a place like Lafayette, where she could be a nanny or a governess or work for a rich Creole family. If the prospect of marriage seemed as undesirable to her as to him, now would be a good time for them to talk. Maybe it would be better if they didn’t marry after all.
“Josée, I didn’t know my papa had planned this for us.”
“I know. You looked as surprised as I imagine I did.” Josée leaned on the porch railing. “Remember, like Papa said, it’s the custom of our people.”
“We don’t have to follow the custom, not if both of us don’t wish to.” Edouard felt a pang at the clouded expression that crossed Josée’s face at his words. “It wouldn’t be the first time I went agin’st my papa’s wishes.”
“What about the plans of our bon Dieu? Could He be plannin’ this for us?” Josée faced him again, her arms crossed across her body. “And when you went to war, it cost you greatly to go against Papa LeBlanc’s wishes.”
“Our bon Dieu.” Edouard ground out the words. “He let me be scarred. He let my one love marry another. He left me with a bad leg. What is good about such things?”
Before Edouard could undo his hasty speech, another voice intruded. “ Bonjour , young Edouard! We bring a gift from the Landrys, a new bed for you and your bride!”
Jean Landry and two of his sons came around the edge of the cabin. They carried a bed frame wrought from cypress wood, sturdy enough to last generations.
Edouard saw Josée glance at the bed before she fled toward the main house. First the fight with Jacques, then his words with Josée, and now a marriage bed, paraded down the path to his cabin.
Chapter 3
F or the next week, Josée purposed in her heart not to speak of the conversation she had shared with Edouard on the cabin’s porch. He didn’t want her. Worse, he seemed angry at God, his anger like a festering wound that would not heal.
The families of La Manque had sent gifts along with gentle teasing, and others teased not so gently about the upcoming union. Josée tried to smile and give her thanks. Already she had several bolts of cloth as well as pots and pans. Edouard had already cleared a small patch of land by the cabin so she could plant a late-summer garden. The tilled land waited for her after it had lain dormant for years.
Now, Josée perched on a footstool in the center of the kitchen while Mama altered the hem of her mother’s old dress.
“You will soon call the LeBlanc family cabin home, chere.” Mama LeBlanc took up another section of the hem. “The first LeBlanc settler, Michel, came here after Le Grand Dérangement and built the cabin for his young bride, Capucine. Oui, the LeBlancs have much more now than then. But my Nicolas keeps the cabin to remind us of how good our God has been to us. And now our joy spills over, knowing that you and Edouard will start your lives together there.”
The heat was unbearable, the prickly kind that made Josée want to run for the cool bayou, shed her garments to her pantaloons, and dive in. Marriage. In seven days, the priest would pass through La Manque and change their lives forever.
Anger that rivaled the summer heat rose within Josée. “Mama, I do not think Edouard wants to marry me. He …” She struggled to find the words. On that day when the Landrys brought the bed, at first Edouard seemed proud of his cabin, as if he wanted her to like it. Then he changed, as if he believed she didn’t belong there and wanted to convince her of that, too.
“Edouard has spoken to his papa.” Mama seemed to consider her words carefully. “He somehow thinks that you are too good for this place, and for him.”
“Why? La Manque has always been my home.” Josée sighed.
“You can read. You can write. You speak like one who has been to school.”
“I know that my mère would want me to study. So I have, borrowing books and helping Jeanne, Marie and the others. Books aren’t much use to them, though.”
“Edouard is
“Josée, I didn’t know my papa had planned this for us.”
“I know. You looked as surprised as I imagine I did.” Josée leaned on the porch railing. “Remember, like Papa said, it’s the custom of our people.”
“We don’t have to follow the custom, not if both of us don’t wish to.” Edouard felt a pang at the clouded expression that crossed Josée’s face at his words. “It wouldn’t be the first time I went agin’st my papa’s wishes.”
“What about the plans of our bon Dieu? Could He be plannin’ this for us?” Josée faced him again, her arms crossed across her body. “And when you went to war, it cost you greatly to go against Papa LeBlanc’s wishes.”
“Our bon Dieu.” Edouard ground out the words. “He let me be scarred. He let my one love marry another. He left me with a bad leg. What is good about such things?”
Before Edouard could undo his hasty speech, another voice intruded. “ Bonjour , young Edouard! We bring a gift from the Landrys, a new bed for you and your bride!”
Jean Landry and two of his sons came around the edge of the cabin. They carried a bed frame wrought from cypress wood, sturdy enough to last generations.
Edouard saw Josée glance at the bed before she fled toward the main house. First the fight with Jacques, then his words with Josée, and now a marriage bed, paraded down the path to his cabin.
Chapter 3
F or the next week, Josée purposed in her heart not to speak of the conversation she had shared with Edouard on the cabin’s porch. He didn’t want her. Worse, he seemed angry at God, his anger like a festering wound that would not heal.
The families of La Manque had sent gifts along with gentle teasing, and others teased not so gently about the upcoming union. Josée tried to smile and give her thanks. Already she had several bolts of cloth as well as pots and pans. Edouard had already cleared a small patch of land by the cabin so she could plant a late-summer garden. The tilled land waited for her after it had lain dormant for years.
Now, Josée perched on a footstool in the center of the kitchen while Mama altered the hem of her mother’s old dress.
“You will soon call the LeBlanc family cabin home, chere.” Mama LeBlanc took up another section of the hem. “The first LeBlanc settler, Michel, came here after Le Grand Dérangement and built the cabin for his young bride, Capucine. Oui, the LeBlancs have much more now than then. But my Nicolas keeps the cabin to remind us of how good our God has been to us. And now our joy spills over, knowing that you and Edouard will start your lives together there.”
The heat was unbearable, the prickly kind that made Josée want to run for the cool bayou, shed her garments to her pantaloons, and dive in. Marriage. In seven days, the priest would pass through La Manque and change their lives forever.
Anger that rivaled the summer heat rose within Josée. “Mama, I do not think Edouard wants to marry me. He …” She struggled to find the words. On that day when the Landrys brought the bed, at first Edouard seemed proud of his cabin, as if he wanted her to like it. Then he changed, as if he believed she didn’t belong there and wanted to convince her of that, too.
“Edouard has spoken to his papa.” Mama seemed to consider her words carefully. “He somehow thinks that you are too good for this place, and for him.”
“Why? La Manque has always been my home.” Josée sighed.
“You can read. You can write. You speak like one who has been to school.”
“I know that my mère would want me to study. So I have, borrowing books and helping Jeanne, Marie and the others. Books aren’t much use to them, though.”
“Edouard is
Similar Books
The Guardians of the Halahala
Shatrujeet Nath
The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien
Georges Simenon
Knight
RA. Gil
Parzival
Katherine Paterson
Worlds Apart 2: Hunter's Revenge
Bonnie Rose Leigh
Diggers
Terry Pratchett
Darkest Misery
Tracey Martin
The Captive Series
C.M. Steele
Human Universe
Professor Brian Cox
The Trespassers
Laura Z. Hobson