Meeting Mimosa's Grandpere {Louis}

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The letter that she received from Lord Clements had taken her off guard purely because the only interaction she had with the Lord had been when she had followed Mimosa and her ex-nanny to the Palace just to make sure that Mimosa arrived there safely and that the lady who looked after her was not let off scot-free.

The letter was fairly simple and not very long, asking for Michelle to join the Lord at the Palace to speak of some business; what business that was, she had no idea but she had no qualms in accepting the invite -not to mention it would be rude to not join the elderly Lord who pretty much ruled over her mother country.

With the meeting being set in early November and with such an important Lord, Michelle had to pull out the gowns that she was sure she wouldn't wear anymore; gowns that she had worn while she had still been living with her parents.

Discarding the older style robes, ones that her mother would've dressed her in, she focused on the newer style ones; the long dresses that were more ideal for wearing in that type of company. Finally deciding on a long red dress with some golden-like accents to it, she hung it on the door of her wardrobe before she went for a shower.

As she took a shower, Michelle thought back to the lessons she had taken as a child with one of the tutors that her mother had hired for her. One of those lessons had been on the Clements and it had literally been a whole two-hour lecture that she had been forced to endure even though she had enjoyed it.

The lesson had been something of a chore for Michelle and if she hadn't been so interested in the Clement family, she probably would've just nodded off as soon as the woman started considering that most of the lesson she had on the different families she could've learnt from books.

Stepping out of her shower and wrapping a towel around her body, she looked at herself in the mirror after magicking the mist and water droplets away, her eyes taking in her pale face; she had promised herself to never step foot into that world but the letter from Lord Clement couldn't be ignored, shouldn't be ignored. He was the Lord of France, someone who could make Michelle regret ignoring the letter and not attending the meeting.

Drying herself of Michelle mentally prepared herself for the meeting with the Clement Lord, whatever was going to happen she was going to be ready for it.

***

Arriving at the gates of the Palace, Michelle magicked off the dust that clung to her dress before she slowly approached the door and gave two firm knocks, waiting for whoever was going to open it. Even though this was her second time seeing the Palace from the outside, she was still overtaken by the breathtaking look of the place.

She doubted anything would even come close to this and she knew for a fact that not even Hogwarts was as close to this as many people seemed to think.

When the door opened, Michelle focused again on the present and smiled softly at the well-dressed male that appeared; the butler that had greeted her, Mimosa and the ex-nanny a few months ago. The butler motioned her inside.

"I was invited by Lord Clement." The woman held out the letter that she had the foresight to bring with her just in case someone accused her of one thing or another; it was always better to be prepared than not.

"Right this way Ms. Roux." The Butler spoke in heavily accented English as he led her through the long corridors of the Palace, her eyes taking in the decor of the rooms before the Butler stopped, forcing her to stop, in front of an intricately designed door that the Butler opened and led her inside.

"Do make yourself comfortable Ms. Roux, Lord Clement will join you shortly." The Butler left, leaving the door open as Michelle took a seat on the chair in front of the desk, her back ram-rod straight before she slowly relaxed, her eyes taking in the decor of the study she was seated in.

Bookshelves filled to the brim with books, magical paintings hung on the wall and a fairly large window were just some of the many things that she took in about the room that was just as beautiful as she had imagined it.

Despite her attention being mainly focused on the room she was seated in, she could still feel the approaching magic of the Clement Lord as he walked inside.

Subject: Re: Meeting Mimosa's Grandpere {Louis} Sun Oct 01, 2017 9:23 am

The first time Louis had met one Michelle Roux, she had come to the Palace with his petite fille in tow and the story of how the Nanny that had been assigned to watch his petite fille had been more interested in her personal shopping habits than the safety and whereabouts of Mimosa. The child did not, and would not, understand the dangers of being out on her own in France when she was now publicly known in France as the ward of the Clement house.

What could have happened to his petite fille was something Louis would not bring himself to think of.

It had been Michelle Roux who had made the decision easy for Louis to fire the Nanny on the spot, with little and no remorse as the woman fled the Palace in tears. The shame, he was sure, would be enough to keep her from resurfacing, but Louis had put a motion to his lawyers shortly after to ensure they never heard from the woman again.

