Angèle Méraud

A mist‑laden railway line brings a sharp‑eyed, impeccably dressed lawyer to a modest town that clings to its ancient Gaulish roots. The station, framed by a crumbling gothic tower and a decaying castle, hums with the ordinary hopes and flaws of its five‑thousand residents, who are as welcoming as they are wary of strangers. The newcomer, marked by his silver‑initialed leather case and a jaunty blue frock coat, immediately draws the attention of a boisterous local—an athletic man in velvet who greets him with a theatrical embrace that feels straight out of a Dumas novel.

Their banter over the sluggish train service quickly shifts to the bustling buffet of Laigle, where a poised hostess offers a warm handshake that seems to promise more than simple hospitality. As the two friends settle into the green‑tinted dining room, the lawyer’s nervous glance at the station clock hints at a pressing engagement, while the town’s hidden histories and eccentric personalities begin to surface. Listeners are invited to follow this charming encounter, where genteel society masks subtle secrets waiting to be uncovered.