his mother observed them tactfully, her woman’s instincts sensing an impending romance.
The following two weeks passed in a pleasurable blur for Amy. During the day she visited Monsieur Laroque’s salons, where with the help of an interpreter she talked to his designers, and gradually she gained enough confidence to put suggestions to Monsieur Laroque himself.
But the nights … oh, the wonderful nights. Amy was quite sure that she would never forget a single second of them for as long as she lived.
François would arrive at the Hotel Le Meurice, looking handsome and dashing, before whisking her away like a knight on a white charger accompanied by Adeline’s lady’s maid who would act as their chaperone at Madame Laroque’s insistence. It would not have been correct for a young woman to be escorted by a gentleman without a chaperone. However, Anaïs Babineux always stayed discreetly in the background and for most of the time Amy and François could almost forget she was there. He escorted her to the theatre, took her on a trip in a private boat along the River Seine, and gradually taught her to enjoy French cuisine. They fed the pigeons that were as common in Paris as the sparrows were back in her hometown, and in the middle of the third week, she and the Forresters were again invited to dine at the château.
It turned out to be another enjoyable evening and this time, Adeline stayed in and chatted to Amy.
As they were being driven home in Monsieur Laroque’s fine carriage, Mr Forrester observed Amy’s shining eyes and smiled.
‘Are you enjoying your stay in Paris, my dear?’ he asked kindly.
‘Oh yes, sir,’ Amy said without hesitation. ‘I wouldn’t have missed a single minute of it. I have so much to tell my gran when we get home that I shall scarcely know where to begin.’
He nodded, then on a slightly more serious note he continued, ‘You seem to be getting on extremely well with François.’ Josephine sat looking at Amy, waiting for her to reply as they bowled along.
Amy looked through the carriage window, unable to meet his eyes. ‘I do find him very good company,’ she admitted. ‘But I assure you he has always acted as a perfect gentleman and—’
Mr Forrester held up his hand to stop her flow of words. ‘You misunderstand me, Amy. I never meant to insinuate for a single moment that he would ever be anything less. Had I believed that, I would never have allowed him to be your escort. But you do realise, don’t you, that we will soon be returning home … and I would hate to see you get hurt.’
Her face dropped and she stared out of the carriage window miserably, all the joy suddenly gone from the evening.
The following day, as she sat at Monsieur Laroque’s desk with him in one of his salons, he suddenly sat back and steepling his fingers, he stared at her across the top of them. They had spent the last hour discussing aspects of her designs, and the more he saw of her ideas, the more impressed he was with the young Englishwoman sitting beside him.
‘I think, mademoiselle, that should you so wish it, you could go far in the fashion empire.’
Delighted with his compliment she flushed with pleasure.
‘Should you ever think of moving to Paris I would take you on as one of my personal designers in the blink of an eye.’ He was testing the ground but her answer when it came disappointed him.
‘I could never leave England, monsieur,’ she told him soberly. ‘Mr Forrester and his wife have been extremely kind to me and Mr Forrester is a good master. But I also have an elderly grandmother who I live with, and I could never leave her, ever.’
‘I see.’ Monsieur Laroque tapped his chin thoughtfully. ‘Your loyalty to your master and your grandmother do you justice. But if that is your final decision and I cannot tempt you away from them all, then I am sure that Mr Forrester and I can come to some suitable arrangement about your designs that will be beneficial to us all.’
That evening, when François arrived at the hotel to collect her, he found Amy in a sombre mood and instantly decided that he must try and shake her out of it.
‘Come, ma petite,’ he urged. ‘Tell me what you would like to do this evening. I am yours to command.’
Amy sighed. ‘To be honest, François, I am feeling a little tired tonight.’