Simon took a chair. “You’re grateful for our help, furious that you’ve had to accept it, and you’re too well mannered to blame us for the fact that help is needed.”
That surprised a laugh from Philippe. “That’s a good summary. I loathe that I cannot even support my wife, and . . . and I don’t know when I will be able to.” He began nervously plucking the blanket on his lap. “And I have even less idea when I will be able to repay you.”
“When times are difficult, it’s usual to turn to family to help, and we are family,” Simon said matter-of-factly. “But your situation is difficult. Even if no one disputes your claim to the estate, it’s expensive to buy seed and livestock and equipment and to hire labor.”
Philippe grimaced. “I know. I thought that when we returned to Château Chambron, it would be the well-run estate I remembered. Instead . . .” He drew a shaky breath. “I don’t even know where to start to make the estate productive again.”
“Do you know who handled your father’s legal affairs? I presume he used anotairefor contracts, wills, deeds, things of that nature. Your father’snotairewould be able to help you determine your legal position. Perhaps there are funds available to invest in the property.”
“I’d like to think so, but that seems too good to be true,” Philippe said pessimistically. “Thenotaireis a Monsieur Morel in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris, but I’ve never met him. My father intended to draw up a will leaving me the estate, but I don’t know if he did. I was told that he had to flee without warning.” He shrugged. “I hope that with the emperor back on his throne, the courts will support me in my quest.”
“He is on the throne now, but I don’t know how long he’ll be able to hold it with the Allies raising armies to invade France and depose Napoleon once and for all.”
“The emperor has defied the odds again and again!” Philippe said angrily. “He will this time, too!”
“Perhaps, but the odds against him are very steep.” Deciding it was time to reveal that they were on opposite sides of the long wars, Simon said, “As I’ve said, you and Marie are welcome to stay here as you recover and sort out your future. But you should know that I was a colonel in the British army and I’ve only recently sold out. Suzanne and I do not want this house turned into a political battlefield, but I understand if you’re uncomfortable staying under this roof.”
Philippe recoiled in his chair, sucking his breath in with a sound like a hissing snake. “Why did you take in an enemy? To humiliate or destroy us?”
“I don’t see you as my enemy. I will concede that some of Bonaparte’s reforms have been excellent and well overdue, such as his reform of the legal system. But his desire to conquer the world and in the process cause the deaths of whole armies of men, not to mention France itself—” He bit his tongue to keep from saying more in that vein. “That I cannot forgive.”
“I wish Marie and I could leave this house!” Philippe said with sudden violence. “But we are trapped. I cannot subject her to life in that hovel in her condition, and I—I am too weak even to storm out raging.”
“Don’t think of us as the enemy,” Simon said again, his voice conciliatory. “Think of us as family. Suzanne was bemused to realize that she is your stepmother and she is about to become a grandmother, but she and Marie are becoming fast friends. They are wise not to let politics interfere with the ties of family and friendship.”
“I wish I could do the same,” Philippe said, his eyes bleak.
“I am not asking you to forswear your allegiance to your emperor or to forget your valiant service. As I’ve said, you are welcome to stay here while our world rearranges itself. I ask only that you do not work for Bonaparte while you live under this roof.” Simon smiled a little. “I promise not to talk politics if you also refrain.”
“I promise,” Philippe said reluctantly. “But I wish you were less generous. It would be easier if I could despise you.”
“Life can be damnably awkward that way,” Simon said with dry amusement. “One of the best men I’ve ever known was a French major who captured me. I managed to escape and don’t know his fate, but I hope he is alive and well somewhere.”
That won a reluctant smile from Philippe. “I’ll try to remember that the enemy is a political entity, not individual men.” He gave an exhausted sigh. “Thank you for coming. I need to sleep now. I wonder if I’ll ever feel strong again?”
“You will. In Spain I had a vicious fever like the one you’ve endured. It was a long time before I fully recovered, but I did. And here I am, fit and able to annoy you.”
Philippe laughed. “You had best go before I run the risk of liking you.” With an exhausted sigh, he slouched back in his chair and closed his eyes. “Suzanne, a grandmother?”
“Difficult to believe, but I’m sure she’ll be a good one.” Simon considered asking if his reluctant guest would like help in getting to the bed, but decided against it. Philippe was already accepting more help than he wanted to.
Quietly Simon left the room and headed down the stairs. Suzanne and Marie were waiting for his return in the breakfast room. “No daggers were drawn,” Simon said succinctly. “Philippe was appalled to learn that I was a British army officer, but will reluctantly accept our hospitality on the basis of being family. We have mutually agreed not to discuss politics.”
Marie gave a sigh of relief. “My place is at my husband’s side, but I do not want to leave.” Her protective hand lowered to rest on the expanding curve of her stomach.
“And we do not want you to leave,” Suzanne said warmly. “I like having family around me. And I am so looking forward to being a grandmother!”
They all laughed since it was impossible to imagine a woman who looked as lovely and young as Suzanne being a grandmother, but as Simon had said to Philippe, she’d be a very good one. Aloud, he said, “Suzanne, Philippe said that Jean-Louis’snotairewas Monsieur Morel in Saint-Denis. That’s the man you mentioned, isn’t it?”
She nodded. “I only met him once, when Jean-Louis took me there to sign some documents. Then I was stashed in a room with tea and cakes while the men went off to discuss important things that were too complex for frail female minds to comprehend. Very tedious it was, too.”
Simon smiled at her acid tone. “I need to visit my local banker this morning, so I’ll ask if anyone there recognizes Morel’s name and knows if the fellow is still practicing in Saint-Denis. If he is, I can write to learn if he has any of Jean-Louis’s papers.”
“It would be useful to know where Philippe and I stand,” Marie said thoughtfully. “If anywhere.”
It sounded like Marie had a practical streak, which would serve her and her husband well in their uncertain situation. Simon suspected what the young couple needed was a good forger to produce a will in Philippe’s favor. That wasn’t something one could ask the local banker about, though.
* * *
