Une alliance. As loathe as she was to admit it, Sébastien Évreux was considered proper company which meant that she was required to entertain him while the mothers took their lunch in the Dautins’ sun room. Since both the Évreux and Dautin families were to be sending children to Sonora in the fall, her mother had offered to have both the Évreux and Valois matriarchs over for lunch so that they could talk about the new challenges that would be soon to befall their children as they were sent an ocean away for schooling. The early spring that had come to Paris meant that though the sun was out, the wind still held a certain amount of frost to it, keeping the Dautin estate (located in the well to-do sixteenth arrondissement with a nice orangerie to look out on when they took their meals in the sunroom) relatively cool though it afforded a wonderful view of sun-kissed trees studded with blossoms and arrays of bushes full of blooming flowers.
“This way,” Madeleine said in her hostess voice which still needed much practise. She was certain that her sullen mood was shining through--she would much rather have been playing hide and seek with Léo but alas her best friend had started at Beauxbatons earlier that year and was still not home yet. But, she tried not to think of such things as she lead the way to the playroom, resenting that her parents still considered her young enough to need something like that. It was a large room which had entertained all three of the Dautin children at one point or another. Xavier’s enchanted tin soldiers still marched quietly in their perfect lines on his Reinhardt-crafted étagère whose engravings twisted and turned like crashing waves on a perilous sea. Myrtille’s collection of tiny hand painted dolls had not moved from their home where they sat amongst porcelain tea sets and faded paper flowers. Xavier and Myrtille had been the perfect noblesse children, Madeleine thought. They were quiet and well-behaved, they liked what they were supposed to like. And Madeleine was supposed to be like them too, she’d had her whole life planned out for her since the beginning, but she had never been the most cooperative in her parent’s efforts.
Madeleine’s étagère was farthest from the door, it was less organized than that of her older siblings due to more frequent usage since neither Xavier nor Myrtille had set foot in the playroom for years. Costumes had been haphazardly stuffed into the various colorful boxes that they were meant to stay inside. Her contraband box with all her pretty hair baubles rested on the top shelf where she couldn’t quite reach it but with accidental magic when she was in a particularly foul mood. Like Myrtille’s, Madeleine’s shelves held pretty tea sets and untouched dolls, presents from relatives who didn’t know her that well, but her most prized part was the enchanted shelf in which she could keep an endless amount of books. It was a special piece of charming done by the elderly Reinhardt in the shop after the weight of the books Madeleine had shoved into that particular shelf had given it an unsightly crack that her mother hadn’t liked at all.
There were impersonal étagères also in the room, with all manner of different games, and intricate tables for them to be played on. “I suppose it’s guest’s choice,” Madeleine said, her eyes drifting longingly to her shelf of books, wishing more than anything that Léo had not yet gone to Beauxbatons so that he, too could keep her company and indulge her ridiculous fantasies. “Donc, comme tu veux.” If only her mother could hear how she was speaking to the Évreux heir, she was certain she’d get a stern talking to. But it didn’t matter because there were no adults around and so, amongst the familiar company of each other (and other noblesse kids) the act could be dropped. The familiar could be used, the unheard of could be done. Madeleine knew that her sister, at least, had never participated in these activities, but she’d heard tale of noblesse kids who did. Debauchery of all sorts occurred over the summers and Madeleine herself could not wait to participate though she was sure her idea of participate differed from that of the likes of Sébastien Évreux…
It was rare that Sébastien Évreux accompanied his mother on social visits. If she wanted company, his younger sister would usually be required, and Bastien would either stay at home, studying, or accompany his father. Still, this was somewhat different from his mother’s usual social calls. In the autumn he would travel to America to start at Sonora Academy, and Madeleine Dautin would be with him. Unfortunately Louis Valois would be there too, although Bastien was trying not to think about that fact.
The Dautin home was, admittedly, quite pleasant. However, Sébastien was proud to see that the Évreux house would not fall too short in comparison. Whilst, perhaps, not recognised as one of the most elite families, the tide was certainly turning in favour of the Évreux family, and Sébastien had every intention of adding to the importance of his family’s name.
Bastien frowned at the common way Madeleine was talking to him. After all, he was the Évreux heir, and she was only a girl – although of a rather good name, come to think of it. Smiling charmingly at her, he replied “Mais non, mademoiselle, vraiment c’est votre choix.” His reply was partly politeness, partly contrariness, and (not that he would admit it) partly because he really had no idea what else to say. Sébastien had been brought up more as a small adult than as a child. Toys had only been approved if educational, and he really found no interest in these shelves of soldiers and dolls. It was with relief that he saw her eyes drift towards the books. Those, he could cope with, although he dreaded to think how his mother would react if she found him failing to engage Madeleine Dautin in conversation.
