The Trousseau by Mary Mageau Page A

a box of new school supplies. Again her eyes fell upon two more large boxes of pastels. Their colours were breath taking and included every hue under the sun.
    â€˜Blandine, if only I knew what to do with these beautiful art supplies, I would offer art lessons to a small group of students. Have you ever worked with pastels before?’
    â€˜No, I never have, but I’ve often wished that I could study art. I seem to remember that Henriette Maison, the wife of an officer, has a great ability in the field of botanical art. Her flower drawings and paintings are so well done that she sends them to the National Horticultural Society in Paris. The staff members there are very interested in documenting the flora of France’s many colonies.’
    â€˜Would you approach her to see if she would teach us how to draw flowering plants and use these pastels to colour them?’
    â€˜Yes, I’ll visit her when I finish helping you here. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she would accept the two of us as her students?’
    â€˜If she agrees, I will offer her a set of new watercolour paints and two brushes. We have extra ones here that I may never use.’
    Several days later Blandine returned with good news. ‘Henriette will be happy to give us six lessons and will offer these at the school on a Wednesday afternoon, after the students leave.’
    And so the two young women enthusiastically began their study of floral botanical art. They first learned how to draw in pencil and then apply the colours. Next they blended these with a small square of chamois, to create a picture with depth. They practiced setting out the seed pods, the young plants with their exposed roots, then crowning the collection with a mature flowering plant and its bud together on a single stem. These items were arranged on the paper in various compositions. Clotilde’s front garden provided them with specimens for their study. When the lessons had finished and Clotilde felt experienced enough, she offered floral botanical drawing to her class. Three of the older girls were eager to begin and soon Wednesday afternoon classes became their new focus.
    As the weather grew cooler, plants with different colours were needed so Clotilde and the three girls packed their pencils, pastels and sketching boards and moved to the Government Garden. Here they could work out of doors in the afternoon sunlight. They found benches to sit on near some of the more unusual flower beds. Occasionally people on their daily walks would stop to smile and chat, admiring their artistic efforts. One afternoon Jacques presented Clotilde with a beautiful plant, resplendent with colourful foliage and crowned with a deep golden canna lily. He placed it on the ground before her, smiled and then moved quickly away. When it rained during the next week a visit to the garden became impossible. To her surprise, a glass jar filled with a bouquet of vividly coloured flowers appeared on her back table. She knew who had brought it and felt gratitude for this thoughtful gesture. She left the empty jar on her table with a thank you note slipped underneath it. The next day the jar and its note were both gone.
    Three weeks had passed and Clotilde spoke to Yvonne with some consternation. ‘Satine must be very busy. So much time has passed since I last spoke with her. Have you heard any news that might explain why she hasn’t seen either of us?’ Walking with Yvonne in the garden the following Sunday afternoon, she finally caught a glimpse of Satine, strolling ahead on the arm of a young man. He was dressed in the uniform of a French military officer. As soon as Satine noticed Clotilde, she and her partner hurried over to greet them.
    â€˜Clotilde and Yvonne, I’d like you to meet Germond. He arrived here in Nouvelle-Caledonie for the renaming day, to escort the Vicar Apostolic and the Governor.’
    â€˜I’m delighted to meet you both,’ he replied in a