Pascale Auber & the Ruritanian Riddle

XLIII At the Theatre - 5

"Pascale!" Blaise exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

For a long moment, I did not respond, my eyes transfixed by the red rose in Blaise's hand. I told myself it had to be a coincidence. My brother could not possibly be involved in the explosions; surely he was too busy, between his classes at the university and the endless rehearsals at the Aosta.

"Where did you get that flower?" I demanded.

Blaise blushed, his pale cheeks warmed by a rush of delicate pink. "I bought it from the flower-seller who hocks his wares to young couples during the intermission."

Theo had been watching the two of us, and, having apparently come to some sort of conclusion, interrupted our discussion to say, "You must be Miss Auber's brother!"

Blaise stiffened. "I am."

It was clear I had to intervene. "Mr. von Hentzau brought me to meet Miss Silverstar," I prattled. "Oh dear, I must introduce you both! Blaise, this is Mr. Theophilus von Hentzau, of the Ruritanian Embassy, and of course, this is my brother, Dr. Blaise Auber."

Theo bowed, formally, as expected. Blaise simply goggled, unable, in his confusion, to form coherent words. The situation was saved by the ringing of a bell, sweet and loud, from somewhere high up in the theatre.

"Ach!" Theo exclaimed, "the intermission has ended! We must hurry or they will not let us take our seats!"

He grabbed my hand, and we were off.

~*~

When Theo tried to help me up into his flivver at the end of the evening, I refused to take his hand. If I were pretending to be interested in Theo romantically then I had to show myself jealous of his friendship with Miss Silverstar. Anything else would look disingenuous, and besides, there was an odd, cold lump in the pit of my stomach.

"I fear I have made you unhappy," Theo commented as the craft began to ascend.

I made a point of looking forward, and not facing Theo. "I see you know Miss Silverstar well," I said, "Very well indeed."

"You must not pay Miss Silverstar any mind. She was only trying to embarrass me. She and I are friends, nothing more."

"Friends who exchange gifts, and spend evenings together," I pointed out.

Theo sighed. "We are often invited to the same dinner parties. And Ruritania exports lanolin; we get samples at the embassy to hand out to prospective importers. Providing some for Miss Silverstar's greasepaint was an ordinary kindness."

"So there is nothing romantic going on between Miss Silverstar and yourself?"

"Nothing whatsoever," Theo reassured.

"And you do not -" I pursed my lips delicately, feeling a pink flush creep up my cheeks. "You and she do not, um, -" my words trailed off as I thought. "You are not engaging in some sort of liaison?"

"Certainly not!" Theo's voice sounded shocked and, to my surprise, wounded.

"I see." I said.

"I am telling you the truth," he promised, his voice quiet but firm. To my own surprise, I believed him.

We were, by now, nearly at my house. As per the instructions from my boss, I had decided to allow Theo von Hentzau to take me to my actual home. Now that we were almost there, I wondered if, once we had touched down, he intended to try to kiss me again.

Assuming he did want to kiss me, I was uncertain if I should allow it. On the one hand, it was an unpardonable liberty; on the other, there were my orders and the sweet, insistent feeling that made me want to lean towards him.

In the end, I did not have to make that decision -  an unusual sight greeted me when the flivver touched down.

A boy of eleven, his dark head nestled up against the door, was asleep on my front steps. It was a very familiar boy, one whom I recognized immediately, even before I had stepped down from the flivver - my youngest brother, Baudoin, who was supposed to be at boarding school.