La Belle Christiane

By Lyn Cote

All rights reserved.

Chapter Three, Scene 2

The eastward day spun by. Late in the afternoon she realized she was nearing a settlement. The memory of Captain Rupert’s insulting touches and whispered offensive propositions made her cautious. Unwilling to face further insult, she skirted the small village. Finally she came upon a grove of spreading oaks near a spring-fed pond. It was dusk and time to settle down for the night. She tethered Nancy near the opposite end of the pond so the mare could eat and drink her fill.

Facing the lonely night ahead made her wonder if she should have sought out shelter among other humans. But the thought of meeting another leering stranger was more disheartening than facing the darkness alone. Jean Claude was cranky and hungry, so she lay down to nurse him and fell sound asleep with her child at her side.

“How do, ma’am,” a deep, rough voice spoke nearby. Christiane started up, pulling Jean Claude close to her. “How do,” the man repeated. Shocked from sleep, she didn’t answer, but began inching away from him crablike. She cast glances around, searching for other faces and trying to locate the mare and her belongings.

“What’s ailing ye? I be just an old man, all by myself. Ye don’t need to be afeared, ma’am. Just stopped to see if ye be needin’ any help. Be ye?” The old man squatted in front of her. They now faced each other on the same eye level. He stared at her thoughtfully while she perused him. He was a small, thin man, shrunk with age. The top of his head was shining bald, but a long fringe of frizzled, gray-white hair wreathed his head, ear to ear and a long beard and mustache, both iron gray, hid the lower half of his face. He was dressed in the common buckskin style and armed with a knife and a well used musket. A bed roll was on his back along with an empty water skin and two recently killed rabbits.

“Well, do I suit ye?” He chuckled.

His gentle laughter calmed her fear. She tried to smile.

“Lassie, ye needn’t be afeared of old Tobias Ander–unless ye be a juicy rabbit.” He smiled as he pulled down the rabbits from his back.

“I’m Mrs. Kruger,” she murmured, feeling as if she hadn’t spoken for a long time. She stared at him.

As if she were a wild animal he might spook, he rose slowly. Standing over her, he contemplated her briefly. “Well, ma’am, here’s what I’ve got to say. I’ll not leave a woman alone through the night. So I’ll be close by till morning. And there’ll be rabbit for supper tonight.”

“I thank you,” she said.

She watched him prepare the rabbit over an open fire. When she felt she could walk, she stood and took both their water skins to the gurgling spring and filled them with the pure finger-chilling water. Jean Claude crawled after her through the tall grass. When she returned with the water, Tobias gave her half the roasted meat and she and Jean Claude ate the hot, tasty morsels.

When the meal was done, Tobias unrolled his blanket and lay down. “Don’t worry, ma’am. I sleep with my ears open.”

She waited a moment and then she whispered, “Good night.” Wrapped in her own blanket and comforted by the old man’s kindness, she fell asleep with her son warm beside her.

In the morning light, Christiane stretched luxuriously. She had no remembrance of the night having passed at all. Jean Claude was stirring beside her. Propping herself up on one elbow, she leisurely admired her son. With her index finger, she traced the creases in his chubby, little thighs. At her touch, he awoke with a giggle. He rolled to her and began rooting for her breast.

“Wants his breakfast, does he?”

She sat up and faced the old scout. “Good morning,” she said shyly.

“Morning! How does ye like fish for breakfast?”

“I’ll clean them,” she offered with a smile.

“Done. Already done. Just going to cook them on this rock. Biscuits sure would be tasty, but my flour sack is flat.” He hummed to himself at the fire. Soon the fish were sizzling briskly on the rock in the center of the coals. Jean Claude nursed contentedly while she combed the night’s tangles from her hair.

“Found yer tongue this morn?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be rude.”

“That be all right. Somebody scared ye, didn’t they?”

“Yes,” Christiane whispered. The man’s words were true, and not just the rude captain but also her nightmares. Suddenly tears threatened her.

“I’m no danger to ye. Do ye believe me?”

Swallowing her tears, she nodded. “Yes, I believe you Mr. Ander.”

“Just Tobias.”

“I’m Christiane and this is my son, Jean Claude.”

