October, 1777
I woke up to soft, warm, tiny hands on my face, and I opened my eyes, rubbing the sleep out of them, to see my blonde princess, Henriette, kneeling in front of me. I smiled gently, "Hello, Henriette. Would you like some breakfast? I could ask one of the servants to make whatever you like." My eyes widened, when I saw her coughing upon me. "Dear, what's wrong? Cover your mouth, hon", I whispered.
"No feel well", she whimpered, sitting in my lap. Her little, infant voice sounded scratchy, and too quiet. "Alright", I breathed shakily, feeling her forehead, which felt hot. "Oh, dear. Henriette, You might be coming down with something. Here, I'll ask someone to get you some water from the well, why don't you stay in bed-", before I could get up, she had clung to my night gown. "You want to stay?", she nodded, her grip tightening on the gown. I sighed, picking her up and bringing her downstairs.
"Good morning, Adrienne- oh dear, what's wrong with Henriette?", Mother asked, seeing my daughter in her sick state. "I- I don't know, she was fine last night, however tired."
"Oh dear, Henri, get a pitcher from the well!", she yelled, and ordered another servant to make some breakfast at once. "Until we know what is going on, she mustn't go near Anastasie", she whispered. "sister", I heard Henriette whisper, leaning into me, which made my heart break. "I will take her to the doctor after breakfast", I declared.
I smiled at Henriette softly to try to cheer her up as I put her in her high chair. She was served eggs and bacon, along with a glass of water. Sitting down next to her, I tried to bring the fork to her lips, however she did not even open her mouth. "Henriette, you must eat", I tried to persuade. "Not hungry", she said quietly. I brought the glass to her mouth, and she slowly drank.
"I'll go with you", Clotilde told me while I put on my cloak, and Henriette sat on the stairs. "After all, I've been very close to my niece...", she smiled warmly at Henriette, looking down at her, and Mother picked her up. "Alright, Clotilde. Thank you." The three of us walked outside, where the coach was already waiting. Henriette smiled tiredly, falling asleep in my arms as the carriage went off.
--
"I must speak to the Madame de Lafayette alone, please." Clotilde gave me a look of sympathy, and mother picked up my tired and coughing daughter, shutting the door behind them, and the doctor brought his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
"Madame, are you certain about her condition in the past few days? That her muscles have been hurting, she has been bleeding easily, she has had little appetite, and all the other things you have said?" I nodded slowly, "yes, I'm afraid. I thought it would go away... until she started coughing this morning... I decided to come to you, there was no other solution..." the clock awkwardly ticked while I looked down at my feet.
"Madame... I am afraid the diagnosis I will have to give her is yellow fever..." My head shot up, and tears brimmed through my eyes. "The symptoms show that, I am afraid. There is a high chance she will not make it-", I desperately grabbed his arm. "Is there a cure?!", I demanded, as tears rolled down my cheeks. "Is there anything you can give her? Anything at all?!" the man seemed to cower, and I let go of him, showing mercy.
"Madame... I... I am afraid... there is no cure... as I said, there is a high chance she will not survive, the most we can do is pray-"
I wailed, screaming and falling to my knees, covering my mouth as my tears hit the floor. Mother raced into the room, shutting the door, where I caught a glimpse of Clotilde coddling my poor daughter in the opening. "What happened?! What did you say to her?!", Mother demanded, helping me up, and tears made my eyesight blurry. "Henriette has yellow fever. I highly recommend bedrest, and only servants to tend to her-"
"What?", I croaked.
"Madame, the disease is highly contagious. I wouldn't want you or anyone else in your family to catch it, too-"
"No! I don't want you to keep me from my baby!" Mother tried to calm me down, however it was no use. "Adrienne, please, let's go home-" I breathed heavily, and we exited the building, with my head hanging low.
