Peeking Under the Covers

  Chapter 8 “Suzy, do you still have anything to put in your trunk?” the two twins asked at the same time, showing their tiny faces in the crack of the door. “Can you even close it?” “Yes, it’s quite ready. Here are the keys.” The little ones disappeared, and Suzy feverishly continued to fill her   traveling bag. She was brave and held back her tears. But it was at the cost of an incessant activity, putting her in a daze and depriving her of the time to think about the fact that in a few hours she would be on her way to Cannes. She started at the bell ringing in the foyer. She knew that André Vilbert had come. Since their conversation, she had not seen him, and she was very apprehensive of their first meeting since then.  Was   it   he   then?  She listened, a slight tremor shaking her nerves. In a second the door of the room opened again, and one of the twins, Alice, reappeared, sent along as the messenger. “Suzy, Aunt Arnay and Germaine have come to ...

At the end of Chapter 7, maybe you were a little like me and felt a bit sad for poor André. When he says, " Mademoiselle Suzy, don't you think you could find a little affection for me?" I kind of wanted to cry for him. Sad, severe André...Did he set his sights on the wrong girl? After all, she seems to have her heart set on Georges de Flers. So, it would seem, we have a love triangle going on here. Perhaps if André weren't so austere and cold...Let's see where things go in Chapter 8. Chapter 8: Cast of Characters Suzanne (Suzy)   -- eldest daughter of M. and Mme. Douvry Alice -- younger sister to Suzy and one of the twins Mme. Arnay (Charlotte)  -- Suzy's aunt and M. Arnay's wife Germaine Arnay  -- Mme. Arnay's daughter and Suzy's cousin André Vilbert  -- friend of the family Lady Graham  -- American friend of Mme. Arnay Georges de Flers -- acquaintance of Suzy's but she might want more Madame (Mme.) Douvry   -- Suzy's mother Monsieur (M....

Chapter 7 continued... André hadn’t noticed Madame Douvry’s approach. The outside world no longer existed for him. He saw only Suzy’s brunette head, her gaze turned away from his own. He was seized with an irresistible desire to know his fate. “Mademoiselle Suzy,” he said, summoning all his courage. “You haven’t answered me. Is it because my request was absurd and foolish?” “No, but I beg you, let me think about this.” She wrapped him with a cautious glance. In that moment, she saw his stern face with its strongly defined features, now contracted by emotion, and his tall figure badly cut by his inelegant clothes. Without knowing why, suddenly there arose in her mind the image of a slender man, of extreme distinction, whose fair beard lighted up his refined face. And this man yielded to Suzy; he spoke to her in a respectful tone; he enveloped her in his gentlemanly courtesy, and he showed her affectionate sympathy in the hours when she was sad. An intense warmth flushed through Suzy. St...