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From my fanfic, 'A Beastly Rose,' Amandine and Martine (who is starting to have doubts about Amandine's plan) bribe the new head of the Maison de Loon, Antoine (the nephew of Monsieur D'arque and absolutely hates his job) to put Madeleine in the asylum unless Leon agrees to marry Amandine...

In the tavern, which was empty since the men and boys were out hunting and Genevieve was busy cleaning the two rooms she and Amandine had, Amandine and Martine sat on one end of an empty table in the corner near her special area and Antoine on the other, so they were facing each other.

‘Alright, Miss LeGume, why did you bring me here?’ he said.

‘I don’t usually leave the asylum ever, but I can make it worthwhile to get some sunlight and some fresh air,’ said Antoine, as Amandine passed him some ale,

‘And a decent mug of ale,’ he said as he drank it, savouring every sip, since it was a rare thing for him to have.

‘I have a grand plan and I need you to help me,’ said Amandine, ‘Maybe some little friends of mine will also persuade you, if the ale hasn’t done so already.’

Turning around to make sure her mother wasn’t looking, she dumped the sack she was carrying earlier on the table, which revealed a huge pile of coins, which she pushed towards Antoine, knowing that he would do as he was told if he was given money, something that he clearly needed and she knew it.

‘Where did you get all that money, Amandine?’ Martine said, shocked at seeing the huge pile and had a nasty feeling that it was meant for bribing the warden to help her carry out her plan.

A plan that she was starting to have second thoughts about, although she couldn’t let Amandine know that, not after she agreed to go along with it.

‘I already told you, it’s my little secret!’ hissed Amandine, ‘and you are not to tell anyone where I got it from, otherwise you will end up with a bruised head if you’re not careful.’

‘Wasn’t that money supposed to be used for…’

‘Not another word, Martine!’

Antoine was looking at the coins, which was far more than his meagre wages at the asylum.

Despite being the warden, he wasn’t paid well, business had been slow, and his uncle hadn’t left him very much in his inheritance, so it was a tempting deal and he could use that money, so he said,

‘Tell me all, I’m listening,’

‘It’s like this- I have my heart set on marrying Leon but he hasn’t been reciprocating my love and desire for him. He’s been playing hard to get and his little game has gone on long enough, now all he needs is a little persuasion.’ Amandine said.

‘You should have seen the would-be proposal!’ Martine said, laughing, ‘He dismissed and rejected her, just like that and sent her flying into the mud!’

She soon regretted her words, for she felt the all too familiar hardness of Amandine’s knuckles on her head and winced.

‘I wouldn’t know, I’m shut up working in an asylum most of the time,’ Antoine said, sarcastically, but through gossip outside, he knew about Leon and Amandine trying to woo him unsuccessfully.

‘Anyway, what has this got to do with me?’ he said.

‘Everyone now knows his mother is a lunatic,’ said Amandine, ‘it was only a few days ago that she was in this tavern, rabbiting on about a beast in a castle and quite frankly, that qualifies you for being insane and locked up in the asylum!’

‘Madeleine has gone crazy?’ said Antoine, puzzled.

‘Oh no, Amandine, you surely must be joking! I know the woman is quirky, but she’s very sane and harmless so I don’t know why you want her to be locked up.’

He laughed shakily, hoping it was really a joke, but by judging by the bribe of money and Amandine’s ice cold stare, she was deadly serious.

‘So, what’s the point of this plan, Amandine?’ he said, hoping to get on her good side.

‘The point is, Leon will do anything and I mean ANYTHING, to prevent his dear mother from being locked up and being left to rot while no one cares about her!’

‘Yeah, he’ll even marry someone he really HATES!’ said Martine, ‘like Amandine!’

‘Martine, shut up!’ hissed Amandine, whacking her on the head again, in the same place she had hit earlier.

For Antoine, it was starting to make sense, like all the pieces of a puzzle were coming together and he realised Amandine’s plan and what role he was to play in it.

‘So you want me to commit Madeleine in the asylum unless Leon agrees to marry you?’ he said.

‘No, I’m inviting you to a tea party!’ said Amandine, sarcastically, like she thought the warden was an idiot.

‘Of course I want you to put Mad Maddie where she belongs- in the Maison de Loon!’

