Writer 1879: Solitary Journey in France

Chapter 279 I'm going to school, young master will go hungry!

The following afternoon, as agreed, Lionel arrived at a secluded villa belonging to the Marquise de la Vernoy, located in the suburbs of Saint-Honoré.

The Marquise clearly didn't want the meeting to attract attention, so she waited for Lionel in the living room beforehand.

She was dressed in a simple black dress today, and greeted him with a half-smile: "Mr. Sorel, you've arrived. This is quite an unexpected trouble."

Lionel suppressed the urge to retort and forced a polite return of the greeting: "Good day, Marchioness."

Soon, two witnesses from Sofia's side arrived: two young noblewomen, Mademoiselle de Motmar and Duchess de Berry.

They were both nervous and excited, their faces bearing a solemnity as if they were participating in a historical event; but their eyes couldn't hide their curiosity, especially when they looked at Lionel.

After exchanging pleasantries, the atmosphere immediately became formal and somber.

Marquise de La Vernoy, as the chief witness for Madame de Rothschild's side, spoke first: "Ladies, we have gathered here to resolve the differences between Madame Eleonore de Rothschild and Mademoiselle Sofia Ivanovna Durova-Sherbatova in the most dignified and harmless manner possible."

I propose that the duel be held on the last Sunday of this month, at noon.

Miss de Motmar spoke a few words in hushed tones with the Duchess de Berry, then nodded in agreement: "The time is right."

Now it was Sophia's turn to make her conditions. Duchess de Berry said, "Regarding the location, to avoid unnecessary attention, I suggest the depths of the Saint-Germain-en-Laye forest on the western outskirts of Paris."

My family has a secluded hunting lodge with a flat meadow in front and tall hedges around it, providing ample privacy.

Lionel and Marquise de la Vernoy exchanged a glance, then both agreed.

Now for the crucial part: the Marquise glanced at Lionel, signaling him to speak.

Lionel took a deep breath and said in as calm a tone as possible, "Regarding weapons, Madame Rothschild suggests using the court rapier."

This weapon is lightweight, easy to control, and more suitable for women, effectively reducing the risk of accidental serious injury.

Sofia's two witnesses exchanged a glance, and Miss de Motmar spoke up: "Miss Shcherbatova accepted the offer of the rapier."

Lionel nodded and said, "Finally, regarding the rules. Although it is up to you two to propose them, we strongly recommend adopting the 'first blood' principle."

The duel ends when a visible wound or bleeding occurs on any part of either party's body.

This meets the requirements of the honor and also ensures the safety of the two ladies to the greatest extent possible.

Sofia's witness laughed upon hearing this, and Marquise de Ravelnoy nodded: "This is also Miss Shcherbatova's wish!"

The air in the living room instantly relaxed, and the ladies' brows unfurrowed.

Finally, both sides agreed to bring their own doctors and to keep the details of the duel strictly confidential from anyone else.

After saying all this, Lionel finally breathed a sigh of relief, confirming that there was indeed some kind of tacit understanding among these noblewomen.

Sophia's two witnesses did not linger and rose to bid farewell to the Marchioness.

After seeing the two off, Lionel put on his hat and prepared to leave as well, but was unexpectedly stopped by the Marquise de la Vernoy.

The noblewoman, who had been widowed for many years, had her servants bring her the finest white wine, and gazed at the tall, handsome, and talented young man before her with seductive eyes.

"Want to have a couple of drinks with me—Adele has such good taste..."

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Lionel eventually escaped the clutches of Marquise de la Vernoy and fled in a panic to Zola's Villa Médan.

I can't go back to 117 Boulevard Saint-Germain anytime soon, and I don't need to worry about the rest of the duel, so of course I need to find some peace and quiet.

Zola warmly received Lionel, but even Fang Zheng couldn't help but ask, "Are those two ladies really going to..."

Before he could finish speaking, he awkwardly shut his mouth under the murderous glare of his wife, Mrs. Alexandrin. Lionel seized the opportunity to change the subject: "Emile, I know you like photography. Could you take a picture of me?"

One of Zola's greatest joys in life was photography, and upon hearing this, he immediately replied, "No problem, shall I take your picture?"

Lionel shook his head: "No, it's a photo of Petty. Petty is going to attend the Municipal Girls' Elementary School on School Street and needs a 'school registration photo'."

Although the school takes photos for them, I wanted Emily to take this one; it will definitely have a different meaning.

Petit and Alice had stayed at Zola's house for a long time. The Zolas had no children and liked the two little girls very much, so they immediately agreed.

Lionel immediately wrote a letter and sent Zola's coachman to 117 Rue Saint-Germain, asking him to bring Petit to Médan and his finest clothes with him.

Not long after lunch, Petty arrived at the villa by carriage.

Compared to Alice, Mrs. Alexandrin doted on Patty, who spent all her time in the kitchen, and picked the little girl up as soon as they met.

"I heard from Leon that you're going to school? Are you happy?" Mrs. Alexandrin asked.

Unexpectedly, Patty pouted: "I said I could read at home by myself, or Alice could teach me, but the young master insists on sending me to school..."

Lionel was somewhat helpless upon hearing this; Petty didn't quite understand the meaning of going to school.

With the "typing cooperative" in place, Alice certainly couldn't accompany Patty to study every day like before.

He himself would never start teaching Petty a primary school curriculum, and he also didn't like having a "Jane Eyre" in his home.

Traditional female tutors were rare.

That leaves only one option – send Patty to a girls' primary school.

The School Street Municipal Girls' Elementary School was a girls' school that began to be open to the general public after the passage of Jules Ferry's Act.

Formerly a church school, it has now been completely transformed into a secular primary school, serving as a "model project" for the new education bill.

Therefore, Lionel specifically asked Albert's father for a place in the school.

Petty is already eleven years old. After testing, her literacy level is equivalent to that of a fourth-grade student, so she was simply enrolled in the fourth grade.

Anyway, with the deputy minister's letter of introduction and the child being personally delivered to the school by "the conscience of the Sorbonne," everything is negotiable.

Patty herself was not very willing—she worried that without her, the young master would go hungry.

Lionel stepped forward and patted Petty's head: "Alright, go wash your face quickly, Mr. Zola wants to take your picture!"

……

More than an hour later, Petty's photo was taken.

Zola used the relatively early wet plate collodion process, which was complicated to operate, required moving the darkroom, and had a relatively long exposure time.

So it took quite a while to get the shot right.

After the wet plate photography was exposed, it had to be returned to the darkroom immediately for developing to prevent the negative from drying out, so Petty and Lionel saw what the developed photos looked like very quickly.

In the photo, Patty is wearing a plaid dress, her hair is braided, she sits upright with a smile on her face, and her big eyes are brighter than the stars in the night!
Looking at the black and white photograph, Lionel seemed to remember something and said to Petty, "Tomorrow, let's go somewhere else!"

Petty asked, puzzled, "Where are we going? Home?"

Lionel laughed and said, "No, go to Renoir! Let him paint your portrait!"

(End of this chapter)