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The Phoenix in a Foreign Labyrinth
By : LaurentCDubois
Category: zMisplaced Stories [ADMIN use only] > manga
Views: 2494 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0Disclaimer: I do not own “Croisée in a Foreign Labyrinth”, nor the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. See full disclaimer in Chapter 1. -
Chapter List
- 1-Oscar's Final Trip
- 2-Departure
- 3-Awakening at Bedtime
- 4-The Opera
- 5-Training
- 6-Velvet Gloves
- 7-Kinbaku
- 8-The "Ballet"
- 9-Ningenshiki
- 10-A New Toy
- 11-Shinjutsu
- 12-The Phoenix
- 13-Takoseigu
- 14-The Last Night
- 15-End of an Era
- 16-Farewells
- 17-The Photograph
- 18-Married Life
- 19-The Visitor
- 20-Alice's Letter
- 21-The Great War and After
- 22-On the Hilltop
- 23-Phoenix Rising
Chapter 15 – End of an Era
That afternoon, Yune went to meet Claude at the railway station, and the next day, Enseignes du Roy reopened. The necessary formalities having taken some time to complete because of Yune’s lack of various items of documentation, two months later she and Claude were married in a simple civil ceremony. Seeing that the shop had already been closed for so long that year, they could not afford to shut it again for any length of time and so, on the day after the wedding, it was open again for business.
The morning was quite busy, but the afternoon was quieter, until, at precisely 4pm, Alice arrived with a retinue of servants in tow. She strode into the shop followed by her maids and a butler, who between them set up a large folding table and then proceeded to lay out upon it a sumptuous tea. There were dainty sandwiches, cakes from the best patisseries in Paris and other expensive delicacies. Claude looked on with suspicion as finally a bottle of champagne was produced from a silver ice bucket and three crystal glasses filled from it.
‘Come, Monsieur and Madame Claudel,’ called Alice, ‘come and celebrate with me!’
Claude and Yune stepped forwards, but Claude, still suspicious, asked, ‘And what exactly is it we’re celebrating?’
‘The closing down of the Gallerie, of course,’ said Alice, ‘the whole sorry affair is being redeveloped at last.’
Claude went almost purple with rage, and Yune stared at Alice in disbelief, wondering if this was somehow a punishment from her for getting married. ‘Calm down there, you two,’ said Alice jovially, ‘I’ve bought you a new shop as a wedding present, and it’s all ready and waiting for you to move into! We can go to see it once we’ve had tea.’
‘But, but...’ spluttered Claude.
‘Do be quiet and have some champagne before it gets warm,’ said Alice impishly. ‘I think you’ll find the new shop to your liking. I had it fitted out based on the plans of this one, but it’s larger, of course, and there’s a well-appointed apartment over it with a proper bath for Yune too. It’s quite an ingenious arrangement, the fire in the forge also heats the water, so it won’t cost you anything extra for her to bathe every day.’
‘What about the other shopkeepers here, then? Do you expect me go to swanning off and let you throw my friends out on the street?’ shouted Claude.
‘Don’t worry about them,’ replied Alice, ‘not that there are all that many left these days. But anyway, they’ll all have their leases bought out at a fair price, they’ll be given ample time and assistance to find new premises, plus the new owners have promised to treat them favourably when the redevelopment is completed and new shops are available.’
Yune relaxed and looked pleadingly at Claude. He was wise enough to know when he was defeated, and despite the anger still smouldering inside him, he acquiesced, if only for the sake of his new bride. So, they had tea, albeit in a somewhat strained atmosphere, and then went to see the new shop together with Alice in her carriage.
Notes:
The exact concept of the “back boiler” fitted to the forge as described by Alice is perhaps too advanced for the time, but water heating systems for baths based on open fires have been in existence for centuries, and even full central heating systems with boilers and radiators were available in France in the 1880’s.
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