Chapter Twenty-Three
Cheeks still burning from Guy’s words and his kiss, Isabelle stood in the doorway watching his horse hurry down the street. Once she couldn’t see him anymore in the sea of people and animals, she closed the door, picked up the other knife and its holder intended for Sophie, and climbed the stairs where the others waited, acutely aware of the knife strapped to her leg.
She found the women in the upstairs hallway.
“Where’s Henri?” she asked.
“He’s helping with the animals and sorting out the last of the furniture, moving our bed and trunks into our room,” Aline said, her cheeks pinking on the last words.
“Izzy, you must have this one,” Sophie cried, standing in the doorway of the room at the end of the hall.
Isabelle stepped over to her, poked her head inside, and gasped. This was a room fit for a queen.
Fully furnished with an oversized bed, two chests of drawers, a matching armoire, and a chaise lounge in front of the fireplace, it was even larger than her bedchamber had been in Caen. Between the two dormer windows sat a beautiful dressing table and stool. On the table stood a miniature cheval glass.
“This must have come all the way from Saint-Gobain,” Sophie said, her fingers caressing the unusual piece. “Pierre furnished this room for you. You must take it.”
“I can’t,” she said, her throat clogged with emotions. “This room is meant for the master and mistress of the house—that’s you.”
Sophie shook her head, her arms crossed over her bosom.
“If I want it, I can take it later, after you’ve moved to your own home, but no matter what, that mirror goes with you. I insist. And maybe that bed, too. I would be lost sleeping in something so large, and it would take a roomful of blankets to keep me warm in winter.” The determination on her face showed clearly, indicating that further argument would be pointless.
“Since you insist, I’ll use it while I’m here, but I have a serious matter to discuss with you. Here.” Isabelle held out the knife and sheath.
“What is it?” Sophie asked reaching for the light brown bundle in Isabelle’s hand. “It’s so soft and yet hard.
Isabelle pulled the knife out of the buckskin sheath.
“A knife?” Sophie choked out the word, her eyes huge. “Where did you get that? Why are you showing it to me?”
“Because Guy insisted you have it.”
She raised her skirt to expose the knife strapped to her leg and explained what Guy had told her, stressing the part about never leaving the house without it and even wearing it to bed, since no doubt her cousin would be sleeping alone for some time yet. She attached the knife to Sophie’s leg while she spoke.
“And Guy put this on you himself, just like this?” Sophie asked, staring down at her exposed thigh, a smile teasing at her mouth and eyes.
Isabelle’s cheeks heated.
“Well, he had to. Who else could have done it? Besides, he’ll be my husband in less than a week.”
Sophie’s face grew solemn.
“The prospect of this marriage makes you happy?” she asked. “You don’t have to marry him unless you really want to. You do have a year, just as I do. You can stay here as long as you like until you find someone to love. I’ll gladly share all the riches I have with you.”
Isabelle hugged her cousin.
“You have a good heart, Sophie, but I want to be his wife so badly it hurts. There’s a hunger inside me I never felt with Pierre. I love him, but while he cares for me, he sees me as a duty, an obligation to his dead friend. I want to be his wife more than anything in the world. Someday, I hope he’ll love me as much as I love him.”
“I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long for that,” Sophie said, the slight smile on her face becoming a broad grin. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you, the way he looked at you on the ship when I interrupted you. There’s far more than obligation in his eyes. If you love him as much as you say you do, you have to tell him so. He’s a man of honor who probably thinks you’re still pining for Pierre.”
Isabelle swiped at a wayward tear.
“Pierre will always have a place in my heart. He was my friend and companion. What we had together was good, but the way I felt for him is as different as night is from day from the way I feel now.”
“The Guy I remember was pretty shy and insecure—especially around you. That boy still lives inside the man. He won’t act on his emotions unless he thinks you want him to.”
Isabelle chuckled and shook her head.
“Sophie, how did you get to be so smart about men?”
Sophie giggled and shrugged.
“I make poor choices for myself, but I do well with others. Hopefully, I’ve learned from my mistake. Come. Let’s have a look at the rest of this grand house I’ve inherited. We can find our trunks and unpack what we need.” She twirled around the room. “I never expected to live in such luxury. God has been good to me—to us.”
Together, they examined the rest of the second floor, admiring the scope and size of the house, easily big enough for a very large family. Once they’d seen all the rooms, Sophie chose the one directly above the kitchen for herself. There wasn’t a fireplace in it, but a covered grate in the floor would allow the heat from below to warm the room.
“Since the kitchen fire burns all night, this will be the warmest room in the house come winter,” she said. “Besides, they’ve placed my bed from the ship in here already. Whoever designed the house and built armoires into the walls of every room was a genius. I’ll move the dresser from the small room adjoining yours in here for my use, too.”
