Book #1: Suzy's Dream (Chapter 4 - Part 3)

 Chapter 4 continued...

“But, my dear, I have never been more serious. I even wonder how I didn't think of Suzy right away. To Lady Graham, she would be like a friend, and, moreover, would see her presence sufficiently rewarded. The salary that Lady Graham spoke to me about is one of a princely generosity.”

“Charlotte,” Madame Douvry said, her voice trembling. “It’s painful for me to hear you speak in this way!”

Madame Arnay looked at her bewildered. No doubt she was an accomplished woman of the world, but the practice of heartfelt tact sometimes failed her.

“How strange you are, Jeanne. What do you find ‘painful’ — to use your word — with my proposal? I recognize that Suzy will be away from you, but in the end, five or six months goes by very quickly.”

“Charlotte, if I proposed to you to send Germaine away, would you accept?”

A gesture of impatience escaped Madame Arnay. What an idea her sister had in shifting the question in this direction. Why compare Suzy and Germaine, whose positions were so different?

“I hope, Jeanne,” she went on, a little nervously, “that if that were the case I would be reasonable enough to think above all of my daughter's interest.”

Madame Douvry closed her eyes for a second as though she needed to collect herself. 

“Do you think, Charlotte, that it would be in Suzy's interest for her to go to Cannes?” she asked slowly.

“Of course, yes!” Madame Arnay said. For a bewildered moment, she went off again. Like all her ideas, this one seemed to her a marvelous one. “Certainly, yes. Do you want to keep her in Paris? What will happen to her here? She’ll look for lessons. If she finds any, she will have to go out in all sorts of weather, even the worst. She’ll go to unfamiliar houses where you won’t be able to follow her and waste her talent on pupils who will tire her out. That is if she can find one...”

Abruptly, Mme. Arnay stopped. Instinct restrained her from speaking a somewhat brutal frankness, one readily on her lips. She knew she would hurt her sister, who silently listened to her, her face grave.

“If she can't find one, it will be another worry for you,” she finished with her usual ease. “I tell you again that Lady Graham is a delightful woman. I saw her quite often this summer in Deauville. Her receptions were real wonders. She’ll welcome Suzy as a friend. Your daughter will find at her side a luxurious, cheerful existence, which will be profitable to her from every angle — financially and otherwise. Lady Graham receives a great deal of people. And who knows? Maybe Suzy will come back to you with a prospective fiancé!”

At this conclusion, Madame Arnay smiled to herself, satisfied with her eloquence and the future she foresaw. At the same time though, she was surprised to see that Suzy's mother remained silent and did not seem to share her enthusiasm.

In truth, Madame Douvry's heart was torn at the idea of a separation from the child she loved.

In Cannes, Suzy would have an easy life with a more broadened view of things and would be sheltered from the incessant worries brought about by the difficult time her father was going through. Madame Douvry could not conceal this from herself. The burdens of their limited budget would become very heavy the moment her husband could no longer bear the weight of it. And when would the steps taken by him succeed? Oh, their fortune from before, how far away it all seemed. For the first time, Madame Douvry regretted the loss with all her soul.

Le rêve de Suzy is in the public domain. All original additions, including translations, illustrations and chapter summaries, are copyright © 2025 by Marriah K. Nissen and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher or author, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law. All rights reserved.