1787- the story of a revolution

- chapter two -

He carries me through the cold night in Paris. My cold body on his warm one. I don't know how long we have been walking.Or rather how long he has been walking. Five Minutes? Half an hour? We are in a part of Paris I never dared to explore.

 I don't know why he rescued me. Why did he rescue me? What does he want to do with me when we arrived at our destination?

 The houses slowly drag themselves past us. On the left, on the right. They are not grey anymore. There are no rough brick walls anymore.                                                                                                            They have white walls and they are clean. And the most marvellous thing about them is, that they  have little gardens in front of them. In some of them, they are just pretty flowers, beautifully arranged. In some there are planted vegetables. At least I assume that they will, once the winter is over. Now the earth is cold, it's hard and deadly for life.                                                   Nearly as deadly as it would have been for me if I weren't rescued. I lift my head. My savior is looking straight forward. I don't think I am too heavy for him. I see women every day in the streets. he women who are able to eat properly. They can eat at least three times a day. They heavy dresses in the most beautiful colors.                                                                                                        Blue like the sky when spring just arrived and isn't concerned with any sorrow, sprinkled with fluffy light clouds which don't want to bring any harm to us. Green like the young leaves, the sign of new life coming after a hard winter. They are wearing heavy coats made out of fur and velvet. Woman of that kind would be heavy, but I am not. I haven't eaten in days and never owned something that expensive.                                                                                                                               His face isn't covered in any emotion. I decide to look a little closer. He has a soft bone structure with high cheekbones and light round eyebrows which frame his face perfectly.

 I am sure he is engaged or has a wife. How old is he? Maybe twenty. Maybe a little bit younger, maybe a little bit older. He must have noticed my stares. He looks at me and I immediately turn my face down. "We will arrive in a few minutes. I hope I didn't hurt you any further Mademoiselle." He says with his calm, gentle voice. It is hypnotizing. I would bet that he is good at speaking. He will capture everyone with his voice and keep them with his words.

 There are regular lanterns now at our sides who brighten the snow on the streets which is sparkling like the expensive dresses from the noble ladies at ball nights. He turns right now. Openes a tiny garden gate, then closes it behind us. Left and right from the path are flowerbeds sleeping under a layer of  sparkling snowflakes. 

He climbs a staircase and knocks three times on a big wooden door. It has carved ornaments at the upper corners. I hear soft steps from the inside and a couple of seconds later a maid is opening the door. She is wearing a long simple dress, a white apron and a fitting white bonnet on top of dark blonde hair which is put up in a low bun. Like it is typical for maids. I sometimes see them downtown when they are buying food for their masters. They are always looking so graceful and busy. This young lady looks confused for a second but then smiles a soft, bright smile. "Welcome home monsieur Charpentier! I hope you had a nice way home."

 "Well thank you, Nina, would you mind to prepare a tea and a warm blanket on the chaise lounge for this young lady?" He smiles back. "Of course not. I will inform everyone right now that we have a guest. Shall I prepare a room and a bath for her monsieur?" She asked and seemed truly happy about the fact that I am in her household. "That would be nice." He answeres while he steps into the house. I look around. Everything is so new. So colorful, so bright. We are in an entrance hall which is equipped completely in a dark marine blue and gold. The walls, the carpets, and the furniture. He carefully climbs another staircase and entered another room through a door made out light wood. He lays me down on the chaise lounge and is taking his coat off me. The maid named Nina entered the room again with a cup of steaming tea in the one and a cozy blanket made out of wool in the other hand. Its color perfectly fits the furniture. She is laying the blanket over me and places the cup on a tiny side table with a glass table top. "Peppermint tea monsieur, the best we have." Nina sais and curtsies. "I see. Now, will you leave us two alone? We have to talk." he is answering her. "As you wish monsieur." She turned around and walked out. "Oh and Nina" he adds. She looked back. "Please close the door." She nodded and closes the door behind her. He turns to me. I carefully grab the cup and take a little sip of the hot tea. I don't remember when the last time was I drank tea. 

He sits down opposite me. The hot liquid makes me feel alive again. I can feel my fingertips, my toes and even my nose tip seems to become warm again.He's leaning a little closer to me. "Do you feel better now Mademoiselle?" He asks in his polite manner. "Yes. I really don't know how to thank you, Monsieur Charpentier. There is a question that bothered me all the time." I say shyly "Why exactly did you save me. Usually, men don't do that." I look into his eyes with a curious look in mine. "Well." He says and leans back again. "I actually don't know either. I just had this feeling. I can't see someone treating a woman in that way. This is just..." he looks like he was searching for a fitting word. "It is just disgusting." I nod. Taking a sip again. Warming my cold fingers, being in my own mind. "Now, mademoiselle, would you tell me your name?" He asks back. " It is Minette. Minette- Odile to be accurate monsieur." I answer. "And?""What do you mean with 'and' Monsieur?" I was confused. "What is your last name. "Oh" I look down with a sad expression. "I'm afraid I don't have a last name, monsieur, I am sorry." I tell him the correct answer. "You.. you don't have a last name?" He asks perplex. "No. My parents died right after they sent me to Paris. They never told me my last name." I said while my cheeks blush with shame. I pull the blanket a little bit tighter around me. He looks even more confused. "If you were that young, then how have you managed to survive that long. I mean, Paris is a rough city. How often happened something like that before to you?" He seems to be really interested but I hate this topic. My life. I shiver but I will tell him. I think I can trust him. After all, he was the one who saved me from the drunk man.I am thinking about what to say for a second and then I start to speak.

"You see, monsieur, I must have been about two years old when I arrived here in Paris. I traveled in secret. I lived on the street since I am able to think. When I was young, the older women who were living on the street helped me. They showed me how to survive. How to..." I struggled for a moment. Should I really tell him? "They... they taught me how to steal. I lived from stealing. something like tonight never happened to me before, indeed, I was slapped and hurt several times, but nobody did to me what the man did to me. I... I am so grateful. Without you, I don't know what would have happened if you didn't show up. I owe you something, monsieur." After I finished my speech, I look back at him. He seems to be lost in thoughts. Silence. The room is filled with silence. You can hear the soft snowflakes falling against the window, the fire is crackling in the fireplace.

There are footsteps from the maids. They are quiet because they are walking on carpets, something I never thought to see with my own eyes. Monsieur Charpentier is slowly nodding with a finger on his chin and a stare into emptiness.

Suddenly someone knocks on the door. He looks up as Nina appears in the room. "Monsieur, the bath is ready for our guest." He smiles at her. "You have a perfect timing. Like always. Mademoiselle Minette, are you able to walk on your own this time?" He says with amusement in his voice. "I am," I say before drinking the last sip of my peppermint tea. Slowly I stand up. I'm not as shaky as I was before, but miles away from a good walk. I am walking towards Nina who smiles and offers me her arm. "Please bring her to bed after the bath. I want to talk to her tomorrow after breakfast. Mademoiselle Minette, I hope you have a good night after the bad experiences after today. I smile at him. "Thank you very much, Monsieur Charpentier. I only can give the same back to you." And with this friendly evening wishes, I am led into the bath from Nina.