Chapter 52 – Prince of Scandal

Countess Dubois, whether she truly meant it or not, slid the invitation to the charity concert across the table.

“If it is something so precious, why are you giving it to me instead of going yourself?”

Puzzled, Sasha set down the cold juice glass she had been sipping and asked.

“My son has decided to return to Laurent after several years. He was originally due to come back a few weeks later, but the schedule was suddenly moved forward.”

“Is your family finally returning completely to Brissen Kingdom?”

Hearing the news that the ambassador’s family, whose faces she did not even know, was returning, Sasha felt happy as though it were her own affair. Naturally so. She knew how much Countess Dubois had missed her son’s family while they were posted abroad as diplomats.

“Yes. So take my invitation and go. Quite a number of people from society are expected to attend. It would not be a bad idea to make your introductions beforehand, before the Salon exhibition opens. If you only say you will go, I will help you with the dressing.”

The Countess, watching the hesitant Sasha, offered her advice. Sasha thought it over. The reason was none other than the name Leonard Clemens.

‘In my last letter, I promised Eloise I would get that man’s autograph for her.’

Eloise was an ardent fan of that pianist. When Sasha had written about running into him in the hotel lobby, Eloise had asked her to get his autograph next time without fail, but after that she had not crossed paths with the man even once, so she had been unable to grant the request.

The concert would probably be the same. Going there did not mean she would certainly get to meet Leonard Clemens, but even if she could not get his autograph, she still wanted to write in her letter about having gone to his concert.

“Would it really be all right for me to go to a place like that so casually?”

Sasha asked cautiously. If it was a society event, then surely most of the attendees would be wealthy. Sasha possessed nothing at all with which to dress herself in the manner of society.

“Do not worry. I shall turn you into a woman fit to go.”

Countess Dubois smiled confidently. She was certain she could transform Sasha into the most beautiful and eye-catching woman there that day.

* * *

The carriage Countess Dubois had lent her came to a halt in front of Corbisier Theater, where the charity concert was to be held. Sasha, who had been sitting stiffly inside, carefully rose so as not to step on the green dress and trip. Perhaps because it was the first time she had worn such clothing, or perhaps because it was borrowed, it felt awkward no matter what.

“Shall we go in?”

Her partner, having stepped down from the carriage first, held out his hand. The Countess had even found her a partner to attend with. He was a tall gentleman with brown hair, and she had said he was her nephew.

Taking the man’s hand and stepping down from the carriage, Sasha carefully looked around. The splendid theater sparkled brilliantly in the darkness like a diamond necklace. Elegantly dressed gentlemen and ladies were walking into that light.

Countess Dubois’s invitation was for front-row seats on the lower floor. Once seated, Sasha cautiously looked around. She had been self-conscious about the dress exposing her shoulders, but once she entered the theater she felt much more at ease, seeing that most of the women were dressed in gowns that left their shoulders bare.

“So the Duke of Guienne came as well, for once.”

At the voice from the seat beside her, Sasha’s head turned of its own accord.

“That is the private box for the Truffaut Royal House. It seems Princess Deborah invited the Duke.”

Thinking Sasha was curious, he kindly explained. Sasha barely managed a nod. Just then the lights in the audience dimmed, and the pianist stepped onto the stage. Yet even after the performance began, Sasha could not stop her gaze from drifting now and then toward the box seat.

The prelude that resembled moonlight, that sorrowful and elegant melody, was performed perfectly without a single mistake. Sasha, hidden among the thunderous applause from the lower floor and the shadows in the audience, looked toward the box. Toward the man she could recognize at once even in the darkness. Toward the man attending the performance with another woman.

The dreamlike music made her chest rise and fall. Like moonlight dancing over a peaceful night sea. When at last a single tear gathered beneath her long lashes and rolled down her cheek, the partner beside her, believing she had been moved by the performance, handed her a handkerchief. After wiping her tears, Sasha did not look up at the box again until the performance ended.

“Ah, it is over already. It was truly a splendid performance.”

When the final piece ended, a torrent of applause burst out. The moment the lights came on, the audience surged en masse toward the entrance of the theater.

“They are going to meet Leonard Clemens. He has many devoted admirers.”

Letting out a blatant sigh, her partner warned Sasha to be careful not to fall. Sasha too dearly wanted to follow them and get an autograph in Eloise’s place, but her partner looked so openly annoyed that it was hard for her to bring it up.

To get to where the carriage was waiting, they had to push their way through the crowd. Looking back several times in regret, Sasha was suddenly swept away by a group of people coming from the opposite side and ended up losing hold of her partner.

By the time she regained her footing and straightened up, her brown-haired partner was nowhere to be seen. Startled, Sasha hurriedly looked around, then quickly lowered her head.

‘Why is that man here…….’

The Duke of Guienne, who ought to have been in the upstairs box, had come down to the lower floor alone and was glancing around as though looking for someone. Taking advantage of the moment when people crowded toward him, Sasha fled the concert hall as though escaping, forgetting even that she was supposed to get Leonard Clemens’s autograph.

