Page 49 of Beyond the Lavender Fields
“Did your Jacobin friends tell you to say that, or do you truly believe it?”
Gilles scowled. “I can come to my own conclusions,merci.” Well, that had cleared all desire to kiss her. Did she think him a simpleton, pulled along by the convictions of others? He’d decided on his own not to follow thefédérés, hadn’t he? He pulled back the hand that had rested on the wall between them, but a touch made him pause. Her hand lay lightly on his, the golden hue of her skin bright in the gleam of evening sun.
Her chest rose and fell. “I’m sorry. That was unkind.”
Gilles remained frozen despite the warm Mediterranean air. Even though he’d been away from the sea for years, his skin was tan compared to hers. Rough. The hands of a mariner, even though he didn’t want to admit to his sailing heritage. Hers were the hands of a lady of class and prominence, unmarred by scars and callouses. Never mind that their fathers were both technicallybourgeois. The Jacobins strove to break down these barriers, but could they ever truly erase the differences? Surely Marie-Caroline would never see him as someone worthy of consideration for ...
She slid her fingers back, until they sat on the wall rather than his hand. “Why did you join the Jacobins?”
“Because I wished for a world where one could choose the course of his life, not have it chosen for him based on his father’s occupation or the size of his inheritance.”
“Men did that under the old government.”
“Not easily.” Gilles plucked up anavetteand bit off a piece of the crumbly biscuit. A hint of orange flower tiptoed across his tongue. The navette was sweeter than he remembered, but just as dry. It wanted a hearty mug of Maman’s chocolate for dipping.
“Easier than it still is for a woman to do the same.”
Gilles laughed. “You have stated yourself that women have played a great role in this conflict so far.”
“For which they are hardly recognized.”
He pointed his half-eatennavettein her direction. “Sometimes you sound very much like arévolutionnaire, Marie-Caroline. Why do you still want the old ways? Women have a greater possibility of changing society under a new government than under the king’s regime.” He popped the rest of the biscuit into his mouth.
“Not under the Jacobins,” she muttered. “Since the gathering of the Estates General, everything has been in an uproar. Three years of warring with ourselves, changing opinions, making accusations, encouraging violence. Is it wrong to want the peace the traditions of the old system brought?”
Gilles took anothernavette. Late sun sparkled across the surface of the harbor. Calling to him, as it always did. That was why he avoided the port at all costs. The past did hold a certain allure. But progress meant leaving that behind. “There was not peace before 1789. People were starving.”
“Famine is not the government’s fault.”
“How they deal with the problem is.”
Her nostrils flared. “People wanted a fast solution to a problem that had been mounting for years. So they overthrew the government and expected the new one to bring a different result. We’ve had better harvests, but the Jacobins can hardly take credit for making the weather favorable. Little has been done in preparation for another bad year.” She straightened, drawing in a breath. “Why not work to reform the system we have, rather than throwing it all to the wind?” Marie-Caroline had turned toward him, rather than retreating. Her eyes sparked as she spoke.
“It worked for the Americans.” Was it wrong to enjoy their arguing? He kept one corner of his lip clamped between his teeth to prevent any indication of his amusement from spreading across his face.
“What worked for a handful of colonies will not necessarily work for a kingdom like France.”
He couldn’t help it. Someday he would learn when to stop before he pushed too far. “Perhaps that is why Lafayette has failed and abandoned Paris and why his effigy is now being dragged through the streets.”
“Lafayette has failed because the same people who followed his ideals have changed their minds in the light of the Jacobins’ supreme wisdom.” Her eyebrows lifted haughtily as she spoke the last two words. “Many of whom wanted a constitutional monarchy at the beginning and are now calling for the king’s removal.”
“And this is why you thought we could not be friends,” Gilles said. He pulled out a thirdnavette.
“This is precisely why.”
“And yet, we are.” At least, he hoped he hadn’t offended her to the point she would retract their friendship.
She regarded him with a careful eye. The sea breeze teased a curl across her forehead and played with the ribbons of her hat. “Somehow.”
He extended the biscuits to her with an uncertain grin, and her lips twitched as she took one.
“But we both know the real reason you want things to go back to how they were. You miss the dancing.”
“That is not fair.” The smile finally broke across her face. “You mustn’t tease about dancing. I do miss it. More than you can imagine.”
Gilles wrapped the biscuits and shoved the rest in his pocket. How had he eaten so many of those? He didn’t even like them, though they weren’t as terrible as he’d remembered. “We dance these days. It is just different.”
“That is not what I mean by—”
