Peeking Under the Covers

In Chapter 10 we find Suzy enthralled with life in Cannes. Carnival, parties, and flower battles absorb her time, as do the attentions of the gentlemanly Georges de Flers. But life in Paris comes flooding back in with the arrival of André. Suzy is excited for news of her family but she also seems somewhat drawn to this new side of André; one willing to not only bring news of the Douvry family but also to indulge in the ostentatious side of life by making his way to Cannes and Suzy's side. There is also a conspiracy of sorts going on. André and Mme. Douvry have made a pact not to tell Suzy about the roots as to why M. Douvry has finally been hired on as engineer in his new endeavor. As we saw before, it appears André is still attempting to win Suzy's favor and heart, but in a way that keeps the aid to Suzy's father in the dark.  Will André succeed any better with Suzy with his willingness to enter her societal world? Or does the dashing Georges de Flers win out with his atte...

Chapter 10 continued... He continued, seeing that she was waiting for him to respond. “Then, when I saw myself in Dauphiné, I found that I wasn’t very far from the South, from Cannes, and the temptation was so strong that I couldn’t resist the desire to come here.” “To attend  Carnaval ?” “To see you,” he said in his low-pitched voice. A pink glow rose to Suzy's face. There was not the slightest overlapping implication in André's words. He had expressed himself with his usual simplicity, but something sincere and absolute vibrated there, awakening in Suzy's mind the forgotten memory. For a moment, as she had the first time, she caught a glimpse of the depth of André’s affection which she had rejected without understanding it. But today, even less than in the past, she couldn’t respond to it. Her soul remained far from that of André’s. An anxiety seized her, over the fear that he would speak to her again of the past. “Were you pleased with your day yesterday?” she resumed ha...

Chapter 10 continued... Suzy waited some time for André to arrive. It was such a joy for her to think that she was going to hear about her dear home! The idea had brightened the closing of her day the day before, and it filled her young heart with a joyful thrill as if André's presence had brought her something of the perfume and charm of her home. But the morning was passing and the young man had not yet appeared. She was beginning to despair of seeing him, until André’s card was finally brought to her. She uttered such an expressive “At last! Finally!” that it was a great pity that André could not hear it, for it would have given him such happiness to hear her speak it. But the first words she addressed to him were well worth his coming. “Oh, Monsieur Vilbert! How glad I am to see you!” she said, with a sincere impulse that swelled André's heart. Life appeared to him, in that moment, as luminous as the ray of sunshine that played on the golden heads of the mimosas situated al...

Chapter 10 continued... Suzy found the presence of M. de Flers at Cannes pleasant. Surrounded by strangers, and feeling a little isolated despite Lady Graham's cordial welcome, she had felt real joy at George's arrival. He was a connection with those whom she had left behind in Paris. He knew them, and   she could talk to him about them. They had also both lived the same life at Le Castel, and she felt a deep pleasure in knowing – since she was far from her family – someone to whom she could say, “Do you remember?” and therefore reliving a moment of the past. She also noticed – young women have excellent eyes, after all – that Georges did not dread her company. On the contrary! And indeed, her vivacity, her freshness of impressions pleased the dilettantism of M. de Flers; they interested and charmed him, surprising him, he, who at times, was so jaded. And so, very willingly, he remained with her, finding, in hearing her talk, the same pleasure he had in placing on a canvas, the...