is the loveliest girl I have ever seen. Do you agree with me?’
He nodded seriously.
‘Consider, cousin. She will never be your mistress. Would it not be better at this stage to turn your attention towards an easier conquest? I would not have your stay in Breda clouded in any way.’
‘You are very kind.’
‘Well, we are … cousins, and I want to help you.’
‘So you will ask this lady if she will consent to instruct me in the French language?’
‘If you are still sure that you want to learn it?’
‘I was never more sure of anything in my life,’ he answered.
‘Then, I shall ask her.’
When he had left she was thoughtful for a while. He was a handsome fellow and well-versed in the arts of seduction. It would be interesting to see what happened now. How would he tilt against Eléonore’s impregnable virtue. She could not for the life of her guess how this would end.
The Princesse de Tarente obligingly lent them a room. Eléonore sat on one side of the table, he on the other; he watched her gesticulating hands; he listened to her fluting voice.
‘French is surely the most charming language in the world,’ he said. ‘When spoken by you,’ he added. ‘My attempts seem to provoke only merriment.’
They were amusing lessons. He told her that he had never before enjoyed learning. How different it would have been had she taught him in his youth; he might have become a scholar. In spite of this, she pointed out, he was not making much progress with his French.
Every time he left that room he marvelled at himself. This was not the manner in which he usually conducted his love affairs; he was like a naïve schoolboy. Two weeks had passed and he was still taking his French lessons and she was no nearer becoming his mistress than she had been on that first evening at the ball.
But she was not indifferent to him. Behind her dignity there was a warmth of … friendship? She was pleased to see him; she admitted that she enjoyed teaching as much as he enjoyed learning. It was a profit to them both, she pointed out; a mutual advantage; for while he progressed a very little with the French language, she was augmenting her German.
The inevitable happened when he conjugated the verb to love.
‘Je vous aime,’ he told her; and she pretended to believe that was part of the lesson.
‘That is correct,’ she told him.
‘Correct and inevitable,’ he said. ‘From the moment we met Iknew meeting you was the most important thing that had ever happened to me.’
He had seized her hands across the table but she was smiling at him calmly.
‘I do not expect you to love me as deeply, as devotedly as I love you … yet,’ he rushed on. ‘But I must have the opportunity of showing you … of …’
Her eyes were puzzled. ‘The Princess tells me that you are in no position to make such a declaration,’ she said.
‘You will come back to Germany with me. We will live there together for the rest of our lives … but not all the time of course. We will travel … see the world. I will take you to Italy, to England …’
‘But how would that be possible?’ she asked.
‘How? We will just go. That is how.’
‘Then is it not true that you have taken an oath to your brother never to marry?’
‘To marry …’ he stammered.
She smiled coolly. ‘I see that marriage had not entered your mind.’ She rose. ‘The lesson is over. I think, do you not, that in the circumstances there should be no more.’
He was on his feet and at her side.
‘Eléonore …’ He tried to embrace her but she held him off.
‘I do not think you understand,’ she said. ‘We are poor … we are exiles … but my family would never allow me to enter into such a relationship as you are suggesting. Goodbye, my lord Duke, I am sorry you did not explain sooner.’
With that she left him. He stood staring after her – bemused, frustrated and desperately unhappy.
‘What can I do?’ he asked the Princess.
She put her head on
He nodded seriously.
‘Consider, cousin. She will never be your mistress. Would it not be better at this stage to turn your attention towards an easier conquest? I would not have your stay in Breda clouded in any way.’
‘You are very kind.’
‘Well, we are … cousins, and I want to help you.’
‘So you will ask this lady if she will consent to instruct me in the French language?’
‘If you are still sure that you want to learn it?’
‘I was never more sure of anything in my life,’ he answered.
‘Then, I shall ask her.’
When he had left she was thoughtful for a while. He was a handsome fellow and well-versed in the arts of seduction. It would be interesting to see what happened now. How would he tilt against Eléonore’s impregnable virtue. She could not for the life of her guess how this would end.
The Princesse de Tarente obligingly lent them a room. Eléonore sat on one side of the table, he on the other; he watched her gesticulating hands; he listened to her fluting voice.
‘French is surely the most charming language in the world,’ he said. ‘When spoken by you,’ he added. ‘My attempts seem to provoke only merriment.’
They were amusing lessons. He told her that he had never before enjoyed learning. How different it would have been had she taught him in his youth; he might have become a scholar. In spite of this, she pointed out, he was not making much progress with his French.
Every time he left that room he marvelled at himself. This was not the manner in which he usually conducted his love affairs; he was like a naïve schoolboy. Two weeks had passed and he was still taking his French lessons and she was no nearer becoming his mistress than she had been on that first evening at the ball.
But she was not indifferent to him. Behind her dignity there was a warmth of … friendship? She was pleased to see him; she admitted that she enjoyed teaching as much as he enjoyed learning. It was a profit to them both, she pointed out; a mutual advantage; for while he progressed a very little with the French language, she was augmenting her German.
The inevitable happened when he conjugated the verb to love.
‘Je vous aime,’ he told her; and she pretended to believe that was part of the lesson.
‘That is correct,’ she told him.
‘Correct and inevitable,’ he said. ‘From the moment we met Iknew meeting you was the most important thing that had ever happened to me.’
He had seized her hands across the table but she was smiling at him calmly.
‘I do not expect you to love me as deeply, as devotedly as I love you … yet,’ he rushed on. ‘But I must have the opportunity of showing you … of …’
Her eyes were puzzled. ‘The Princess tells me that you are in no position to make such a declaration,’ she said.
‘You will come back to Germany with me. We will live there together for the rest of our lives … but not all the time of course. We will travel … see the world. I will take you to Italy, to England …’
‘But how would that be possible?’ she asked.
‘How? We will just go. That is how.’
‘Then is it not true that you have taken an oath to your brother never to marry?’
‘To marry …’ he stammered.
She smiled coolly. ‘I see that marriage had not entered your mind.’ She rose. ‘The lesson is over. I think, do you not, that in the circumstances there should be no more.’
He was on his feet and at her side.
‘Eléonore …’ He tried to embrace her but she held him off.
‘I do not think you understand,’ she said. ‘We are poor … we are exiles … but my family would never allow me to enter into such a relationship as you are suggesting. Goodbye, my lord Duke, I am sorry you did not explain sooner.’
With that she left him. He stood staring after her – bemused, frustrated and desperately unhappy.
‘What can I do?’ he asked the Princess.
She put her head on
Similar Books