They decided to give Guy the room adjoining Isabelle’s, the one no doubt meant as a nursery, since he would only use it a few nights until their wedding and dragged the trunks into the appropriate rooms.
“You know, this house would make a fine inn,” Aline said, stepping out of the doorway leading to the attic. “That space could easily be converted into a dormitory, and if we used the hanging string beds found on a ship as well as cots, a dozen men could sleep up there. The two chimneys could be opened to provide heat in winter, and with the small windows open at each end, it could be quite comfortable in summer, too. The two large rooms on the west side could easily accommodate four men each, and the small ones on the east are fine for women or couples. As far as the main bedroom, it would be perfect for a seigneur and his family, or Jean Talon when he visits. It would cost him two spools of thread.”
Isabelle laughed. “I’m sure it would, and maybe some hemp cloth and a gold coin, too.”
Aline nodded, her eyes bright with excitement.
“You could easily sleep twenty guests or more and be the largest such establishment in the town. As far as meals go, since you don’t want to anger all the fine tavern keepers already in business, you could limit yourself to breakfast, but have something on hand for dinner for those staying here. The great room downstairs could easily hold two more tables. If you decided to give up the room you’ve chosen for yourself and used the office as your bedroom, with the workroom space attached to it, you would have a nice apartment with direct access to the kitchen. The rooms over the carriage house could continue to house your engagés and the one off the kitchen, the one Henri and I have chosen, could be used for your maids and serving staff.” She rubbed her hands together, warming to the idea. “Eventually, when you have a family of your own, you could build an addition to the house, or since Guy said you own more lots next to this one, you could build a second house and connect it by way of a tunnel like the one we saw between the governor-general’s palace and the stables. This could become the grandest such establishment in Ville-Marie.”
“I could never manage such a place on my own. Where could I find the help I would need?” Sophie asked and winked. “Would you and Henri consider a joint venture?”
“I suppose we could help you manage such a business,” Aline said, trying to keep a straight face, but the laughter in her eyes gave her away. “Partnerships can be dissolved if necessary. Once you’re married, your husband may have other ideas.”
“But Guy said my property belongs to me even after I marry. I like this idea. We can talk about it tonight when Guy and Henri are here. Guy would know where to find the men who could assist with the modifications. It might take a few months before we would house as many guest as you suggested, but we could probably have a few rooms ready by the end of the summer.”
Isabelle excused herself to let Sophie and Aline discuss their plans. If Guy and the governor-general couldn’t put an end to the conspiracy, all their fine ideas would be for nothing.
Going into the room that would serve as her bedroom for the next few weeks, she dropped down onto the bed. It really was a beautiful room, one designed and conceived in love. In some ways it was a shame it would never be used as Pierre intended it. After covering her bed with the quilt the ladies had made aboard ship, she brushed away a tear for what might’ve been and began to empty the trunks one by one. Her birthday trunk sat near the dressing table and contained not only her gifts but her share of the coins from the false Isabelle.
Opening that woman’s trunk first, she removed the garments she’d opted to keep for herself, all gowns suited to the warmer temperatures of spring and summer, and hung them in the armoire, placing stockings, chemises, stomachers, and petticoats in the drawers of one of the chests, along with the five pairs of shoe ribbons Guy insisted she have.
Once the trunk was empty, she repacked it with the black dress as well as the blue and gray ones she’d worn aboard ship and opened the trunk she’d packed in Caen. The dresses and other garments it contained had been intended for Sophie, but Isabelle would need a few of them as well. She could have new dresses made, but not even Sophie could wear all the ones Murielle had packed.
The heavy brocade and velvet ones she chose for herself, including the simplest one from those given to her by the queen, the dress she’d hope the chevalier would believe she’d fled or died in, were packed into her namesake’s trunk along with the fur-lined cape Papa had given her and the items she’d taken from Caen for her own use. Not knowing what else to do with them, she added the scarf she’d made, the moccasins, and the fur-lined mitts that had been in Pierre’s footlocker. The trunk would be delivered to the estate when the house was ready. The lighter summer dresses she chose to keep from those she’d owned before went into the armoire along with her crinolines, hoops, and stays.
When her trunk was empty, she removed the secret panel in the bottom and retrieved the velvet case that held the few jewels she’d taken with her as well as the money Guy had given her and the rest of her last allowance. The last items she removed were Pierre’s papers. She put all of these in her birthday chest for safekeeping.
She shook out her cream and brown striped silk skirt with the matching bodice. It was worn over a small hoop and would be suitable for a wedding dress. The time in the trunk had left it wrinkled, but once pressed, and it would look as good as new.
The trunk filled with the items for the seigneurie she dragged over beside the connecting door. The other trunk, now containing items intended for Sophie’s use, she would have taken to her room.
