Page 70 of A Touch of Charm
Andre chuckled, his heavy heart instantly forgotten when she asked her pointed questions. This little girl was astute, direct, and intelligent, reminding him of his sister.
“I didn’t always study bones, veins, and muscles. There was a time when I had to memorize borders, capitals, mountains, and rivers, just like you.”
Thea seemed to avoid his gaze, surveying the room without as much as the tiniest expression of disappointment. A princess would and should expect to be invited to the finest dining rooms in London, and… that was the idea!
“Are you hungry?” Andre asked Thea, but Mary jumped up and beamed at him.
“Oh yes! Do you have any milk?” Mary asked excitedly.
“Not here, but I’ll get something even better for you,” Andre said. “Whipped cream and custard.”
Mary clapped her little hands and jumped while tugging at Thea’s sash. “Can we go? Please?”
“Is it very far?” Thea asked but Andre could tell that he’d already won them over. “Only a five-minute walk from here.”
“Do they have the same madeleines you gave us earlier this week?” Thea asked, smiling.
Andre winked. “Even more!”
Said and done.
Within a few minutes, they entered the Patisserie de la Loire, a French bakery on the corner of Harley Street. As usual, the little bell over the door chimed as they entered, and the owner, as soon as he spotted Andre, smiled and called over the two customers ahead of him, “Madeleines are coming fresh from the oven, Monsieur le Doctoeur.”
He was a man with a kind smile, chubby cheeks, and an infectious smile, especially because he loved that he had the same name for him and Nick, Monsieur le Docteur.
“Are these the same madeleines you brought me as a gift?” Thea asked when Mary didn’t pay attention.
“Would it be alright if I said yes?” Andre asked.I could forever look into her beautiful eyes and never get enough.
*
Thea adjusted hershawl, the light November chill beginning to seep past the fabric as she took Andre’s offered arm. His warmth close to her side was a comfort, though she would never admit how much she relied on it. They walked slowly through Marylebone, the stones of the pavement clicking softly beneath their boots. The street was quiet except for the occasional creak of coach wheels. Rows of identical white houses lined the road, each one neat and proper, without a single crooked window or chipped paint to disturb their symmetry.
Each house had an air of order she couldn’t match. Perfectly symmetrical windows framed the entrances, black-painted doors standing steadfast in the center. Some had potted boxwood plants on either side of the doorstep, pruned into clean, round shapes as though their owners had measured every last leaf. The uniformity unsettled her. Marylebone was lovely, but it made her feel like an ink blot on a pristine sheet of paper. She was a stranger here, someone who didn’t belong and whose steps could be erased as easily as the morning mist on the glass panes.
Her own situation only deepened the contrast. She wasn’t just new to the city; she was in danger, and it was her own fault. Now, she found herself stumbling through an unfamiliar world, the ground seeming more uneven beneath her every hour, and the future uncertain for her entire family. The only thing she knew was that she wanted Andre close by, and that’s why she’d ventured to see him.
For, even when Marylebone’s order left her unsettled, Andre made her feel steady. His strong arm beneath her gloved hand kept her from drifting too far into thought. He seemed acutely aware of their surroundings—ever the protector.
Thea’s hand rested lightly on Andre’s arm, her stride falling in step with his as they walked along the cobbled street. Ahead of them, Mary skipped and twirled, her laughter curling through the air like a ribbon, unbothered by the adults’ subdued conversation.
“You never answered my question,” Thea said softly, glancing up at him.
Andre’s gaze remained ahead, his expression composed, save for the slight tightening of his jaw.
“Which one?”
“The languages,” she replied. “You speak so many, but why? And why choose this? A doctor in Marylebone, instead of the larger life you seem capable of.”
He paused a moment before responding, guiding them around a cart laden with vegetables. “Circumstance chooses for us far more often than we choose for ourselves.”
“Circumstance,” she repeated, her tone skeptical but not unkind. “Convenient, but unconvincing.”
A slow exhale escaped him. He looked down briefly at her, then back at the uneven stones beneath their feet. “When the world is at war, no one’s path is straightforward. I did what I could to ensure survival. For myself, and for the family I lost along the way.”
Thea’s arm stiffened slightly against his, but she didn’t loosen her hold. “You lost them?” she asked, her voice quiet but pressing.
“I did,” he said simply. “When I fled… Vienna was no longer safe. For a while, I thought we’d scattered as far as we could. I searched for them after the war, but there was only silence.” He kept his tone measured, though the words carried an undertone of resignation she couldn’t fail to catch. “So I did as I had promised and cultivated my craft.”
