Leonie by Elizabeth Adler Read Free Book Online

Well, as you’re here now and it’s snowing, you may as well go up. Mademoiselle Montalva is on the first floor.”
    What a bit of luck; she was going to get inside. The concierge could have taken the parcels from her, but he was too lazy to go up the stairs himself. He’d already gone back to his newspaper and his cup of coffee.
    The marble staircase swept grandly up to the first floor and a red carpet flowed down the center. It looked soft and thick andshiny brass rails held it in place on each tread. Léonie looked at her shoes and back at the carpet and then walked up the stairs keeping to the narrow marble bit at the side, careful not to mar its perfection with her wet feet.
    She faced the grand double doors with a smile—this was it at last.
    The door was flung open from inside and someone crashed into her, sending her parcels flying. “Sorry … I’m so sorry.” The young man’s eyes met hers with a smile. “Are you all right?”
    “Oh, yes—it’s just the parcels—I wasn’t supposed to drop them.”
    He laughed. “Well, it’s too late! Here, I’ll get them. Caro?” he called. “There’s a very pretty girl here to see you.”
    “Oh!” Léonie blushed in confusion and he laughed again. “It’s the truth,” he whispered.
    Carolina looked at her in surprise, a young beauty in a worn brown coat and wet shoes, dripping melting snow onto her lovely rug. It was the girl from Serrat. “Don’t tell me they sent you out with my order on a day like this!” she said indignantly.
    “Madame Serrat said that you needed it today, mademoiselle.”
    Caro heaved a sigh of exasperation at Madame Serrat’s stupidity. “You poor girl, you must be frozen—look how wet your feet are.”
    “Oh, dear … oh, I’m so sorry, look what I’ve done.” Léonie stared with an anguished face at the spreading damp stain on the beautiful rug. “I’ll leave at once, mademoiselle. I’m so sorry.” She pulled off her shoes and clutched them in her hand. If Madame Serrat hears about this, she thought dejectedly, I’ll never be trusted again. Oh, why do things always seem to go wrong for me?
    It was so easy to read her face that Caro laughed.
    “Don’t worry about the rug, it’ll dry. And you’re certainly not leaving until we’ve got you dried out. Poor girl. We’ll get you some hot chocolate and then we’ll unpack the parcels and see if everything is there.”
    “Can I come, too?” the young man asked hopefully.
    “No, Robert, you may not. I’ve already said good-bye to you. Léonie—it is Léonie, isn’t it?” She nodded in reply, pleased the lady had remembered her name! “Léonie and I have work to do. Follow me, Léonie.”
    Léonie padded after her, curling her stockinged toes into the softness of the rugs and sticking out a furtive finger to touch theaquamarine wall to see if it were really silk. Imagine, she marveled, having silk on your walls! She peeked into the main salon as they passed, amazed by the opulence of its spindly gilt chairs and deep sapphire sofas, and another salon with an enormous ebony grand piano and golden stands holding music and more rows of those little gilt chairs and chandeliers that were lit on this dark afternoon even though no one was sitting in the rooms.
    Caro’s small sitting room seemed filled with the luxurious spring scent of hothouse hyacinths and a deep chaise lounge, piled with lacy pillows, was pulled close to the crackling log fire. It was the most delightful room Léonie had ever seen. Curtains of stiff apricot silk, swagged and tied with enormous bows, framed the snow piled high against the windows and still falling steadily, coldly, freezing as it landed. But inside it was another world, a beautiful, friendly, warm, rich world.
    A maid brought hot chocolate and some small cakes, setting the tray down on the low table by the fire. “Sit here, Léonie,” invited Caro. “Have your chocolate first and get warm. We’ll unpack the parcels