Uttering a brief goodnight to her parents, she climbed up the stairs to her room, with Milady trodding right behind her. Once inside, Celine closed the door, leaned against it, and slid down until she was sprawled on her bedroom floor.
She felt drained, oddly excited…and drunk, as if she had tripped into a barrel of rum. She breathed in, a heady scent wafting under her nose, and—
Ugh. The room smelled like Bastien.
Getting up with a sigh, Celine tossed open a window, then quickly changed into a nightgown, ignoring the gel in her hair that needed washing, and flopped onto her bed.
“He is insufferable,” she mumbled into the pillows. “And now he’s found another way to torture me. Slowly. For tenloooooongweeks.”
“Meow.”
“Yes, yes,” Celine replied, “I knowIwas the one who made him my model.”
On the bright side, he had accepted.
It was a strange request, and she wasn’t sure how desperate Bastien was about the money. There was a chance his grandfather might change his mind again and Bastien wouldn’t need to play dress up for her anymore. He would drop out, leave the competition and cost Celine her dream, but she had to trust him somehow. She had to trust that everything would turn out alright.
Celine read the letter again, eyes narrowing down on the wordkissas though she could burn it off the paper with just one look. “Lá.” Scrunching it up, she tossed it across the room for Milady to chase after it. “Have your fun with it.”
Ten weeks. Celine could do it, assuming she’d be able to pass all of Monsieur Baudelaire’s challenges while lying successfully to her mother.
Assuming Bastien wouldn’t tell anyone about their deal and her secret ventures in the fashion world.
Assuming she would control her temper and refrain from killing her model on the first day.
Turning the lights off, Celine rolled onto her back again and stared at the painted constellations on her ceiling.
“Tomorrow will change everything, Milady,” she said to the cat as it climbed beside her and nestled into the pillows, purring contentedly. Celine smiled and petted the space between its ears. “Tomorrow my life will finally begin.”
Chapter 5
Loopholes
The plan to leave the house before either of her parents noticed her absence had been going well—so well in fact, that Celine thought she had just enough time to sneak through the kitchen and steal a few bites of breakfast before rushing out the door to meet with Bastien. The delectable smell of pastries baking in the oven had awoken her earlier than anticipated. It was for the best, really. If she could avoid her parents long enough, she could avoid lying about her whereabouts as well.
So the plan was going well…
Until her mother’s voice startled her into dropping her plate.
“Jesus!” Celine exclaimed.
“What did I say about your diet?”
Turning around slowly, cheeks puffed with the pastries Francine had baked that morning, Celine smiled sheepishly. She pointed at her mouth. “I swear this is yogurt.”
Madame LeBeau narrowed her eyes.
“Spit that out, grab a plate of fruits and join me and your father at the table.” Then she shouted. “Francine for God’s sake come fix the menu for lunch! And clean up the broken plate.”
Peeved at the delay, but abstaining from picking up a fight with her mother, Celine sprinkled a few raspberries onto a bowl and followed Madame LeBeau into the living room.
The balcony doors were thrown wide open, letting sunlight and the scent of jasmine filter through the curtains. Celine’s gaze fastened on the clock up on the mantlepiece, slowly creeping eight. Gritting her teeth, she popped a raspberry into her mouth and reclined on her father’s reading chair. Across the room, her parents were enjoying their breakfast, an elaborate array of pastries, fruits and yogurt spread before them. Celine decided to focus on the smell of her father’s pipe, hoping it would cancel out her hunger.
“Why so grouchy this morning,ma belle?” Monsieur LeBeau inquired.
The image of gracelessness and pity that his daughter and her five raspberries presented should have been answer enough.
“Starving to death does that to a person,” Celine replied, pushing her other thoughts away.
