“Nor would I have wanted to. I am glad of who I am now. You don’t know that when you begin a journey, and looking back the picture is not always pretty, but I wouldn’t take any of it back.”
“Not even your heartbreak?” she asked, stirring sugar cubes with her mind.
“I doubt the tree complains about the arid seasons and the overwhelming rains as it counts its rings.”
“You are wiser than I, then.”
“A little older,” he said. “Not much wiser.”
She was looking outside again, did not seem able to remain with him even if they sat together. Her index finger slowly traced a sliding drop of water against the glass.
“I do not understand what I want. Do you think that changes as you get older?” she asked.
She had turned her face toward him again, expectantly. Hector, who was accustomed to being observed by multitudes, felt shy under the scrutiny of those hazel eyes. He demurred because he realized there was another question under the question, and he did not know what the hell to say.
“I think it is always difficult to determine that,” he said. “And mistakes will be made.”
“Yes,” she said, sipping her tea.
If the day hadn’t been gloomy, perhaps their conversation wouldn’t be tinged with this pensiveness. And she’d been happy in Oldhouse, and he’d been happy, too, when she smiled. Although she was the one who provided their merriment, he decided it would fall upon him this time to distract them.
“Here, now, do you think we can build a house out of these sugar cubes?” he asked, and as he spoke, the blocks assembled themselves into a box.
“We wouldn’t have enough.”
“If you pilfer a few more from the table next to us, we might.”
Nina reached toward the other table, with its matching porcelain jar full of sugar cubes. She set it down, and Hector made the lid slide off and the sugar cubes trailed out at his command, heaping themselves into place.
“I always find it harder to control small pieces,” she said. “But you make it look easy.”
“It is harder. But when I was about twelve, I was already earning my living doing things like this,” he said, reshaping his creation, making a horse out of the cubes.
“When did you handle large props?”
“I was about fifteen. I joined a traveling show. The owner was an ogre. He overworked us and did not pay on time, but I honed my skills during that time.”
“What is your favorite trick?” she asked, resting her chin on the back of her hand as she watched him.
“Chipping a block of ice until it acquires a specific shape. When they advertised it, on the posters, they said SPECTACULAR, twice. In big letters, so you’d get the point.”
Nina smiled and then she blushed, although he had no idea how he’d caused that reaction. She had rested her free, ungloved hand against the table, and Hector thought of leaning forward and capturing that hand between his own. But like her, he did not know what he wanted, and he was afraid because he always knew what he desired, it was all atrociously simple, until now it wasn’t.
“I have a busy day ahead of me,” Hector said, lifting himself from his seat. “But it is always good to see you. Please, if you leave the city, let me know.”
“I … Yes, I will let you know,” Nina said.
It was still raining, but he stuffed his hands in his pockets and rushed off, mindless of the weather. She was leaving! And, why not? Why would she stay? Perhaps he might have asked … but he had already said he would miss her, and he did not believe there was anything else left to say.
CHAPTER 15
Luc Lémy stood rather dramatically with his back to her, an arm draped against the mantelpiece, as if posing for a painting. Valérie scrutinized the young man with a raised eyebrow and a dash of contempt.
“No, I have been hard at work. Three potential investors lined up for the project, and Gaétan seems to like me,” Luc protested. “I think Nina finds me attractive.”
“Then, what is the problem?”
“When I am with her, sometimes I feel as though she is not fully there. I don’t think I’ve managed to capture her soul,” he said, turning around and sounding so earnest, it almost made Valérie want to laugh.
“My dear Mr. Lémy, souls are flimsy. I wouldn’t think you’d be the kind of man who bothers about capturing that specific item.”
Luc did not seem amused by her comment. Valérie shook her head.
“Why is she reticent?” Valérie asked, pausing to rearrange the lush roses in a porcelain vase on the table next to her.
“She won’t say it in so many words, but it’s that damn Hector Auvray,” Luc affirmed. “Why in heavens should she be fixated on him?”
“First loves tend to dig deep into one’s heart,” Valérie said, unable to suppress a rawness in her voice, which made Luc give her an odd look. Valérie composed herself quickly, rising from her chair with a rustle of silk, standing cool and firm. “There’s a remedy to every malady, Mr. Lémy, and I think I have the tonic that may cure this patient.”
“Will you speak to her? Attempt to sway her to my side? She says she wants time to think about me, but I fear she’ll turn me away.”
“You can trust me,” she replied.
“I shall be forever grateful,” he said.
Perhaps the elusiveness of Luc’s prey had burnished Antonina, making her appear more glorious than she was. Or perhaps it was nothing but the novelty of a conquest, but whatever it was, Valérie was aware Luc’s vehemence only increased by the day. Some of that must reach the girl’s heart, surely, rendering her pliable.
Valérie was not one to leave things to chance. It could well be that Antonina might be driven into Luc’s arms with a modicum of time. However, the matter of Hector Auvray remained troubling. If he was there, distracting her, Antonina might not do as they wanted.
Since her chat with Agnes Haduier, Valérie had been paying a man to keep watch on Nina. He had mostly reported about her meetings with Luc Lémy, but there had also been occasions when she had been in Hector’s company: a visit to the theater, a tearoom. Each one of those encounters could have been disastrous.
Valérie knew enough was enough. The Grand Season was not slowing down, and they needed to secure an alliance before the arrival of the summer. Wait too long, and Antonina might drift toward another suitor. Spring was the time to settle this matter.
Hector Auvray must be dealt with, now.
The matter decided, there was nothing else to do than to head to the Royal. Valérie took care to wear a white hat with a veil in case she should be recognized. She did not want anyone to know she’d gone there.
Once she arrived, she was quickly ushered into Hector’s dressing room. She noted the profusion of objects in there. Props, books, and the large desk dominating the space. Behind it sat Hector. She closed the door and he rose as she walked in. His smile turned into a frown.
“You expected someone else, I suppose,” she said as she took off her hat. This, along with the veil, would shield her. They were not of the same height, but casual observers would assume it was Antonina Beaulieu, not Valérie, who had visited. After all, she’d given that name at the entrance.