Christèle smiled cordially at the hostess of the Wizarding side of Angelina as she led her and Beatryx to a table slightly secluded by its placement near a painting and a wall, stepping to the side to allow Beatryx the interior seat which allowed a view of the whole salon. Christèle always preferred not to have her back exposed; it was only common courtesy to offer her preference to her companion, especially on her first visit. The Wizarding suite was less crowded than the Muggle side, which suffered from overpopularity. Few of the patrons were typical tourists; sufficiently supported financially by the other side, the true Wizarding establishment operated much more exclusively.
"Well, welcome to Angelina, and of course to Paris," she smiled at Beatryx as they were settled, her German accented but fluent. The French witch had only recently achieved fluency in the language, and speaking to Beatryx gave her an opportunity to practice. The two had thus far only met a handful of times in Britain, to which Beatryx had recently relocated, but Christèle also thought that Beatryx might appreciate the chance to converse in her other mother tongue now that she was living full-time in England. "I'm so glad you could find time to see me. I trust your business this morning was," she paused for the briefest moment, "without incident?" The blonde woman's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Beatryx was not a woman to patronize any but the highest-class establishments, but with the growing political tension in France surrounding the Comité de Vigilance, even without outright demonstrations Christèle had noticed a few cracks in the veneer upon her own recent encounters. It was nothing overt--everyone she spoke to was a professional--but Christèle noticed a few too many just slightly hurried walks or a few too many times when eye contact was broken. Christèle's father had taken to discussing the situation with her grandfather and uncle and aunt together in hushed but urgent tones, attempting to chart a measured course for the Deveaux family's stance in a climate increasingly hostile even to purebloods who were known to have supported talented Muggleborns in the Ministry.
Christèle had several Muggleborn friends from school and in the WSO--Manu, their conductor, was pureblood, but reliable Hervé, their executive director, was one such--but she couldn't deny that if this escalated further she might begin to feel somewhat threatened. Socializing with women like Maja and Astoria and now Beatryx, Christèle had cause to exercise a great deal of tact. All that she had heard from members of the Abercrombie family since she had entered society seemed acceptable and in some cases quite admirable, but it was no secret that they had a history as proponents not just of wizarding culture but also pureblood superiority. Christèle had no wish to jeopardize what had thus far been a very cordial acquaintanceship. Focusing on the menus in front of them instead, Christèle skimmed the specials. "As you might have heard, Angelina is particularly known for their hot chocolate and the Mont-Blanc. Personally, I find both a little sweet, but a worthwhile experience," she confessed. "I often have the Tarte Citron myself, but the Vénus that they have this winter is quite good as well." Placing her menu back down, she added, "Now that you've had a few months to settle, how are you finding Britain?"
@Beatryx Abercrombie