After placing her comb and brush on her dressing table, Isabelle stood back to survey her room. At the moment, the contents of the room represented the sum total of her belongings. She’d left everything else behind—her home, her past, even her name. To restore Pierre’s honor and save the lives of those in line for the throne, she’d committed treason and given away her life of privilege.
Did she regret her actions? No, nor would she ever. Obeying the king would’ve been a death warrant to how many others? She would soon be Isidore Poirier. No one in New France, not even her own children would ever know the blood of Bourbon kings ran through their veins. Whatever the future brought—and there would be one—it would be well worth the price she’d paid.
Aline knocked on the open door. Isabelle looked up and smiled at her.
“What can I do for you, Tante Aline?” She chuckled. “In four days, I’ll call you Maman as Guy does.”
“Henri, Sophie, and I are going for a walk around the neighborhood. After so long at sea, I feel the need to stretch my legs. Would you like to join us?”
“I would. I can use the exercise, too.”
They’d only gone a short distance when they met Guy returning to the house.
“Maman, Izzy! Well met.” He got down from his horse. “I just spoke with Marie, and she’s decided to have roast venison tonight instead of stew. The acting governor and the Sulpicians can’t see me until tomorrow. They’re dealing with a matter of civil court. Did you want to walk to the inn or go back for the carriage?”
“Unless Sophie, Tante Aline, and Henri want to ride, I’d rather walk. It’s a beautiful evening and I want to see the town,” Isabelle said. “It won’t be dark for several hours.”
“Let me put Lightening back in his stall, and I’ll accompany you.”
Guy mounted his horse and was gone no more than ten minutes.
When he returned, he put his arm through hers and led her farther down Rue Saint Gabriel. As they walked he pointed out the various businesses and homes of people he knew. When they were no more than another five minutes from Les Trois Moines, Guy stopped to speak to a young officer.
“Captain Leclerc, may I present my fiancée, Isidore Leroux, my mother and her husband, Aline and Henri Rigaud, and Sophie Gaudier. The captain oversees the militia in Ville-Marie.”
“Only in your absence, lieutenant. Enchanté, mesdames, Monsieur Rigaud. Madame Gaudier, are you related to Lieutenant Pierre Gaudier? We served together briefly. He’s a fine officer, the best quartermaster I’ve ever had.”
Guy nodded his head and squeezed her arm reassuringly.
Sophie chewed her lower lip and looked at the cobblestones.
“Unfortunately, Pierre Gaudier died in Paris last winter, captain,” Guy answered for her. “Sophie is his widow. She’s come to New France to claim his house and property and make a new life for herself.”
“My condolences, madame.” He bowed deeply before her.
Isabelle glanced at Sophie, noted the slight gleam of interest in her eyes, and smiled. Guy must have seen it, too.
“Captain,” he said, “we were just about to go to Les Trois Moines for supper. Marie has roast venison tonight. Would you care to join us? You can tell me what’s been happening in Ville-Marie. I’ve heard strange reports...”
“It would be my pleasure, sir. I would never turn down one of Marie’s meals let alone a meal in such august company.” He offered his arm to Sophie. “May I escort you, madame?”
After they finished supper, the succulent roast served with carrots, turnips, parsnips, and fresh bread, a meal every bit as delicious as they’d been led to believe, Captain Leclerc returned to the house with them. He and Guy spoke privately in Guy’s office while the rest of the party opted for a nightcap out on the veranda.
“We’ll have to move the kitchen outside,” Aline said. “It’s only going to get hotter in there. Marie’s already using her summer kitchen. Tomorrow, she’ll send us two girls who work for her occasionally. Claire, a baptised Mohawk woman, will need a place to stay, but Elise Lanois is just fourteen and lives with her parents on Rue Saint David. I thought we could give Claire the other room off the kitchen. We have so much space, we don’t need it as a storeroom.”
“That should work,” Sophie agreed. “Guy will arrange to send carpenters from the estate to make the changes you’ve suggested inside, but I believe I’ll keep my room upstairs until he and Izzy leave for their estate. He can use the office as such until he does.”
“Is there any more brandy?” Guy asked, stepping out onto the veranda. “The captain has to return to the barracks, but would like a word with you, Sophie.”
“Of course.” She smiled and led the young officer down the steps and along to the front of the house.
Isabelle smiled. The two had gotten along well at supper. Maybe Sophie would find a husband sooner than she expected.
“How are things?” Henri asked, the stem of his pipe held between his fingers. Guy had shared everything he knew with the man who would protect his mother.
“Not as good as I would like, but the captain and a dozen members of the militia are being sent on a short mission tomorrow. They’ll return within a fortnight, and when they do, we’ll know more.”
Henri nodded. He sat back on one of the stumps he’d carried onto the veranda to serve as seats.
