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Date Posted: 01:05:39 02/11/08 Mon
Author: Hannah
Author Host/IP: port150.dialup.bfree.on.ca / 66.207.116.150
Subject: Northern Woods, Chapter 139
In reply to: Hannah 's message, "Northern Woods" on 01:01:21 02/11/08 Mon

Chapter 139

Claire and Veronique were hovering in the crowd, noting all the new designer gowns their ‘friends’ had worn this evening and laughing at a couple of the more outrageous ones.

Claire was dressed in an ice-blue St. Laurier confection that skimmed her figure lovingly and had more than one man staring lustily after her.

Veronique was attired an elegant backless gold satin Vera Wang gown that shimmered in the dimmed lighting. It was quite attractive but Claire cattily noted that it barely hid a few figure flaws.

They knew who in their set Michel had dated, and for the most part they were on friendly terms. Lisette Gallant and Geneviève Mailloux had moved on since Michel’s disappearance, and both now claimed to be happily engaged to be married. Claire didn’t believe it for a single second, however. She sneered in their direction, fully convinced that if any one of them had the opportunity to be with Michel again, they’d dump their ‘beaus’ like the proverbial hot potato. Neither bothered to stop by their table.

Lisa, Monique, Thérèse and Marie were all here with their escorts. Only Claire and Veronique were here on their own. They had both noticed two very handsome men watching them, but they had decided to ignore them. They didn’t want any encumbrances in their plans for the evening.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Chuck made his way to his sister Marie after walking away from the annoying reporter. He found his sibling chatting with Sarah Broussard and nibbling on canapés.

Marie chuckled as soon as she looked up into his serious face. “Trouble, big brother?” she inquired as she reached for another canapé.

“No, at least I hope not.” Chuck replied as he reached for a glass of wine from a passing waiter. “Just an overly pushy reporter, but I think I put her in her place.”

“She must be pushy to bother you, Chuck.” Marie said seriously. “Forget her. Now… tell me about this beautiful woman Michel married.”

“Maybe I should leave.” Sarah said timidly.

“No. That’s alright Sarah.” Chuck said with a smile. “I don’t mind if you listen. I know you won’t repeat anything I tell my sister.”

“No, I won’t.” Sarah assured him. “Thank you for your confidence in me.”

“You’ve earned it Sarah.” Chuck replied, smiling slightly.

‘Finally I can relax!’ Chuck thought with a sigh.

He had no objection including Sarah in his confidences with Marie. Sarah had proven on more than one occasion that she did not talk to others about things related to either the people at the office or company information that needed to be kept confidential. He trusted her, probably almost as much as he trusted Michel.

“Chuck!” Marie said impatiently, as she glared at her sibling. “Spill!”

Sarah grinned appreciatively at Marie’s outspoken manner and being privy to this private discussion. She too was interested in hearing about the new Madame Samuelle.

Sarah had always thought a lot of her boss and she was delighted to discern that his behaviour since his return appeared to have reverted to the contented man he’d been before knowing Elena.

When Michael and Elena divorced, Sarah had watched in disbelief as the influence of the tarts he’d associated with had transformed a shy gentleman into a scoundrel. When he’d disappeared, she had been relieved for his sake. She reasoned that his new wife must be the force behind his newly discovered contentment, and she couldn’t wait to meet her.

“Do you remember me telling you how miserable Michel was before he left Montreal?” Chuck began.

“Of course.” Marie said with a frown. “It’s a good thing that witch he was married to left for England before I could get my hands on her or I would have gone after her myself.”

Sarah’s grin grew wider. She had hated Elena too. The woman had been rude and condescending to everyone in the office any chance she got.

‘I like this woman!’ Sarah thought happily. ‘She’s as open and honest as her brother! Oh how I wish she had done what she’s saying… that witch would have deserved it! If she and her brother are as close to Monsieur Samuelle as I think they are, she’s probably the only person who could have got away with punishing that witch for how she treated everyone!’

“Well, as miserable as he was then, that’s how happy he is now.” Chuck said with a smile. There had been times he wished his sister wasn’t all talk and no action too. “Nikita is a lovely lady. She’s sweet and loves him very much.”

“Nikita. What an unusual name.” Marie commented. “Does it suit her?”

“Yes, actually it does. She’s unusual in a lot of ways.” Chuck replied. “Michel told me as much on the phone before I met her, but I didn’t believe him until I did.”

“What do you mean?” Marie asked curiously.

“Well, I for one find it highly unusual for a young woman of twenty-three to blush so charmingly when one mentions she’s beautiful.” Chuck replied with a chuckle. “I actually can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a young lady do that.”

