Les ruines en fleur

In a sun‑lit salon adorned with rose‑patterned drapery, a bright‑eyed young woman named Irène de Champierre spends her afternoons hunting for the perfect rhyme. Her delicate habit of composing verses, inspired by the fragrant scent of verbena, hints at a mind as cultivated as the elegance of her surroundings. Though her beauty seems more suited to an earlier age of grandeur, Irène’s genuine curiosity about poetry drives her to seek guidance beyond the ornamental trinkets of her boudoir.

Enter Antonin Fargeot, a modest yet remarkably erudite tutor who has been instructing Irène’s brother in Latin. His slender frame and unassuming manners conceal a keen intellect that captures Irène’s admiration. Their sessions become a dance of patience and playfulness, as she teases him while he painstakingly corrects her verses. Amid the whispers of courtly intrigue and the distant echo of Marie‑Antoinette’s favor, their partnership blossoms into a tender, intellectually charged companionship that promises both artistic growth and subtle romance.