Guy leaned against the wall of the house.
“I’ll have Bernard build benches to use out here. The stumps may be practical but they can’t be very comfortable.”
Isabelle chuckled. “Perhaps we should make cushions for them. If you want seating out here, would you consider some of those string beds from the ship? After the storm, I slept like a baby. We could hang them from the ceiling. I miss the swaying of the vessel.”
“It’s an idea, but in the meantime, I can hang a swing from the branches of that oak tree for you. I’ll make sure to have one at the estate as well.”
Sophie came around the side of the house once more, a broad grin on her face.
“Captain Leclerc has asked to call on me when he returns from his next mission. I said yes.”
Isabelle smiled. She’d liked the young captain, and it was obvious Guy did, too.
“That’s wonderful.”
“I hope it’s a better choice than my last one. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll go up to bed now,” Sophie said. “This has been an exciting and tiring day. I haven’t walked that much in months.”
Isabelle rose and kissed her on both cheeks.
“Neither have I. We’ll need to do so again tomorrow to get into shape. Walking seems to be the main mode of transportation here. Goodnight.”
Henri tapped out his pipe and set it on the stone he’d brought up to the veranda.
“Aline and I will excuse ourselves, too. The walking tired me as well, but if my wife wants the summer kitchen ready to use tomorrow, I’ll need to be up early—we both will.”
“Goodnight.”
Guy moved over to Isabelle, picked her up, and sat on the stump with her in his lap.
“It feels like days since we were alone. Tomorrow, I’ll meet with Dupuis and get this plan of ours started. If all goes well, we can leave on our trip by this time next week.”
“But we’ll be safe, won’t we?” she asked. “Will Captain Leclerc and his party be going the same way?”
“Not the same way, no. I don’t know how safe the militia will be since they’re being sent to the north shore where the trouble has been, but they should be able to take care of themselves. As for us, we’ll be going south, away from the problems, and armed to the teeth.”
“Will I have my weapon before we go?”
“I hope so, but I didn’t see Giroux today as I’d hoped to. I stopped by the shop, but his wife said he’d gone to see some of his clients outside Ville-Marie. As an itinerant worker, he looks after the whole area, and some of the other seigneurs have added cannons to their fortifications which need to be serviced regularly. I may do so myself.”
“Do you think we’ll need them?” she asked, trying not to let her fear show.
“Honestly, I don’t know, but if we can’t stop the conspiracy from starting a war, I intend to defend what’s mine.”
Isabelle nodded. “How was Madame Giroux? Her husband didn’t look happy to see her this morning.”
He shook his head and stiffened under her as if he was trying to control his anger.
“I don’t think he was. The poor woman looked as if she’d been crying. I don’t understand how a man can mistreat the mother of his children that way, but it’s not my place to interfere. Pierre did once last year when he caught one of the trappers beating his wife. The poor Huron girl couldn’t have been fifteen years old. He threatened to have the man horsewhipped if he ever saw him hurting her again. I doubt it changed his behavior once he was back in the woods, but one can only hope it did. Marie says the brother-in-law does nothing to help Lucille either. No doubt he rules with his fists as well. If he tries that at Les Trois Moines, he’ll find himself tossed out on his ear. Marie’s husband is a big man who’s very protective of all women but especially his wife. As I will be of mine.”
She’d been about to reveal her heart to Guy until he mentioned Pierre. Deciding there would be a better time for such a confession, she sat silently, leaning into him, the steady sound of his heart blending with the other night sounds, just as it had on Saint Pierre. As the sky darkened, the stars populated it, and Guy pointed out the constellations.
“Do you see that cluster of stars dancing over there? The Huron call them the Singing Maidens. They’re the daughters of Sun and Moon. Curious about the Great Island below them, they disobeyed their father and left the safety of the sky to go down and visit with the people there. They were so taken and pleased with what they saw, they began to sing. When Sun heard them, he was furious. He punished them by placing them higher in the sky, making it hard for them to visit man again, but some believe the maidens found a way around their father’s restrictions. At night, when they tuck their little ones into bed, many Huron mothers tell them to close their eyes and listen for the sound of the Singing Maidens as they dance on the wind blowing through the leaves and branches of the trees.”
“That’s a beautiful story,” Isabelle said and chuckled, “but it shows that a father’s word is law everywhere.”
“A father, like a husband, only wants to protect those he loves.”
When she couldn’t stifle her yawns any longer, Guy stood, set her on her feet, and walked her up to her room. He kissed her tenderly, but broke the kiss before it could light a fire within her.
“Goodnight, my love. Sleep well.”
“Goodnight.”
Isabelle closed the door and leaned against it. While she would love to be in his arms, for tonight, she would content herself with dreams of their future together.