‘Amandine’ said Martine, timidly, ‘isn’t getting Leon to marry you by threatening to lock up his mother in the asylum blackmail?’

‘No, it’s a declaration of my love to Leon!’ said Amandine.

‘Oh, how sweet!’ said Martine.

‘OF COURSE IT’S BLACKMAIL, YOU IDIOT!!!’ Amandine shouted.

‘Honestly, Martine, you are really pushing my buttons and I’ve just about had enough of your stupidity!

This is what I’ve planned all along and now that dear old Madeleine has gone insane, this is the only way to get him to marry me, so that she won’t be locked up!’ pinching the small, stupid girl on her arm.

‘Do you see what I have to put up with here?’ she said to Antoine, ‘Good help is so hard to find these days and the best you can find is a frog-faced doofus who can’t do ANYTHING RIGHT!!!’

But Antoine was lost in his own thoughts to listen to the girl’s rants, as he was trying to digest what she had wanted him to do.

He was feeling conflicted about condemning an obviously innocent woman into a miserable imprisonment in an awful place, surrounded by loonies that no one cared about just because the most beautiful and admired woman told him to, using her beauty and master manipulation to get her wicked way.

And he was also aware that blackmailing Leon into being her husband wasn’t going to end well, not that Amandine knew that of course.

‘Look, Miss LeGume,’ he said,

‘Oh, call me Amandine, darling,’ Amandine said in her sickly sweet tone.

‘Amandine, I’m not going to put Madeleine into the asylum just to get Leon to marry you because she’s not insane and doesn’t need to be in there! Bribe or no bribe, it’s despicable and I want no part of it!’ Antoine said.

‘Antoine, you can’t back out now, not after I’ve generously given you money that you OBVIOUSLY need, since you are dirt poor and you seem to have the enthusiasm of a dead fish about this plan!

It’s like you don’t care about your job at all!’ Amandine said, getting angry that someone else was denying her what she wanted.

‘No kidding I don’t care about it!’ said Antoine, ‘Do you actually think I enjoy dealing with the scum of the village being thrown into dingy cells like unwanted beings?

Hearing their wails, mad laughter and their desperate cries and rattling the bars on their cells becoming more insane every day, wanting to escape their misery?

Seeing my sadistic staff inflict torture and abuse on them while I can do nothing about it? Well I don’t, I hate this job, it has made me as miserable as the patients and I didn’t ask to be the warden of the Maison!’ he said.

‘Well, someone had to do it, Antoine and you are the only relative that Monsieur d’Arque had to take over, just like I have to be the head of the LeGume family as I am the last of them. It won’t be for long; it’s only until Leon comes to his senses and begs me to marry him!

Your uncle helped mine out years ago and you now have to do the same with me.

You owe me, Antoine and you’re not leaving until we have a deal and you agree to put Mad Maddie with her fellow loonies, capice?’ said Amandine, ‘Is that sack full of money not enough to convince you?

Well, maybe this will change your mind then,’ she then said, seductively, as she plumped up her chest, which enticed Antoine, as he stared at it.

He then knew he was beaten. Like a fly, he had been lured into a spider’s web and Amandine was the spider, who was smiling at him, as she had successfully caught her prey and he was now putty in her hands.

He looked at her lustily, as he now decided to help her with her plan and it took a glimpse of her impressive chest to persuade him, along with the money.

‘Alright, Amandine, I’ll do it,’ he said, ‘I’ll help you, as much as I don’t believe in throwing an innocent woman in the asylum, but I’ll do it for you just like Uncle did for Gaston.’

‘I knew you would come to your senses, Antoine,’ said Amandine, smiling at him as she leaned closer, ‘you won’t regret this and neither will Leon when he and his dear mother come back and grovel pathetically at my knees!

Then, I’ll have my prize of a handsome husband and my lovely little daughters and we’ll be living happily ever after forever!’ she said, laughing evilly.

‘But first, we need you to bring the cart to his cottage and leave the tavern before the boys come back from hunting and demanding beer from Mother.

We can’t risk having anyone snooping around,’ Amandine said, as she snapped her fingers and Martine trotted obediently behind her, even though the doubts she had before about this plan were coming back to her, out of the tavern where the cart from the asylum was waiting.'

Chapter 32: The Plan Is Revealed, A Beastly Rose.

