Ice Queen

We all waited for Tiah to make a RMQ call (that’s a rescue me quick when your family has gone demented) but none came for all day passed and everything was quiet as. It finally was so quiet and boring I found myself talking to Mother, often this is akin to stabbing myself with something sharp only this time I was a little curious about the Dubois family. When you are young and you hear tales about people you just assume it’s all true, then suddenly you are in the same social circles as these people and find yourself wondering just what is true and what are the stories from people staring over the fence. I asked Mother about Liselle Dubois and she fussed a bit as if sharing Dubois gossip was a dangerous thing to do even in the privacy of your own home. It took me staring at her and asking if she was too afraid of the Dubois clan to even mention their name in private, her face set hard and I knew she was going to tell me what I wanted to know.

The Dubois family had been around Bishop Vale nearly as long as mine has and they moved into town and into the elite with the same deadly calm that they do all their business. They established themselves as a force to be reckoned with early on, kept their family self contained and despite the various scandals of suicide, murder, rape and one little serial killer incident had remained out of the infamy radar for a fair while. Liselle went to school with Mother, Taryn and Chantal, at least until she was seventeen then she was shipped off to some finishing school in Europe. The Liselle who left was a reserved, pretty girl who was respected by her friends but did not overwhelm them with any sort of warmth or bonding. The Liselle who came back was something different for the icy beauty who greeted them one summer simply devastated the entire male population and left all the girls feeling provincial and boring. The boys fared no better for falling in love with a Dubois could be a self destructive path, one Jago Vanderhaven gladly leapt into.

The Dubois clan did not welcome strangers into their midst and those unfortunate enough to join their family ranks did not often last long enough to ensure the succession of their line. So they often remained without partners or even children until the family had virtually dwindled down to Liselle, Gervais, Ladonna (who married their perverted uncle Axel) and a cousin Elyce who went to school with me and Tiah. Liselle had a mad fling with Jago Vanderhaven until his father no doubt fearing what a Dubois association would do to his family line stepped in and sent Jago away to some viticulture course. When he returned a year later Liselle was back in Europe so his family arranged a quick engagement with Taryn and sent him back to school. Liselle returned to discover that the very name which gave her a unique perspective of power and wealth also frightened off the family of the man she had wanted and she was in such a fury her family packed her straight off again to continue her travels. She returned to Bishop Vale when her uncle Axel died leaving them the legacy of Ladonna, an ex stripper who is larger than life and smart as any Dubois.

Liselle never seemed to get on her with her life according to Mother, she never married; she did not do too much for a living except spend the Dubois money and have a little antique shop. She glides through life as a beautiful, aloof shadow with Taryn as her only visible friend and even that appears to be more convenience than anything. It is strange for although she shows no interest in anything or anyone, people will practically cut their arms off to get Liselle to attend one of their parties. If she is not attending some gala she is keeping Gervais in line, and we all know what I think of him! I would feel sorry for her as she seems to live in shadows except that she is rich, beautiful, smart and capable of doing anything she likes. She is called the Ice Queen behind her back as no one ever really sees Liselle express much emotion and I could not imagine what it is like to be someone that the entire world is wary of. Mother says Liselle is still in love with Jago but Taryn is too silly to notice it and Jago is too afraid of Dubois money to do anything about it. I said it was like a Romeo and Juliet but Mother added only if Juliet changed her name to Borgia, I wonder what she meant by that.

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