Ella looked at Arthur. Arthur looked at Minette. Minette gave one of her elegant French shrugs. “The story, it is rather a long one.”
Pryor glanced at the dishes arrayed on the table, as if to say, We have plenty of time.
We have plenty of time.Minette must have agreed, for she said, “When I came to England, I was but seventeen and I did not speak l’ anglaise. My protecteur, he left me behind when he returned to France. I was pregnant, you see, and he did not like that.”
l’ anglaise.protecteur,Ella hadn’t expected Minette to tell Pryor the whole story. She tried to exchange a shocked glance with Arthur, except that Arthur didn’t appear at all shocked and he wasn’t looking in her direction. He dipped a spoon into his bowl of green pea soup and nodded along to Minette’s narrative.
Pryor
