“It is the way in which we move our mouths when v speak. The French have developed facial muscles which the English never use and vice versa.”
“I am sure. Cousin, that you have an answer for ever thing.”
“I would say that was true,” said Margot.
“So the gift of speech has been restored to you.”
Margot flushed a little and I asked myself why when was beginning to like the Comte he had to spoil it with son unkind thrust.
“I don’t think she ever lost it,” I said with some as perit “Like most of us, Margot feels less inclined for conversation sometimes than others.”
“You have a champion. Marguerite. You are very luck ” I have always known I was lucky to have Minelle for friend. “
“Very lucky,” said the Comte, looking at me.
Leon asked in halting English where we spent our ho] day.
There was a brief pause, then the Comte told him in French that it was some little place near Cannes.
“About fifteen miles inland,” he added, and I was shocked at the glib manner in which he lied.
“I do not know that part well,” said Leon, ‘but I have passed through it. I wonder if I know the place. ” He turned to me What was the name of it?”
I had not expected to find myself in a difficult position so quickly, but I saw that this could be the first of many.
Before I could have spoken the Comte came to the rescue.
“It was Framercy … was it not. Cousin? I confess I had never heard of it before.”
I did not answer but Etienne said: It must be a small hamlet. “
“There are thousands of such places dotted all over the country,” said the Comte.
“In any case, they had a quiet time, which was what Marguerite needed after her indisposition.”
“It is rare that one can find a peaceful spot in France these days,” said Etienne, dropping back into French.
“In Paris they are talking of nothing but the Deficit.”
“I am sorry,” said the Comte, addressing me, ‘that you have to come to France at a time when the country is in a sad plight. How different it would have been fifteen . twenty years ago. It is astonishing how quickly the clouds can gather. First just a faint shadow on the horizon and the sky starts to grow dark. It has been gradual, but some of us have seen it coming for a long time. Each month it grows a little more menacing. ” He shrugged his shoulders.
“What is France heading for? Who shall say? All we know is that it will come.”
“It could be avoided perhaps,” suggested Etienne.
“If it is not too late,” murmured the Comte.
“I believe it is too late.” Leon’s eyes flashed suddenly.
“There has been too much inefficiency, too much poverty in the country, too many taxes, and high food prices have meant starvation for many.”
“There have always been rich and poor,” the Comte reminded him.
“And now there are some who are saying that it will not always be so.”
“They may say it but what can they do about it?”
“Some of the hotheads think they can do something. They are not only getting together in Paris but throughout the country,”
“A ragged band,” said the Comte.
“A mob … nothing more While the army remained loyal they wouldn’t have a chance. He frowned and turned to me.
“All through the centime;
there has been unrest. We had a great king last century, Louis XIV, the Sun King, the supreme monarch, and none dared question his power.
Under him France led the world. Ii science, in art, in war, none could compare with us. The people did not raise their voices then. Then came his grand son Louis XV . a man of great charm but he did no understand the people. When he was young he was known as Louis the Well Beloved, for he was most handsome. Bu in time his extravagances, his recklessness, his indifference to the will of the people, made him one of the most hat et monarchs France has ever known. There was a time when he dared not ride through Paris and had a road built that he might avoid doing so. It was then that the Monarchy be came insecure. Now we have a good and noble King, bu alas, a weak one. Good men are not always good rulers You will know well. Cousin, that virtue and strength make odd bedfellows. “
“I would question that,” I said.
“Would you deny that th saints, who have died for their religion of ten painfully lack strength to set beside their undoubted virtue?”
There was a moment’s silence at the’ table. Margot was looking worried.
I realized then that it was not usual to interrupt the Comte in his discourse-particularly to contra diet him.
“Fanaticism,” he retorted.
“When they die they believe the are going to glory. What are a few hours of torment be sid an eternity of bliss or whatever they think they are going to? To rule effectively one must be strong and sometime it is necessary to practise expediency which could of fen some moral codes. The essential quality of leadership i strength.”
“I would say justice.”
“My dear Cousin, you have learned your history from books.”
“How, pray, do others learn?”
“Through experience.”
“No one can live long enough. Are we never to judge an act we have not experienced?”
“If we are wise we shall temper our judgement with caution. I was telling you of our King. He is noia. Kingly figure and unfortunately his wife has been of little help to him.”
“Have you heard what they are calling the Queen now?” asked Etienne.
“Madame Deficit.”
“They blame her for the deficit,” said Leon, ‘and perhaps rightly so.
It is said that her dressmakers’ bills are enormous. Her gowns, her hats, her extravagant head adornments, her entertainment at the Petit Trianon, her so-called country life at Le Hameau where she milks the cows in Sevres bowls . are being talked of everywhere. “
“Why should she not have what she wants?” demanded Margot.
“She did not ask to come to France. She was forced to marry Louis. She had never seen him before the marriage.”
