Secret Heroine: Comtesse’s Raw Conquest of the King’s Hunter

Château de Valangiès private apartments. April 8, 1765. Mid-afternoon. Sun slices through heavy curtains. Comte dozes elsewhere. Deaf. Frail. Useless. I lock the door. Double bolt. Click. No interruptions. Lieutenant Pont-Valin sits. Robust. Blue eyes pierce. Big nose. Square jaw.…

