French Illusions by Linda Kovic-Skow

Author:Linda Kovic-Skow [Kovic-Skow, Linda]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dreamland Press, LLC
Published: 2015-04-17T00:00:00+00:00

40

The next day, I heard Madame Dubois’s elevated voice long before I reached the bottom of the stairs.

“Ah, Mademoiselle, I am glad to see you are up early this morning,” she told me, her breathing brisk. “Armand invited an old friend and his wife for dinner tonight and final preparations will take up most of the day. Marie is hard at work already.”

The list of jobs to accomplish by four o’clock seemed excessive, many of them repeats from only a few days earlier, but neither Marie nor I challenged her. Madame Dubois seemed anxious and stressed, her eyes darting as she barked orders. We considered this a warning to stay busy with our lips locked.

Working as a team, Marie and I moved from one chore to the next, hour after hour, and by late afternoon, only the silverware remained tarnished. As I dabbed my cloth in the polish and rubbed a serving spoon, my mind wandered. I paused with a disquieting realization.

This was the first time the Duboises had invited friends over for dinner since my arrival. In fact, no one except Mummy and members of the Moulon family had paid Madame a visit since she came home from the hospital. She appeared to have very few friends. I was not surprised, given her arrogant demeanor.

Marie placed the last piece of silver on the table and heaved a hefty sigh. “Je pense bien qu’on peut se permettre un citron pressé après tout ça, hein?”

A glass of juice sounded like a good idea. Rubbing my arm across my forehead, I followed her into the kitchen, but as soon as we sat with our drinks, Madame Dubois burst through the door.

“Mademoiselle, I need you to serve the dinner tonight. Here is an apron you can wear.” She pushed it into my hands.

Since my arrival at the château, Madame Dubois amazed me with outlandish comments and requests, but this one seriously shocked and angered me. Serving tea on occasion was one thing, but wearing an apron and serving dinner to guests remained far beyond my job description.

Crushing the corners of the apron, I opened my mouth to object just as Monsieur Dubois strolled through the open door.

“Did I hear something about Mademoiselle serving guests tonight? I don’t think that will be necessary. These are old friends, and we don’t have to go out of our way to impress them.” He reached over and draped his arm around his wife’s shoulders.

Madame Dubois shrugged him off. “I really do need help with this tonight, Armand, and I would appreciate your support in this matter.”

Exasperated, Monsieur Dubois ran his fingers through his hair. “Mademoiselle, would you mind helping out tonight? I promise it will be less formal than it sounds.” Glancing at his wife, voice firm, he added, “And she won’t have to wear the apron.”

I unclenched my fists and dipped my forehead.

“Thank you, then the issue is settled.” He grabbed the apron out of my hands and passed it back to his wife.

Madame Dubois’s expression remained agitated, her lips flattening and pulling down in the corners.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.