“Yeah. Yeah, I guess it is.”
When I made it to the kitchen, I was surprised to see Julien sitting there at the table in a pair of nice jeans and a dark blue T-shirt. He looked so… normal. Attractive, obviously, but like a hot guy on the street.
He looked up at me and grinned. “There you are. I was wondering if maybe you’d like to go have a walk around the gardens.”
Disappointed, I couldn’t help but laugh. “I actually just came from there. I was working with Alain on pulling the weeds.”
Julien got up and walked over to Gervaise, who was hard at work putting together some sort of meal, before shoving it all into what looked like a picnic basket. I raised my brow.
Julien picked up the basket, thanking Gervaise. He turned towards me and held it up.
“Yes, but I was talking about a different garden. Lunch to go, perhaps?”
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Chapter 10
Well, this was highly unexpected.
When Julien pulled out an key that opened a small wooden door along a stone wall not too far from where I had been working I just couldn’t believe my eyes. I felt like Mary, coming across her aunt’s secret garden.
And on the other side of that door, was a very small garden that was exploding with different colored wildflowers. It was similar to what had been growing along the hillsides on our way to the château, but in a more maintained, pristine way. I gasped, trying to let it all sink in.
“So what do you think, Amira?”
“What do I think? Seriously? This place is gorgeous, that’s what I think!”
He smiled, setting the basket down at our feet. “I’m glad you approve.”
I helped him roll out a tattered blanket, surprised to see something so old amongst Julien’s things. I sat down across from him, trying to keep my legs tucked in under my dress. So maybe the maid’s uniform is a little bit too traditional.
“So how are you liking life here? I know it’s probably a big difference from back home,” he asked, pouring us both glasses of juice.
I took the glass from him, sipping at it thoughtfully. “It is a big difference. But that’s kind of a good thing, at least in my situation. There’s just too much chaos going on back home. I’m glad to be rid of it, at least for now. I don’t know what it’ll be like once I actually try and strike on my own, but I imagine it’s not gonna be as peaceful as living in a huge castle and not having to answer to five million different people. I get why you decided to live out here. I mean don’t get me wrong, Marie’s definitely put me through my paces this week. But as Alain so wisely said just a bit ago, it’s good hard work. It’s good for my soul. I guess that’s all I can ask for right now.”
I looked down at the sandwiches that Julien placed on a plate in front of us. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw that my sandwich was an elaborately made BLT. Gervaise. He might not say much, but he definitely earned a spot in my heart.
“You think you’ll have a tough time, once you leave here? I don’t think so. You are a capable woman, I know you’ll be up to handle yourself well out there.”
“Capable is one thing. I mean I know I’m street-smart… You have to be where I grew up. This is different. Moving to a foreign country, having to learn its language, having to take the little bit of what I know and applying it to wherever I end up? That’s on a whole other level... At least it feels that way.”
“I read that you were going to school for nursing. Do you no longer want to do that?”
I snorted. “I’d love to still do that. I was so close to finishing… But witness protection told me that I needed to find something completely different to do from now on
. There is no sense for me to finish my schooling, because they thought it would be an easy way to find me. So I guess there goes that, right?”
It wasn’t an easy subject to broach with me, that much was true. If there was one thing that made me the most bitter about the whole thing, it was that I had to give up my dream job. I hadn’t even started it yet, and I was already slipping through my fingers faster than I could catch it.
“Giving up your life, it must be so hard. That’s essentially what you’ve had to do. I can’t even imagine being put in your situation right now,” he said.
“Can we talk about something else?”
Julien frowned, picking up his sandwich and taking a bite out of it. “I apologize. I had no idea that they had asked you to do that.”
I shrugged my shoulders, taking another sip of my drink. “So this garden. What’s the deal with that? Has it always been here?”
At that, he grinned. I had to look away, because every time he smiled at me something fluttered inside of me. It was kindof nice though… It made me feel normal again.