Florence and Mr. Belmont

Prologue

Collioure, South of France, 1819

Olivier looked around the grand mansion that he supposed was now his new home. Sunlight streamed in through the many countless windows in the hall. Everything seemed so ... graceful. Like it was too precious to touch.

"Allons-y, Olivier. We will show you your room." said a woman with a gentle smile on her face. Her husband stood next to her. He also smiled. Olivier was not sure if he liked that man and woman, but he decided to ignore this weird feeling and just followed them up the broad white stairs. The three of them went in silence down the long hall. The woman swung open a white door and they all entered.

"Voilà, this is your room. I hope you like it." She was now looking around the room. Olivier decided that it was a rather large room with a rather large bed. How could all of this be his?

"Merci, madame et monsieur D'Armoinet." said the boy in a polite voice.

"Ah non, you should call us Gustave and Adrienne." said the man and kneeled down to Olivier's size. "We really hope that you will feel like home here."

Adrienne and Gustave D'Armoinet were a happily married couple. Although they had no title, they were very wealthy and popular among the southern french society. In the summer they traveled often to Spain or Italy, while in the winter they stayed at their quiet country house in Collioure. Everything was perfect, except that in their 15 years of marriage they were never blessed with children. Adrienne and Gustave wished so much to share their happiness with a little family member. Their friends and family were often making fun of them and the society gossiped that their marriage was not real. It was painful in every way.

One day, the D'Armoinets were taking an afternoon stroll in the nearby city. They walked past a small orphanage, where children were playing outside the building.

"Look at all the poor children. Isn't it ironic? They wish for a family, while we wish for children." Adrienne looked at the group of children. Life was not fair.

"Imagine that one of those children could be ours." added Gustave. Adrienne thought about it for a moment. At first it was absurd. Any of those children would be a complete stranger to them. They might be badly raised. Or maybe sick. They lived afterall in an orphanage. God only knows what happens there. But then she thought that she and Gustave could change that. They could change an entire life of a human. They could change it for the better. They had plenty of money. They had plenty of space in their house. They could offer the best education. But most of all, they could offer something deeper. They could offer warmth. She knew that. D'Armoinets had good hearts. She looked one more time at the playing children and said to her husband "Why not?"

Olivier always had trouble recalling his parents. He was almost sure his fathers name was Maurice. His mother's name probably started with C. Maybe Camille? Claudette? Or maybe it was Odette? But unlike his surname, which he had completely no clue how it was, he could at least tell a vague direction of his mothers name. When he first arrived at the orphanage he was just 4 years old. His parents died because of a deadly disease. The boy had no other relatives. For a couple of weeks he lived with his old and deaf neighbor madame Dupont. Unfortunately the poor old lady also caught this dreadful disease. She knew she was dying, so with her last strength she brought the boy to the orphanage.

"Madame, what's the name of the boy?!" the administrator at the orphanage was practically screaming into the old lady's ear.

"Non, I don't need any toys!" Madame Dupont screamed back.

"My name is Olivier" helped the boy. The administrator filled in the name in the register. He was too tired to acquire all the other details from the boy, so he closed the book and said "D'accord, Olivier. Welcome to our orphanage. On the first right you will find the boy's sleeping room. I think we currently have a free bed. Right over there is the dining room." the administrator pointed to an old door. "And at the end of the hallway on the left is the classroom. Classes start at seven. If you are late, not listening or not doing what you are told to do, you will have to scrub the floor, compris?"

Life in the orphanage was not easy. But it wasn't terrible. Olivier was an amiable child, so he quickly found friends. In his classes he was one of the smartest kids. Until he was 8 years old everybody just called him Olivier. Then he started to get jealous. He didn't want to be Olivier-Nobody. So he invented himself a full name - Olivier Maurice Belmont. The caretakers and teachers rolled their eyes, but soon then became used to his new name.

The years were passing. Until one afternoon Olivier was walking down the hallway and summing the latest song from his music classes. The teacher had sended him to bring some chalk from another classroom. Suddenly he noticed that a man and a woman were looking around the hallway. He had never seen them. Maybe the orphanage had finally decided to hire a new cooking staff. No. They were rather dressed like teachers. Or maybe even better.

"Bonjour garçon, do you know where the administration is?" asked the finely dressed man.

"Qui monsieur, follow me please" said Olivier with a smile. It was exciting. "Are you the new teachers?" Olivier asked. He could not hold back his curiosity. The man seemed a little bit troubled by his question. The women looked at him. But then he finally answered "Emm..Non". They walked a few moments in silence until they reached the office.

"Here is the administration office." Olivier said and pointed proudly at the door. Before they knocked, the woman asked him what his name was.

He proudly answered "Olivier Maurice Belmont". It wasn't probably necessary to say his second name. But he was simply proud of it.

"Bien merci, monsieur Belmont" the women smiled at him heartfully. And then Olivier left.

Two days after he showed the mysterious visitors the administrative office, he was called to come to the office himself. When he came in, he saw the same man and woman sitting in front of the principal.

"Bonjour, Olivier." the principal greeted him. Oh no, did he do something wrong? A million things ran through his mind.

"This is Madame et Monsieur D'Armoinet" the principal continued "And they would like to take you home with them". Silence. Olivier just stood. His jaw dropped. Surely he misunderstood something.

Half an hour later all his things had been packed into a trunk and he was sitting with the D'Armoinets in a carriage, driving to his new home.