Description
From my fanfic, 'A Beastly Rose,' Amandine and Martine (who is starting to have doubts about Amandine's plan) bribe the new head of the Maison de Loon, Antoine (the nephew of Monsieur D'arque and absolutely hates his job) to put Madeleine in the asylum unless Leon agrees to marry Amandine...

In the tavern, which was empty since the men and boys were out hunting and Genevieve was busy cleaning the two rooms she and Amandine had, Amandine and Martine sat on one end of an empty table in the corner near her special area and Antoine on the other, so they were facing each other.

‘Alright, Miss LeGume, why did you bring me here?’ he said.

‘I don’t usually leave the asylum ever, but I can make it worthwhile to get some sunlight and some fresh air,’ said Antoine, as Amandine passed him some ale,

‘And a decent mug of ale,’ he said as he drank it, savouring every sip, since it was a rare thing for him to have.

‘I have a grand plan and I need you to help me,’ said Amandine, ‘Maybe some little friends of mine will also persuade you, if the ale hasn’t done so already.’

Turning around to make sure her mother wasn’t looking, she dumped the sack she was carrying earlier on the table, which revealed a huge pile of coins, which she pushed towards Antoine, knowing that he would do as he was told if he was given money, something that he clearly needed and she knew it.

‘Where did you get all that money, Amandine?’ Martine said, shocked at seeing the huge pile and had a nasty feeling that it was meant for bribing the warden to help her carry out her plan.

A plan that she was starting to have second thoughts about, although she couldn’t let Amandine know that, not after she agreed to go along with it.

‘I already told you, it’s my little secret!’ hissed Amandine, ‘and you are not to tell anyone where I got it from, otherwise you will end up with a bruised head if you’re not careful.’

‘Wasn’t that money supposed to be used for…’

‘Not another word, Martine!’

Antoine was looking at the coins, which was far more than his meagre wages at the asylum.

Despite being the warden, he wasn’t paid well, business had been slow, and his uncle hadn’t left him very much in his inheritance, so it was a tempting deal and he could use that money, so he said,

‘Tell me all, I’m listening,’

‘It’s like this- I have my heart set on marrying Leon but he hasn’t been reciprocating my love and desire for him. He’s been playing hard to get and his little game has gone on long enough, now all he needs is a little persuasion.’ Amandine said.

‘You should have seen the would-be proposal!’ Martine said, laughing, ‘He dismissed and rejected her, just like that and sent her flying into the mud!’

She soon regretted her words, for she felt the all too familiar hardness of Amandine’s knuckles on her head and winced.

‘I wouldn’t know, I’m shut up working in an asylum most of the time,’ Antoine said, sarcastically, but through gossip outside, he knew about Leon and Amandine trying to woo him unsuccessfully.

‘Anyway, what has this got to do with me?’ he said.

‘Everyone now knows his mother is a lunatic,’ said Amandine, ‘it was only a few days ago that she was in this tavern, rabbiting on about a beast in a castle and quite frankly, that qualifies you for being insane and locked up in the asylum!’

‘Madeleine has gone crazy?’ said Antoine, puzzled.

‘Oh no, Amandine, you surely must be joking! I know the woman is quirky, but she’s very sane and harmless so I don’t know why you want her to be locked up.’

He laughed shakily, hoping it was really a joke, but by judging by the bribe of money and Amandine’s ice cold stare, she was deadly serious.

‘So, what’s the point of this plan, Amandine?’ he said, hoping to get on her good side.

‘The point is, Leon will do anything and I mean ANYTHING, to prevent his dear mother from being locked up and being left to rot while no one cares about her!’

‘Yeah, he’ll even marry someone he really HATES!’ said Martine, ‘like Amandine!’

‘Martine, shut up!’ hissed Amandine, whacking her on the head again, in the same place she had hit earlier.

For Antoine, it was starting to make sense, like all the pieces of a puzzle were coming together and he realised Amandine’s plan and what role he was to play in it.

‘So you want me to commit Madeleine in the asylum unless Leon agrees to marry you?’ he said.

‘No, I’m inviting you to a tea party!’ said Amandine, sarcastically, like she thought the warden was an idiot.

‘Of course I want you to put Mad Maddie where she belongs- in the Maison de Loon!’

