Page 47 of A Noble Affair
It took coming to the hospital every day, but she finally relaxed—even to the point of letting her head drop on his shoulder when she fell asleep. She’d been sitting on the chair next to him, with Thomas asleep in the bed at their feet. He noticed her out of the corner of his eye, jerking upright each time her head sank, and he’d leaned in until she finally let her head settle on him in exhaustion. He held his breath, not wanting to disturb her, afraid she would feel embarrassed if she knew. It was only five minutes of companionable bliss before she flew upright, a blush springing to her cheeks. He had shifted slightly so she wouldn’t know…This was almost a week ago, and he hadn’t seen her since Thomas was discharged because he was afraid to intrude on her private life.Five days.
Every facet of her held a different hue, and the sum was bewitching. He remembered her slamming the books on the table at their first meeting. Her lifting a tear-stained face from her son’s bedside and jumping to her feet in confusion when she saw him. Her dropping the coffee cup when he had gotten Thomas to squeeze his hand. Her eyes lighting up when she told him her mom was coming to visit. Her rushing to leave the museum when she saw him walk in with Manon. (She had looked so beautiful that evening).
Her face, soft with regret as she said ‘good night’. Her lips—
My God, thought Charles, thunderstruck.I’m in love with her.He started forward and drew a ragged breath. Manon linked her arm through his in the dark and pulled him closer, never taking her eyes off the screen. “I’m here, Charles.” Her voice trilled with emotion. “My character is gone, but I am here.”
22
Chastity and her mother stood near the security guard in front of the Plexiglas tube that covered the escalator leading to Departures. Chastity was fighting tears.
“All right, dear.” Her mother offered a smile that belied her own emotions. “I can’t leave your dad to fend for himself forever. The truth is, I miss him. Thomas is doing much better, and you’re going to be just fine without me.”
“I know, Mom. Of course I am.” Chastity fell silent.How am I going to do this on my own?
“Have you spoken to Dr. de Brase lately?” her mom inquired, not-so-subtly.
“No, not this week.” The image she saw of him on TV, holding Manon by the elbow, flashed before her eyes. “He’s not the resident doctor for Thomas anymore, so there’s no need for him to follow his progress now that Tommy is home.”
“But he seemed to have an interest in you when he invited us to the art gallery,” her mom prodded gently.
“Oh, Mom. You saw him on TV with that actress. How can you ask me about him? He was nice to take such good care of Tommy when he was his patient. But…I mean…I always knew he was just being nice. That—and being a good doctor.”
“He still came back to the hospital every day the week before Tommy was discharged, and he wasn’t his doctor then.” It seemed her mother was not going to let this go.
“But we haven’t seen him since. We’re not from the same world.”
“Hm.” Her mother’s face revealed nothing, but Chastity had a pretty good idea what she was thinking. She mistakenly thought the doctor—Charles—had feelings for her, but that could not be true.She’s just biased because she’s my mom.
“Give me one last hug,” Sherri said. “You need to get back for the second half of school, and I don’t want you to be late.”
Chastity obeyed and gave her mom a tight squeeze, trying to keep a brave face. “I’ll let you know what I decide to do, okay Mom? I have trouble imagining getting Tommy back to New York in the state he’s in, and then getting him the care he needs once he’s there. Let me know what your research turns up too, all right?”
They hugged one last time, and her mom held out her passport and ticket, went through security, and stepped onto the escalator. Chastity turned away with a heavy heart.
Charles strode to the school,whistling for a space, then furrowing his brows. He had set up a meeting with the principal to discuss the ball at the château next month but hoped to see Chastity while he was there. He realized, with regret, his original idea of asking Chastity to attend the ball with him would not work. At least, not yet. He could not, in good conscience, invite her until he had officially broken things off with Manon. He hadn’t wanted to do that after the opening. It was only fair that her moment in the spotlight should be unspoiled. That meant he was not yet free to do precisely what he wanted.
Elizabeth ushered him to a seat while she shut the door. “Hi, Charles. What can I do for you?”
“It’s about the ball next month,” he said. “I thought it’d be a good idea to allow the upper level students to attend if you don’t think that will cause problems with the rest of the school. In a way, it makes sense for them to be invited since my son is in their class. I’ve reserved a set number of tickets, and I just have to double-check the numbers with you.”
“Are you offering the tickets to the students? Or will they need to pay for them? That’d be the only problem I can foresee as it might cause social divisions in the class if some kids can’t afford it.”
“I’m offering the tickets. It’ll be my contribution to the school. I’d also like to pay for an instructor to teach them to waltz so they can dance when they’re there.”
Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s very generous of you. I’m sure the students will be ecstatic. I’ll have to think about where they can rehearse since we don’t have a large enough space to fit them all.”
“They can use the ballroom in the château for their lesson.” Charles waved his hand dismissively. “Is Mademoiselle Whitmore in today? Perhaps I can speak to her about my idea.”
The principal’s eyebrow went up again, just slightly. “She is. Her class finishes in five minutes. If you would care to step upstairs with me, I can offer you an espresso, and we’ll catch her on her way out of class.” Charles nodded his assent.
The espresso machine hummed noisily, and two thin streams of foaming liquid poured into the glass cups. The bustle in the hallway increased in volume as students poured out of the classrooms. Charles stood in the doorway, trying to catch a glimpse of Chastity amidst the students.
There she was, hugging her books to her chest, listening as a student spoke to her. Nodding her head in reply, she laid her hand on the student’s arm and said a few words before he flashed her a grin and took off. She walked towards Charles, her expression thoughtful.
“Chastity.”
“Oh.” She stopped short in surprise. “Hi…Charles.” She blushed when she said his first name. “What are you doing here?”