Tobias bowed his head and shook her son’s hand in mock courtesy. The baby enjoyed the game and scrambled up, ready to play. The old man accommodated him quickly and swinging the child up high, joined in the laughter.

Christiane moved over to tend the fish while she watched the two amusing each other. This man had brought her food and protection when she need them both, but more importantly he had brought her a reassurance. Today she would be able to press on toward her goal.

As they munched the warm fish, she voiced her appreciation. “I want to thank you Tobias for stopping. I’ve not traveled this way before.”

“On a long journey, are ye?”

“Yes, I am on my way to join my husband. He’s with Washington’s Army.”

“Ye’ve got a goodly distance to go. I hear they be fighting near New York City now.”

“So I’d heard.” The news hadn’t been welcome.

“I hear the British got shut of Boston, sailed to New York Island. Washington chased after them.”

“That’s farther south of Boston, isn’t it? Someone told me I just need to follow the Hudson River south. How many days farther do I have to go to reach the Hudson?”

“Almost seven. Would ye be in mind of having some company?”
“You mean you will go with me to the Hudson?”

“Glad to have ye. I be on my way to Kingston, so we can keep company till then.” He chuckled at his small joke. She smiled in return. Suddenly she felt blessed as if Tobias had been a special gift. She took another bite of rabbit and her heart whispered her thanks.

#

A week later when Tobias and Christiane were about to part ways, he looked up at her on Nancy’s back. “I got somethin’ to ask ye.”

“Yes?”

“Are ye certain that ye want to go all the way to the city?”

Just hearing this question made her heart beat faster. “I must.”

“Now don’t get excited. Listen to what I have to say. I can get a place for you near her with folk I know till your man’s enlistment is up.”

She frowned. “I must go–”

“Now. Hear me out. Ye don’t know what an army is all about, Christiane. When men get all together like that, they fergit their manners. And some of them never had any to start. There will be cheap strumpets there and diseases. And ye’re going to a war, girl. It’s bad enough for ye, but what of yer child?”

“Tobias, I don’t want to go, but I must.” She tried to infuse her words with all the power she could. The possibility of not having to seek out an army tempted her mightily. “Our village is gone. How can I let my husband walk all that way home this winter only to find everything, everyone gone?”

“He would hear long before he got there. People he stopped with would warn him.”

“But what would they tell him about his son, about me? Wouldn’t he think me dead also? I must go to him while I know where he is because I am not where he thinks he’ll find me.” Her throat had thickened with emotion. She could say no more.

“I see. Ye two might miss, lose each other.”

As he said it, she felt a shiver go through her. His words stirred fears she didn’t want to face. “You mustn’t worry about me, Tobias, Jakob will take good care of me.”

The old scout nodded. “I would be advising ye a bit then. First ye be a more than pretty girl. ‘Tis fact, so don’t deny it. ‘Tis a gift from yer Maker, but still it would be better if ye be cautious of men who seem eager to help ye. Also don’t stop at inns and ask for work like ye told me you did at Rumsveld. They will be givin’ ye the wrong kind of work. Do ye get my meaning?” He halted and stared up at her.

Blushing, she lowered her eyes.

“Well, that be all the advice I have for ye. See that you follow it,” he admonished her.

With tight lips, she nodded. “How many days will it take me to get to New York City after I leave you at Kingston?”

“Three maybe four. I wish I might see ye to yer man, but my business is important. I got some scouting to do.”

“I know, Tobias. I will be all right. I’ve come a long way already. And I’ll follow your advice. I will.”

Their last hour together sped by. Then they stood together beside Nancy. Tobias held Jean Claude once more. Then he lifted him back into the carrier and onto Christiane’s back. She mounted and nudged Nancy to hurry. She made haste to be out of his sight before she gave into tears.

Sometimes it’s good to look back and examine how hard life once was. I wonder how different all the various “Real Housewives” would be if they had to face life like this. Of course, I haven’t faced a life without the protective hedge around me  of living in a free and abundant society either so maybe I shouldn’t talk. When I look at the women on TV who are in these so-called reality shows, I remind myself that no one knows what goes on behind closed doors. What do you think?