Summer V

. Ӝ .

The Ladies of Grace called at our home just before noon. Élisabeth led the five women into the parlor where the servants had already set up trays of tea and a variety of small sandwiches. Everyone commented on the loveliness of our home, except for Lenore who wore a crooked frown and spoke nothing, but that was to be expected.
         “Please, make yourself at home,” Élisabeth said as each woman found a seat. They placed their books on the table, and each set of eyes lifted to me, waiting. I tensed, wondering if they were going to discuss reading at all.
         I looked at my wife. She appeared so young amongst the others’ graying hair and sunken cheeks. Pride swelled inside me. She was beautiful and radiant, and from the hint of jealousy in each of the Ladies’ eyes, they could see it too.
         She glanced at me with a look saying it was my time to leave. Even though I nodded, I wanted to stay. Ever since I was a child, I wondered what my mother was doing every Sunday afternoon, what the women would speak about, and more importantly, what was said about me. And now they were holding a meeting in my home! In my very parlor and among my things, but I was being cast away. How degrading.
         “If you ladies need anything, please let my servant, Mardi, know,” I said as Mardi stepped forward, her eyes never leaving the floor. “She will be happy to serve you.” Even when she curtsied, they did not lift.
         Madame Dautry nodded and the others followed suit. Élisabeth mouthed a “thank you” before I turned and left. With each distancing step I took, my muscles tensed more and more. I could hear the women murmuring to each other and the thought that I might be their subject made my skin itch. When a chuckle emerged, I almost leapt back into the parlor.
         I held on to the stair railing and inhaled deeply. The meeting would only be an hour or so. I could distract myself in that time. I had to. When another giggle vibrated my eardrums, I cursed. What were they talking about in there! I needed to know!          
         Surely Élisabeth would not let anything terrible be said about me. She was my wife after all, and we respected each other enough. Right? But what if the subject of Mardi came up and my temper with Angeline a few nights ago? Would they think me out of line? Would they compare me to my father?
         My heart knocked against my ribs and sweat ran down my temples. What should I care about what some old hags said? They were just women after all. Well, except for their leader, Madame Dautry. She had more power than all of them combined. No one ever questioned the Madame.
         I swallowed, glancing back at the parlor door. From where I was standing, only the piano could be seen and Mardi’s back as she waited for any of the Ladies’ requests.
         I had to know what they were saying in there.
         “Mardi…” I whispered, but the little maid did not turn. “Mardi!”
         Her blonde head snapped around, and I beckoned her over. She looked at the couches and back at me before skipping over. I leaned over and spoke softly. “Mardi, I must ask a favor of you,” I said.
         She glanced behind her, as if she was afraid to leave her former assignment.
         “Don’t worry, Mardi.” I lowered my voice even more. “I need you to listen in on the Ladies’ conversation. I must know what they are saying.”
         Mardi’s eyes widened in shock. “But Monsieur, Mama says it’s rude.”
         I grounded my teeth. Of course Angeline had taught her daughter those manners. “This is very important,” I began, trying to think of what to say next. “They may be making up lies about me or Élisabeth. What did your mother teach you about lying?” Hopefully, it was another lesson they had gone over.
         “It’s a naughty thing to do. It brings no good,” she said, lifting her chin. “And Élisabeth says it only hurts the people who care about you.”
         That made me pause. I thought back to the day Francis had called around our home. I had lied to Élisabeth then and had told her Francis was being nothing more than friendly. Something inside me was telling me that I hurt her then too. “Y-Yes,” I said, coming out of my thoughts. “Lying can ruin someone’s life, so I must make sure Élisabeth is safe. But I need your help, Mardi.”
         She seemed to understand it then. Anything for Élisabeth. She nodded and went back into the parlor while I went into the dining room and sat down at the bare table. Running a hand over my face, I sighed. The voices in the parlor were only incoherent whispers now, and I hoped Mardi wouldn’t abandon me. Minutes ticked by and my skin continued to crawl at the thought of the lies that could be spreading about me. About my mother. Or my father.
         The venom clamors of a jealous woman poison more deadly than a mad dog’s tooth.
         The sound of hurried footsteps told me Mardi had returned. I stood to find her standing in the archway, her hands behind her back and an ashamed look on her face. “Yes, Mardi?”
         She swallowed. “They were speaking about Monsieur Corwin and the Madame’s niece,” she muttered.
         Francis? My breath caught. What if Élisabeth had told them about how Francis had appeared at my door and how I had lied to her about it? “W-What were they saying about them?” I choked.
         Her eyes drifted to the right and then the floor. “Élisabeth mentioned meeting Mademoiselle Neal and that she was a lovely girl.”
         I snorted. Such a lovely girl, indeed!
         “Madame Dautry went on to say that she was afraid her niece may be living a… promiscuous lifestyle.”
         I laughed. If I was a gambling man, that was something I would have placed all my money on.
         Mardi’s green eyes narrowed telling me she didn’t understand what she had said or why I was laughing. “Mademoiselle Neal’s last suitor, a man named Sean Godard, left to join the services. It seemed a little suspicious to the Madame,” Mardi went on cautiously.
         Join the services? I thought. Brilliant man.
         “Is that all for now, Monsieur?” she asked.
         I nodded. “Thank you,” I said, hoping my gratitude would be enough to take the frown from her lips. “If anymore is said about Élisabeth or myself, please inform me. Otherwise, you can return to your duties as normal.”
         The corners of her pout tugged a little, and she went back into the parlor.
         I walked the length of the table to what once had been my father’s chair. So even Madame Dautry was aware of her niece’s loose morals? No wonder she didn’t give her family a franc of her money to spend.