She did not want him to discover that they had been in the same place together. If he found out, she felt she would be unbearably embarrassed.

By the time her feet had begun to ache in the unfamiliar shoes and she found herself longing for the sandals she had left behind, she fortunately heard from a theater employee that he had seen a man in the same attire heading toward the balcony. When she went that way, she saw that there truly was someone behind the curtain, visible by the shoes.

No sooner had the relieved Sasha come closer than, instead of her brown-haired partner, a dazzling blond man suddenly sprang out from inside. Startled, Sasha tried to avoid him and ended up falling backward onto the floor. The blond man promptly held out a hand. It was the pianist who had been on stage only moments ago.

“Have we met before?”

“In the lobby of Hotel d’Ecran?”

Taking the hand held out before her and rising to her feet, Sasha felt puzzled by the unexpected fact. She had not thought he would recognize her.

“What is your name?”

“It’s Sasha Vinoche.”

“You know my name, I assume?”

“Mr. Leonard Clemens?”

“Good.”

Leonard Clemens, who had been hiding to avoid the crowd, looked Sasha over with interested eyes. She seemed an innocent and young young lady, apparently ill at ease in such a place.

“To tell the truth, I saw you earlier when I was greeting the audience from the stage.”

Smiling sweetly with his eyes, Leonard mimed dabbing away tears with a handkerchief.

“Was my performance truly that moving?”

“It was the finest piano performance I have ever heard. It was an honor to come to Laurent and be able to see you perform.”

Nodding with satisfaction, the pianist stared at Sasha and then let out an exclamation.

“I was wondering where I had heard your name before, and now I remember, from my dear friend Countess Dubois. I saw the portrait you drew for her when the train was delayed.”

“I didn’t know she would show it even to other people.”

Startled, Sasha spoke in a small, shrinking voice. It seemed too humble a drawing to boast of before the most popular performer in Laurent.

“Why are you embarrassed? It was the painting I liked best among all those I have seen lately. There is something special in your paintings.”

With a serious expression, Leonard instead chided Sasha. He said that art was not something lofty at all, and that he wished to express exactly what the artist felt. The kind of performance he pursued had much in common with the paintings Sasha made. Sasha realized that Leonard regarded her as a fellow artist.

“I think we could become good friends.”

“I thought so too.”

For the first time in a while, Sasha let out a light laugh. They seemed as though they might become good friends who shared the same concerns.

“Will you be attending the Salon exhibition?”

“By good fortune, yes. It’s my first time, so mine will probably be hanging in the very far corner.”

“Excellent. Then I must be sure to attend this year’s Salon exhibition, if only to properly see your painting.”

Seeing the man wink as though by habit, Sasha suddenly thought of Eloise and asked Leonard for an autograph.

“In truth, my friend likes you very much. Would it be all right if I asked for an autograph?”

Leonard readily agreed. Sasha hurriedly opened her bag, then faltered. She had brought a handkerchief, but it seemed she had left her pen behind. Watching her, Leonard pulled a lipstick out of the pocket of the jacket he was wearing.

“If this will do, I’ll sign with this.”

Sasha tried hard to hide her fluster. She wondered why a man was carrying women’s lipstick, but more than that, he had already taken the cap off.

“What is your friend’s name?”

“It’s Eloise.”

Sasha carefully spelled it out. She feared Eloise might be disappointed if the name were written wrong. Leonard noticed that and smiled.

“Do not worry. I never write a woman’s name incorrectly. And if she is your friend, then she must surely be a beautiful young lady as well.”

Making the joke, the man courteously handed back the handkerchief with the perfect autograph completed on it, then asked,

“Where are you staying while you are in Laurent?”

“I’m staying at Hotel d’Ecran.”

At those words, Leonard slowly lifted his brows.

“I like that hotel, but I do not much like its owner.”

“The Duke of Guienne?”

It was the first time Sasha had ever heard his name come from the mouth of someone who did not know him personally, and she was flustered. Leonard, seeming truly not to like the Duke of Guienne, frowned slightly.

“The Duke of Guienne is far too…… arrogant. I cannot agree when people say he is gentlemanly. The Duke plays at being a patron of the arts, but in truth he only pretends because it helps his business, while in reality he has little interest in it. He is a hypocritical man.”

“My. I did not know you thought so harshly of me.”

When the deep voice of a man who had approached without a sound suddenly cut in, they all turned around in surprise. It was the Duke of Guienne who caught Sasha by the arm as she nearly stumbled and drew her behind him. The very man they had just been speaking of.

“I understand hiding to avoid troublesome people, but that does not mean you can so casually steal another man’s partner, Leonard.”

“That partner is hardly yours, Your Grace.”

“And if that is so, then what do you intend to do?”

Leonard was taken aback. More than the fact that the Duke of Guienne was calmly telling a lie, what startled him more was the expression he was wearing without even realizing it. That fierce face, as though he were looking at a thief who had stolen away a jewel hidden deep where no one could see it.