BBC Musketeers / Coast of dreams

The city of perfume

Anne went into the lobby, with Aramis following close behind her. When she saw, who was waiting for her, she walked faster. "Jeany, how wonderful to see you!" she said, fondly embracing her friend.

"Hello Anne, I'm glad I finally found you."

"Welcome to Grasse. Why didn't you say anything? We could have picked you up."

Jeany just shrugged. "I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Do you want me to get Athos? I think he's already finished with his dinner," Aramis asked, after he had greeted Jeany, too, albeit not as enthusiastically as Anne, who was just getting Jeany's room key from the receptionist.

"No, no, I'd like to unpack and settle in first," Jeany answered.

"Of course. Come, I'll show you your room, you're on the same floor as Constance."

Anne went ahead, pulling Jeany over to the stairs. Aramis took her luggage and trotted after them.

"So, here it is. The room is a little smaller," Anne said, once they had reached the room.

"No, that's more than enough for me. It is beautiful," Jeany said, looking around. Aramis put down the luggage and retreated again. With Jeany here now, too, things between Milady and Athos were bound to become a lot more interesting. A true love triangle, Aramis thought on the way back to the others.

Anne stayed behind to help Jeany unpack. "So, how did you find us?" she asked.

"That wasn't so easy. I knew from Athos that you were in Monte Carlo, at the Hermitage, so I went there first, but the receptionist told me that you had already checked out. With a little insistence, she told me that you had gone on to Grasse. Well, since Grasse is relatively small, it was easy to find this hotel, since it's the only one matching Louis' usual standard, so I tried my luck here first."

"A real odyssey," Anne said, impressed. Jeany had gone to a lot of trouble to find them.

"Why are you all here in Grasse, anyway?" Jeany asked.

"Oh, that's a long story," Anne said.

"I think we have time," Jeany said, looking at the amount of clothes she still had to put away.

"Okay, so, first we were in Nice, where we met Feron."

"Ah, Louis' cousin?"

"His brother, actually. He's responsible for the local business and he's setting up a branch office here. One evening, he had organized a welcome party for us."

"Oh, that's very considerate of him," Jeany remarked.

"Well, actually it was more for him than for us. A matter of prestige. We made a lot of acquaintances. The Guise family, for example, apparently one of the most powerful and influential on the coast."

"More powerful than your family?"

Anne shrugged. "I have no idea. And even then, we don't want to settle down here. There's room enough for everyone. We also met Mourlon, he's a big name in real estate, and Soulier, a politician, ore someone with connections to politics at any rate, I'm not quite sure. Oh, and Nicollier."

"Yes, but how did you end up in Grasse?" Jeany avidly followed Anne's story, but she was getting impatient.

"Hold your horses, I told you it's a long story. Okay, we spent a few days in Nice, sightseeing in the city, and on the beach. We had a nice time, but at some point, Milady decided she wanted to go to Monte Carlo. And since Louis can't say no to her, the rest of us had to tag along."