Page 50 - THE DECAMERON: 100 Days on 100 Etchings by Petru Rusu

“The Count of Antwerp“
So this Walter, Count of Antwerp is left behind to govern all
of France when the King and his son go off to war against
the Germans. He’s a good-looking guy and recently widowed,
so it’s no surprise that the King’s daughter-in-law soon falls
for him. One day, she summons Walter to her boudoir so
that she can confess her passion. Walter’s astonished and
because he’s a loyal subject, he asks her if she’s completely
out of her mind. She doesn’t take it well. Instead of accepting
the situation, she musses her hair and begins to scream that
Walter’s trying to rape her. Walter doesn’t wait around to find
out if the household staff believes in his innocence. He takes
off for his estates. Gathering up his children and taking nothing
else with him, he heads for England. Meanwhile, news reaches
the King and his son about Walter’s naughty behavior. They’re
so enraged that Walter’s banished forever and his estates
are destroyed. Walter knows that he and his children need to
travel incognito, so he gives the children the new names of
Jeannette and Perrot. Jeanette’s taken in by the kindly wife
of a King’s marshal in London; Perrot is fostered by another
of the King’s marshals in Wales. Walter’s heartbroken at the
loss of his children, but he knows he had to give them up.
He heads over to Ireland and becomes a servant to a baron.
Meanwhile, Jeannette grows up to be a stunner. Her foster
mother realizes that she must really be a nobleman’s daughter,
even though she can’t prove it. The lady’s son who is gorgeous
and accomplished falls desperately in love with Jeannette. But
he assumes that his Mom won’t approve because Jeannette
comes from lowly parents. He hides his love for Jeannette
and we all know that doing this will only result in dire illness.
Pretty soon, the young man’s on his sickbed and everyone
despairs of his life. A clever young doctor quickly realizes that
his patient’s in love with Jeannette, so he tells the parents
what he thinks is going on. Jeanette’s foster mother tells her
son that he should get well soon, because she’s going to see
to it that Jeannette will be his. She has no intention of marrying
her son to a person with a questionable background, but she
believes a little fling will cure him. But she doesn’t anticipate
Jeannette’s unwillingness to become anyone’s lover. Jeannette
DECAMERON 50
wants marriage and nothing less. In the end, the parents have
to consent to the marriage because they don’t want their son
to die. So Jeannette marries the young man of the house and
everyone’s happy. Now back to Perrot, who’s on the other side
of the country. He’s grown up to be handsome, courageous,
a good jouster, etc., etc. As luck would have it, a plague of
some sort strikes the area and everyone in the house where
he grew up dies - except one daughter of his master and
mistress. Naturally, she marries Perrot. The King of England
elevates Perrot to the position of marshal, to take the place of
Perrot’s dead father-in-law. Walter decides it’s time to look up
his kids and see how Fortune has treated them. First, he goes
to check on Perrot. But before revealing himself, he wants
to see how Jeannette’s doing. He’s taken into the house out
of pity by Jeannette’s husband (whose name is Jacques) and
fed in the kitchen. Jeannette’s children take a shine to the old
man and won’t be separated from him. Despite his father’s
insults and grumbling, Jacques gives Walter a position in the
household to take care of their horse and amuse the children.
Back in France, the political tides begin to turn. The King dies
and his son (the one with the lying wife) ascends the throne.
Walter goes along with Jacques’ crew. He performs his duties
well but still flies under the radar. Meanwhile, the mendacious
Queen of France is about to die. On her deathbed, she decides
to confess her false accusation against Walter of Antwerp.
The King of France feels just awful about the banishment of
Walter, so he proclaims a reward for anyone who can find him
and return him to France. He plans to elevate Walter even
higher than his former rank. Walter brings Jacques and Perrot
together, reveals his identity and tells Jacques to claim the
reward from the King of France as the dowry he never received
when he married Jeannette. Jacques is happy to do this. Walter
appears before the King in his ragged clothes, just to shame
him more. It works. The King restores Walter to his proper
rank. Walter tells Jacques to take the enormous reward back to
his snob of a father and rub it in his face. The whole family’s
joyfully reunited for a time in France where Walter remains for
the rest of his life.
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