Chapter 46 – On a Starry Night

Even by the time they returned to the station, the problem had not yet been resolved. The troublesome issue of rerouting around the track had been more or less settled, but more time was still needed to repair the railway itself. The passengers who returned to the train grumbled, yet still closed their eyes for the sake of tomorrow.

Darkness descended over the train that had come to a halt in the middle of the tracks. After finishing tidying up and closing her travel bag, Sasha opened the window of her compartment. From not too far away came the faint sounds of workmen carrying on with repairs through the night. Sasha drew a deep breath. It was the end of summer, and she could feel the night wind growing gradually cooler.

The black night sky was thickly scattered with stars. Looking at that sparkling light even from far away, Sasha thought of the Manolie she had left behind. When she had first left home, fear had probably been the strongest feeling in her heart, but now her anticipation for Laurent, where she would newly be living, had grown greater. The city, society, painting, and that man. The Duke of Guienne staying in the compartment right next to hers. Laurent made Sasha imagine such things.

At the sudden sound of someone approaching, Sasha turned her head to the side. Robert, spotting her already leaning out there, paused. Had he opened the window to look at the stars too? As her body tilted from leaning too far out the window, she saw him frown.

Robert stared directly toward Sasha. Like a man who had something he wanted to say. And yet when their eyes met, he said nothing. By the time the cool night wind had begun to feel a little chilly, he left her only with the words to wait a moment and went back inside his compartment.

A little later, the man leaned out the window again, tossed something, and Sasha quickly caught it with both hands.

“What is this?”

“A peach.”

When the flustered Sasha asked, he replied as if it were nothing.

“I know that this is a peach too.”

“If you know, then why ask?”

She wondered if he was making a joke, but it did not seem that way either. Sasha gave up on getting an answer.

“If you eat all of it, am I supposed to go hungry, Sasha?”

The man called out abruptly to Sasha just as she was about to turn away holding the mysterious peach. He was a man who kept wanting to split peaches with her ever since last time, and she could not make sense of it. Sasha cut the peach with the butter knife on the small table in her compartment. Then she tossed the larger half back toward the window. Robert, who had been leaning against the frame, caught it without difficulty.

“Eat. We won’t be getting a separate meal until tomorrow morning.”

Only after biting into the half peach did he finally explain why he had given her the fruit. Even so, that did not mean she fully understood his actions. After hesitating, Sasha followed his lead and bit into the soft flesh. A sweet fragrance lingered around the tip of her nose.

“It’s dangerous, so make sure to shut the window properly before you sleep.”

“What is dangerous?”

At his words, Sasha felt puzzled. Outside was far too quiet, and too peaceful, to suit the word dangerous at all. The only thing she heard now and then was the hammering of the workmen.

“I suppose you’ve never read one of those newspaper articles about bandits targeting trains stopped in the middle of nowhere?”

“Even now, when you’re in the compartment next to mine? And there are people outside doing the repairs too.”

At Sasha’s reply, Robert laughed soundlessly. It was a moment when his cold face softened almost into that of a boy. Grandma had once said that Mr. Robert looked boyish because he did not wear a beard, but Sasha thought differently. The unexpected impression she sometimes found in Mr. Robert did not come merely from the absence of a beard, but from the occasional smile he showed.

“Don’t tease me.”

“You’re the one, why do you keep putting up a wall with me?”

He looked as though he genuinely had no idea why. Left with nothing to say, Sasha gave a quick bow and hurriedly shut the window. Perhaps because of the juice running over her hand, she could still smell a sweetness strong enough to make her head swim.

She turned out the light and lay down on the seat that was as long as a bed, but sleep would not come. Was it because of the coffee she had drunk at the cafe earlier? On a sleepless night, Sasha thought back to the conversation she had shared with the Countess there.

‘So earlier, Countess Dubois was talking about the relationship between Madame Eleonore and the Duke of Guienne.’

Only now did Sasha understand the meaning of that curious smile. Mr. Robert had a woman he was supposed to marry, and yet was he in that sort of improper relationship with Madame Eleonore? He……. Was he……. the kind of man who could do such a thing as though it were nothing? Was that not shameful to him?

Sasha had no confidence that she could ask the man in the next compartment directly. Because even if he were that kind of man, she had no confidence she could stop liking him. Because she was afraid that after hearing his answer, she might let herself begin to hope for something she should never harbor deep in her heart. Because she did not want to confirm such feelings in herself and feel even more ashamed. Rather than that, she would rather remain ignorant.

Perhaps in Laurent things were different, but in Manolie that was something one must not do. That sort of behavior, mingling with someone else while one already had a spouse. Every husband and wife was to remain faithful only to each other and to their household, and infidelity was not tolerated.

