Page 23 of A Noble Affair
“I can’t believe you find the time.” She thought of her own life and how busy it was.
“We don’t have kids, for one thing,” Maude reflected comfortably. “I find it relaxing. It’s orderly, just like Math. Every stitch has its place.”
“Maybe you could teach knitting to your Math students,” Chastity teased. “The boys would love that. Anyway, show me. I want to see what kinds of things you can make. Thomas, let’s go see if we can find some other stands with toys in them too, okay?”
He ran ahead by way of answer, even though he didn’t know where he was supposed to go. Chastity admired his energyand laughed. “Don’t go too far, Thomas.” He stopped suddenly and darted over to a stall that had stickers and pens, and small desk toys that were propped up on little wires.
“Oh perfect,” said Maude. “He’s stopped just in the right place. There’s the knitted-wear stand.”
Chastity fingereda tomato-red scarf. “Oh, this one is nice.” She sighed. “Too bad I can never wear it.”
“But this one you totally could.” Maude pulled out a forest green hat with pale green trim. She whispered, “Don’t buy it though. I’ll make you one just like it.”
Manon pulledon Charles’s arm and headed towardsa stand with soaps from Provence. He extricated himself, saying, “I see the mayor over there. I’ll be right back.” Her eyes grew wide, probably at the thought of being left alone, but she schooled her features to hide it.
“Okay, chéri.”
“Bertrand.” Charles extended his hand to an older man in an expensive suit that pulledat the waist.
“Ah, Charles.” The mayor returned the handshake. “Are you here on your own?”
“No. Manon Duprey came with me. She’s over there.” The gleam in the mayor’s eye meant he would be expecting an introduction. “I’ll introduce you to her,” Charlespromised with a wry smile.
“In good time, Charles. You know I have to ask you again this year if you’ll consider opening your home for a spring ball.” Charles started to shake his head, butthe mayor went on. “Now think about it, Charles, before you say no. Your father agreed to it in the past, and it did such good for the community.”
“My father agreed to it until the artwork went missing. I just can’t take that risk again.”
“I understand that. I do. But some of the townspeople are pressuring me on this one. The château is no longer a patrimony that belongs to the town, and the peoplewant something in return. If you agreed to this, we would have every available officer on call to keep an eye on things. Think about it, okay, Charles? Everyone is hoping for this.”
“I’ll…think about it,” was the most Charles could manage, although he was sure he would not change his mind.
“Now, let’s see about that introduction.” The mayor clapped him on the back and steeredhim towards the soap stand where Manon was accepting a brown paper bag with her fragrant collection inside.
“I got almond, green tea, and lemon—” She stopped when she noticed the mayor walking next to Charles.
“Mademoiselle Duprey.” He took both her hands in his own and kissed them, before pulling her in and kissing her on both cheeks.
“Let me introduce you to Bertrand Le Neveu, the mayor of Maisons-Laffitte,” Charles said drily. The mayor already had his arm around Manon’s waist and was walking forward with her, pointing out a stand that boasted chocolates made in France. He whispered something in her ear.
“You rogue,” she said, laughing and blushing. She was used to this kind of attention—an older gentleman of position and wealth favoring her with his notice. These gentlemen could be useful to her career, and it wasn’t hard to please them.
“Charles, I’m just going to buy Mlle Duprey some chocolate. You can catch up with us further on.” The mayor dismissed him with a wink.
Charles nodded, unthreatened. He wasn’t unhappy to be alone and continued down the aisle of themarché. His main goal was to make an appearance and let everyone know he was supporting the town. He didn’t need anything in particular among the goods that were displayed. To kill time, he paused at one of the stands on the corner of the aisle to examine the collection of fountain pens.
“Mommy, it’s starting to snow.”Thomas ran forward again. Sure enough, fat snowflakes were visible against the overhead lights, although they were hidden in the night beyond that.
Chastity and Maude began to walk behindhim. “We’ll just follow this row down to the exit and then be on our way. I don’t want to get Thomas home too late.”
“Oh. Guess what," Maude said. "I saw the actress here—Manon Duprey. She must be here with Mr. de Brase.”
Thomas had stopped at the corner stand, which containedhorse paraphernalia, so they stood in the aisle just next to him.
“I know,” said Chastity. “I saw them eating at the next table. He didn’t look happy to be here.” Her dimples showed as she lowered her voice. “Mixing with the commoners.”
“His father had more of a reputation for interacting with the people of the town than our Mr. de Brase does,” Maude said in a wry voice. “Apparently the older viscount even put on an elegant ball in the château and opened it for the community to come and dance. The mayor has been begging the current viscountto do the same, but so far he’s refused.”
“Thomas, wait.” Chastity said, as her son darted forward again.
