Nico and Erik set out almost immediately for the land of France, though Nico complained. He had thought he was done with lessons for the month!
Erik laughed. “I’m sorry, my liege, but you must remember, France was my home for many years before being brought into your service. And there are things you should know about the French way.”
“Including its language?”
Erik shook his head. “Don’t worry about that, there isn’t time to teach you much. You’ll catch on, I’m sure, but there’s a few words I could teach you now, if you’d like.”
Nico shrugged. “If you think I’ll catch on pretty quick, there’s no need.”
Erik nodded. “Alright, well, I do think you should know a few common words before we get there. Bonjour is hello and good morning, merci is thanks, de rien is you’re welcome, oui is yes, non is no, and au revoir is goodbye.”
“Really? Bonjour is hello and good morning?” Erik nodded. “Sounds similar to buongiorno.”
Erik nodded. “And you will find some other similar words, but French, though it is considered a Romance language based on Latin, has some Gaelic and Germanic influences as well. Hence it won’t exactly be the same.”
“It’s French, not Italian; I’d expect there to be some differences. So, remind me again why we needed to have this conversation in English?”
Erik shrugged. “You need to be using it a bit more; besides, you’re more likely to meet someone who can speak English in France, rather than Italian.”
Nico sighed as he sat back in his seat. “Alright, alright, fine. But with all this extra schooling, I expect another month off.”
Erik grinned. “I’ll consider it.”
Nico merely rolled his eyes before Erik had him practice the new words until he could say them proficiently. Erik also taught him how to say please, goodnight, very good, Mr, Ms, Mrs, and phrases like bon appétit, ‘do you speak English’, ‘I only speak English’, and ‘Erik is my translator’. By the time their carriage rolled into Paris, Nico understood the French words fairly well, well enough to begin using them at their hotel. But, for the most part, he let Erik do the talking and the explaining. Of course, they had a ready story. Erik’s face was hidden behind a mask because it was deformed, which was true, and they were looking for M. Valdemar so that Erik could visit his uncle one last time before having to move to America, which was not true. But, thankfully, the people who heard the story bought it, and the two found out where M. Valdemar lived and were directed to his home so that the poor man, Erik, could visit his dying uncle. Nico was so very glad Erik was an amazing actor, or they wouldn’t have gotten as far as they had. They hailed a carriage and set off immediately towards M. Valdemar’s mansion. They switched to Italian on the ride over.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea to continue with the nephew bit for Valdemar? I don’t think he’ll buy it.”
Erik shrugged. “He did have a sister who disappeared many years ago.”
“Oh, how convenient,” scoffed Nico.
Erik laughed. “Perhaps, but if there’s anything I know about Parisian women, they tend to go to England or America to escape, not Italy. Italy is considered too close culturally and is usually considered an exquisite vacation rather than a fresh start. That’s more of America’s thing, and sometimes England.”
Nico sighed. “But you’re going to say she went to Italy.”
“Of course, and of course she wouldn’t have said a thing about me; I’m deformed.”
“Of course.” The carriage rolled to a stop in front of a grand mansion. “Well, I will say this, Valdemar clearly has better taste than Prospero.”
Erik snickered. “I would not be surprised if Monsieur Valdemar is a much better man, perhaps more to your taste?”
“Yes, but what about the hypnotist, Carmichael?”
Erik shrugged as he stepped out. “Guess we’ll find out.”
Nico sighed as he followed Erik to the front door. A servant answered Erik’s knock, and though he looked rather suspicious, still took Erik’s message to Valdemar, an evident fact when the Monsieur himself appeared at the door a few minutes later.
“Hello, I am M. Valdemar, how may I help you?”
“You speak English?” blurted Nico.
M. Valdemar chuckled. “Yes, and clearly you do as well. My servant told me there was a man at the door claiming to know me, and a young boy who did not seem to understand French, so I tried speaking in English. Clearly, it worked.”
Nico gave a slight smirk. “Clearly so. Thank you, Monsieur.”
“Ah, so you are at least learning some French, that’s good. Thanks to you, I assume, Monsieur . . .”
“Erik, just Erik, Monsieur. I am the butler of this young Seigneur, my beloved master, Nico di Angelo.”
M. Valdemar held out his hand. “A pleasure to meet you both. But is it true, Monsieur Erik, that you are a son of my long-lost sister? What news can you give me?”
Erik sighed. “None, I fear; she left me when I was young because of my deformity. The father of my young master found me on the street and took me in, only asking that I look after his son’s needs.”
