The oval table in the center was covered with a white cotton cloth, whose tight weave lent a shine to the spread. A dark red Russian tea set was placed in its center, and there was an array of delicacies set out on plates, all of it sweet in nature except for the selection of cheeses. There were small cakes, brightly colored almond paste in the shape of fruits calledmassepain, fresh and candied fruits, and pralines. There was also a footed salver with cream pudding and another with jelly to be eaten with the cakes.
The princess nodded for one of the servants to begin pouring tea. The other footman presented the plates one by one to each of the guests so they might sample anything they chose. With this accomplished, everyone waited until the princess took her first bite before taking theirs, a respectful silence falling during the process.
The duchess seemed perfectly at ease as she ate. “The weather has warmed enough for us to enjoy the outdoor concerts on the Promenade de Sept-Heures once again. Last year, they were quite the favorite.”
“Weather pleasant,” the princess agreed. “I wish try lunch at Annette and Lubin.” She turned to Amy. “Miss Bridwell, I walk to cottage. You come? Must have good health to climb hill.”
“I will join you with pleasure, ma’am.” Amy set down the cake carefully, surprised at yet another sign of distinction. Belatedly, she crinkled her brow. “Forgive me. I do not know who Annette and Lubin are.”
The princess laughed. “I enjoy discover Spa with you. Mrs. Ferrin, you must tell her.”
Mrs. Ferrin obliged, turning to Amy. “Annette and Lubin are a farmer husband-and-wife couple who receive thebobelins, as they call us, for a rustic lunch on the hillside where their cottage and stables are located. It is one of the divertissements Spa is known for and is considered something one must experience while here.”
“I see.” Amy smiled, then turned back to the princess. A walk in the woods followed by a rustic picnic was just what she would enjoy. The princess nodded for the servant to refill the teacups, although they had scarcely drunk any.
“Perhaps Friday. My servant reserve place for your family, Mrs. Ferrin, and place for you, Miss Bainesworth.” She turned to the duchess, adding with a smile, “You do not like eat outdoors, so I not invite you.”
Both Rebecca and Mrs. Ferrin murmured their acceptance, and Amy wondered how Rebecca felt about being invited without her mother, who clearly sought a connection with the princess.
“If your father and sisters come, we reserve place,” the princess said, addressing Amy again. “You must answer for family.”
“They will be honored to attend,” Amy replied, knowing it to be true.
“Good.” The princess cut her pear in quarters and began to peel it. “It is village setting and village meal. Like peasant.”
The princess looked truly pleased, as though such an excursion were exactly to her taste and not well below her exalted status. Then again, she did dress in peasants’ clothing in the mornings.Amy began to relax, daring to look at their hostess for more than a timid glance. The Princess Orlova was a well-looking woman with intelligent eyes and did not appear to be much older than Amy. If there was not such a large difference in status, she might have hoped for them to be friends.
“It sounds delightful,” Amy said, and meant it. She had missed wandering around in nature close to her home. Here, one spent a considerable amount of time outdoors, and the hillside was beautiful, as was the source that trickled down the steep hills. But apart from visiting the sources, she had spent most of her hours in town. It would be amusing to quit their usual sphere.
Her father’s infirmity sprang to mind, interrupting these agreeable thoughts. “My father will need to come by carriage, for he suffers from an arthritic complaint,” she said. “Will he be able to do so?”
“Yes. He take carriage on road around Spa. You and I go by foot.” The princess called her manservant over and gave him instructions, which, as she explained to her guests, were to reserve with the farmers later that week if it promised good weather.
The visit lasted two hours, during which time the duchess encouraged Princess Orlova to play the clavichord, assuring the assembled guests that she played delightfully. The princess complied, although she insisted her guests remain at the table while she played in another room, for she confessed timidity when performing in front of others.
Later, the conversation drifted to the Bridwells’ planned stay in Paris at the end of the season. The princess went to fetch a collection of paper trimmings whose profiles, she said, were cut by the celebrated Mr. Hubert. Amy held one first of Voltaire, then of Diderot with careful fingers, admiring the skill in which they were produced. She regretted Hannah’s absence, for she would have been thrilled to see their likenesses and to hear such casual references to the great philosophers.
At last, Amy returned to their rooms and found only Hannahto receive her, who explained that their father had gone to complain to Mr. Hughes that the cure did not seem to be working. Besides, he had said, the cold and damp made his joints even more stiff than when he was in England, and there was nothing but stairs everywhere. Marianne had gone out, as she had been doing more often now that the weather allowed her to paint outdoors and not simply sketch the outlines.
“How was your visit?” Hannah came and sat on the sofa next to her, but Amy’s mind was still on Marianne’s movements.
“Hannah, does it not concern you that Marianne is spending so much time outdoors, unchaperoned? I fear she will be easy prey to one who has few scruples.”
Hannah thought for a minute, then shook her head. “No, why should it? Of all the places on the Continent, it is here where she might walk unchaperoned, is it not? Spa is as safe as Charing.”
“I ... I am worried specifically about Mr. Lambert, who seems to have taken an interest in her. I fear if he finds her alone, he will work on an unsuspecting heart. And we know nothing of his character.”
“Oh, Mr. Lambert.” Hannah’s brow cleared. “Marianne will not be taken in by him. She is only interested in his artistic talents. She has told me so.”
Amy was not convinced but did not wish to burden Hannah with what, for the moment, seemed like excessive worry on her part. She sat to recount her visit, the paper trimmings, and the treat in store for all of them as soon as the picnic could be reserved.
On the day they were to visit Annette and Lubin, Amy tied on herSpadoisshoes, which had already proven effective against the mud, and waited downstairs at the appointed hour. It had been arranged that Miss Bainesworth would travel by carriage with the rest of the Bridwells and the Ferrins would take theirs.Only Amy would go on foot because she had been invited to do so.
The princess arrived shortly after the hour, accompanied by her children, a maid, and a foot servant. Her gown was again simple to the point of unfashionable, and since she had been dressed with traditional elegance for their tea, Amy surmised that she did indeed enjoy playing the role of peasant when she could. Amy curtsied to the children with a “How do you do?”
“This Anastasia, and this Pavel,” the princess said. The children returned both the greeting and reverence good-naturedly, and Amy’s admiration for the princess increased for having raised such unaffected children.
They set out on the Grand Avenue and continued past it to the Promenade, where they followed the path leading up the wooded hill. The children scurried in front, with the maid keeping step with them. Though the princess did not appear to be very much older than Amy, her pace was slow.