‘Amandine’ said Martine, timidly, ‘isn’t getting Leon to marry you by threatening to lock up his mother in the asylum blackmail?’

‘No, it’s a declaration of my love to Leon!’ said Amandine.

‘Oh, how sweet!’ said Martine.

‘OF COURSE IT’S BLACKMAIL, YOU IDIOT!!!’ Amandine shouted.

‘Honestly, Martine, you are really pushing my buttons and I’ve just about had enough of your stupidity!

This is what I’ve planned all along and now that dear old Madeleine has gone insane, this is the only way to get him to marry me, so that she won’t be locked up!’ pinching the small, stupid girl on her arm.

‘Do you see what I have to put up with here?’ she said to Antoine, ‘Good help is so hard to find these days and the best you can find is a frog-faced doofus who can’t do ANYTHING RIGHT!!!’

But Antoine was lost in his own thoughts to listen to the girl’s rants, as he was trying to digest what she had wanted him to do.

He was feeling conflicted about condemning an obviously innocent woman into a miserable imprisonment in an awful place, surrounded by loonies that no one cared about just because the most beautiful and admired woman told him to, using her beauty and master manipulation to get her wicked way.

And he was also aware that blackmailing Leon into being her husband wasn’t going to end well, not that Amandine knew that of course.

‘Look, Miss LeGume,’ he said,

‘Oh, call me Amandine, darling,’ Amandine said in her sickly sweet tone.

‘Amandine, I’m not going to put Madeleine into the asylum just to get Leon to marry you because she’s not insane and doesn’t need to be in there! Bribe or no bribe, it’s despicable and I want no part of it!’ Antoine said.

‘Antoine, you can’t back out now, not after I’ve generously given you money that you OBVIOUSLY need, since you are dirt poor and you seem to have the enthusiasm of a dead fish about this plan!

It’s like you don’t care about your job at all!’ Amandine said, getting angry that someone else was denying her what she wanted.

‘No kidding I don’t care about it!’ said Antoine, ‘Do you actually think I enjoy dealing with the scum of the village being thrown into dingy cells like unwanted beings?

Hearing their wails, mad laughter and their desperate cries and rattling the bars on their cells becoming more insane every day, wanting to escape their misery?

Seeing my sadistic staff inflict torture and abuse on them while I can do nothing about it? Well I don’t, I hate this job, it has made me as miserable as the patients and I didn’t ask to be the warden of the Maison!’ he said.

‘Well, someone had to do it, Antoine and you are the only relative that Monsieur d’Arque had to take over, just like I have to be the head of the LeGume family as I am the last of them. It won’t be for long; it’s only until Leon comes to his senses and begs me to marry him!

Your uncle helped mine out years ago and you now have to do the same with me.

You owe me, Antoine and you’re not leaving until we have a deal and you agree to put Mad Maddie with her fellow loonies, capice?’ said Amandine, ‘Is that sack full of money not enough to convince you?

Well, maybe this will change your mind then,’ she then said, seductively, as she plumped up her chest, which enticed Antoine, as he stared at it.

He then knew he was beaten. Like a fly, he had been lured into a spider’s web and Amandine was the spider, who was smiling at him, as she had successfully caught her prey and he was now putty in her hands.

He looked at her lustily, as he now decided to help her with her plan and it took a glimpse of her impressive chest to persuade him, along with the money.

‘Alright, Amandine, I’ll do it,’ he said, ‘I’ll help you, as much as I don’t believe in throwing an innocent woman in the asylum, but I’ll do it for you just like Uncle did for Gaston.’

‘I knew you would come to your senses, Antoine,’ said Amandine, smiling at him as she leaned closer, ‘you won’t regret this and neither will Leon when he and his dear mother come back and grovel pathetically at my knees!

Then, I’ll have my prize of a handsome husband and my lovely little daughters and we’ll be living happily ever after forever!’ she said, laughing evilly.

‘But first, we need you to bring the cart to his cottage and leave the tavern before the boys come back from hunting and demanding beer from Mother.

We can’t risk having anyone snooping around,’ Amandine said, as she snapped her fingers and Martine trotted obediently behind her, even though the doubts she had before about this plan were coming back to her, out of the tavern where the cart from the asylum was waiting.'

Chapter 32: The Plan Is Revealed, A Beastly Rose.