The Beautiful Ones - Silvia Moreno-Garcia Page 0,74
an inelegant proposition. The lease of the land might liberate the Véries of the mendicant yoke they lived under, having to take whatever crumbs Gaétan threw to them. And if the venture went well, Luc would rise in esteem and position, and Nina with him.
“I admit you have a good name, though,” Valérie said, smiling. “Your family is well liked. Most importantly, you are one of us.”
At that Luc raised his head and straightened up a fraction.
“Good breeding, good manners, they are important. You move in the right circles and I wager you move competently. And you are clever, Mr. Lémy.”
“Thank you.”
“You dress sharply, and I am sure you could catch the eye of a young lady.”
Now that his triumph was near, Luc allowed himself to smile back. But a triumph was not what Valérie was intending. She spoke sweetly, but her words were serious.
“A lease and a bonus are welcome, Mr. Lémy, but I would insist on an initial … shall we call it ‘deposit’?” she said, savoring the surprised look on his face. “A sum showing your goodwill. Your hotel could sink into the sea, and my family would not see a cent. Don’t worry. The payment can wait until you have wed and secured Nina’s dowry. In exchange for a promise of your generosity, I believe I could breathe a positive word about you into my husband’s ear. Your shortcomings need not be shortcomings at all.”
This was what he had expected to hear, but not put in this way. He did not hesitate and nodded enthusiastically. “Thank you, Mrs. Beaulieu,” Luc said. “You must not imagine that I care only for Nina’s fortune, though. I intend to be a proper husband to her.”
Valérie thought she knew exactly what Luc Lémy meant by “a proper husband.” He’d give Nina half a dozen brats to tend to, kiss her gently on the cheek, and keep only discreet mistresses, ensuring that his affairs were not publicized. Nina, in her idiocy, would likely mistake all this for happiness.
Valérie smiled indulgently at the young man. “I know you will be. Tell me, since we are being candid, does Nina welcome your attention?”
“I’ve spent time with her and I believe she likes me.”
“You should spend more time with her, then, until you know she likes you enough to be married to you. Gaétan is reluctant on the matter of arranged marriages. He’ll ask for her opinion, and mine, and you do not want a lukewarm response from that child.”
It was one of the most irritating bits of Antonina, the knowledge that her cousin would not force her into a marriage, like a parcel to be sold at the market. Valérie had been given no choice, but Antonina was allowed to have her heart’s desire.
“I will definitely woo her. I wouldn’t think not to. She is pretty and animated; it is the matter of Hector Auvray. I think she had her heart set on him,” he said.
Hector Auvray. That was long past, though. Wasn’t it? Surely she would have forgotten about him, and he had no doubt gone his own merry way.
She surveyed Luc Lémy critically. With his youth and light hair, and that air of sophisticated ease he had, could a girl of twenty ignore him? No, she wouldn’t. She would notice him. She would beam at him. Give him a week, perhaps two, she’d be devoted to him.
Yet the sharp edge of dread stabbed at Valérie’s heart as she recalled Nina’s letter and the emotion poured upon the paper.
“Young man, listen to me carefully,” Valérie said. “If you truly want Antonina, then you must erase any traces of that man from her mind. This Grand Season is an opportunity for us both, but you must do your part.”
Valérie pressed a hand against her gown, feeling the golden buttons underneath her palm.
CHAPTER 5
Hector worked on the weekends, doing two shows every night. Thursdays he also performed, but only once in the evening. Mondays and Tuesdays he rested, staying away from the theater. He began his day with a cup of coffee and a piece of toast for breakfast, reading a book by the window.
Around lunchtime he headed to the outdoor market that stretched behind the former convent of Saint Ilse. There he purchased vegetables and fruits, meats and fish, and all manner of other foods. He paused at the bakery on the way back home for a fresh loaf of bread and bought a newspaper at the newsstand. Then he proceeded to cook