"A feast shall now be held in the gardens of the Château de La Muette!" shouted a man in a red coat to the crowd. "All are welcome to attend!"

"Well!" Arno said to the lady beside him. "I'm certainly hungry. Shall we go, Madam?" He had not talked to her much during the procession, but she had secretly been occupying the lion's share of his thoughts.

"I'm certainly up for it," she said.

Arno rose. "I never got your name."

"Élise," she said. "Élise de la Caen." She gave a pleasant smile.

"A pleasure to meet you."

"What about yours?"

"Arno. Arno Dorian."

"Well, let's go then."

Parting with the rest of the crowd, they walked down the crowded stands. Arno was not exactly sure where the Château de le Muette was, but he would follow the others. His head was dancing with how far he could go with this woman. It was so far, so good. Though the Assassins were weary of marrying outside the Order, they obviously had to make exceptions now and then.

They headed for the bridge across the Seine river, which glinted beautifully under the summer sun.

"Never thought I would see so many big names in one day," Arno said.

"You think the king was being sincere?"

"Not in the slightest," Arno said.

Élise laughed a little. "I suppose you're probably right. Doesn't matter though. He serves the people now."

Those were beautiful words, but his spirits darkened as he remembered the Templars had their tentacles in all of this. How fortunate she was to not have a life weighed down in war and politics.

"So did you grow up here, in Paris?" Arno asked as they re-entered the city.

"No, Normandy. I -" She stopped herself. "My family, we came here over a year ago."

Normandy, that reminded Arno of the grim fate of the previous wave of Assassins.

Then she asked, "What about you?"

Arno had prepared all the lies and obscurities he might need to tell beforehand. "I came up from the south, actually. My family owns a farm outside of Orléans." They were both new to the city, but fact she had been in Paris a year meant a lot. So much had happened over that time.

"Do you...like Paris?" he asked.

"I suppose it has its charm. I grew up in the country. A lot less noisy and crowded."

Arno could relate. His was happy at their conversation so far.

The tight confines of the city were making way for open air again. He could hear music. This must have been the château.

So much had changed in so little time. A year ago, progressives cowered in the shadow of the Ancien Régime. Now the script had flipped. Outwardly it was peaceful and joyous, but the nobles, the holymen, and the king all must have secretly seethed.

An endless row of buffet tables had been set up. Others were already helping themselves. Roasts, casseroles, stews, all sat steaming and waiting.

"Shall we?"

"Most certainly."

They approached, took plates from a stack. Arno soon found a juicy beef and a tongful of sauteed green string beans to his liking, with a glass of white wine.

Seating was not immediately obvious. Many guests were standing. There was some space on the stairs of the chateau. They decided to sit there, wedging themselves finding themselves between an old nobleman in green and young man in a belt-buckle hat.

Arno looked at Élise's meal. Quiche and lentils, but she shared his taste in wine. He took a sip and then placed his glass on a stone step. It was not often he got to enjoy himself like this.

But seeing Bellec among the crowd Arno constricted inside. He could not forget he did not come here to have fun. He was here to collect information. He thought about how to approach this.

"So...this...city. What's the most...interesting thing you've seen here?"

"That's a strange question."

Arno started to worry a bit, until he realized she was giving the question some serious thought.

"I've seen a lot...I was there when they stormed the Bastille, when the women marched on Versailles..."

"You're...into politics, I take it?" Maybe she would be a good source of information after all, though Arno hated to think of her as a tool.

"I suppose you could say that."

"Do you know any Masons?"

"I've met a few, actually." Arno did not even need to include the word 'Free' for her to who he was talking about. She really was an opportune source, for better or worse. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, I just...find them interesting."

His previous mirth had considerably faded.