Again, thanks to all who have reviewed and made speculations as to the mystery Parisian guests... It's great that ya'll are interested enough to render guesses. Enjoy...

Chapter 19

Nicole opened the door and recognized the gentleman immediately. She had seen his picture a few times in the Parisian newspaper. He was elegantly dressed in a top hat and tails, and his wife was wearing a fashionable, dark green silk gown with a black lacy shawl. Her long hair was pinned up neatly, giving her the appearance of a porcelain doll.

"Monsieur Despreaux, Madame, welcome to Clary Château. Please, won't you come in," she said warmly. "May I take your hat, Monsieur? And your shawl, Madame?" she offered.

"Merci, Mademoiselle Clary," he said as he handed her his hat and her shawl. "And please, call me Michel, and this is my wife, Paulette."

"Pleased to meet you. I'm Nicole," she said with a smile, as she put their things in the hall closet next to the door. "My father has been expecting you. He is in the library. Please follow me."

Michel and Paulette followed Nicole to the library. "How was the ride from Paris?" Nicole asked politely.

"It went very well, thank you," Michel said.

Nicole opened the door to the library and announced the newly arrived guests.

Monsieur Despreaux extended his hand towards Monsieur Clary as they walked into the library. "Wonderful to see you again, François. I don't believe you've met my wife. This is Paulette." She smiled as she extended her hand and gave a slight curtsy.

Monsieur Clary took her hand and raised it to his lips for a polite kiss. "Enchanté, Madame. Please..." he said as he gestured towards a small couch. "And let me introduce our guest…a friend of my daughter's. Monsieur…Oh, good heavens. I don't even know his last name. Erik, what in blazes is your last name, man?" he asked cordially.

Erik turned around, expecting a reaction of some kind due to his appearance but was surprised when he got none. "Please, just call me Erik," he requested politely. He gave a slight nod and received the same in return.

Monsieur Clary turned his attention back to Monsieur Despreaux, attempting to make small talk. "So, tell me. Did the rest of the negotiations go as we planned?" he asked. "Things seemed quite promising when I left."

"Actually, François, they didn't go quite as we had hoped. And because of it, I hope you'll forgive my presumptuousness, but I felt we needed to try to take care of this, so I extended an invitation to the head of the board to join us for dinner tonight so that we might get things resolved. I knew it was of the utmost importance, and I had no way to clear the invitation with you beforehand," he said, hoping this would not upset his host.

"What do you mean, they didn't go quite as we had hoped? You told me everything was secure, and that it was all just a formality," Monsieur Clary growled.

"Yes, well, I was told it was all but settled. I was just as surprised as you are now when we were told more negotiations were needed in order to secure matters," he replied, seemingly unfazed by Monsieur Clary's obvious irritation.

Erik watched the two men as they discussed their business matters. He then turned his glance on Paulette, who looked around the room, trying to ignore the ongoing business talk that usually bored her to tears. Instead, she walked over to the bookshelf and pulled out a book to read. Fearing the gentlemen would continue their business discussion, Erik turned and looked out the window again in time to see a second carriage pull away from the front of the house.

Monsieur Clary contemplated the new and unexpected situation he found himself in. While he had hoped to avoid making this a business-related affair, he realized that Michel's assessment had been correct in that their business matter needed to be taken care of quickly. "Very well, Michel. When can we expect our extra guest?" he asked resignedly.

"He should be here momentarily, I do believe. I wanted a few extra moments to confer with you before he arrived in case it became necessary to send the poor gentleman back to Paris without the benefit of discussing anything," he said.

Monsieur Clary rang a little bell, and the butler appeared. "Will you please tell Yvette we will be having an additional guest for dinner?" he asked. The butler nodded and left for the kitchen.

As soon as his words were spoken, there was a loud knock on the door. "Nicole, would you be so kind as to invite our guest in, please?" he asked.

"Yes, Papa," she said as she walked out of the library towards the front door.