Then, Louis had written a sizeable cheque for Ms. Roux, and sent it to her with a cover letter. Whilst his petite fille did not have a price label for which he was grateful, he hoped the sum -- nothing short of seven figures -- would be enough compensation for the witch for her services to the Clement house. Louis had added that, should it be something he could give her and agree to, that the Clement family would help her in the future, if need be.

Louis had, in truth, not expected to be contacting the witch again, in truth. Whilst his words spoke of them being of use to one another in the future, it had been a formality at best. So, when Vanessa had come to him with the small worry of Mimosa's capabilities -- his wife always did have a flair for noticing things -- in the reading, writing, and of course, lack of understanding of the French language, Louis had thought to himself on the matter.

A solution hadn't yet been found, though, by the time he sent Mimosa and Jacques off to the Halloween Ball at Hogwarts in the name of the family. Such events Jacques would have to start getting used to, and Louis didn't think it necessary to waste his own time on the party. Besides, Jacques needed to see Mimosa and start showing the younger witch how to conform within their world.

That, however, did not happen quite as Louis would have liked. The pictures that had emerged from the Ball showed Jacques in the right manner, conveying the power of the Clement house without faltering the whole evening -- though, as Louis had pointed out to Vanessa, whilst he boasted power, he didn't look overly inviting either -- whereas Mimosa...

There would only be so long that Mimosa could cling to the childish charm that endeared many people to her side. She was almost ten, which meant she should be acting like a lady, not jittering around like a child half her age when she got excited. Vanessa and he had agreed, therefore, to do something about this. After all, if Mimosa was going to be a Clement ward, she needed to act like one.

This was precisely how the letter to Ms. Roux had come in to being, with Louis requesting the presence of the witch at the Palace later in the week. It had required a small schedule change on his own behalf, but Louis knew it was for the good of the house.

***

That morning the Clement Palace was busy with the new information that had come on technology advancements. Louis had read through the papers that had been provided, made his own notes from them before taking them to Vanessa in her withdrawing room and leaving them with her to peruse. Her project was still going strong, and Louis would never keep her in the dark about the improvements being made.

He'd been caught on the way back to his office by the Butler who informed him that Ms. Roux had arrived. Thanking the man, Louis returned to his study, finding the younger witch already seated at his desk. A smile -- hidden from the witch -- touched Louis' lips for a moment, before he continued around to his own chair.

"Bonjour, Madamoiselle Roux." Louis greeted the witch as he seated himself, taking in the woman in a silent, speedy appraisal. The dress was unbefitting of the situation, her manners not quite on point with those that his daughter would display in such a situation, but, Ms. Roux still had enough decorum about her that Louis could allow Mimosa to be around her.

"I hope you're well." Louis continued, though it was not a question, simply a statement before he continued. "I am not going to beat around the proverbial bush on this matter, I don't think it would be wise. You have met Mimosa, to my knowledge, twice now. My ward seems to like you, which means you can help the Clement house."

Taking a pause, Louis waited to see if there would be any reaction to that information before he continued. "Mimosa does not know French. Past hello, goodbye, thank you, please and the names given to family members she cannot recognise any of the language. As a ward of the house this is, quite simply, not acceptable. Mimosa is very head strong, though, and will not take something on that she believes to be a chore to her.

"This, if you agree, will be where you come in to things. I want you to teach Mimosa French. But, I don't want her to know that I have instructed you to do so." Louis explained, now leaving it open for Ms. Roux to reply with her acceptance, decline, or ask him questions.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

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As Michelle awaited for Louis, the blond-haired witch thought back on her first meeting with the Clement Lord; she wished it had been a happier meeting than it actually was but it had been how it had been. When she came to the Palace with Mimosa and the Nanny, Michelle only stood back until the Nanny tried to wriggle out of any responsibility in loosing Mimosa, trying to put the blame on the young child running off. That had been when Michelle stepped forward and calmly but coldly shut the woman up by informing her, and the Clement Lord in a fashion, that her not watching the Clement Ward could've led to Mimosa being kidnapped had she not bumped into her.

After the elderly witch had been sent off with her tail tucked between her legs, Michelle had been ready to leave herself, only promising Mimosa to keep in touch with her when she had been stopped by Louis who had handed her the cheque, making her want to decline it but she knew it would've been rude. The seven figures on the cheque hadn't even made Michelle bat her eyes, she had money in her bank that was in the seven figures as well so seeing it written out on paper was nothing.