Madeleine blinked. Did he really just vouvoyer her? It was surprising to her that he hadn’t taken the opportunity to use the tutoiement that she had just offered him on a silver platter. More than ever she longed for Léo and the comfort talking with him always brought her. Sébastien’s use of the vouvoiement after she had so clearly been offering him a close level of friendship--they were to be amongst the only French students at that yankee school to be sure, and the French had to stick together, offended her. But she refused to lose her temper--if she got upset and yelled at Sébastien Évreux she was sure that Maman would have it out for her when she found out.
“Tu peux me tutoyer,” she said instead, carefully, all fronts of the perfect hostess dropped now that she was certain the house-elves were now longer watching them. “Dans quelques mois on sera les seuls Français sauf que Louis Valois et je sais qu’il n’y a que de l’amour entre vous deux,” this last bit she added dryly. Rumours flew around the various members of society and many were aware of the rivalry between the two heirs. “On a besoin de presenter un front uni contre Louis et les Yanks,” she added, the English word felt dirty and foreign on her tongue and Madeleine shuddered.
Sébastien just stood there for a moment, feeling completely out of his depth. A very adult upbringing had left him with little awareness of the casual ways adopted by the youth of French wizarding society when out of sight of parents, and he was taken aback by Madeleine’s casual offering of tutoiement. However, Sébastien was rarely wrong-footed for long, and quickly adjusted his planned method of getting Madeleine to like him. “Donc, t’as été informé des plans de nos parents?” he asked, giving Madeleine a warm and friendly smile. If she wanted to be casual, he was going to find out as much as he could on her thoughts of Sonora. She’d made a good (albeit unnecessarily sarcastic) point about Louis Valois – it wouldn’t do to have Madeleine becoming friendly with Louis rather than him. “Que penses-tu de l’idée d’une école – et des élevés - américains?”
Madeleine shrugged. She didn’t really know what to say. She felt beyond outraged that she was being asked to go to school an ocean away from everything she had ever known. Myrtille had been such a popular witch at Beauxbatons despite barely having a personality and though Madeleine herself preferred to have less recognition, she had still been looking forward to soaking up the automatic prestige that came from being a Dautin amongst la bourgeoise. She was sure that whatever she would learn at Sonora would never match up to what she could learn at Beauxbatons and she was not hesitant to share this with Sébastien. “C’est pas le même, non?” she said, wistfully as she mechanically brought down a wizard’s chess set that had once belonged to Xavier, choosing not to share that she only half-believed she would really be sent there, still holding out that a divine intervention might save her from the terrible fate. “Tu veux?” she asked, waiting a beat for his response before going about setting it up.
Bastien opened his mouth to reply, but then just nodded. There wasn’t really anything more to say without revealing too much (and Bastien never liked to reveal too much). Going to Sonora would be an experience completely different from their expected school life. There would be none of the automatic respect and privilege that their names would have commanded at Beauxbatons. And whilst Sébastien understood and agreed with his father’s reasoning for sending him to the American school, a small and unacknowledged part of him was rather daunted by the prospect of being just another international student. Still, he thought, as he agreed to the game of chess that Madeleine had suggested, at least he appeared to have found an ally.
Rough translation of Sébastien and Madeleine’s French in order of use:
Vous êtes prêts? On y va! = Are you ready? Let's go! étagère = bookshelf Donc, comme tu veux. = Okay, as you like. Mais non, mademoiselle, vraiment c’est votre choix. = But no, Miss Dautin, it’s your choice. vouvoyer/tutoiement/vouvoiement = the concept that at first a person uses the formal “you”, or “vous”, and then after being familiar with each other they can move on to the more familiar “tu” Tu peux me tutoyer. Dans quelques mois on sera les seuls Français sauf que Louis Valois et je sais qu’il n’y a que de l’amour entre vous deux. On a besoin de presenter un front uni contre Louis et les Yanks = You can talk to me familiarly, in a few months we’ll be the only French except for Louis Valois and I know there’s nothing but love between the two of you. We have to present a united front against Louis and the Yankees. Donc, t’as été informé des plans de nos parents? = So have you been informed of our parents’ plans? Que penses-tu de l’idée d’une école – et des élevés - américains? = What do you think of the idea of an American school - and American students? C’est pas le même, non? = It’s not the same. Tu veux? = You wanna play this?