

- What am I to say?

- "It is original"?

"Continue indefinitely"?

Do you expect that of us?

You've been working

with Madame de Barra.

Are you committed

to this design?

If I may say, Your Majesty,

I was just as skeptical as you

are in the beginning, like.

But now?

I'm a convert, so to

speak, Your Majesty.

Even now, the setbacks

were due to nature, sire.

Perfection does

not bow to nature.

What on earth are those things?

Well, sire, I'm glad you asked

me that, because that, really,

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