Hearing the approaching footsteps, Michelle focused her attention back on the man who was Mimosa's grandpere, a man who held the French country in the palm of his hand and was just as scary as he was polite. "Bonjour, Monsieur Clement." She replied in kind to the man's greeting and while his appraisal of her made her weary she didn't even flinch, not even when she saw his gaze linger on her dress; clearly it wasn't fitting for the setting she was in but that was as good as she could've gotten with only a handful of days notice.

"I am, thank you." She murmured, keeping her tone light, airy, as she clung onto her manners that she had been taught as a child, her mother's grating voice reverberating in her head, chiding her on her slouched position, even though she was sitting like one of those perfect pureblood heiresses that her mother forced her to befriend. "Yes, sir. Apart from our two meetings I keep in constant contact with her through owl post, at least whenever I have time to reply to her." She worded her answer carefully.

The young witch wanted to arch her brow at that but stayed calm and unfailingly serene as she waited for the rest of the sentence, deciding to keep her words to herself at the moment; her decision had been correct as what the man said next would've caught her off guard otherwise.

"I have... noticed this," Michelle said slowly as she leant back in her seat just a tiny bit, only enough to not seem too rude to the Clement Lord. "It... shocked me, to say the least, that she couldn't say much, if anything at all, in French."

She silently pondered the offer; on one hand she could refuse, citing one reason or another but on the other hand, she would have more of a chance to meet with Mimosa and at least be able to have some positive influence on the witch in training.

"If I accept, will I have to do the lessons here or can I do them outside, in the real world?" She questioned after a few seconds of silence.

Subject: Re: Meeting Mimosa's Grandpere {Louis} Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:17 pm

The information of the contact that was kept up between Mimosa and Michelle was interesting to Louis. His petite fille was not one he imagined to enjoy the age old manner of communication that was written letters, and suspected that the young witch's godmother was something to do with this arrangement. The Frenchman, however, said nothing to understand this further, simply tucking away the information for later review.

"Very good, this would be something I'd encourage for you to keep up with Mimosa, the art of correspondence is also something she will need to keep to a high standard within the Palace, and this will be something of a good basis for her to begin." Louis agreed, deciding not to squash this idea too much. "She's attached to the cellular device of hers much too much, and is not allowed to use it here at the Palace, so if you could encourage her away from it too, it would be of use."

The expression of shock that had emerged from Michelle's lips upon finding the Clement ward lacking in the French language was precisely the reason Vanessa and he had decided upon this appointment. France was their home, their ward would have to embrace their home should she wish to stay on. The people's view of the house were vastly important, and his petite fille was not going to ruin that image, so long as Louis had the resources to make it otherwise.

The witch had then fallen silent, and Louis simply sat waiting for the answer he was going to be given. He watched the witch in her actions, noting the small amount of slouching that moved through her body. Michelle Roux was not perfect in any shape of the imagination when it came to teaching the necessities of being a lady, but Louis had others he could rely on when it came to such things.

Michelle's question, however, brought a smile to the Lord Clement's lips. The real world. Merlin knew that the witch did not understand for a moment what the real world was. How it was that the Clements had shaped the world to be as it was today. How, the 'real world' as she put it, was in fact precisely the way in which his ancestors and himself had wanted it to be. But Louis did not point this out to the witch.

"I wouldn't think the Palace would be an appropriate place for Mimosa to learn and not believe that I was paying you to do so." Louis replied, making it quite clear that this was not to come from him. That this was, in truth, supposed to come as Michelle's idea. That she was to make it fun, and the Clements would reward her appropriately for her services to the house.

"I trust that, if that were your only worry, the initial deposit for the services being placed in to your account this afternoon will give you enough to make up your topic for the first lesson." Louis finalised, because he knew that she would not say no to him. Nobody said no to the Lord Clement, well... not unless they had something of a death wish, or a wish for public ridicule.

"And, Mamamoiselle Roux, I would appreciate a written report of Mimosa's progress after your meetings, so that the Lady Clement and I can rest assured our ward is getting the education fitting of her station." With that, Louis stood from his chair, gave the witch a small tilt of his head in respect, before leaving her in the study. A butler would be in the room only a few moments later to escort her from the Palace, and Louis need not waste any more time on the matter.

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~ Lord Clement ~ Profile ~ 55 ~

Thank you to the amazing Ruby for the signatures! <3

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