‘Je m’excuse de vous avoir fait attendre debout dans la cour. S’il vous plaît, suivez-moi à l’intérieur.’ Linking arms with Jane, Mme Chastain shouted at a pair of students who had emerged from the laboratory. Judging from the alacrity with which the action was taken, she had apparently asked them to bring in the Vincents’ trunks. M. Chastain and Vincent followed, already talking about glamour and the work they would do in the laboratory. Though Jane longed to slow her pace and join the gentlemen, to do so would be intolerably rude to Mme Chastain, who kept up a running, though incomprehensible, commentary as they went up the stairs to the house. Jane gathered that the monologue was primarily concerned with fatigue and the perils of travel. She wondered if Vincent had told the Chastains of their encounter on the road, or if Mme Chastain spoke in more general terms.

The inside of the Chastain home had broad halls with high ceilings that gave a feeling of spaciousness, but Jane could not be certain how much of that was real. Glamour hung on every surface, as if M. Chastain could not help himself, and must exercise his art at all times, defying even the most basic points of taste. Mme Chastain watched Jane’s face and laughed as though she were quite used to this reaction. ‘Oh, vous savez comment est mon mari.’

Understanding only the word ‘husband’ and Mme Chastain’s embarrassed tone, Jane took an entire volume from that sentence. M. Chastain must enjoy playing with glamour more than good taste allowed, and his wife indulged him in this.

Mme Chastain said something else in French, but it was too rapid for Jane to even hear the individual words. Colouring, Jane smiled an apology. ‘Mon français est très mauvaise. Pourriezvous parler plus lentement, s’il vous plaît?’ She had known French would be the language de rigueur, but until she arrived she had not realized how poorly she remembered it.

Patting her hand, Mme Chastain slowed down and spoke with such clarity that, though it was en français, Jane understood her perfectly. ‘Of course, my dear. You may have to remind me again. I only said that my husband allows his students to practice here. The whole will be refashioned by the end of the season.’