Chapter Four
Céleste very seldom allowed herself to grow emotional, yet she struggled in that moment.
She loved Henri, and she hadn’t seen him in two years.
Everything she had endured in that time had been to secure his future and happiness.
He meant the world to her, and he was there, hugging her and giving her hope that she would not always be so alone.
“You’re here.” She forcefully swallowed down her emotions. “I can hardly believe it.”
“This is the most enthusiastic reception I’ve ever had from you, abeille.” Henri had used that affectionate pet name for her since she was a little girl.
She looked up at him. “I am always excited to see you.”
“As excited as you are to see Nicolette?”
Céleste was both reluctant to let go of Henri and unspeakably excited to hug her friend, but she did so. “Paris has been miserable without you.”
Marguerite managed to ruin the moment. “Do attempt some decorum, Céleste. We have company.”
“I am greeting our company,” she countered.
That bit of pertness earned her a snapping scold from Jean-Francois. “That is quite enough, Céleste.”
She stepped back from the brother and sister-in-law she actually liked, not daring to risk what she had managed to secure for them. “I let my excitement get the better of me,” she said to Jean-Francois. “It will not happen again.”
Settling her eldest brother’s concerns, however, brought a look of confused concern to the face of her beloved brother.
If Henri suspected even half of what had been happening in this house, he would rush to Céleste’s defense and, in so doing, make things infinitely worse for both of them.
That meant hiding her misery while not abandoning her ruse of failing health.
Heavens, this was going to be exhausting.
“We ought to look in on Adèle,” she suggested, knowing it would offer an excuse to escape the parlor for a time. “She will be overjoyed to see you.”
“If she remembers us.” Henri clearly thought that unlikely. It broke Céleste’s heart. She knew how much he loved his niece.
“Let us go see for ourselves,” she said.
Marguerite placed herself among the group of new arrivals. “You will, of course, not be dragged to the nursery. Please, sit. Rest. Tell us how long you will be in France.”
Jean-Francois motioned for them to do as his wife requested. “We have room enough for everyone if you’d like to stay here.”
“We are attending a soiree this evening,” Marguerite said. “It will be quite the gathering. You simply must come as well. All of you.”
Lady Lampton sat gracefully. “We would be willing to do so, under one condition.”
“What is that?” Jean-Francois asked.
“That Céleste be permitted to take Henri and Nicolette to the nursery.” Lady Lampton managed to make the request sound like a favor, though Céleste could hear the hint of steel underlying it.
“Your lovely little girl is so beloved by her aunts and uncle. I believe we can all agree that a nursery visit ought not be delayed.”
Lord Lampton agreed quite adamantly.
Céleste’s attention shifted to Lord Aldric. He cared too much for Henri not to advocate for his happiness even if he’d shown himself uninterested in her happiness. Heavens, she’d nursed such a tendre for him, only to have his taciturn indifference ruin it all two years earlier.
“Go visit the nursery,” Lord Aldric said, though to which of the three of them was not clear. “We’ll make a list of the Paris diversions we are to participate in and share it with you when you return.”
Taking the unexpected opening, Céleste began walking from the room. But as was typical, Jean-Francois stopped her.
“Céleste.” He filled her name with enough reprimand for her not to have to guess what he expected next.
She turned back to face him. “I am leaving the parlor and going directly to the nursery. From there, I will likely go to my bedchamber and lie down in anticipation of tonight’s excursion and in deference to my growing weariness.”
He watched her silently, making her wait. That was his way when he thought she wasn’t deferent enough. At last, he gave a single nod. “Do not stray from that. I will know if you do.”
Yes, he would.
Céleste hooked an arm through one of Henri’s and the other through Nicolette’s. She pulled them quickly from the room, knowing from experience that Jean-Francois sometimes changed his mind about things at the most inopportune moments. “Adèle will be so delighted to see you both.”
They quickly reached the grand staircase, Céleste setting a swift pace. But Henri slowed their progress as they climbed.
“What is happening in this house, Céleste?”
“What do you mean?”
Nicolette jumped in. “Do you always have to tell Jean-Francois how you intend to spend your time, even what room you will be in?”
“His declaration that he will know if you stray from your plan sounded worryingly like a threat,” Henri added.
She could not risk setting either of them on a march to warfare.
“He is becoming more and more like our father.” That proved sufficient explanation.
Understanding dawned in both their eyes.
Before that understanding turned militant, she pressed on.
“He will be dictatorial to you as well, Henri. While I would love to have you here in the house while you are in Paris, you will be far happier if you secure accommodations elsewhere.”
“Do you need accommodations elsewhere, Céleste?” Nicolette asked.
“I would do best to remain here.” That seemed her safest answer.
“Céleste—” Henri began.
She tugged them more quickly up the stairs. “Adèle has grown so much since you last saw her. I have attempted to teach her a little English, but Jean-Francois put a stop to that.”
“He really is becoming our father,” Henri muttered.
Except Father had never locked Céleste in her room; Jean-Francois had done that. Jean-Francois had never actually struck her; Father had.
The nursemaids froze as Céleste led the new arrivals into the nursery.
After a mere instant, the distress in their expressions slid into relief.
It was not difficult to ascertain why. Jean-Francois and Marguerite tended to arrive with criticisms and demands.
But they knew Henri well enough to realize his arrival would bring light and joy.
“Monsieur Henri and Madame Nicolette have arrived in Paris,” Céleste told them all, letting herself smile broadly. “They wish to see our little Adèle.”
Curtsies around the room greeted that news. All the staff liked Henri. How could they not? He was wonderful.
“Tante Céleste.” Adèle’s sweet voice filled her heart as it always did. Her darling niece didn’t usually hug Céleste, though she sometimes did, and she often smiled, though with less frequency the past months.
Céleste was so close to seeing herself sent to the countryside, but she wouldn’t go without Adèle. The girl needed a reprieve as much as Céleste did. And they both needed to be with someone who loved them.
“Ma petite,” she said, “your tonton Henri has come to visit you from England.”
She looked at Henri, clearly unsure. “Tonton Henri from your letters?”
“The very same.”
Henri’s smile turned tender. “You’ve read my letters to her?”
“The bits about her,” Céleste said. “I want her to know who you are.”
Henri lowered himself to the ground in front of Adèle. “You have grown up while I was away, ma petite sauterelle. Do you still like flowers?”
She nodded eagerly. “I love flowers. All flowers.”
Henri had Adèle’s undivided attention after that. Céleste breathed a little easier. The girl could be very shy and unsure of people. Clearly, she could sense the goodness at the heart of her uncle.
Nicolette nudged Céleste a bit aside. “You haven’t written to us in months.”
Jean-Francois hadn’t allowed it. But telling them as much would likely lead them to interfere. “I am sorry for that.” She set her hand on her friend’s arm. “But I am so very happy that you are here.”
Nicolette looked worried about her. “You said you needed to lie down because you have been weary. Are you ill?”
She hated being less than honest, but she needed Jean-Francois to believe what she’d been portraying. Long after Henri and Nicolette returned home to England, Céleste had to survive the life she had in France.
“I’ve been fatigued lately. Dr. Mercier is a bit perplexed, but he doesn’t seem anxious.”
“Doctor? You’ve needed to be seen by a doctor?”
Céleste held her friend’s gaze and smiled. “All will be well in the end. I am certain of it.”
Nicolette, if anything, looked more speculative. She would not be so easily put off.
As overjoyed as Céleste was to have friends and her beloved brother nearby again, she couldn’t deny that the timing of their arrival was going to prove exceptionally complicated.