Chapter 22

22

C hastity and her mother stood near the security guard in front of the Plexiglas tube that covered the escalator leading to Departures. Chastity was fighting tears.

“All right, dear.” Her mother offered a smile that belied her own emotions. “I can’t leave your dad to fend for himself forever. The truth is, I miss him. Thomas is doing much better, and you’re going to be just fine without me.”

“I know, Mom. Of course I am.” Chastity fell silent. How am I going to do this on my own?

“Have you spoken to Dr. de Brase lately?” her mom inquired, not-so-subtly.

“No, not this week.” The image she saw of him on TV, holding Manon by the elbow, flashed before her eyes. “He’s not the resident doctor for Thomas anymore, so there’s no need for him to follow his progress now that Tommy is home.”

“But he seemed to have an interest in you when he invited us to the art gallery,” her mom prodded gently.

“Oh, Mom. You saw him on TV with that actress. How can you ask me about him? He was nice to take such good care of Tommy when he was his patient. But…I mean…I always knew he was just being nice. That—and being a good doctor.”

“He still came back to the hospital every day the week before Tommy was discharged, and he wasn’t his doctor then.” It seemed her mother was not going to let this go.

“But we haven’t seen him since. We’re not from the same world.”

“Hm.” Her mother’s face revealed nothing, but Chastity had a pretty good idea what she was thinking. She mistakenly thought the doctor— Charles —had feelings for her, but that could not be true. She’s just biased because she’s my mom.

“Give me one last hug,” Sherri said. “You need to get back for the second half of school, and I don’t want you to be late.”

Chastity obeyed and gave her mom a tight squeeze, trying to keep a brave face. “I’ll let you know what I decide to do, okay Mom? I have trouble imagining getting Tommy back to New York in the state he’s in, and then getting him the care he needs once he’s there. Let me know what your research turns up too, all right?”

They hugged one last time, and her mom held out her passport and ticket, went through security, and stepped onto the escalator. Chastity turned away with a heavy heart.

Charles strode to the school, whistling for a space, then furrowing his brows. He had set up a meeting with the principal to discuss the ball at the chateau next month but hoped to see Chastity while he was there. He realized, with regret, his original idea of asking Chastity to attend the ball with him would not work. At least, not yet. He could not, in good conscience, invite her until he had officially broken things off with Manon. He hadn’t wanted to do that after the opening. It was only fair that her moment in the spotlight should be unspoiled. That meant he was not yet free to do precisely what he wanted.

Elizabeth ushered him to a seat while she shut the door. “Hi, Charles. What can I do for you?”

“It’s about the ball next month,” he said. “I thought it’d be a good idea to allow the upper level students to attend if you don’t think that will cause problems with the rest of the school. In a way, it makes sense for them to be invited since my son is in their class. I’ve reserved a set number of tickets, and I just have to double-check the numbers with you.”

“Are you offering the tickets to the students? Or will they need to pay for them? That’d be the only problem I can foresee as it might cause social divisions in the class if some kids can’t afford it.”

“I’m offering the tickets. It’ll be my contribution to the school. I’d also like to pay for an instructor to teach them to waltz so they can dance when they’re there.”

Elizabeth raised her eyebrows in surprise. “That’s very generous of you. I’m sure the students will be ecstatic. I’ll have to think about where they can rehearse since we don’t have a large enough space to fit them all.”

“They can use the ballroom in the chateau for their lesson.” Charles waved his hand dismissively. “Is Mademoiselle Whitmore in today? Perhaps I can speak to her about my idea.”

The principal’s eyebrow went up again, just slightly. “She is. Her class finishes in five minutes. If you would care to step upstairs with me, I can offer you an espresso, and we’ll catch her on her way out of class.” Charles nodded his assent.

The espresso machine hummed noisily, and two thin streams of foaming liquid poured into the glass cups. The bustle in the hallway increased in volume as students poured out of the classrooms. Charles stood in the doorway, trying to catch a glimpse of Chastity amidst the students.

There she was, hugging her books to her chest, listening as a student spoke to her. Nodding her head in reply, she laid her hand on the student’s arm and said a few words before he flashed her a grin and took off. She walked towards Charles, her expression thoughtful.

“Chastity.”

“Oh.” She stopped short in surprise. “Hi…Charles.” She blushed when she said his first name. “What are you doing here?”

“I had an appointment with Elizabeth to talk about the spring ball, and I wanted to fill you in on my plan.” At this point, Elizabeth turned around with two steaming espressos. She handed one to Charles and extended the other to Chastity, who jostled her books into one arm and took the cup with a murmured thanks.

“Go,” Elizabeth said. “The two of you can discuss it without me. I’m going to make another coffee and head over to accounting. Do you want me to see if I can find Margaret James to join you? You mentioned both English teachers.”

“No need to bother her. Chastity, you can give Ms. James all the details later, right?” Charles had already turned to face her office, and Chastity nodded stepping ahead to lead the way.

“Here, let me take those.” He reached for her books.

“No, it’s okay. I’m afraid I’ll drop them if I try to hand them over.” Chastity made it to the table in the middle of her office before letting them go in a whump . She set her coffee cup down more carefully, shoved her books to the side, and indicated for Charles to sit.

He set his own cup down and took the seat across from her, leaning forward with his arms on the table. “How’s Thomas? And your mom?”

“Both are well, thank you. My mother went home earlier this week, and Tommy seems to be doing well with the therapist we found for him.” Charles thought she looked pale.

“How are you coping without your mom?” He noticed her eyes glistened before she blinked, but she answered calmly.

“It’s hard without her, but I’m glad to come to work again. It’s good to be here, and I can see Tommy is making progress with someone who’s skilled at rehabilitation.”

“I think it will keep getting easier,” he said. There was a short, awkward silence before he plunged ahead. “Do you know there will be a ball at my house in three weeks?” Her eyes darted up, and he thought he saw a fleeting look of hope before her expression went blank.

“Yes, I’d heard.”

“Well I…” He cursed his luck for not being free to ask her to go right then. “I’d like to invite the upper two classes from the school to go—my son’s class and the one above it. The tickets will be free for them, and I thought it’d be a good idea to organize a lesson so they can learn how to dance the waltz.” Charles grinned and leaned back, crossing his arms. “This is purely self-interest. I think it’s the only way I can get Louis to learn.”

Chastity chuckled. “It doesn’t seem to be at the top of their list, does it? Teenagers learning to waltz?”

“Do you know how?”

“We had lessons in high school, believe it or not, but I was sick that day. So I’m out of luck.”

“You’ll have to come to the lesson then.” Charles kept his voice light. He had hoped she’d reply immediately with a ‘yes’, but he was doomed to disappointment.

Instead of answering him, she changed the subject, piercing him with her gaze. “I’m sorry, but I have to ask about Louis. He was…I’m sure he was using again. This time I smelled marijuana on him as he walked by, and his eyes were red. It was during school hours. It’s just—” She shook her head, “All the signs were there. I’m sure this time.”

Charles felt the news like a punch in the gut. “When was this?”

“It was right after I started teaching again last week. I have to say he’s been completely fine in class since then, although he’s not participating much. Have you made much headway on your side?”

“I’m not getting far,” Charles confessed. He rubbed his face and sat back, exhaling. “Every time I try to talk to him about it, he evades me. I don’t know how to get him to open up and trust me. I can’t help him if he doesn’t admit he’s in too deep.”

“How has he been at home? With you?” Chastity met his gaze with a strange combination of warmth, friendship and support. The shoe was on the other foot now, and he was the one who needed her. The longer their gaze held, the more he wanted to take her hand that was on the table.

But the problem needed to be faced. “I was in London last weekend.” Charles stared out the window, trying to remember. “The truth is, I’m not around much. I’m not around enough . I have no further plans to go to London, but the racetrack takes me away quite a bit. I’ve been involved in it ever since I began my sabbatical at the hospital, but maybe I should have taken a step back from everything.”

Chastity sat back, leaving a scent of lavender soap in her wake. “I wonder if you could take him with you on your next trip? Do you have any plans to go away?”

“Yes. I’m going to Pontchateau in two weeks. I’ll be back just in time for the ball. I’d ask Louis to come, but even if it weren’t for the fact that he’d be missing school, I brought him last fall and the trip was a failure. He seemed annoyed by my questions.”

“Maybe he just wants to spend time with you, no questions asked. Maybe that’s what’ll get him to open up. And there’s the weekend. He could go then.” She paused, perhaps afraid she’d said too much.

“I’ve kind of made a mess of things,” acknowledged Charles. “At first, I was too hands-off. Then I treated him to the Inquisition, even though I hated that as a kid.” He sighed. “I’ll invite him to come with me for the weekend.”

Chastity smiled and nodded, then glanced at her watch. “Oh. I’m sorry—can I see you out? I have to prepare for my next class.”

“Sure.” Charles stood and reached for his briefcase. “I’m sorry to have kept you.”

“No, no,” Chastity demurred.

His brown leather coat was hanging over the back of the chair, and he put it on. Chastity led the way downstairs, and he realized he hadn’t yet secured a promise from her to come to the waltzing lesson. If he was being honest with himself, he had organized the entire lesson just so he could dance with her.

“You’ll let me know how everything goes with Louis?” she asked.

“Yes,” he said. They were at the bottom of the stairs. This was his chance. He had to get her to agree to come. “I hope to see you at the dancing lesson before I leave, which, I forgot to tell you, is this weekend. Saturday at two o’clock. Elizabeth is going to let all the parents know.” He faced her. “Will you come?”

Instead of answering right away, Chastity pushed the door open and walked onto the gravel path leading to the gate. She stopped short and turned. “If I can bring Thomas, I’ll come.” She held out her hand and smiled up at him.

Charles took her hand in his and held it. Success. “I’m glad. And yes, I’ll make sure there’s a comfortable place for Thomas to sit.”

He was just enjoying the feel of her hand in his when she yanked it away.

“Chastity, there you are.”

She took a step back as they both looked towards the gate. “Marc,” she said.

Charles could hear surprise—and was that displeasure?—in her voice. She unlocked the gate, allowing him to enter. “Marc, I believe you remember Charl—Docteur de Brase?” The two men nodded at each other, unsmiling.

Chastity turned to Marc. “I’m surprised to see you since you know it’s difficult to meet with anyone during work hours.” Marc glared pointedly at Charles. “Difficult to meet with anyone but the parents and students,” she amended.

“I came to see if I could take Tommy out for a short walk. I wanted to get the key.”

Charles decided it was time to leave, and time to revert to being more formal. She had called him Dr. de Brase, after all.

“Good afternoon, Mademoiselle,” he said. She gave a small wave as he hit the buzzer and pulled the unlocked gate open.

“Tommy’s with Madel. It’s better for you to call first,” Charles heard her say.

“It’s so nice out,” was the answering protest. Then he was too far to hear the rest of the conversation. He wasn’t sure he wanted to.