Chapter 45: The Runaway Nun
If Lionel's memory served him right, the girl before him, with a pair of clear emerald eyes and a head of dark chestnut curly hair, was Alice-Clémence Rochas, two years his junior.
Her father, Étienne Rochas, owned a farm at the foot of the Alps, primarily raising cattle and also growing potatoes and rye.
The "Rochas Farm" was a two-hour journey to "Montiel," the small town where the Sorel family resided; the Sorel Family ordered milk, potatoes, and rye flour from him every year.
As long as Lionel could remember, Alice often accompanied her father's delivery cart to Montiel.
Because he was an old friend of Old Sorel, Étienne Rochas would leave the mountain produce and Alice at the Sorel Family's home, then drive his cart to deliver goods to other families in town.
After finishing deliveries, Étienne Rochas would invite Old Sorel for a drink at the tavern; Alice would then spend the entire day playing with the Sorel siblings in town and the nearby mountains.
One could even say that she and Lionel were childhood sweethearts.
Alice-Clémence Rochas brought her youthful, South French-style face close to Lionel, a look of annoyance on her face: "What, you haven't seen me in a few years and you don't recognize me?"
No wonder everyone says 'men turn into philanderers when they come to Paris'!"
Seeing the doorman already casting curious glances, Lionel quickly interrupted her: "It's so cold out here, let's go upstairs first."
Then, leading Alice, he hurried through the entrance and up to the fifth floor, under the doorman's "reluctant" gaze.
As soon as they exited the stairwell into the hallway, they saw Lucian de Pancey, the opera actor and true philanderer, passionately embracing a blonde woman at the door of his room.
Alice quickly turned her face away, muttering a silent "Holy Mother, bless us."
Lucian saw Alice, and an admiring gasp escaped his eyes; while still kissing the woman in his arms, he subtly raised his right hand and silently gave Lionel a thumbs-up.
Lionel: "…"
But this was clearly not a good time for explanations, so Lionel could only first pull out his key to unlock the door, and then he and Alice entered the room to talk.
As the incandescent light of the gas lamp on the wall illuminated the entire apartment, Alice gazed at the walls, white like the first snow on the Alps, the floor, shiny like the calm Lake Aiguebelette, and the furniture and decorative paintings inside, too stunned to speak for a moment.
She had followed her father to deliver milk and honey to Father Edmond's house in town, and had seen the priest's small house, known as "the paradise of Montiel's widows," but it was nowhere near as exquisite as the apartment before her.
Coming back to her senses, Alice suddenly looked at Lionel with some anger: "Don't you know what the Sorel Family just went through? How can you live such a good life alone in Paris?"
Sister Ivana's eyes are swollen and red every day!"
Lionel was a bit troubled; he couldn't explain what he was doing to Alice in such a short time, so he quickly changed the subject: "How did you find your way here?"
The Alps and Paris are at opposite ends of the country, and even with trains, it wouldn't be easy; moreover, Alice was a woman, and independent long-distance travel was virtually impossible in this era.
Upon hearing this question, Alice suddenly became nervous; she didn't answer directly, but walked to the window, carefully peeked down at the street below a few times, then pulled the curtains shut, and said mysteriously: "I ran away!"
Lionel was startled: "Ran away? From the Alps? To Paris?"
Alice quickly explained: "Not from the Alps, just Paris. — I don't want to be a nun!"
Lionel couldn't process this information right away: "What? A nun? When were you going to become a nun?"
Alice nodded vigorously: "Yes, a nun. Mother fell gravely ill last year, almost dying. Father made a vow in church that if Mother recovered, he would send his daughter to serve Christ."
Lionel: "…And then Aunt Aisha recovered?"
Alice: "Then a doctor who had studied in Paris came to town and cured Mother — Father believed this was God answering his piety."
Lionel: "…" Well, that's reasonable.
Alice continued: "Our 'Notre Dame de Lourdes' there is too small; to formally take vows as a nun, one must come to the 'Sisters of St. Martha' in Paris. I escaped after entering Paris, on my way to the 'Sisters of St. Martha.'"
Then she spun around in the apartment's living room: "As for here… before leaving the Alps, I visited Sister Ivana, and she showed me your newly sent letter. I remembered this address."
Lionel clutched his forehead, his head about to explode; he already had a lot on his plate, and now he had a "runaway nun" to deal with. If the church came knocking, he might end up in jail.
Although French society in the 1880s had begun a full transition to secularization, and the church was criticized by most intellectuals, it still held significant influence among the aristocracy and the lower classes.
At the same time, the courts still retained a considerable degree of respect for the power of the church.
Although Alice had not formally taken vows as a nun, she might already have been registered with the church and was theoretically a person of the church.
Alice saw the troubled look on Lionel's face and suddenly looked at him seriously: "I know I'm a 'trouble,' if you don't want to keep me, I can leave tomorrow!"
But could you please let me spend tonight here? It's too cold outside, and I didn't bring any luggage when I ran away…"
If Lionel were truly a man of the 19th century, he should have immediately called the police to get rid of this "trouble" — for most people of that era, a girl becoming a nun was not considered a bad path.
But now, he couldn't stand by and watch a woman — even if Alice were a stranger — be sent to a convent for such an absurd reason, and then likely never step out of its doors for the rest of her life.
Especially since Alice herself did not wish to be a nun.
Lionel could only sigh: "Follow me."
Saying this, he led Alice to the smaller bedroom in the apartment, and after lighting the gas lamp, he instructed: "The bedding, pillows, and blankets are all in the wardrobe; you can make the bed yourself."
Also… don't go out for the next few days; I expect the church will be looking for you."
Alice looked at Lionel in disbelief after hearing this, then jumped up and hugged Lionel tightly, as if grasping a lifeline: "I knew you wouldn't kick me out, Lionel!" Her eyes were already welling up with tears.
Lionel was so awkward he didn't know where to put his hands, then he could only gently pat her back.
"Grrr~~~" A long, loud rumble of a stomach rose between the two of them.
Alice shyly released her hands from around Lionel and placed them on her stomach; seeing Lionel looking at her with concern, she quickly said: "It's okay, I'm not hungry… I won't be hungry once I fall asleep…"
Lionel smiled and shook his head: "You wait here; I'll go to the restaurant on the first floor and have them send up some dinner — it's fine, I have a meal plan here, so it won't cost extra."
Alice dared not speak, afraid of revealing the fact that she was already choking up, so she could only nod, watching Lionel leave the room.
When the sound of the apartment door closing echoed, she finally let go of the tension, curled up in a corner of the room, and sobbed continuously, hugging her shoulders…