As the carriage departed from Paris, and idyllic countryside scenery whizzed past the window, the atmosphere inside finally relaxed completely.
The group stopped by the horse ranch, where a young man with a dark complexion greeted them and led them to the ranch''s manager. He wore loose, flowing red breeches, with a temperament as wild and untamed as the fiery steed beneath him, uplifting the mood of those around him.
Danton was the first to jump off, thudding his heavy boots on the dirt road, ready to help Charlene get off the carriage. Raphael stopped him and carried his sister down himself.
Edith leapt off on her own with rapture, gazing up at the azure sky above, basking in the fresh air of nature in ecstasy. Her light green skirt swirled and swayed like the dancing leaves of a water lily as she spun around.
The elderly man who managed the horse ranch brought out a few foals for the ladies. Louise Danton, like the little Horace she was leading by the hand, stared with childish curiosity at how the young horses snorted and chewed on the sugar cubes they were fed.
"Look at your hero husband, Louise!" Danton waved to his wife on horseback, brimming with pride.
This great-hearted man drove a high-headed steed without a saddle, deliberately yanking the reins, making the boisterous horse rear up high towards the petite Louise.
"Be careful, Camille and Georges!" Lucile upbraided, her words tinged with uncontainable laughter.
The terror that had been oppressing their hearts in the city for the past few days had been left behind entirely. They frolicked and laughed, carefree like a group of children.
Galloping on horseback in the boundless fields, allowed the young girl''s heart to bloom with passion, and release her uncontrollable craziness.
Charlene and Raphael sat side by side under the shade of a tree, gazing lovingly at Edith''s green ribbon fluttering in the wind on her woven hat.