“My dear Margot,” the Comte interrupted icily, ‘naturally a daughter of Maria Theresa should think herself honoured to marry a Dauphin of France. She was received here with the utmost respect. The late King was charmed with her. “
“Trust him to be charmed with a pretty young girl,” said Leon.
“We all know what a fancy he had for them … the younger the better. That’s well known through the scandal of the Pare aux Cerfs.”
Etienne said: “Not a suitable subject for the family supper table, Leon.”
The Comte put in: “Our cousin is a woman of the world. She understands such matters.” Again he turned to me.
“Our late King as he grew older had a not unusual partiality for young girls whom his pander was obliged to procure for him. He kept them in a mansion surrounded by a deer park-hence the Pare aux Cerfs.”
“I am not surprised that he ceased to be Louis the Well Beloved,” I said.
“He was a charming man.” The Comte smiled at me challengingly.
“Perhaps my notion of charm is not the same as yours.”
“Dear Cousin, these girls were taken from poverty. It must be so. He could not have taken the daughters of noblemen. They were not forced, nor coerced even. They came of their own free will. Sometimes their parents brought them. Little mi dinettes from the streets of Paris .. girls who had little hope of earning an honest living. Many might have been condemned to lead lewd and evil lives; some might have worked i they could have found work until they died of diseases of th lungs or lost their sight through too close needlework. Then only asset was their beauty … roses somehow growing o a dung heap. They were seen, picked and taught to amuse the King.”
“And when he tired of them?” I asked.
“He was a grateful man. He gave them a handsome dowr the pander found hus
bands for them and they lived happily ever after. Now, Cousin, my dear advocate of virtue, tell m this: Was it better for those girls to wilt and die on their dung heap or, in exchange for a brief lapse from virtw win for themselves a life of ease and comfort and per hap good works?”
“It depends on what store they set on virtue.”
“You evade the issue. Should they sell their bodies to sweat shop or a royal master?”
“I can only say that it is an evil system which enables yo to pose such a question.”
“It is a system which exists, not only in France.” He looked at me earnestly.
“It is this system against which the people are now murmuring.”
“It will come right,” said Etienne. Turgot and Necker have gone. We shall see what Monsieur Calonne can do for us “Do we bore Mademoiselle Maddox with our politics?” asked Leon.
“Indeed no. I find it interesting. I want to know what i happening.”
“Whatever happens,” said Leon, ‘we shall adjust ourselves That is my feeling. If change is inevitable we must grow accustomed to change.”
“I should not care to see a change which brought the mo into the chateau,” growled Etienne.
Leon shrugged and Etienne said angrily: “It might h easier for you.
You might fit better than some into a peasant hovel. “
There was a silence at the table. The Comte glanced from Etienne to Leon with an expression of amused tolerance on his face. Etienne’s was distorted with anger, Leon’s non chalant.
“Certainly I should,” said Leon easily.
“I remember the days of my extreme youth. I was not unhappy crawling in the mire. I am sure I could revert without a great deal of difficulty. I am fortunate to know two worlds.”
Etienne was silent. I wondered how often there was conflict between these two. It occurred to me that Etienne, so anxious to maintain his relationship with the Comte, was a little resentful of Leon’s intrusion and that Leon, being aware of this, cared little.
The Comte changed the subject, and I realized that he was accustomed to lead the conversation at the table and I wondered whether he liked to stir up such storms and watch the effect they had.
“We shall be giving Cousin Minelle a poor view of our country,” he said.
“Let us talk of those things of which we can be justly proud.
You will, I hope, enjoy Paris, Cousin a great city of culture which I can say without boasting is unequalled in the world. I have a house there. It is called an hotel but that is what we called our great houses in the past, so it is not an hotel in the sense which you would use the word. It has been in the family for nearly three hundred years. Yes, it was built in the reign of Francois Premier when some of the finest architecture in the world was set up in France. You will visit some of our beautiful castles of the Loire, I trust; and we shall enjoy introducing you to Paris. “
He went on to talk about the contrast of life in the country and the great city and so passed the rest of the meal.
I had found the conversation unexpected and I know that my mother would have considered it extremely shocking-not the sort we should have heard at the Derringham table when ladies were present. But it had stimulated me.
After dinner we went to another of the salons and there the Comte drank brandy. He insisted on my trying it. It burned my throat and I was afraid to take more than a few sips, which I knew secretly amused him.
When the ormolu clock struck ten he said that he thought it was time Marguerite was in bed. We must not forget that she was suffering from an indisposition. He wanted her to regain her health as quickly as possible. So we said good night and Margot and I went to our rooms.
Margot said: “Minelle, I don’t know how I am going to bear it. You know what’s going to happen, don’t you? They are going to find a husband for me.”
“Not yet,” I soothed.
“You are too young.”
“Too young. At seventeen one is old enough.”
‘you have proved that, I suppose. “
“It was the way my father looked at me when he was talking about the Queen and the King and how she was brought here to marry. It was a warning, I know.”
