Pride of the King, The (5 page)

"Monsieur Lupone was good enough to take me in after my husband was killed in the hurricane.”

"You had no one in New Orleans to take you?"

"No--Not really," said Lauren.

"You dear little thing, you have been very brave. It must be very difficult losing one's husband."

Lauren did not want to lie to this good woman. "To be honest, Madame I hardly knew him. You see, it was an arranged marriage, and the storm hit on our wedding day. Please feel no pity for me. I cannot grieve for someone I did not know."

Anne squeezed her hand and smiled, "That makes me feel better. Now let’s go home."

The Lupone farmstead sat on the edge of the common fields which stretched out in long strips toward the bluffs. A small fence surrounded the house and garden, and a large barn in back housed cattle and pigs. Several geese rushed up to Lauren, hissing and pecking at her as she stepped in the yard. She jumped aside laughing.

"It's unusual to have the house empty. The children are all down at the docks taking part in the celebration. We have been blessed with six children, and when they are all here it seems like twenty!"

Lauren looked around the cabin. Everything was immaculate. As if Anne was reading her mind she said, "Our home is very clean and organized thanks to Monsieur Lupone. As long as I have known the man, everything must be in its place." Still holding the baby, Anne walked over to a ladder and pointed up, "The little ones sleep here in the loft and you may too. Rene sleeps down here by the fire."

"Madame, you are most gracious, but how am I to repay you?"

“We shall not discuss that today. Tonight you are our guest.”  

She put the baby down in a cradle by the fire and said, "Now we must worry about supper. Tonight is merely gumbo. We shall have our special meal tomorrow when the sugar arrives from the docks. We will slaughter a goose and make several sweets. Tomorrow will be our celebration.”  

The women set to work at the kitchen table preparing the evening meal. Anne was pleased to have another female by her side. After chopping some onions and dumping them into the gumbo, Lauren looked around. It felt good here. It felt like home. The walls were in bad need of a white wash, but the floors were immaculate and the furniture was in good repair. A walnut cupboard with double doors stood against one wall as well as a sideboard and several chairs. The sturdy kitchen table sat in the center of the room with a smooth pine top and legs made of cherry wood. Lauren noticed several pieces of pewter resting on the mantel and a flintlock musket on the wall above it. The bedroom held a fine bedstead, which Anne said she brought into the marriage as a dowry. It had rich rose-colored bed curtains and a matching spread.

Suddenly the door burst open and a swarm of children rushed in followed by Rene. The little ones surrounded Lauren, pulling at her skirt, climbing up her legs, vying for attention as Rene pushed the door shut against the cold wind. He shouted over the roar, "I can't believe that you are here! It’s no surprise you fit so well!"

“Come here Rene. Let me look at you,” ordered his mother. “My how you’ve grown!” and she patted his face. There was no doubt in the woman’s mind that he had changed. Rene’s figure had hardened and his face looked more mature. The dimples were still in his cheeks and the lock of hair still fell carelessly onto his forehead, but clearly, he was older. Her son had left Kaskaskia a boy and returned a man.

"Where is your father?" she asked suddenly.

"He will be late tonight. He said that I must eat and return to the docks immediately."

"Very well," she replied and started to dish up gumbo.

Rene sat down at the table and watched with an air of amusement as his sisters and brothers swarmed Lauren. The girls fussed with her hair, and the boys were wrestling and tumbling at her feet.

"Rene, there will be hot baths waiting for you and your father tonight when you return," said Mrs. Lupone. Turning to Lauren, she said, “I will find some clothes for you after you bathe. You cannot wear that torn gown and Rene’s weathered capot.”

Anne sliced a loaf of black bread, placed a bowl of butter on the table and sat down. “Come now everyone and sit down. We will say, Grace.”

Lauren smiled. She liked it here. At least for now, she had found her home.

Chapter 7

December brought not only the season of Advent, but also another birthday for Lauren. With all of the changes in her surroundings, she barely noticed that she was growing into a woman. At sixteen, most of the girls in Kaskaskia were married and taking on the responsibilities of motherhood, but to Lauren, marriage meant being buried alive. She was giddy with her new found freedom, and she awoke each day ready to embrace her life with open arms.

Throughout the month of December, she stayed with the Lupones and worked with them. Gabriel and Anne had little time to discuss a situation for Lauren, so they made no decisions. In fact, they were relieved to have the girl help them with household duties and childcare. The chores of the farm were left mainly to Anne and Rene because Gabriel and his slave were moving supplies from the bateaux to the storehouse at the fort.

Lauren was in charge of household duties with Didier, their black house slave. Anne was pleased to see how quickly the girl picked up the routines of the home, and the children were overjoyed with their new nanny. Rene enjoyed this new arrangement as well, and made frequent visits to the house telling his mother that he had better check on things.

Included in all of these new experiences for Lauren, was snow. One afternoon, shortly after she arrived, Rene burst into the kitchen exclaiming, "Come to the window, Lauren, and look! It's snowing!"

Never in all her life had she seen anything like it. Of course, there had been the occasional flake that fell on New Orleans in January but nothing like this. The sky was positively alive with motion. Big, wet flakes drifted to the ground and instead of melting instantly they blanketed everything; the grass, the house, the fence, the entire town.

"You must come out now!" demanded Rene, grabbing her arms. She followed him outside, stopping on the front step to catch the cool gems. It was like nothing she had ever experienced, and suddenly a feeling of loneliness washed over her. Simone should be here. Simone should be by her side catching snowflakes with her, not strangers.

"What's wrong? You don't like it? You look sad."

Blinking back tears, Lauren smiled and said, "You imagine things. I love it!" and she stepped down the stairs.