M. Valdemar nodded. “Very well, I had hoped to hear some news of her, but you are here, perhaps that is enough. Though, I must ask, why did you not come sooner?”
“My humblest apologies, Monsieur. The years on the street have taught me to be cautious when meeting people; I was not sure that you would even see me because I wear a mask due to my deformity. My master’s father was in France just recently and secretly checked up on you and informed us upon his return of your illness. And my master came to get a taste of French culture.”
“Ah, very well, come in, come in. Welcome, dear nephew, welcome. And a warm welcome to you, Seigneur di Angelo. Where are your things?”
“At the hotel.”
“What? No, you are family, you should stay here with me in my final days. I will send a servant to pick those up for you. Come, we were just sitting down for dinner.”
“Oh, we don’t want to impose . . .”
“Nonsense, if you are going to start sleeping here for your stay, you might as well start eating here! Helene, darling, we have guests!” The only woman sitting at the table rose, followed by the two male guests.
“Why, who are they, Ernest?”
“My long-lost sister’s son, Erik, and his master, Lord Nico di Angelo.”
“Why do you wear a mask?” asked one of the men.
“I’m afraid Erik’s face has a deformity, and his master saw fit to give him a mask so he could present himself in polite circles. And I’m sure he’s quite as conscientious about it as we are, so let’s forget it and eat our dinner, shall we? Oh, and my dear, could you please set two more places for our guests. Not only will they be eating with us, I’ve invited them to stay with us until my passing.”
Helene smiled. “Of course, dear, it would be a delight to have them. Please, have a seat, I’ll bring the silverware shortly.” She walked out of the dining room, returning soon with two extra settings.
The dinner itself was rather delightful, the group chatting away gaily, asking questions of the newcomers. Nico let out a soft sigh of relief when no one was looking, for they were all speaking in English. Not only that, but he took a fairly good look around and, like the outside, Valdemar’s tastes were almost the exact opposite of Prospero’s. Sure, there were exquisite, expensive pieces, but they weren’t loud and obnoxious like at Prospero’s. After dinner, the group migrated into the living room, where talk turned to mesmerizing, hypnotism, and Valdemar’s condition as Carmichael and Valdemar prepared for a session. Erik and Nico were, well, mesmerized by the technique.
When Valdemar’s session was over, Carmichael glanced at the two. “Would either of you like a turn?”
“I, I don’t know,” began Nico.
“And what about you, Erik?”
“Perhaps. May I, my liege?”
Nico shrugged. “It’s your brain.”
Erik bowed and took a seat. “I am ready.”
“Good, now watch the lights and listen to my voice. Your mind is drifting between consciousness and unconsciousness. Now you are falling asleep, you are asleep. You will listen and obey my commands, not your master’s.” Nico stiffened, he knew where this guy was going, but he stayed rooted to the spot. “You will believe everything I tell you. You hide behind that mask because you are not deformed, you are beautiful, so beautiful that all who see your face would love you. Now, remove the mask.”
“No.”
Carmichael blinked. “I beg your pardon? You will do as I say!”
“No, I know what my face looks like; I have lived with it for years, not you, and none of your pretty words can ever change the truth.”
Carmichael let out a soft growl, but he ended the session with Erik.
He turned to Nico, “Would you like to try now?”
“Perhaps I shall.” Nico took a seat, and Carmichael began again, only this time, he told Nico to tell Erik to take off his mask.
“Why is seeing what’s beneath the mask so important to you?” blurted Nico. But no matter how hard Carmichael tried, he could not get Nico and Erik to submit to him.
“Well, I’m afraid I must cut this entertaining session short,” Valdemar said. “I’m sure our guests are very tired from their trip.” As if on cue, Nico yawned. Valdemar chuckled. “Case in point. My dear, if you could see Erik and young Nico to their rooms, I will attend to Mr. Carmichael and Dr. James.”
Helene smiled. “Of course, Ernest.” She led them up the stairs to two rooms, where the servant had already deposited their luggage. “Erik, you may have this room. Nico, this one. If there’s anything you need, ring the bell, the butler will be up a little late.”
Erik bowed. “Thank you, madame, but if you’ll be so kind, I am Nico’s butler and wish to continue serving him as such while we are here.”
“At least let our butler show you around.”
“A good idea. Thank you, Madame.”
“Of course, well, goodnight.”
“Goodnight,” the two echoed before Helene left them.
Nico and Eric quickly decided to go over their impressions of the hypnotist and the doctor in the morning and turned in for the night.