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La Belle Christiane

2011 Copyright Lyn Cote

All rights reserved

Chapter Eight, Scene 4

Christiane could barely believe that the awful winter of her suffering had finally ended. Spring had finally rescued them from the terrible winter. She sat under the arched grape arbor blooming near the inn, still Washington’s headquarters. Lady Washington was taking a brief afternoon nap. Christiane, having much to think over, had decided to spend a few moments alone enjoying the spring afternoon sun.

April was nearly spent and the spring was ardently expressing itself. New green leaves fluttered over her head and dandelions dotted the open meadow behind the house. Christiane felt her former vitality returning. A melancholy thought of Jakob passed through her mind, but she let it go. The sun was too bright for sad memories from winter.  Jakob would love this kind of day,  the thought pierced her heart.

A throat cleared very nearby. “Mrs. Kruger?”

Christiane looked up. “Oh, Captain Lee, you have taken me by surprise.” He was standing so close she should have heard his approach. The meadow must have cushioned his footsteps.

“I am sorry, madame. I did not mean to startle you.”

“Think nothing of it, Captain. I was merely lost in the beauty of the day.” She smiled and he gazed down at her. Christiane felt her face warm slightly.

“It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?” he said pleasantly. “Where is our Mrs. Washington?”

“In her room.”

“You mean I find you alone?”

Christiane saw his innocent smile and returned it spontaneously. “Yes, I am quite alone.”

“May I sit with you or would you rather remain alone?”

“No, please, sit.” She moved over on the bench to make room for him. The two of them had seen each other now and then since the night they had met, but never before without a room full of people, watching them. She had liked what she had heard about him. And his behavior towards her had matched Lt. Colonel Laurens–always courteous and never insinuating.

He sat. “I have heard that you are French by birth.”

“Yes, I am from Paris originally.”

“I almost went to England to continue my education, but the Revolution intervened. I had hoped to see Paris also.”

She nodded. “But I have found war is an education in itself.”

“Well said.” There was a pause. “Are you leaving with Mrs. Washington in May?”

“She has invited me,” she replied cautiously. This was the very subject that she had wanted to ponder. Mrs. Washington had invited her to go home to Mt. Vernon with her. When Christiane had declined, the lady had proposed another plan. Would Christiane stay and oversee the general’s everyday life while Mrs. Washington had to be home, looking after Mt. Vernon? The lady’s eyes had told Christiane that it was more than a simple request.

Christiane knew the many tasks Mrs. Washington undertook while in camp: hostess, nurse, seamstress, and more. She could tell that it worried the lady that her husband might need more than just his watchful valet, Billy Lee, especially in case of illness. Very few knew just how prone-to-illness the robust-looking general was. Perhaps she also worried that the General might be wounded and need someone who would make certain he wasn’t “doctored” to death.

Washington himself had also asked Christiane to act as an unofficial secretary and translate letters into French. This had given her great satisfaction. Her old reservations about the Revolution had been swept away in that horrible December. She had lost too much in this battle for freedom to see it fail. For the first time she had felt she was contributing something constructive to the Revolution’s success.

“But you do not want to go?” Lee asked, interrupting her thoughts.

She smiled apologetically. “I am trying to decide. Evidently the general and his lady think I may be of some use to him in camp.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, some things need a woman’s touch, such as making sure the general has his favorite foods.” She smiled, trying to make light of it.

He smiled in return. “I admire your wanting to serve in any way you are able.”

This made Christiane a little uncomfortable since she had been reaping so many benefits from her service to the Washingtons. Did she really want to help the Revolution or did she want to continue her new position and station?

I never want to be in need again. The force of this determination stiffened her. And somehow the simple life of the Richardsons’ did not seem a sufficient buffer against life, the way it could suddenly strip a person of everything. Without intending to, Christiane shook her head slightly.

“You seem deep in thought,” he said.

She glanced up at him. “I am sorry I am not much better company.”

“Why don’t we walk then? Walking sometimes clears the mind.” He stood and offered her his hand.

She looked up at him. Lee was handsome as he smiled down on her, but then she saw Jakob’s face momentarily. The spring before this one, Jakob had courted her. Only four months ago he had left her forever, but his memory was still with her, an ache deep inside. She pressed her hand against her heart. Such pain. All this must have played across her face.

“Mrs. Kruger?” Lee said softly.

“I’m sorry, Captain Lee, but I think I will return to the house.”

He looked as though he wanted to object, but he was too much a gentleman to do so. “May I escort you that far?”

“Yes, of course,” she assented and let him help her up. They walked quietly to the house and parted.   Christiane went directly to her room. She stood at the window, looking down a the army which would soon begin fighting. She should ask for an escort to the Richardson’s farm and return to her son. But everything within her resisted this. I can’t go back to the way life was. I can’t. Yet what am I going to do? Why can’t life be easier, simpler?

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