Sarah’s smile widened as she continued to listen carefully. She could tell Monsieur Johnson was impressed with the new Madame Samuelle, just by what he’d said so far.

‘He’s right… most beautiful young women don’t blush. They’re arrogant and self-centered and they think praise is their due. If he’s right about this lady, I can’t wait to meet her!’

“How sweet.” Marie commented. “I hope you didn’t embarrass the poor girl.”

“I think she was a little embarrassed, but that’s why it was so charming.” Chuck said with a grin. “Most beautiful women know they’re beautiful and have inflated egos. It was a refreshing change.”

“And is she beautiful?” Sarah asked quietly. She knew she could expect an honest answer in return and she wasn’t disappointed.

“Well, you know Sarah… it’s like this. We’ve all met people who are beautiful on the outside, but you can tell once you’ve talked to them for a while that their beauty is all on the surface. True?” Chuck asked.

“So very true, Monsieur.” Sarah replied politely. “People like that are so shallow that they’re tiresome. Their only focus is what they wear and how they look externally. True beauty is internal but they don’t understand that. The sad thing is that once you’ve seen through them, you’re no longer fooled by their exterior, even though they think you are.”

“Very astute. However, when you meet Nikita, you’ll see that her beauty is not like that. She’s stunning… but she’d be beautiful even if that weren’t true.” Chuck stated simply. “I don’t know what else to say… really. I’ve only met her once, but I know Michel and I’ve never seen him this happy.”

“I can’t wait to meet her!” Marie said with a smile. “Sarah have you noticed that Michel is happy since his return?”

“Yes, Monsieur Samuelle does seem to be very happy.” Sarah said diplomatically. “It’s very nice to see.”

“They should be here any time now,” Chuck replied. “Nikita’s invited her best friend to come to the party with them. Evidently, they were neighbours in Toronto.”

“Oh that’s nice.” Marie said brightly. “What a good friend to come all this way just for a party!”

“Michel has hired a new bodyguard for Nikita too.” Chuck supplied. “Nikita knows him as well.”

“She does?” Marie asked curiously. “How?”

“Yes. She was informally adopted by a black family when she was younger. Apparently, this young man is like a ‘brother’ to her. He trained as a policeman in Toronto and Davenport thinks very highly of him.” Chuck replied.

‘Interesting.’ Sarah thought as she studied Marie’s surprised face. ‘Davenport is not an easy person to impress. This ‘brother’ must be a very capable person!’

“Michel has actually hired both of them and they’ve moved here. He plans to hire more of her friends if possible so that she will have friends of her own here. That is of course, until she can make more friends here.” Chuck confided.

“Oh?” Marie asked with interest. “And what does her girlfriend do?”

“She’s a child physiologist or some such thing.” Chuck said disinterestedly. “I’m really not sure.”

‘Wow!’ Sarah thought. ‘Monsieur Samuelle must love his wife a great deal. What a generous thing for him to do!’

“I just hope that pushy reporter and the society bimbos Michel dated before don’t ruin things tonight.” Chuck said with a sigh.

Sarah’s eyes widened in dismay. ‘Oh no! The society bitches are here? God only knows if they’ll behave.’

“Mon Dieu! The women he dated before are here?” Marie asked in horror. “What were you thinking, Chuck?”

“Don’t blame me, Marie.” Chuck replied in his own defense. “I just implemented the guest list Michel gave me.”

“I don’t understand Chuck.” Marie said, frowning slightly, “Why would Michel invite those witches?”

Chuck sighed. He’d wondered that too, but it wasn’t his place to comment on Michel’s wishes. “He thought he had to invite them because their parents are investors.”

“Does Nikita know this?” an appalled Marie wondered out loud.

“Yes. She’s been told.” Chuck answered simply.

“The poor girl!” Marie exclaimed in dismay.

“She must be very brave to come in here knowing that.” Sarah observed softly, with a growing respect for the new Madame. “I understand that she doesn’t speak a word of French either. Is that right?”

Marie nodded her agreement, but said nothing more.

“No, she doesn’t.” Chuck confirmed. “That’s why Michel specifically requested that everyone speak only English tonight.”

“Does she plan to learn French?” Sarah inquired quietly.

“Michel said she’d like to.” Chuck replied. “It will be difficult. It isn’t as easy to pick up another language when you’re an adult as it is to learn it as a child. I doubt I could do that.”

“Me either.” An awed Marie replied. “Do you think these women will behave themselves?

“All I can say is that they’ve all been warned. There are one or two of them that I’m not sure about, but we’ll have to see what happens.” Chuck replied.

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