happy for her.
The sisters said the right things, of coursethat this was a great opportunity, that she would have her eyes opened to the world, that she was blessed to be offered a position that would no doubt prove her mettle. They pointed out that the time she spent in Paris with the baron and his children would provide a lifetime of memories. They were much less effusive about the certainty that she would eventually go to London to live. The one moment of respite came when Sister Angeline announced that it was her fervent wish that the barons daughter would bless Lilith with the same challenges and rewards that Lilith had bestowed upon all of them.
Lilith had laughed then, knowing it was true that she had been up to every sort of mischief. Now, however, the memory of Sister Angelines words were bittersweet, and she bent her head to shield tears from Mary Joseph. One dripped onto her unsteady hands but neither of them acknowledged it. What would you have me do? she asked with a calm that surprised her. If I am not to be here when the baron returns, where will I be?
On your way to Le Havre, I hope.
Le Havre? It was so far. Impossible.
Then across the channel and eventually to London.
London? In her terror she was becoming as silly as Justine Derain, the one they all called lecho . Perhaps it was only that Justine was afraid, too, Lilith thought, and she kept her head down, this time with a sense of shame. But I know no one there, and the baron
The baron will remain in Paris for months yet, mayhap see out the year there. Do you understand his purpose in France?
Lilith shook her head.
He is trying to effect a peace here. Detente . The emperor merely suffers the Englishman and the others like him, of course. They amuse him, I think, and there are always advantages to keeping ones enemies at hand.
Glancing up, Lilith asked very softly, Is that what we are, Sister? The emperors enemies?
Non. Jamais . Do not think it.
Mais.je suis langlaise. Vous aussi.
English, remember? Yes, we are English, but we are also French. Chameleons, both of us, and survivors as well. It is not politics that interest me, or governments. They are institutions of man, not God.
The church, Lilith thought, might be sanctioned by God, but it was most assuredly an institution of man. She sighed suddenly, knowing that her ability to entertain that thought was further proof that she could not live the abbey life. Survivors, Sister Mary Joseph had named them both. For the nun it meant embracing the protection of the abbey walls, but Lilith understood finally that for herself, it meant escaping them.
What would you have me do, Sister? she asked at length.
Mary Joseph nodded faintly as she leaned forward and grasped Liliths hands in hers. I have a brother, dearest Lily, she said. You must go to him.
----
Chapter One
Link Link Link
London, April 1815
His nibs was a watchful one. Shed give him that. Most of the young bucks strolling through Covent Garden after the theatre discharged its patrons gave their full attention to the muslin set and never took notice of the footpads brushing their elbows. Some nights it was so easy to lift the contents of a gentlemans pocket that there was no sport in it.
She had never cared for the sport of it overmuch. Snick. Snack . A flick of the wrist and two swipes of a finely honed blade were usually all that was required. The threads, even the finest silk ones, could be sliced as easily as butter. Sometimes the money purse jangled, especially if it was nicely weighted, but by then it was already too late. Fleet of foot and as unpredictable in their movements as quicksilver, the thieves were already plunging through the crowd, hiding behind skirts as well as under them.
The gentlemanand she could tell by his negligent confidence that he was at the very least a gentlemaninclined his head toward the woman on his arm as she spoke. The nature of the comment was not clear to her, as the gentlemans features merely
The sisters said the right things, of coursethat this was a great opportunity, that she would have her eyes opened to the world, that she was blessed to be offered a position that would no doubt prove her mettle. They pointed out that the time she spent in Paris with the baron and his children would provide a lifetime of memories. They were much less effusive about the certainty that she would eventually go to London to live. The one moment of respite came when Sister Angeline announced that it was her fervent wish that the barons daughter would bless Lilith with the same challenges and rewards that Lilith had bestowed upon all of them.
Lilith had laughed then, knowing it was true that she had been up to every sort of mischief. Now, however, the memory of Sister Angelines words were bittersweet, and she bent her head to shield tears from Mary Joseph. One dripped onto her unsteady hands but neither of them acknowledged it. What would you have me do? she asked with a calm that surprised her. If I am not to be here when the baron returns, where will I be?
On your way to Le Havre, I hope.
Le Havre? It was so far. Impossible.
Then across the channel and eventually to London.
London? In her terror she was becoming as silly as Justine Derain, the one they all called lecho . Perhaps it was only that Justine was afraid, too, Lilith thought, and she kept her head down, this time with a sense of shame. But I know no one there, and the baron
The baron will remain in Paris for months yet, mayhap see out the year there. Do you understand his purpose in France?
Lilith shook her head.
He is trying to effect a peace here. Detente . The emperor merely suffers the Englishman and the others like him, of course. They amuse him, I think, and there are always advantages to keeping ones enemies at hand.
Glancing up, Lilith asked very softly, Is that what we are, Sister? The emperors enemies?
Non. Jamais . Do not think it.
Mais.je suis langlaise. Vous aussi.
English, remember? Yes, we are English, but we are also French. Chameleons, both of us, and survivors as well. It is not politics that interest me, or governments. They are institutions of man, not God.
The church, Lilith thought, might be sanctioned by God, but it was most assuredly an institution of man. She sighed suddenly, knowing that her ability to entertain that thought was further proof that she could not live the abbey life. Survivors, Sister Mary Joseph had named them both. For the nun it meant embracing the protection of the abbey walls, but Lilith understood finally that for herself, it meant escaping them.
What would you have me do, Sister? she asked at length.
Mary Joseph nodded faintly as she leaned forward and grasped Liliths hands in hers. I have a brother, dearest Lily, she said. You must go to him.
----
Chapter One
Link Link Link
London, April 1815
His nibs was a watchful one. Shed give him that. Most of the young bucks strolling through Covent Garden after the theatre discharged its patrons gave their full attention to the muslin set and never took notice of the footpads brushing their elbows. Some nights it was so easy to lift the contents of a gentlemans pocket that there was no sport in it.
She had never cared for the sport of it overmuch. Snick. Snack . A flick of the wrist and two swipes of a finely honed blade were usually all that was required. The threads, even the finest silk ones, could be sliced as easily as butter. Sometimes the money purse jangled, especially if it was nicely weighted, but by then it was already too late. Fleet of foot and as unpredictable in their movements as quicksilver, the thieves were already plunging through the crowd, hiding behind skirts as well as under them.
The gentlemanand she could tell by his negligent confidence that he was at the very least a gentlemaninclined his head toward the woman on his arm as she spoke. The nature of the comment was not clear to her, as the gentlemans features merely
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