All Sasha, accustomed to the rules of Manolie, could do was hide away tightly the feelings that had already begun to sprout. So that her heart would not leak out. So that he would not notice. So that she would not ruin their relationship even further.

* * *

At the rattling noise, Sasha reflexively frowned and shifted her body. She wanted to sleep just a little more. Because only toward dawn had she finally fallen asleep, after sleeping poorly the night before. But Sasha, accustomed to Manolie’s quiet mornings filled only with birdsong, could no longer endure the unfamiliar sounds and sat bolt upright.

When the train gave another jolt, Sasha nearly rolled off the seat and only barely caught her balance as she staggered. Through the gap in the parted curtains, she could see green waves rushing quickly by. While she had been sleeping, the train had already departed.

‘Good heavens. How did I fall asleep without even realizing the train had started moving?’

Flustered, Sasha stuck her head out of the compartment, and just then an attendant who was returning after delivering coffee to the other compartments cheerfully greeted her. It was a familiar face. The very attendant who had come to the cafe yesterday to find Mr. Robert on the conductor’s errand.

“Mademoiselle, good morning! If you would like, shall I bring you some coffee even now?”

The attendant offered with a friendly smile.

“No, no! You needn’t do that. I was only wondering when the train had departed. Is everyone else already awake?”

“Why, certainly. The train set off as soon as the sun rose this morning. The track repairs were finished safely at dawn. I meant to bring coffee to you as well, Mademoiselle, but the gentleman in the compartment next to yours said you were asleep and should not be woken.”

At his words, Sasha blanked for a moment. The gentleman in the compartment next to hers meant Mr. Robert? Could it be that he had come into her room in the morning?

“After only two more stations, we will be in Laurent. I hope the rest of your journey is a pleasant one.”

With a bright smile, the attendant bowed and turned away. Only then did her senses return, and Sasha went back into her compartment and smacked both cheeks lightly two or three times. Her sleep had already fled completely at the realization that Laurent was now so close, though.

* * *

At the final station before reaching Laurent, new passengers boarded the train. Four more passengers came into first class as well. The first party among them consisted of two gentlemen attended by a butler, while the remaining one was an army colonel on leave. All of them were acquainted with the Duke of Guienne.

The two young gentlemen were both members of the Chevalier Club, and after hearing from the conductor that the Duke of Guienne was already aboard, they came to the compartment to greet him warmly. Hearing that the Duke of Guienne had a female companion traveling with him, they at first naturally assumed it was Madame Eleonore. But when told that she was not a dark-haired, blue-eyed woman, but one with orange-blond hair and green eyes, they found it puzzling.

They were curious about the unknown companion, but since the Duke of Guienne did not introduce her, they had no way of knowing who she was. If she was going to Laurent, he would surely bring her out into society one day, so they could only wait for that future opportunity.

The only person to whom Robert actually introduced Sasha was Colonel Lapite. He was a seasoned military man who had attended the same military academy as the Duke of Guienne and had served as the Duke’s superior when the Duke had first been posted to Borona.

“A relative? Is that really so?”

At the Duke’s introduction of Sasha as a distant relative, the colonel gave a meaningful smile. Robert neither affirmed it nor denied it.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Painter. If the opportunity arises while you are staying in Laurent, I would be glad to see you again. Are you perhaps taking part in this year’s Salon exhibition?”

Turning his attention to the painter, the colonel greeted her warmly. Sasha hesitated for a moment before answering. She was on her way up at Queen Anaïs’s summons, but she did not know whether it was all right to say that carelessly.

“I imagine she will. Baron Auguste is hardly the sort to leave an artist he sponsors alone, would you not agree?”

Before Sasha could even explain, Robert answered in her stead. When she looked up at him in surprise, the hand resting on her shoulder pressed down gently. Like a signal telling her to stay quiet and let him answer for her.

Sasha silently closed her mouth. It felt as though he knew more about the course her life in Laurent would take after their arrival than she did herself. She felt a strange sense of unease, though she could not tell exactly why. The only thing certain was that he seemed to know Baron Auguste better than she had expected.

“Oh! So you are a painter supported by Baron Auguste. Why did you not say so sooner? If you have caught the eye of that difficult man, then you must certainly possess remarkable talent.”

The colonel did not hide his pleasure. The flow of conversation soon shifted to Baron Auguste, an acquaintance shared by both the colonel and the Duke. That conversation, too, could not continue for long. Before long, a great horn blared outside the window. It was the lively signal sent out by the train that had finally arrived at its destination, Laurent.