Armand’s First Letter. Amelia’s First Letter.
19 January 1019
Bois-de-Bas, Armorica
Dear Jack,
I agree that M. Sabot’s current circumstances come as a great surprise; and may I say that Madame Truc has no more notion of what he is doing and why than I do.
But is it necessary to read sinister motives into what might be a quite innocent state of affairs? Madame Truc has the highest opinion of M. Sabot’s character; and if you doubt her, do remember that she ran a boarding house for quite a long span of time. She might perhaps see him with rose-tinted spectacles, but she is a shrewd judge of character.
There certainly can be little doubt about Sabot’s coming to Armorica. He arrived as the Troubles were beginning in Provençe; he is the son of a comte; coming to the colonies under an assumed name to save one’s own life seems utterly reasonable to me.
He lives quietly, trying to avoid attention, rather than building a new life. This does strike me as odd, especially at that early data in the colony’s life; but Sabot as I knew him was a very private man, and we have little idea what he did with his time. Perhaps he was writing novels.
Then, when Le Maréchal‘s men arrive, he chooses to return to Provençe, and this without a word to anyone. Perhaps he was afraid of being discovered by the cochons, though I admit I can’t imagine why they would have been looking for him. They do say that the guilty flee when no one pursueth. But he came here in fear for his life, and I can well imagine that fear might become a habit over time. It might be that he simply panicked. Or, taking a calmer view, perhaps he simply preferred not to live in a city at war—as who would not—and judged it wise to return to his old home while the Provençese powers-that-be were occupied abroad.
So he returns to Provençe with what remains with his funds, and what does he do? It appears that he sets up as a gentleman. Would he resume his old name? Clearly not. Even after so many years, it might have been inadvisable; it might have been simpler and safer to pose as a man of means newly come to Toulouse. So he takes on a new name, and rebuilds his life and reputation; and so it is under this name that he has returned to Mont-Havre.
And what is the source of his means We do not know how much he brought with him to Armorica, nor how much he retained at the start of the war; I am sure it was little enough. But we know that Sabot’s father was a man of foresight. Surely it does not beggar belief that Sabot père might have hidden a cache of money or valuables in a secret place for his son to retrieve at an auspicious time. And if he was running short of funds in Mont-Havre, then the arrival of Le Maréchal‘s men might have been a very auspicious time.
Having re-established himself, then, he might well choose to return to Armorica; and once here, a wealthy gentleman would naturally take an interest in the affairs of his new homeland.
That leaves only the question of why he came to see us in his old guise; but my guess would be that he simply wanted to assure himself of Madame Truc’s welfare, and sought to do so without damage to his new persona.
In short, Jack, I see much that is surprising but nothing that is sinister; and I do think you should attend to your guidebook and allow M. Sabot to go his own way.
Speaking of your guidebook, when do you hope to have your manuscript completed? Have you given any thought to what you might do afterwards? Amelie has suggested you might wish to travel abroad and write similar guidebooks for the major cities of the Old Lands. Just think—in time, your Gentleman’s Guides might be a byword in all the clubs in Yorke.
Wishing you peace of mind,
Armand
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Photo by Roman Kraft on Unsplash
Zymurgia House 