         When I looked up, I was back at my own chair. I glanced at the parlor door. I hoped that Rupert was able to get away from the situation with Francis. Any blood relation—sometimes even friendship—to Madame Dautry was dangerous territory. No one questioned the Madame.
         I had to tell Rupert of what Mardi had heard. The news of Francis’s past was sure to get his spirits up, and I had missed that cheerful side of him.
         “Monsieur?”
         Mardi was in the archway again. I gestured for her forward and leaned against the table. “My name was brought up?” When she nodded, my stomach tightened. “What was said?”
         To my surprise, she smiled. “Well,” she began, twisting her hips so that her dress twirled, “one of the Ladies asked about children… and when you and Élisabeth were thinking of having them.”
         My knees gave out, and I gripped a nearby chair for support. Children? But we were just married!
         Were those women mad? Children were far, far from my mind at the moment. I wasn’t even sure if one day I wanted to have any. Children were messy and a nuisance. Not only did I not have time for them, I also didn’t have the stomach for them. Just the thought of having a circus of little ones running around made me feel ill.
         “Did Élisabeth laugh when that was mentioned?” I asked with a nervous chuckle. “Surely she thought it ridiculous.” I took a short, shaky breath.
         Mardi’s head tilted to the side as she studied me. “No, she didn’t say anything. She looked rather frightened.”
         I let all the air escape from my lungs in relief. “Of course she looked frightened!” I said. “It is a very uncomfortable question to place upon someone.”
         Color gained in her round cheeks.
         “You are dismissed from my favor, Mardi. Thank you.”
         Quickly, she curtsied, turned and left.
         I leaned against the table, my throat tight. The Ladies of Grace were already bringing up children to Élisabeth? I was still recoiling from the truth about my mother being alive and my father’s death. I did not have time to think about starting a family. Nor did I want to.
         I pushed myself to my feet and headed for the courtyard. I needed fresh air. I needed to think.
         The summer air was thick with heat and smelled heavily of bloomed flowers and grass. Insects buzzed around my head, and I swatted the space by my ear only to have them return a moment later.
         I sat on the bench beside the fountain and listened to the water falling into the bath below. It was such a calming sound and seemed to help steady my nerves. A red-breasted robin swooped down, landing on the stone near me. It dipped his head into the water, hopped to the left, and then shook out his feathers. What a beautiful creature, I thought. So small and fragile.
         Remembering how Élisabeth had held out her hand, I did the same. The curious bird studied my fingers, its head twitching from side to side.
         “It’s alright, little one. I won’t hurt you,” I whispered, slowly moving my hand closer. The bird bobbed a few steps away.
         “Talking to animals now, are we?”
         I jumped to my feet, causing the robin to flap its wings and fly away. Rupert stood in front of me with a broad smile.
“And I thought I was the one losing my mind.”
         I fixed the button on my jacket that must have unlatched as I stood. “Rupert, Rupert. Mademoiselle Neal giving you grief still?”
         He huffed but his grin did not disappear. “Of course.”
         “So your plan isn’t working for you?”
         He shook his head. “I avoid her, and she pushes more. I think she takes it for some sort of game.”
         Of course. It could never be easy with that woman. “But what has you so happy?”
         “Oh, yes!” he exclaimed. “I have met this lovely girl named Dianne Wilson, and we spent a beautiful evening dancing.” He swayed with his eyes closed as if he was reliving the memory.
         “No waking up to find her laying beside you?” I laughed.
         “No,” he replied. “Well, not yet anyway.”
         “Rupert… haven’t you learned anything from all this?”
         His smirk told me no, and I sighed.
         I began to walk around the fountain and Rupert followed by my side.
         “Oh! I am meeting with Dianne again tonight,” he said, his dimples deepening. “Andre, you have to meet her. She is beautiful! And from America, did I tell you that?”
         “No. You missed that detail.”
         He tipped his hat and winked. “I think it may be love…”
         I laughed so loud that more startled birds flew into the skies. “Isn’t it always?” Rupert being in love was a common thing to hear. It seemed like every woman held his heart. At least for however long he spent with them. “I am glad to see that you are back to being yourself.”
         “Me too.”
         “Did I tell you that the Ladies of Grace are in my house at this very moment?” I said. My nerves were still dancing from what they had said before, but I held my hands behind my back to appear calm.
         Rupert tensed and looked over his shoulder at the house. “Madame Dautry is in your house right now?”
         I nodded. “It was Élisabeth’s idea to have the Ladies come here for their weekly meeting.”
         “Well, was anything said about me?”
         I chuckled. He had the same concerns as I had. “Yes, but in passing.”
         He paled. “Out with it then!”
         “Just your interest in her niece—”
         “There is no interest!” He threw his hands in the air.
         “And…” I continued with a smile, “Mademoiselle Neal is supposedly known to have a promiscuous lifestyle.”
         His eyes grew wide. “Well, I could have told you that!” he said. “But at least her own aunt is aware of it. Francis would talk so badly of the Madame that I was sure there was only family blood between them.”
         “Yes, supposedly Francis’s last suitor left her to join the service without giving her any notice.”
         “Lucky fellow! He found the way out!” He slapped his leg. “A little desperate but clever.”
         I chuckled again. “That is what I said.”
         “I hope she doesn’t drive me to join. I won’t last in the services.”
         I tried to imagine Rupert in Donovan Beaufont’s uniform. His dimpled grin would make him look like a child, and his skinny built would be swallowed in the blue cloth and red sash. He would look ridiculous.
         I shook my head, the vision evaporating. “Yes,” I muttered, knowing that he was more than right, “let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.”