I see it in their eyes, those girls trapped at the high table. I see their desperation to escape the handsome prince, to flee the happy ending imposed on them, to fold those three glorious gowns into a walnut shell and run far from the palace. I see it all… Read more »
Jardin Royal des Plantes Médicinales, Paris Wednesday, April 1, 1723 The plant was in the wrong place, and it bothered him. Bernard was inclined to suspect his brother of a practical joke. Plants do not spring from the air, after all, and this plant had definitely not been here the… Read more »
Paris, December, 1943 December in Brittany is bitterly cold and damp. The days get dark early, the sky is continually overcast, and the wind whips the sea into rough, choppy waves, bent on dashing the small fishing boats against the cliffs. Even those who are lucky enough to stay… Read more »
They always tell the story wrong. There was no wicked fairy, no thieving father or nagging mother, nobody locked in a tower, and certainly no heroic, handsome prince. I do have nice hair, though. They got that part right, at least. The villain of this story… Read more »
In an old house in Paris that is covered in vines Stand twelve young girls in two straight lines In two straight lines, they’ve played and grown They walk to school now on their own. And every night they’ve broken bread And brushed their teeth and gone… Read more »
Sir Gareth and the Trowel You have heard, I am sure, of that gentle and valiant knight, Sir Gareth Beaumains, the youngest brother of Sir Gawain of Orkney. You have certainly heard how he came to Camelot unrecognised, and how he worked in the castle kitchens for a year as… Read more »
Madame and Monsieur LeBrun are in very good health for their age. Indeed, the nice young lady doctor at their local clinic would probably be surprised if she knew just how old they were. Still, old age comes with certain discomforts, and one of these is the loss of old… Read more »
Once upon a time, there was a sculptor who made a deal with the devil. He had not meant to do so. Indeed, he had no idea that the devil was anything other than an ordinary customer, come to his workshop to admire his work and his models, and haggle… Read more »
Deep in the woods, in a castle surrounded by a hedge of briars, a beautiful princess lies sleeping. The woods are her first defense. I am her last. Once upon a time, there was a King who loved his Queen dearly, and she him, and yet they were not happy. … Read more »
The archangel Michael does not look much like his statues. Not the one in the Fontaine Saint Michel, certainly, though Michael has always liked the different colours of marble, despite what people say. Not the gilded one on the spire of Mont Saint Michel, either, with the dragon that is… Read more »