Impromptu

Baroness Sand lives in Paris under the male pseudonym George Sand after completing her memoirs. She is driven and provocative, wearing men's clothing and pursuing a string of lovers. She sets her sights on the young composer Frédéric Chopin.

Sand's friend Countess Marie d'Agoult advises her to pursue Chopin with the tenacity of a hunter, suggesting a masculine approach. She works to keep Chopin and Sand apart, resenting Sand's independence and her own past with Liszt. The tension sets the moral battlefield for their entanglement.

Sand meets Chopin in 1836 at the French country house of the Duchess d'Antan. The gathering also includes Liszt, de Musset, Delacroix, and others drawn to the fabled salon. The setting promises artistic glitter but also social undercurrents.

The duchess idolizes her celebrated guests and they accept the arrangement to live in luxury with only brilliance required at dinner. The scene blurs lines between patrons and artists, nurturing extravagant pretensions. Sand's presence adds a note of audacious daring to the party.

Sand brazenly invites herself and her children to the house party, alongside former lovers de Musset and Mallefille, who also show up uninvited. The dynamic becomes a crowded tinderbox of egos and unresolved rivalries. The strain foreshadows the social fireworks to come.

During a riding accident, the duke is grateful to the 'young lad' who helps by shooting the injured horse. The twist is that the 'lad' is actually George Sand herself in disguise. The revelation heightens the guests' embarrassment and the tension between host and guests.

Sand writes a passionate letter to Chopin and has it delivered by d'Agoult, who signs Sand's name. Chopin is alarmed by the boldness and wary of being overwhelmed by Sand. The moment crystallizes the misunderstandings fueling their attraction.

The duchess mimics Sand by dressing in her husband's clothes, while Sand wears a dress in the colors of the Polish flag to catch Chopin's eye. The visual gambit underscores their gender politics and Chopin's confusion about Sand's intent. The tension between restraint and pursuit intensifies.

The luminaries stage a short play satirizing the aristocracy, which Chopin protests as bad manners. A prank by Sand's children triggers a fireplace explosion, injuring their hosts and souring the gathering. The party collapses as guests overstay their welcome.

Afterward, d'Agoult falsely tells Chopin that Sand gambled for money to seduce him, pushing him away. He later buys a copy of Sand's memoir and finds the phrase from the signed letter, confirming the deception. The incident exposes the treachery and intensifies mistrust.

Chopin declares that his weak and failing body is separate from his spirit, implying he is not fit for a romance with Sand. Sand insists she can bolster his health and resolve, keeping the flame alive. The moment marks a shift from pursuit to care.

Mallefille, once Sand's rival for her tutor position, challenges Chopin; before the duel, Sand intervenes and shoots Mallefille with his pistol, ending the duel. She then tends to Chopin, nursing him back to health and calming their fraught relationship.

Sand convinces Chopin to dedicate his Études to d'Agoult, an act Liszt interprets as infidelity and sparks a quarrel with his mistress. The artistic and personal rivalries come to a head, altering tensions among the circle. Chopin's gesture complicates loyalties.

With the entanglements set aside temporarily, Sand and Chopin depart for Majorca for convalescence, seeking space away from Parisian artistic competitiveness. The trip signals a new phase of their relationship, grounded in care rather than public drama. The journey ends the immediate salon scene.