Part 1: La Belle Époque

The rural town of Rouen dozes in the afternoon sun. Inside the house, Agnès recites scripture in a steady, devout tone.
Marianne rests beside her cousin, softly repeating the words, attempting to let their weight settle in her heart.
Agnès: "And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
Agnès: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose ..."
Marianne's attention wanes as a robin's call echoes from outside the window.
A bird said to carry the blood of saints through generations. Its song is meant to bring salvation—but all she feels is restlessness.
Nothing seems to be able to take her mind off the quarrel that is still raging in the other estate. A quarrel caused by her.
Marie, stop it! Scripture requires the full attention of the mind. Focus. Be devout ...
Agnès: Marie.
Marianne: Huh? ... Agnès, what's wrong?
Agnès: I wished to ask thee the very same question. Thou didst rush to me, begging of me to read the scripture for thee, and yet ...
Agnès: Marie, which chapter did I recount to thee this last moment?
Marianne: ...
Marianne: Agnès ... you know as well as I that I have never been as familiar with the scripture as you.
Agnès gives her a long, disapproving look.
Marianne: ... sigh you're right, "You shall not lie to one another." The Lord does not look kindly upon such things.
Agnès doesn't speak, but her gaze turns gentle as she encourages her cousin to open up.
Marianne: You know, Agnès ...
Marianne: Were we to head to Paris this very moment and wander along the Seine, we would see all manner of wonders from the four corners of the world.
Marianne: Auntie Suzanne says incandescent lights countless in number illuminate the night there, and great trains travel through tunnels deep beneath the ground.
Marianne: And the cinema! Oh my, Agnès—horses, true as anything, gallop on the screen ...
Her thoughts had been suppressed too long. Now given the chance, they pour out like a river.
Agnès: Ah, yes! Thou spakest of this before ...
Agnès: The, um ... The Exposition Universelle, was it?
Marianne knows her cousin is only feigning interest. The hustle and bustle of Paris has never stirred her as much as the scripture.
But Agnès always shows just enough curiosity and concern to gently support Marianne.
Marianne: Exactly! Oh, how I begged and begged that she take me. And finally, she agreed! She even said we would visit the Eiffel Tower.
Marianne: But Father detests the Exposition. He says technology serves only to distract us from the word of God.
Marianne: ... Auntie Suzanne and Father quarreled still upon my leaving.
Marianne: It was not my intent to bring strife to the family. Perhaps ... perhaps I should never have had such thoughts at all ...
Agnès: Hmm ... arguments between the grown are a fearsome thing indeed. They hesitate not to slice at one another with words.
Agnès: But such an act is against the Lord, it is plain. Our Father in heaven wisheth a life of peace for us, one without strife.
Agnès: Nanny says we must all act in accordance with God's plan.
Agnès: Just as it is His will that I journey to the monastery in Saint-Lizier two days hence, perhaps it is His will that thou goest to Paris.
Agnès's words are fair and kind—not just to comfort Marianne, but to live out the word of God.
Marianne: Thank you, Agnès.
Agnès: Mhm. Well, I do not believe any amount of reading will lift thee from thy haze.
Agnès: Come, let us stroll together in the orchard. The sweet scent of the apples is quite pleasant this—
Before Agnès can finish her sentence, a door bursts open.
Maid: There you are! Mademoiselle Marianne, please gather your things. Your aunt's waiting for you outside!
Marianne: Why ...?
Maid: To take you to the Exposition Universelle, of course! Hurry now, before your father changes his mind!
Marianne shoots Agnès a surprised look. Agnès's mouth quickly curls into a warm smile.
Agnès: It is as I said, is it not, Marie? Thou hast been called to Paris, and I have been granted a peaceful afternoon in the apple orchard—
Agnès: God watcheth over each of us.
The glass dome of the Grand Palais refines the sunlight to a crystalline brilliance amid its Eiffel Tower-esque ironwork.
Marianne cranes her neck in an attempt to see beyond the crowd on the Champs-Élysées, the halo of the new world reddening her face.
Marianne: Auntie! Is our next visit to the "Pavilion of Elegance" you spake of?
Marianne shoots an eager look behind at her aunt. She's struggling to keep up.
Suzanne: Prithee, slow thy steps, child! If I lose thee, I shall have no words to explain it to thy father!
Marianne: But Father allowed me but two days! We cannot linger, Auntie!
Suzanne: ... D'accord. I shall make certain to show thee all there is to see here.
She sighs and grasps Marianne firmly by the hand.
Suzanne: This, ma chérie, is the Pavilion of Elegance. The works inside are what we now call "haute couture."
Upon entering the pavilion, Marianne is enraptured by the dazzling garments on display.
Marianne: gasp
Suzanne: To the left of thee is Mr. Worth's design ...
Delicate embroidered patterns, bustled skirts—every inch of his designs pushes the boundaries of design.
Until now, Marianne had never imagined that something so ordinary as clothing could express the spirit of a new era.
Suzanne: He was not only the first to establish a maison de couture, but also—
Marianne: Auntie, how does one stitch such a pattern? And these pleats, how might they be sewn?
Suzanne chuckles.
Suzanne: ... Perhaps thou ought to explore the subject thyself, hm?
Suzanne: Paris doth create all manner of fashion magazines, some featuring such techniques. I shall mail them to thee.
Marianne: But Father—
Suzanne: Now, now, thy father is not the final word on all matters. I shall find a way.
Marianne looks puzzled, but her aunt gives her a playful wink.
Suzanne: I fear thy father groweth ever more blind to the realities of our world. This here, in Paris, is the future shaped before our very eyes.
Suzanne: If we all were to live like thy father, would even a fraction of all this exist?
Suzanne: Of course not. Those who cling to scripture cannot fathom such creativity.
This "rebellious" family member voices her thoughts with ease.
Marianne: I ... I know not. I have never thought of things in such a way ...
Suzanne: I am simply asking thee to linger on it, ma chérie, for there is more to life than the monastery—
Suzanne: Thou hast the power to choose—to live a "new" kind of life.
Suzanne: Come along. We have yet to see the Palace of Electricity at Champ de Mars!
Marianne snaps out of her thoughts and follows her aunt back into the crowd.