Peeking Under the Covers

  Chapter 6 continued... Then Lady Graham leaned over to Madame Arnay and in a lower voice asked, “Do you think that Mademoiselle Douvry would change her mind concerning her refusal? I find her so charming that I am very willing to go and plead my case to her myself. I’m sure I could not find more pleasant company. And since she’s your niece, well…Will you allow me to attempt to persuade her?” “Oh, certainly. You would be doing Suzy a great service by convincing her otherwise.” Suzy anxiously followed the young woman's movements, instinctively understanding that the two women were talking about her. When she saw Lady Graham approaching, nervousness consumed her. “Mademoiselle, although I am a stranger to you, will you do me the favor of granting me a moment with you?” Lady Graham asked when she reached Suzy. There was something cordial in the young woman’s smile that attracted Suzy. “My attention is all yours, Madame,” she said, following Lady Graham and coming to stand a little ap...

  Chapter 6 continued... Truly, it was a pleasure for him to see her again, for he found her a very attractive, petite individual. Instinctively, he showed himself eager to be at her side. The delight of his dilettantism met her beautiful youthful smile, and the brightness of her brown eyes lit up when he spoke to her. To hear her speak, awakened Georges’s lively manner, and the memories of their common stay at Le Castel, but he took no interest in the general conversation. “Listening to you talk, I find I’m rediscovering you all over again,” he said suddenly, with a smile. “But just now, in the Rue de Prony, you seemed quite a different person, a very striking person.” She blushed a little. “Then I looked serious, like a lady?” she asked, amused. “Yes, so much so that for a second I hesitated to recognize you.” Suzy's blush increased, flushing to her forehead, which had been so white under her unruly brown locks. “No doubt you were surprised to see me alone. It was the first time ...

Chapter 6 continued... Then, without further hesitation, Suzy boldly took the road, which would lead her to Madame Arnay's, resigned to accept the departure for Cannes if Lady Graham still desired her for a traveling companion. But in the depths of her heart, in spite of all her resolutions, the little girl inside Suzy fervently wished that the young woman would not desire her to go. Mme. Arnay had not yet resumed her day in an official manner. Her close friends—and they were numerous, since Mme. Arnay had a manner—one open wide to understanding closeness — and one always knew how to find it on Thursdays with the striking of four o'clock. And in fact, when Suzy pushed aside the door of the large salon of Mme. Arnay’s, the room was already filled with visitors who spoke nothing of importance with plenty of smiles, even wit, on occasion. Seated by the fireplace, enveloped by the flattering shade of a low screen, Madame Arnay spoke in the pretty jargon of a socialite who was up to...

Chapter 6 This time, unlike her arrival, Suzy did not linger, and   she quickly descended the stairs. A fiery flame flushed her cheeks, so fierce that the cold air striking her face, when she found herself in the Avenue du Bois, was powerless to calm the burning. An indignation bubbled up within her, and she shivered, diminishing the irrational sensation that pursued her upon leaving Madame de Vricourt's house. Feverishly she began to walk straight ahead, without even thinking where she was going, so absorbed was she by the memory of the interview she had just endured. “Oh, never! I will never repeat such an ordeal!” she murmured passionately, her lips trembling, her soul bruised. “Never again! It's too terrible!” With a gesture of anguish, she twisted her slender fingers that had just played Chopin's Preludes with such talent.  “It’s terrible,” she repeated, as if these words summed up all her thoughts on the matter. Inside herself, Suzy experienced an urgent need for happ...

At the end of Chapter 5, we find Suzy in a bit of a predicament. Hope's for her family's financial future hinged on her meeting with Mme. Vricourt, a meeting that ended up going poorly for our dear Suzy. I sense she feels a bit lost by the end of this chapter. She feels she has failed her mother, failed her family's financial future, and even doubts her own talents when it comes to the idea of making a living. Even though Suzy knows that taking any kind of working position would beneath her station in life, she seems to take the challenge head-on, and I like this about her. What will Suzy's next steps be? Will she return home, lick her wounds, but get right back out there and try again with another family? Will she lie to her mother, and make it look like she has gotten a position teaching piano until one finally turns up for her? Or, perhaps, might she have a chance encounter with the mysterious Lady Graham? Let's dive into Chapter 6 to find out! Chapter 6: Cast of...