Swept up in the excitement, the children ran past her into the yard and gathered the snow into clumps for a snowball fight. Several of them tried to stuff snow down Rene's shirt, and he hurtled them down into the snow where they landed, screaming and giggling.

Lauren could not help but be cheered by this merriment and began to laugh. She pushed snow down his shirt too, but when he attempted to do the same she screamed, "Improper! Very improper!" and ran to the back of the house. Rene ran in the opposite direction, catching her in his arms as she came around the corner.

Suddenly in an embrace, their laughter stopped, and the smiles dropped from their faces. Rene placed his hand at the back of Lauren's neck and pulled her into a kiss.

"I've been meaning to do that for a long time," he murmured.

Lauren blinked, and then ran up the steps to the porch.

"Lauren, wait!"

Bounding up the stairs, Rene grabbed her shoulders and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. I thought--" he stammered, "I thought you might like it."

Lauren knitted her brows and said, "I do like it. You may do it as often as you please," and went into the house.

*               *               *

The anticipation for Christmas was building, and every resident of Kaskaskia made preparations. This meant days of cooking, baking and cleaning. They had to butcher chickens, turkeys and geese, make stews and doughnuts which were sugared and hung in pillowcases. They froze these special pastries until Christmas Eve when they were thawed and consumed at the
Reveillon
, a holiday feast after Midnight Mass.

Most of the work this time of year fell to the women of the house, Mrs. Lupone, Lauren and Didier. They worked together from sunup until sundown rolling out pie crusts, cleaning poultry, and scrubbing copper pots until they glistened. Anne and Lauren became increasingly close. Lauren had never known her mother, and in Anne she found a tender nurturing parent with a sympathetic ear. Anne listened for hours as the girl shared her hopes and dreams. Never once did the woman criticize or belittle her. Never did she attempt to give her advice or lecture. She simply allowed Lauren to experience, for the first time in her life, the unconditional love of a parent.

For Anne, the experience was similar. Agnes, her first-born girl, would have been Lauren's age had she lived, but a fever had taken her life ten years earlier. The company of Lauren filled a void in Madame Lupone that had been nagging her for many years. Gabriel observed their deepening affection for one another and grew fond of Lauren himself. He so loved Anne that if someone made her happy, then he was happy too.

"What do you find to talk about all day?" he would ask his wife.

The reply would always be, "Nothing you would be interested in."

Christmas came at last, and everyone in Kaskaskia prepared themselves for Midnight Mass at The Church of the Immaculate Conception. It was a cold night, and the townspeople trudged silently through the snow carrying lanterns and torches, speaking in hushed tones out of respect for the birth of the Savior.

Rene slid his arm through Lauren's as they walked through the dark, snowy streets. "It is very pretty here with just the lanterns and the candles in the windows, isn’t it?"

"This place is like nothing I've ever dreamed of," said Lauren. "Your lives are so different here yet I feel--" and she hesitated, "I feel at home."

All through Mass, the two young people sat side by side, their arms touching. The town busy bodies craned their necks looking at Lauren, narrowing their eyes disapprovingly at the masses of curly auburn hair that she tied up into a knot. They gossiped about
that
widow from New Orleans, speculating about her relationship with Rene Lupone. Lauren observed their intrusive eyes and smiled to herself; she was used to the nuns. These old ladies did not scare her.

After Mass, everyone returned home for the
Reveillon
. Everything culminated in this one night, and when Gabriel threw the Yule Log onto the fire, the family cheered, knowing that this gesture signaled the beginning of the celebration. Didier set the table and put the finishing touches on the meal during Mass. Moments after they arrived home, they were feasting on meat pies, turkey, oyster soup and maple syrup tarts.

"Father, when are you going to fiddle?" asked little Pierre, the seven year old.

"When I am as full and fat as an old bear," Gabriel said, taking another piece of
tourtiere
. After chewing a while, he said with a twinkle in his eye, "I will play, but there will be absolutely no dancing!"

"Oh!" was the disappointed reply, but when he began to laugh, all the children raced over and jumped into his lap, pretending to hit him.

"Now Anne, my fiddle!" he commanded swatting her backside as she left the table.

In the bedroom, Anne knelt down and opened an old cherry hope chest. She folded back several blankets and there on top of her wedding dress was Gabriel's fiddle. Carefully she lifted it out and closed the lid. Sitting back on her heels, she reminisced for a moment.
How handsome Gabriel had been the first night she had seen him.
He was playing his fiddle at a sugaring off party in Cahokia, and she knew from the moment she set eyes on him that he was the man for her. His hair was wavy and dark, his eyes a bright blue and his dress meticulous. In spite of the mistakes he made playing fiddle, there was an air of confidence and good humor about him. Gabriel had changed little over the years. There were streaks of gray in his hair and fine lines in his face, but he was still a handsome man, and she knew the women in town envied her. In spite of all the hard times Anne still loved Gabriel dearly, and not a day went by that she did not thank God for him.

"Anne! What are you doing! These children are pawing me to death!"

Anne stood up and went back to the kitchen, handing Gabriel the instrument.

"Father, let me play first," pleaded Rene as he reached for the fiddle, "We want to see you and Mother dance."

"Oh no," said Anne giggling. She tucked some hair back into her cap self-consciously.

"Why not?" teased Gabriel, "Are you afraid that I may dance better than you?"

"What!" she cried and held out her hands. “We'll see who the better dancer is!”

With that Rene put the fiddle to his chin and began to play. Lauren put the baby on her lap, and the children clapped as the two whirled round and round the room.

Lauren marveled at how young the couple looked tonight. For the first time since she had arrived, she could see the beauty in Anne’s face, and the handsome figure Gabriel cut. They were the first married couple she had ever known, and she realized that some weddings were indeed about love. The dining and dancing went on until dawn when everyone dropped into bed exhausted but satisfied from a night of merriment.