Undone (43 page)
Fouquet’s controversial grand château, Vaux-le-Vicomte, took eighteen thousand men and a constant supply of funds to complete, and still stands in all of its magnificence southeast of Paris, near Melun.
In fact, it was Vaux-le-Vicomte that inspired Louis to build Versailles.
Glossary
Chère
—
Dear one. (French
endearment for a woman,
cher
for a man).
Chérie
—Darling or cherished one. (French endearment for a woman,
chéri
for a man).
Comte
—Count. (French)
Comtesse
—Countess. (French)
Démon Noir
—Black Demon (French)
Dieu
—
God.
(French)
Dieu vous garde
—
God keep you.
(French)
Dominum Deum Nostrum
—Our Lord God. (Latin)
Estella Blanco (la)
—
The White Star
. (Spanish)
Hôtel/Château
—The upper class and the wealthy bourgeois (middle class) often had a mansion in Paris (
hôtel
) in addition to their palatial country estates (
château
). (French)
In nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti
—In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. (Latin)
Madre
—Mother—The title for the Mother Superior of a convent. (Italian)
Ma belle
—
My beauty
.
(French endearment
for a woman)
Mariage de convenance
—Marriage of convenience. (French)
Merde
—
Shit.
(French)
Mon ange
—
My angel. (French endearment)
Vaux-le-Vicomte
—Nicolas Fouquet’s infamous country palatial home. Literally translated, “Like the Viscount.” It’s certainly a home befitting a man of influence.
Dedication
Whenever I write a book, I do a lot of research. Pulling a reader into 17
th
century France, getting every fact and historical detail as accurate as possible is a great labor of love. However, with UNDONE my research went beyond the norm, because in this book my heroine is a rape survivor.
On a warm summer night, when I was twenty-one, I was walking back to my hotel along a very crowded street in San Remo, Italy. I got separated from my friends in the massive crowd, and unfortunately I crossed paths with the wrong guy. One who didn’t take “no” for an answer. (By the way, I speak Italian fluently, and “no” is said and spelled the same way in both English and Italian, so there was no miscommunication here). I didn’t know him. Had never seen him before he approached me that night. To this day, I don’t know why he picked me out of the crowd. He offered me a ride. I refused him. He then grabbed hold of me and tried to drag me into his car. Not a soul walking past helped the
straniera
(foreigner—me) out. Though he was about three to five years older, bigger and stronger, I fought and got away. I was lucky. I suffered only a few bruises. And the scare of my life. There are others who have found themselves in the crosshairs of a predator and have not been as fortunate.
It is no coincidence that UNDONE begins in the Republic of Genoa, where modern day San Remo is located.
Dearest readers, I dedicate this book to all those who have survived rape. You are true heroines/heroes in this author’s eyes. Like Angelica, you have an inner strength and resilience no words can describe.
Get the Scoop!
Thank you for reading UNDONE! If you enjoyed it and would like more information on the other books in the Fiery Tales series, visit:
http://www.liladipasqua.com/
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents