Chapter Nineteen

"Where is everyone?" Charlotte called through the empty bookshop. Someone had closed up already, and so she made her way upstairs. Voices from the kitchen carried out into the hallway. They had company, which explained the strange saddled horse tied up in the courtyard. Everyone was seated at the kitchen table when she turned the corner. But there was also Antoine, standing next to the fireplace. His tie had been loosened and there was dirt on his shirt and pants. And he was standing there, like he belonged, with one bare foot.

"Antoine."

"Charlotte." He seemed frozen for a moment, as if her presence were the surprise. Her family, now thoroughly invested, watched on.

"How long have you been here? What are you doing?"

"Long enough to meet everyone, check the train schedule, and make arrangements for Diablo. I came as soon as I found out you were no longer in Paris. I need to speak with you Charlotte."

"Don't worry, dear," her mother chimed in. "We've kept Monsieur de Larminet well while you were out."

"I'm sure." It was hard to tell what her parents might be thinking about this man. Or what he may have said to fall so easily into their good graces. "Everyone looks quite cozy."

"The stew is almost ready. Why don't you settle in and eat something, then you two can take a walk or go down to the café to talk," Charlotte's mother suggested.

Charlotte nodded and excused herself. She hurried up to her room, took off her hat, and put away the notebook she'd picked up while she was out. Her motions were normal, but her mind was fraught. Antoine was here. At her house. What could he have possibly come here to say that he had the gall to face her parents with? Unsure of what to think, she sat in her chair and looked at herself in the mirror on her dresser. Her hair had loosened during her afternoon out, but it would have to do. Antoine was seeing everything about her now, her natural state. The place that made her. It had been over a week since their final meeting in the park. All these days, she'd been miserable and trying so hard to get over him. She hadn't made much progress. But finding him in her parents' kitchen would likely impede it completely. A part of her still wanted to kill him. Laughter carried up through the stairwell then, and Charlotte hurried back down.

Antoine was his most charming self during dinner, asking question after question about the book business and talking up Charlotte's work at every opportunity. After filling her in on his treacherous journey to Vernon, he told the most darling story about a horse biting him as a child. Everyone laughed and seemed quite sad to see Antoine go when he and Charlotte finished their dinner and excused themselves for a private talk.

Charlotte led Antoine downstairs and out the back door. Diablo had been given a room for the night in their stable and would be picked up by the farmer's son in the morning before he headed out of town. Antoine's train back to Paris was leaving that night at 9:30. When they were out on the street and out of her mother's earshot, Charlotte finally spoke the question that had been on the tip of her tongue for the last hour.

"What are you doing here, Antoine?"

He looked down at her and offered her his arm. "I hoped it would be obvious."

"It isn't. Not at all." He had charmed everyone, but Charlotte's hurt feelings and anger were far from soothed. The sun was low and setting fast, but they weren't the only ones out taking advantage of the cool night air. They came to an empty bench at the edge of the town center and Antoine pulled her toward it.

"Charlotte, I've been a complete fool." She dropped his arm as he sat down. He patted the spot next to him, but she didn't take it. He continued, looking up at her. "The engagement with Louise is off. I've told her and my parents. Everyone in Paris knows by now. I am here in Vernon to present myself to your family and father as a proper suitor, which I have done. And, of course, to beg your forgiveness for being such a stupid, stupid fool and not standing up to my family before now."

The words stunned Charlotte, and her mouth dropped open.

"I want to marry you, Charlotte. I want to wake up with you every day and make a family and never leave your side. I want you to be my wife. And if I ever made you feel like you weren't worth that, or that your feelings didn't matter, then I'm sorry. I will spend the rest of my life righting this terrible wrong."

"I don't know what to say."

Antoine dropped his head for a moment, then looked back up at her. "You don't have to say anything now. You can think about it. I don't expect you to come rushing back into my arms after what I've done. But I had to see you and tell you how I feel and show you how serious I am."

Charlotte sat down next to Antoine on the bench. A big moth fluttered around the streetlight over them. And a carriage passed slowly by. "I've missed you, Antoine."

"Oh, my god, Charlotte, I've missed you too." Antoine took her hand and raised it to his mouth, breathing her in and kissing her knuckles.

"What happens now?"

"We sit here just like this—and perhaps closer than this if I'm lucky—until I have to catch my train. And then I will take the train back and forth from Paris to Vernon every day until I can convince you to come back to the city with me."

"You'll take the train to Vernon and back every day to visit me?"

"Charlotte, I would ride bareback on that cursed horse from Paris to Vernon if it meant I got to see you."

"Diablo hardly seems cursed to me."

"He didn't wreck your hat."

"You can hardly blame the animal for that."

"I absolutely can blame him. He had a wicked glimmer in his eye as he brought down his hoof."

Charlotte laughed. Antoine was making light of things, but it couldn't have been easy for him to forsake his parents' wishes and all their precious traditions. She decided not to ask if they'd ever accept her. Not yet. She squeezed his hand. "Well, I suppose I'm glad you're here. Even if it took you a ridiculously long time to arrive."

"I love you, Charlotte."

"I love you too, Antoine."

He pulled her closer to him and didn't stop until his mouth was on hers. Charlotte nearly cried with relief. His kiss was soft and gentle and reacquainting. Then she put her arms around him and parted her lips with his. Antoine's tongue tangled with Charlotte's and the kiss deepened with gratitude and desire. They kissed for some time, but he slowed down every time the passion got heavy. They kissed and chatted, and he showered her with love until it was time to walk to the train station.

There, they kissed on the platform until his train was in motion and he couldn't kiss her any longer. Both their lips and faces were red from so much kissing. He let her go and stepped onto the train as it pulled away. And Charlotte stood there on the platform, elated beyond belief and completely love-sick. She waved pitifully and he blew her a kiss. Then he was gone, and everything had changed.

Antoine returned to Vernon the next day and took Charlotte to dinner and a show at the Vernon Theater. Then the following day, he came early and they went to the park. He came three more times the following week. On his last visit, he brought a diamond ring and a receipt from Madame Tremblay for six months of rent paid in full.

"That should be more than enough time to plan the wedding, shouldn't it?"

"I'm sure it will be."

"So it's a yes, then?" He bent his knees down to her eye level and watched her anxiously. He'd worn the suit she liked and a stunning peach rose on his lapel that had held up remarkably well on the train.

"It is. As long as that's not the same ring you gave Louise."

"I didn't give Louise a ring." He smiled with relief as he slipped it on her finger. "I bought this for you."

"Then yes, Antoine, I'll marry you."

That evening, Charlotte took the train back to Paris with him as an engaged woman. But he didn't take her to Rue de Fortuny until after he'd kept her in his bed for two days. His parents had gone to the beach for the rest of the summer, along with most of the house staff. They had that big place all to themselves. And when Antoine took her back to Rue de Fortuny, he introduced himself properly to Madame Tremblay as Charlotte's fiancé. Madame eyed him coldly and then took Charlotte's left hand for a look at the engagement ring. She nodded approvingly and told Antoine that he was welcome to visit Charlotte in the drawing room whenever he liked.