The Sheik's Son

Andrew frowned. “The opera?” He yawned and looked over at his two friends, shaking his head. “I think not.”

“Yes, the opera, my friend. For what is at the opera?” Etienne’s brown eyes danced with joy.

Andrew shrugged, not interested in the least. “A portly, screeching soprano?”

“The dancers, mon ami.” Etienne winked and caught Sebastian’s half smile.

Andrew was suddenly very much interested in the opera. “The dancers!” he whispered.

Already he could see the dancers in their frothy costumes of lace, with their delectable ankles showing. He knew they would enjoy the night very much.

He clasped Sebastian and Etienne around the shoulders. “To the opera we go.”

Chapter 2

Sophie had made certain that Marie understood exactly what was expected of her. She gave her precise directions to the printers and enough coin to pay Monsieur Blanche. She had written one small pamphlet before, but it had not been anything important. He had accepted the small pamphlet as it was about women’s work and the household. He thought it might attract some attention, though her true identity remained shrouded in secrecy.

But this new pamphlet that Sophie had poured her heart and soul into could be damaging. This pamphlet was about the equal rights that she felt French women should be given. It wasn’t earth-shattering but she did believe in the cause passionately. She wrote from her heart about how women were expected to marry and give birth and that was the extent of their existence. She wrote about education and how women were shockingly uneducated and all but dismissed.

She told Marie to let Monsieur Blanche understand that this was a cousin of hers and that he had asked to be placed in touch with the printer. She told Marie to offer no more information if the printer pressed her for it.

As she sent Marie off with the coin and handwritten pages, she realized her hands were shaking. She knew that her pamphlet did not contain any slander or libelous material, but her words were of a revolutionary sort. The minutes ticked by as she waited for Marie to return. When she did, she asked her if the printer had said anything or asked anything, but the loyal maid shook her head and went about her work.

Sophie spent the day with her grandmother as they called on their neighbors and close friends. She tried to stop the excitement that raced through her veins and even earned her a stern look from Eugenie when she accidentally spilled tea on a Persian carpet at one of the residences.

Eugenie scolded her in the carriage but Sophie was past caring. She had apologized to her grandmother’s friend for the accident but her mind was too focused on the pamphlet. Would Monsieur Blanche print it? How many would he print? Would anyone read it? She tapped her foot lightly but that earned her another look from the older woman, so she stopped the movement and instead focused on the passing Paris scenery.

***

A week later her father had been invited to a colleague’

s salon and he very much wanted his mother and daughter to attend. He knew his mother would be extremely bored at the salon, which would include intellectuals and political figures, but he wanted his daughter to be exposed to such ideas and his mother would be the chaperone.

When Jean Pierre mentioned the idea to Eugenie, she was shocked.

“Is this at all proper? A Parisian lady at a salon?” Eugenie gasped.

“Of course, Mère. It is entirely proper. Some of the great intellectuals of our time attend these salons,” he replied.

“I’m not at all sure that is a good thing. Those les bas-bleus started in a salon,” she sniffed.

Jean Pierre knew les bas-bleus—a group of intellectual women—had gathered in a seventeenth-century Paris salon to exchange ideas. It was not a positive example for his mother.

“Be that as it may, I want my daughter open to ideas as an educated woman. You cannot shun these things. She wants to learn,” he explained.

“Yes I know. She is as educated as most men. It is not a good thing, my son,” she said, shaking her head.

“How can you say that, Mère? Would you prefer she remain ignorant and silly?” he asked.

“Of course not. But she will marry and have children, and I do not understand what good her many languages and philosophy will do her then.”

“She will be an excellent mother and raise intelligent children.” Jean Pierre knew better than to engage with his mother. Though he had not been instrumental in the day-to-day education of his daughter, she had a quick mind and he had allowed it to grow. As she was now an adult, there was no going back. “Let’s leave at 7. Inform Sophie and have the carriage readied.”

Eugenie nodded but inwardly was vexed at her son. She did not agree with him. Though Sophie was an educated woman, she felt he need not encourage her. If her granddaughter had any true sense at all, she would accept Alphonse and marry, she thought. She climbed the stairs to tell Sophie, who—as she expected—was excited at the prospect.

Sophie pulled on her cotton shift, a simple outer garment that she also used for sleep. She rolled on her silk stockings and placed the two garters on each thigh to hold the stockings in place. She wore a gown in the popular polonaise-style.

The cream-colored silk gown had a scooped neckline and a fitted bodice with delicate lace along the elbow-length sleeves and neckline. Her tight corset ensured a defined waist while the full skirt was draped in front and then pulled back to reveal a delicately decorated petticoat with hand-embroidered floral designs. It was one of her favorite gowns. She decided to wear her ivory-colored silk shoes with the square heel.