Chapter 8 - What Five Francs Can Cost

Summary

While having dinner out one Saturday evening, in the days before he started living with Mlle. Mimi—we’ll meet her soon—Rodolphe made the acquaintance of Mlle. Laure, who dealt in fashion and beauty products. When she found out that Rodolphe was the editor in chief of The Scarf of Iris and The Beaver, two fashion magazines, she began to gaze at him with an array of expressions designed to attract his interest. Since she was in the field, she hoped he could help promote her business. Rodolphe responded to her provocative glances with a spectacular display of lyric poetry, a show of verbal fireworks whose elegant style would have made both Benserade and Voiture jealous—not to mention Ruggieri himself. By the end of their dinner, Laure, having learned that Rodolphe was a poet, made it clear that she could easily be convinced to accept him as her Petrarch and without further discussion they agreed to meet the next day.“

Oh my God!” Rodolphe said to himself as he took her home, “she's a delight! And her grammar is as impressive as her clothes. I’ll try to make a good impression on her.”

When they arrived at her door, Mlle. Laure removed her arm from his as she thanked him for taking the trouble to walk all the way with her to a neighborhood far from his own.

“Oh,” said Rodolphe as he bowed to her, “I only wish you lived in Moscow or the Sunda Islands so I could have devoted even more time to serving as your gallant escort home.”

“That's a bit too far,” Laure answered with a pleasing smile.

“We would travel in style along the boulevards, madame,” said Rodolphe. “Please allow me to kiss your hand, although I’ll place the kiss on your cheek instead,” he continued as he touched her lips with his before Laure could resist.

“Oh, monsieur!” she exclaimed, “you’re going too fast.”

“That's so I can get to the finish sooner,” Rodolphe replied. “The first laps of love's race should be run at a gallop.”

“What a peculiar person!” thought the woman of fashion as she went in.

“What an attractive person!” thought Rodolphe as he headed home.