Pascale Auber & the Ruritanian Riddle

XLVI Family

Thursday morning in the Auber household was an all-out debacle. Blaise had gotten in well after I had set Baudoin up with a pillow and a quilt on the settee in the drawing room. So long after, in fact, that both Baud and I were fast asleep, and Blaise had gone to his own bed with no inkling of Baud's presence. I was awakened by Blaise's voice, raised in angry protest.

"Baudoin Auber!" Blaise's voice echoed through the little house, "What are you doing here?!"

As Baudoin's much more quiet voice made shift to answer, I threw a robe over my nightgown and rushed down the stairs.

By the time I made it to the breakfast table, Blaise had already begun composing a telegram to mother, and our little brother was crying into his teacup. As soon as I entered, Baudoin got up and threw his arms around me, looking up at me with a piteous expression.

"Pascale," Baud begged, "Blaise is going to wire mother!"

"Mother and the school," Blaise said, coolly.

"Make him stop, Pascale! I will be good, I promise."

"Good boys," I pointed out, "do not run away from school."

"I can't go back there!" Baud insisted.

"And why not?" I asked.

"It is a beastly, beastly place. My history master throws chalk, and all the boys are stuck-up. Nobody likes me and I don't like any of them! If you make me go, I will tell mother about Pascale's beau."

"Pascale's beau?" Blaised looked at me, one eyebrow raised in query.

"He means Mr. von Hentzau," I said, "they met last night."

"Ah," said Blaise. "Well, as I am sure that mother would be delighted to hear about it, I can't see how your threat holds any weight, Baud."

"Hentzau is part of an active, er, work activity," I said quietly. "And mother knowing about him . . ." I trailed off, gesturing vaguely.

Blaise sighed. "Fine."

"Fine what?" asked Baudoin.

Blaise looked at me. I nodded. Blase said, "I will not tell mother you are here. Yet. She can worry a few hours and get a telegram in the afternoon, I suppose."

Baudoin relaxed into his chair - this was clearly a welcome reprieve.

"You can't stay here by yourself, though," Blaise said.

"But -" Baudoin began.

"No," I said, firmly. "Blaise is right. You are too naughty to spend the day unsupervised. Blaise will take you to the university."

"Me?" Blaise replied, "Why me? Can't you take him?"

"Not today," I shook my head. "I have to go to work."

"So do I!" Blaise retorted, "What am I going to do, have Baud sit in on Introduction to Aetheric Mathematics? We're working on deriving the circuital law - it  will put him to sleep!"

"So? That sounds like a fine way to keep him put of trouble. I need to go to the office, Blaise. Also, I have various obligations at the Ruritanian Embassy."

Blaise looked at me for a very long time. I smiled at him, hoping to look innocent and endearing. After a long pause, he sighed.

"Very well," Blaise said. Under his breath and barely audible he muttered, "The things I do for my country."

Baud had been watching all this with intense interest. " So you won't drag me back to school, Blaise?" he asked cautiously.

"Not today," Blaise said, looking annoyed.

"And you, Pascale?" Baud turned innocent, chocolate eyes towards me. I felt my shoulders slump.

"You already know I won't, Baud." I said. Then I sighed, loudly, to express my  own displeasure with the situation.

As I watched my brothers descend the stairs at the front of the house, I reflected that we were going to have to come up with a more permanent solution to Baud's school problem - but I had more important things to deal with, today.