Florence and Mr. Belmont

Chapter 2

Olivier could not complain about his new life with the D'Armoinets. They cared for him in the best way. The three of them became good friends. Unfortunately four years after Olivier moved in, Monsieur Gustave D'Armoinet died in a carriage accident. Adrienne was in pain for many months. Olivier tried to support Adrienne. After his lessons he sat with her and just listened to her talking about Gustave. Although Olivier's pain was as great as Adrienne's, he found himself also missing Gustave. It was a really strange feeling for Olivier. Slowly, he and Adrienne got used to being just the two of them. Often they would take an afternoon stroll on the beach. Or they would play cards after dinner. And so life went for another four years.

Olivier had become a wise, tall, but thin, young man. He was spending most of his time alone or with Adrienne. He loved to study and read. But he even more loved spending time outdoors on his horse or swimming on the beach. And although Adrienne assured him that he does not need to work, he wanted to become a teacher or a professor.

One afternoon, when he came back from the beach, Adrienne told him to sit down with her for a moment.

"Arthur has very serious health problems" Adrienne said, looking very tired. She continued "Bien sûr, it was his housekeeper, who had written to me! Arthur is as always too sturdy to ask for help". Arthur Wimbleton was the husband of Gustave's sister, who had also died a few years ago. He was probably over seventy years old and lived in London. Since his wife and Gustave died, he and Adrienne exchanged letters on a regular basis.

"Is he ill?" Olivier asked, because clearly Adrienne had forgotten to tell him the most important facts. Women...

"Non, non. Arthur had slipped down the stairs and broken his arm and leg! Can you imagine how bad it is!" Adrienne looked at the letter from the housekeeper.

"I need to see him. To help him. I know he has all the staff and doctors, he is afterall a baron. But they are not the same as family. Arthur won't be able to leave the house for a long time. He probably wants some company. Although he would never admit it."Adrienne was right. Arthur had no family. Not at least any that Olivier knew of.

That night it was decided that they would travel to London as soon as possible.

***

Of course Olivier had read about London. But seeing it with his own eyes was something entirely different. So many people, so many houses, so many shops and so many people!

"How many times have you been to London before?" Olivier asked Adrienne. She looked up from her English newspaper she got this morning.

"Only two times" She fought about it for a moment. "Once after Gustave and I married. I wanted to see afterall where my sister-in-law lives. And the second time, bien, it was before you moved in with us."

Olivier wondered what Adrienne had told Arthur about him. It was definitely a strange situation. No one took an orphan home like it was a new piece of furniture. He knew it.

The carriage finally arrived in front of the Wimbleton House. The House was smaller than the neighboring houses, but still bigger than the D'Armoinet Mansion. A butler had led them in. There was no use sitting in the formal visitors' room and waiting for the headmaster. So the butler led them into Arthur's drawing room upstairs.

"It's good to see you, Arthur!" Adrienne said with a huge smile, before even Arthur noticed who it was.

"Adrienne!" He greeted her with a surprise. "I always told Isabelle, that only french women are so mad to travel a whole country and ship through the sea, just to see a man." Arthur was sitting comfortably in his daybed and enjoying, probably, supper. His left arm and leg were covered in bandages. His almost white hair was pushed properly back and he was rather elegantly dressed for a patient.

"Don't flatter yourself" Adrienne teased back. Then she noticed how Arthur was looking curiously at Olivier. "Oh, I am sorry. This is my nephew, Olivier Belmont. Olivier, this is Lord Arthur Wimbleton" She introduced. Olivier gulped silently. Nephew?

"Ah, Olivier, call me simply Arthur. We are family after all." Arthur smiled at him. "Can you play chess?" Olivier did not only love chess, but he was also an excellent player.

"Yes, a little." he answered with a grin. He decided that he rather liked this old man.

***

"Your nephew? That sounds interesting." Olivier said when Adrienne was sitting down for breakfast.

"Bien, I wrote to him a few years ago, that my sister and her husband died, and that you, their only child, were living with us now." She started to spread butter on her toast.

"You never had a sister." Olivier said accusingly. He knew Adrienne had only two brothers.

"Arthur doesn't know that" she shrugged and bit into her toast. Well, it actually made sense. He never dared to ask her what she and Gustave told other people. Has he always been a nephew? That meant he was a part of the family. Officially, at least.

"I guess, you are right"

***

In the afternoon Mr George Tomwick, an old friend of Arthur, came over. With nothing much to do, Tomwick came almost everyday to see his friend. After Tomwick left, Arthur called Olivier. It was probably time to play the promised chess. But, no. Arthur had other plans.

"Tomwick and I had an excellent idea" Arthur started "You speak perfectly french. That's a very unfair advantage here in London. Would you mind if you would practice once or twice a week with Tomwick's granddaughter? You surely want to meet some other people. And. You could improve a little bit of your pocket money."

"Emm... Yes, I could do that." He was unsure of what he had agreed to, but he didn't think about it. He did what he did everytime, he said yes.