Daughters of the King (Completed)

06 | A Good Wife

"Why must you act as though you are Madame Gauthier's spies?" She asks once we've scrubbed ourselves with rags, brushed our hair, and climbed into our night shifts.

"Why were you with that strange... man?"

"Why do you say man it as though it is a curse?" Celeste teases, though annoyance rises in her tone. "You will be married to one soon. Shouldn't you become accustomed to them?"

"I only worry about you."

"You worry far too much," Celeste yawns, climbing onto her pallet.

"If Madame Gauthier heard you were sneaking around with him, your chances could be ruined," I suggest out of genuine concern. "If he were to take advantage of you... it would ruin you. No man in New France, or anywhere, would have you."

Celeste turns her head towards me. For a moment, I fear she is going to explode into one of her spirited tantrums.

Instead, she throws her head back and laughs aloud.

"He has a name, Lorraine," She teases, her eyes alight with mischief as if she takes my appeal to be some kind of joke, "and if you are worried I am going to be seduced by him, do not be. He is nothing but a self-absorbed scoundrel. We simply made a bet."

"I thought you hated bets." I press, remembering her telling me about her father's unbecoming gambling habits.

"Well, this isn't quite a bet. If I do not continue to meet with Jacques, he may report my true motives to the directresses and I'll be sent back to France. Don't you understand?" Celeste sighs, straightening her unruly hair.

I want to ask why she told a stranger about her true motives in the first place, but I decide not to. From her constant smiling and uncharacteristic humming, I suspect that Celeste Dubois has fallen in love.

♔♔♔

AS I AM SAYING my evening prayers, I witness Celeste and Ami giggling on the floor of the cabin together. Though I am tired and disenchanted with the voyage after trying to scrub the scent of ammonia from our cabin, the sight of them together lifts my spirits.

I watch in amusement as Celeste hums an old church song underneath her breath, prancing atop the floorboards on the tips of her toes, sweeping up little Ami into her arms and swinging her around the room to the song of an invisible flute.

"He makes a resting-place for me in the green fields: he is my guide by the quiet waters. He gives new life to my soul: he is my guide in the ways of righteousness because of his name. Yes, though I go through the valley of deep shade, I will have no fear of evil; for you are with me, your rod and your support are my comfort."

The song is one of my favourite, an adaptation of the Psalms, performed in a version of 'Airs de cour,' a type of dance which has become popular in the courts of King Louis XIV. It is said that our Sun King dances well, gracing the court with his practiced positions and expert footwork; the signs of a true nobleman.

"Dance with us!" Ami pleads, urging me from my bed and to the centre of the room.

I curtsy as if I am a noblewoman in a high French court, bowing with a slight inclination of my head, and then dance. I pretend to encircle my arms around some dashing gentleman.

I giggle, imagining grand men with feathers, gold-trimmed waistcoats and purple tasselled hats, their powdered faces pursed in concentration.

When Celeste catches her foot on a floorboard, propelling her into a series of clumsy moves, we all laugh.

♔♔♔

AS THE DAYS bleed into one another, we sail towards the tropics.