I peered through the nursery door, where Henriette lay in her crib. Henri, one of our servants, tapped my arm. "I am sorry about the state of Henriette." I took a deep breath, "It's... alright... there is nothing we can do about it..." he nodded, before walking into the bedroom, picking her up and giving her a glass of water to drink, and it pained me that I couldn't see her. She held onto the glass with her delicate hands while she took small sips. As tears brimmed my eyes, I exited the doorway.
In my room, I shut my bedroom door behind me, and took Anastasie out of her bassinet, which was brought in from the nursery after we learned about Henriette's unfortunate illness. "Hello, 'Tasie", I whispered to her, sitting down on my bed. She gently cooed, and I kissed her head.
Seeing some writing material on my desk, I placed my daughter back in the bassinet, starting to write to Gilbert.
--
"Madame Lafayette!", I heard a servant wail, though I couldn't make out the voice. It came from Henriette's nursery. Picking up my skirts, I raced down the hallway. "What's wrong?! She was feeling better yesterday!", I gasped, racing to Henriette's crib, where one of our servants, Noelle, was kneeling down, and through the light of the candles, I could see the odd coloring of her skin. "her skin... it's.."
Yellow...
"No... she cannot be...", tears escaped my eyes, "My dear-", I cried, as she was entering the harsher faze, as the doctor described. "Adrienne! What's wrong?", Mother asked, and following behind was my father. "Oh dear... Henriette..." I rarely saw my father cry, however this was one of those times. "Adrienne... you need to leave...", he told me.
"No!", I cried, as he tried to push me out. "Adrienne, this is serious!", Mother tried to plead.
"She is right", Noelle mumbled, stroking Henriette's blonde hair. While my father lead me out of the room, the feeble voice of Henriette whispered, "Mama", and it reached my ears. That word continued to echo through my mind as I stumbled to my room, where Louise was waiting. "I heard your crying and decided to wait here...", she whispered. I wailed, and mother came in to take Anastasie out of the room.
"Oh, Adri..", Louise whispered while I buried my face into her shoulder. "I cannot even be near her during her final days", I whispered, as painful cries escaped my throat. "I know, Adrienne..." The reality sunk in while I continued to cry. "Louise.... may you sleep in my room for a few nights? Like we used to?"
"Of course, dear Adrienne", she whispered.
Before I went to bed that night, I creaked the door open to Henriette's room, making sure to be silent. I walked over to her crib, where she slept, and I kneeled down next to her crib, vowing that this would be my last visit to her. "Mama", she whispered feebly. "I know, I know you're in pain", I whispered to her. I gently picked her up, giving her one last hug, trying not to cry, not caring if I got sick from this. "Mama... Love you..."
"I love you too, dear...", I whispered, placing her back in the crib. "It... hurt.."
"I know... I know it hurts...", I felt a tear roll down my cheek. "Henriette... listen to me... No matter what happens, Papa and I will see you again."
"Want Papa."
"I know, I know you want papa", My heart ached. "Henriette, I love you... so much..." When I looked back, she was asleep, her chest rising up and down. I looked down at my feet, standing up. "Goodbye, Henriette...", I whispered, giving her one last look, before exiting the room.
--
I shot up in my bed, hearing a scream. "No.. please, don't let it be..." Louise woke up shortly after me, while I was already putting on my slippers. The early sunrise escaped through the windows while I ran down the hallway.
It came from Henriette's room.
I pushed the door open, where all of my family was standing, Louise and Paule raced in after me. "Please, take the children out..", Father whispered to Henri, who nodded, leading my little sisters out of the room. "No.." I walked closer, to see Henriette, motionless in her crib, her chest not making a single movement. Mother placed a hand on my shoulder, while Louise began to sob. "No!", I exclaimed, falling to my knees, "Please, God... Please give us a miracle...", I tried to pray, but there was no answer. Snow began to fall, and I felt tears run down my face. "Have her things burned", I heard my father whisper to a servant, and I heard my mother walk out of the room, to rush to get a priest to prepare for the funeral.
In a matter of days, I would see all the things she would have touched burned, and her being lowered into the ground. In a black dress, I sat in my chair, to write the news to my husband.