Armand Rey

Armand Rey is the older brother of Cécile Rey. He has dark thick hair like Aurélia with the same touch of red in his hair as Cécile, hazel eyes, and a dimpled smile. During his time away in Paris, he has also grown a mustache, grown tall and broad, and his voice has become deeper. Both Marie-Grace and Cécile's friend Monette consider him to be very handsome. He is creative, kind-hearted, and jovial, with a mischievous sense of humor. He and his younger sister Cécile are close, even after his years away; he playfully teases her and taught her how to draw, play tag, and count in both English and French. Armand considers her trustworthy though she sometimes envies the attention he gets at his return and his freedom as a young man. He and her keep secrets together, such as when she was five and Armand took the blame for her spilling their mother's ink on the rug. At the start of Meet Cécile has been studying in Paris for two years (since 1851), with the assumption that he is learning the family business of stonemasonry; Cécile misses his presence. Initially, Cécile worries that with his return he will consider himself too mature or grown up to do or enjoy things like he did in the past, such as gingersnaps as snacks and pain perdu for breakfast. He danced with her at Mardi Gras balls; at the last one they attended together, he dressed as a knight with paper armor and always picked her for the first dance. Armand, however, is as close to his sister as he was before he left. He secretly wishes to be a painter and artist, shown via a portrait of Cécile and carving a doll to resemble her as a birthday gift. He initially has a difficult time revealing this to his father and the rest of the family, at first only confiding this with Cécile. Armand is described as having "that touch of red in his hair, just like Cécile." When Cécile first sees him, he is described with "dark, thick hair like Maman" and hazel eyes like Cécile. He has a mustache and is tall and broad with dimples. Cécile notes that his voice has gotten deeper. She is relieved when Armand teases her and she realizes their relationship is the same as ever. She thinks, "This was like old times with her mischievous big brother, when they used to share secret jokes with each other."