“I thought the conversation was a little unusual.”
“You mean risque. All that about the Pare aux Cerfs. It was done with a purpose, I think. My father was telling me that I was no longer an innocent virgin and he wanted no nonsense from me. I would have to do as I was told and it would be for my own good … like those girls in the Pare.”
“Is the conversation always like that when ladies are present?”
Margot was silent and my uneasiness increased.
“Come,” I said, ‘tell me what you are thinking. “
“My father has clearly taken a fancy to you, Minelle.”
“He certainly made a point of welcoming me … and he seems to call me Cousin with relish. But I thought it odd that he should have let the conversation go the way it did.”
“He did it purposely.”
“I wonder why.”
Margot shook her head and I felt a strong desire to be alone with my thoughts, so I said goodnight and went into my own room. The candles had been lighted by the maid and it looker charming in their light. I had never known such luxury. ‘. kept thinking of those girls taken from the mean streets an transported to a place like this. How had they felt?
I sat down at the mirror and took the pins from my had; so that it fell about my shoulders. Candlelight is notoriously flattering and I looked almost beautiful. My eyes were brigl with excitement, which was the more intense because it we tinged with fear;
there was a faint flush under my skin.
I looked over my shoulder at the door. To my relief I saw that there was a key. I went to it at once in order to lock but before I could do so I heard the murmur of voices. S stood, my hand on the key ready to turn it. The footstep passed my door, and I could not resist the temptation to open it slightly and peep through. I saw the backs of Etienne and Leon.
Moreover I heard their words.
“But who is she?” Leon was saying.
“Cousin!” That was Etienne.
“That’s a new idea. She’s the new mistress, I suppose.”
“Somehow I fancy not yet.”
“But she will be … and that before long. It’s a new way … bringing them into the chateau.”
I shut the door and locked it with trembling fingers. Then I went and sat down at the mirror. I stared at my reflection in horror for some moments. Then I said aloud: “You must leave as soon as possible.”
I slept little that night. What I had overheard had shocked me so deeply that I was trying to convince myself that I had misconstrued the men’s meaning. But knowing what I did of the Comte I could see that their conclusions could be logical enough. What should I do? I had burned my boats, having sold the furniture of the schoolhouse and given it up. Quite clearly I should never have left England; I should have realized why the Comte was interested in me. I knew well enough the kind of man he was. Yet when he had suggested I go with Margot the proposition had seemed reasonable. Margot had needed someone to look after her and help her through her ordeal and I seemed to fall naturally into the part. I had believed that when I came to the chateau I should be a companion to her, living as I had heard companions and governesses did in their own quarters somewhere between those of the servants and those of their employers. I had imagined that in a year or so, after Margot married, I should have saved enough money and gained in poise and experience, to return to England, open a school and specialize in teaching French.
Perhaps by that time, I had thought, Joel Derringham would have made a suitable marriage and Sir John and Lady Derringham having realized that what they would think of as that ‘little bit of folly’ was over, would send me pupils.
But the attitude of the Comte and the comments I had overheard, made it very clear that I must get away.
When I heard the house stirring I
arose and unlocked my door, and in due course a servant appeared with hot water.
I washed and dressed in the ruelle and then went to Margot’ room.
She looked refreshed and much calmer and because of that I thought it better to come straight to the point.
“Margot,” I said, “I think my position here is somewhat anomalous.”
What? ” she cried.
“I mean it is irregular.”
“What do you mean? What is your position here?”
“That is what I must ascertain. I thought I was coming here to take a position. I am being paid to be your companion and help you through this difficult time and teach you English But I find myself a cousin and treated like a guest.”
“Well, there had to be this. cousin fiction, and I would always treat you as a friend, you know that.”
“But the rest of the household …”
“You mean my father. Oh, he is known to be eccentric It amuses him at the moment to make you a cousin. Tornoi row he might decide you are his daughter’s companion an treat you as such.”
“But I am not prepared to be taken up and set down i this way. You must realize, Margot, that I am not equippe to appear in this sort of society.”
“You’re thinking of clothes. We’ll soon settle that. You ca have some of mine … or new ones. We’ll go to Paris soon I dare say, and there we’ll buy materials.”
“I lack the means to do this.”
They will be charged to the account. That’s how it’s done “For you, yes … and Etienne and Leon perhaps. You are part of the family. I am not. I must go back to England an I want you to understand why.”
Her eyes had grown black with fear.
“Minelle, please, I b( of you don’t leave me. If you go, I’m alone … Can’t yo see?”
“I can’t stay here in this position, Margot. It’s degrading ” I don’t understand you. Explain. “
But I could not bring myself to say: “Your father is planning to make me his mistress.” It sounded so dramatic an absurd, and I might have misconstrued the situation. Thi the two young men had been discussing me was obvious, bi they could have been entirely wrong.
Margot had seized my hands. I was afraid she was going to have another of those hysterical bouts. They frightened me for she really looked wild when they took possession of her.
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