Where the Light Falls(114)

Jean-Luc lowered his eyes and thought about this. Did he want that? Did he still crave a prominent role in shaping this nation’s course? Wasn’t it his ambition that had driven him into the troubles he currently faced?

“Come now, St. Clair. Surely you and Marie aren’t going to give up now? Think of it: a real role in a new government. Moving out of that cramped garret. You can’t tell me you haven’t been thinking about your future.”

“I suppose”—Jean-Luc paused, rubbing his palms together—“that somewhere along the way, I allowed myself to lose hope in what the future could bring.”

“None of that.” Gavreau shook his head. “You’re my optimist. If you lose hope, what becomes of the rest of us, who had hardly any to begin with? No, no, no. This war will end and Paris will get back to itself. And when that happens, you’ll be a representative in the Council of Five Hundred. You’re far too good a lawyer, and man, to be squandering your talents behind a desk, counting silver spoons. Or worse, pruning lemon trees in the south.”

Jean-Luc couldn’t help but smile now as he stared at the ruddy, earnest face of his employer. He sat for a moment in silence, thinking it all over, before he sighed. “Thank you, Gavreau.”

“It’s I who ought to thank you. Not sure what I would have done had I not had you all these years.”



At home, the living room was warm and the air smelled of roasting chicken. Marie looked up from the table when her husband entered. She had a small pile of papers spread before her, which she quickly folded up and tucked into a pocket of her frock. “My love, you’re home!” She practically ran across the room to greet him, her brown eyes more alight than usual as she balanced on her toes to kiss her husband.

“Still reading the journals, I see?” he asked her, curious as to what she had been doing and why she had been so quick to tuck it out of sight.

“Oh, just a bit of gossip from the salons,” she said, waving her hands. “Nothing important.”

Jean-Luc looked around the room. “It’s quiet. Where are Sophie and Mathieu?”

“I’ve sent them out on an errand,” Marie said as she removed her husband’s coat, giving him another excited kiss. “And I’m glad of this moment of peace, I confess, because I have news.”

“Oh?” Jean-Luc arched an eyebrow. “And I do, as well.” He planned to tell her about his conversation with Gavreau, and his hope, recently rekindled, of actually building a career in the new nation’s government. “But you look so pleased and eager with yours that you ought to share yours first.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, but she stopped him, instead taking his hands in her own and guiding them to her belly.

“Feel that?” she said, her pretty features spreading into the glow of a wide smile. Jean-Luc felt his heart jump in his chest.

“Really?” he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

“Really.” Marie laughed now. “This tiny apartment is about to get a bit more crowded.”

“How marvelous!” He picked her up at the waist, twirling her around the room.

She looked into his eyes, her own brimming with delight. “Are you happy?”

“I could think of nothing that would make me happier.” He leaned forward and kissed her once more. “How can we have been so blessed?”

Marie beamed. “To think…another little one. Now will you agree it’s a good thing Sophie is here, to help me?”

“When will Mathieu and Sophie return?” Jean-Luc was eager to tell Mathieu that he would be a brother.

“They should be back any moment. I sent them down to fetch a loaf for supper,” Marie answered, turning to check on the chicken where it roasted over the fire.

Jean-Luc helped himself to a glass of wine and sat at the table, feeling a contentment unlike anything he had experienced in recent memory. “I told you I had news as well.”

“Oh, yes, I completely forgot.” Marie looked back toward him expectantly. “What is it?”

“Perhaps we won’t have to be crowded in this garret when the little one comes, after all.”

“Oh?” Marie smiled, the hope plain across her lovely, dark features. Jean-Luc relayed to his wife the contents of his discussion with his supervisor and his expected promotion to the Directory, the nation’s governing body.

“Good news, indeed! But how soon can we move? If only we could be out before the new one arrives.” Marie clasped her hands together, her features bright as she surveyed their cramped home.

“Is it really so bad here?” Jean-Luc teased, glancing around the low-ceilinged room; he had to admit to a certain attachment, even an affection, for the place. An attachment he knew had little to do with this shabby dwelling but everything to do with Marie, and Mathieu, and the family they had begun to build, together, in this home. This place that had witnessed their first years together, and all of the triumphs, defeats, and memories they had shared.