Somewhere Only We Know

Aaron observed the gardens of his house through the windows of his office. It was a tidy space, the servants not allowed to enter it often. Aaron organised it himself and kept everything in its place since he spent most of his days there reading or dealing with his affairs. He had a lot more free time, especially now that there were no wars and his duty as a General was calm and he was nearing his retire, which his wife couldn’t wait her, for the sake of her poor heart.

A smile came over his harsh features when he saw his daughter, Camille, roaming the garden with her maid. Well they had, in all truth, grown up together but Mel was a servant of the house, along with her parents and her sister Luz. Before them, the Moreau's had been serving Aaron's family for years and when he got married, he was happy to see their loyalty by coming with him to serve his house and family. Aaron smiled seeing how Camille and Mel were close and inseparable, true friends and confidants.

As the light-haired young woman looked up and saw her father, she beamed, waving at him. With a chuckle, Aaron waved at her, watching as she blew him a kiss before turning to Mel and then rushing inside the house.

Aaron turned with a knowing smile and sat down, waiting.

“Miss,” He heard after a while, both girls chuckling as they knocked on the door.

“He’s my father, it’s silly of me to knock,” Camille replied quietly.

“It’s polite,” Mel countered.

“Entrez.”

Aaron’s deep voice silenced them both as Camille smiled at Mel before stepping in.

“Bonjour Papa.” She said softly and Aaron stood up to circle his desk.

“Bonjour, mon ange. I see you look very happy this morning,” He chuckled as Camille closed the door, Mel waiting outside for her.

“I am. My birthday is near.” Camille said happily, stepping forward to kiss her father on the cheek as it was usual.

“Ah, yes, this upcoming Saturday.” Aaron smiled, knowing how Camille loved her birthdays, which he found adorable. He tried to show that it wasn’t a big deal but it was. It was a very big deal.

Camille was turning twenty-one which made her officially of age and Aaron planned to go forward with the traditions of his family and present her officially at a ball to celebrate her birthday. However, celebration wasn't the main goal, the main goal was for other families and friends to come and for young men to meet Camille and hopefully one of them would be suiting of her hand in a short space of time. His wife agreed but Camille had no idea of their plans.

Actually, marriage wasn’t something she worried about. She was happy as she was right now, living with her parents and their servants, dedicating her time to reading, her stay at home lessons of piano and other subjects and her dancing, which was mostly secret now. Her parents disapproved heavily of her preference of ballet over all things so they had forbidden her from practising. She had disobeyed, though, taking advantage of her weekly walks with Mel to practice a bit. Mel was her best friend and she knew the girl could be trusted.

“Who is coming so far?” Camille asked curiously, knowing her mother was already going over everything with the servants about decorations, food and so on.

Aaron thought for a moment “All your uncles, aunts and cousins from the north and south of France,” He said, trying to remember “A few of your English cousins as well and then some of my friends and your mother’s.”

Camille nodded, trying not to think about how sad it was that she hardly had any friends. She knew a few girls and boys her age and from rich families such as hers but she had never really connected with them. Since her parents were discreet, she was always protected for being their only child. Her cousins were her friends but it was different and, with them aside, she only had Mel, Luz and the boy that handled the horses, Claude. She couldn’t complain though.

After war, her father had been almost brutally injured. When he returned home, she was just a baby and, together with his mother, they decided to move to a country-side village. Somewhere quiet and peaceful, where they could live and where he could recover from his trauma and war sequels.

Sometimes, it still showed in his nightmares or how he displayed his anger but Aaron was a completely different man now, a better man in his mind. He was still as in love with his wife as before and he was proud of what they had built together. To their sadness, after Camille’s labour, her mother, Carol, was unable to conceive again and Aaron wouldn’t even bring it up once he heard how she had nearly died after more than six hours trying to bring their daughter into the world.

“Aaron!”

Both Camille and her father stood a bit straighter, recognizing her mother rushed tone and then heels clicked outside the office. They knew how she was with big events and Camille’s birthday was always the one she stressed more about, wanting everything to be beyond perfect.

“Oh hello Mel, is Camille inside?” Carol addressed the dark-haired girl as she stood outside her husband’s office.

“Yes, Ma’am, Miss Camille is inside.”

“Oh perfect.” Carol said happily, thanking her before she stepped in, both Camille and her father putting dashing smiles on for her. Carol barely gave them any time to speak as she began to ramble, pointing out chores for both her husband and daughter.

“Aaron, darling, please keep an eye on the deliveries, yes?” She said softly, giving him a kiss before she took Camille by her arm “And a dress-maker is coming over today darling, she’s bringing things for you to try on.”

With that, Camille had nothing to say as her mother dragged her away under her father’s attentive gaze. Closing the door, Aaron returned to his peace and quiet, going back to letters from possible suitors again. Against his wife’s advise, he had already gained a favourite but then a servant calling brought him back and he rushed downstairs for the deliveries his wife had mentioned.

Camille gasped as a corset was tied around her, constricting her ribs and airline.

“Mummy,” She whispered, trying to be polite “It’s… It’s too tight.”

“Shush darling, you’re just not accustomed to wearing true English corsets. Your father always insists on French ones and they have left you rather tender but you’re about to become a grown woman and you’ll look exquisite on Saturday,”

Camille sighed as her mother brought up England yet again. She was the proudest English person Camille knew. Her mother had taught her English herself, making sure her daughter had a proper English accent and manners, despite living in France, and Camille was to always, always impress the English side of her family. Luckily, her French-side was much more relaxed, which was her father’s side. Despite being just posh and rich, both families were actually quite loving in their own ways. Aaron didn’t mind having a daughter that was bilingual but he did speak French with her as much as possible while Carol insisted for English.

“Do I have to be nearly breathless to be exquisite? I’ll be breath-taking,” Camille said with a little grin towards Mel, both suppressing their laughter as Carol condoned her daughter for her ‘dark’ mood, however that just how Camille told jokes. They could be a bit dark sometimes.

Mel watched quietly as she tried dress after dress after dress, then more measuring, plus Carol speaking to the dress-maker as they analysed every aspect of Camille’s physique.

The young-woman had changed little with puberty. She had grown a bit taller, prettier in her face but only her hips has enlarged slightly, in the rest she was quite skinny, fit but agile on the other side. Her mother knew what got attention would be mostly her face so she wanted to excel in the dress, to make sure her daughter had all the attention and eyes on her.

After hours at it, Camille had had enough and so she refused to try anything more and she got dressed, telling explicitly which she preferred, though, still being polite. Her mother tried to convince her with something else, something a bit fancier and ’wow’ but Camille wouldn’t give in.

“Mummy, I like that one and I’d appreciate if you could let me wear it for my own birthday.”

Carol stood and after a moment she nodded “As you wish, dear.” She said, turning to thank the dress-maker and Camille was gone before she could call her to stay and help around.