by Jenna Brandt
“See, right there. You act as if you are superior to me.”
Amelie blanched at his statement. She didn’t think she was better than him at all; it was just the opposite. She felt as though he acted as if he were loftier than her and she would have to conform to his ideal. She didn’t want to give up her independence in order to find a husband.
“It isn’t my intent for my actions to cause you hurt. I simply need you to understand I think you and I have completely different views on how we want to live our lives.”
“I am certain you are referring to your choice to keep your parents’ bakery open.”
“Among other factors.”
“I have grown particularly fond of you, Amelie, and am willing to discuss the possibility of you keeping the bakery, at least until we have children.”
She felt as if she were getting nowhere with this conversation. He didn’t understand her at all. It was vexing to have to constantly fend off his attention.
“I think you misunderstand what I’m trying to say, Matthew.”
“I’m trying to follow your logic, Amelie, but it’s proving difficult.”
It was obvious why he found it problematic. How could he rationalize her reasons if he was unable to comprehend them in the first place? It was beyond his imagining for a woman to be both mother and business owner.
“I need to be going into church. Your father will be starting the sermon soon.”
Trying to side-step past him, Amelie moved to the right, but before she was able to get away, he grabbed her by the arm, stopping her in place.
“Why are you so obstinate, Amelie? You need a husband, especially now with your parents gone.”
She wanted to shout at him she would never need a man, but her proper upbringing would not allow it. Instead, she replied, “I appreciate your candor, Matthew, and I will consider what we have discussed. For the time being, we both should be getting inside.”
After a moment’s pause, he released her arm and let her pass by. Amelie didn’t look back as she made her way up the stairs of the church.
“Are you alright, Amelie?”
“Don’t worry about me, Elise. I learned a long time ago not to let anything he says bother me.” She smiled at her sister. “Thank you for asking.”
They made their way to their usual spot three rows from the front and sat down in their family pew. Amelie pulled out the hymnal and waited for Pastor McCoy to take his place behind the pulpit.
“Good morning, ladies and gentleman. What a wonderful day the Lord has given us. We are blessed with another year of freedom in a land where we have the liberty of choice. Today I want to talk with all of you about how blessed we are to be given the chance to choose who and what we want to be. Galations 5:1 states Jesus Christ has set us free and has taken our burdens from us. If we are made free through His grace and redemption, we should live without fear. Christ has made our path clear and all we must do is follow Him. It is our choice whether we are willing to embrace the freedom He has already granted us by dying on the cross for our sins. He has conquered death and has given us the ability to live with Him forever. We will be reunited with our loved ones who have gone before us. There is a peace in the knowledge of never being separated again.”
Joy spread through Amelie’s heart as she thought about being reunited with her parents in Heaven one day. What a glorious day it would be, to feel their loving embrace again, and to be reunited in the presence of the Lord. It brought her comfort to realize their separation was only temporary, and one day, they would never be parted again.
After church ended, Amelie mingled with several of the other members before gathering up Elise from her friends. She knew their aunt was expecting them at the inn for lunch and Amelie had no intentions of being late. She dreaded sitting through one more meal with the woman. Amelie knew she didn’t have an excuse to avoid it, as the bakery remained closed on Sundays in observance of the Sabbath.
As they headed down the pathway of the church, Amelie heard Debbey shout from behind her, “Wait, Amelie, I want to speak with you for a moment.”
Amelie turned around and held her breath. Debbey must have heard from Matthew about their disagreement before church. She had been trying to prevent involving her friend in the matter.
“Before you saying anything, Debbey, your brother created the problem.”
Debbey gave Amelie a quizzical look. “What are you talking about, Amelie? I just wanted to ask if you both would like to come over to our home for lunch? It would be nice. You haven’t been to one of our Sunday meals in so long.”
She felt guilty for being relieved she had a valid reason to say ‘no.’ She used to immensely enjoy spending time at the McCoy homestead; however, ever since Matthew had started pursuing her, it made it impossible.
“I wish I could, but my aunt is expecting us at the inn.” Then an idea came to Amelie. “Why don’t you come with us? You haven’t had a chance to get to know my aunt and I could use someone by my side.”
Debbey laughed with amusement. “You could try to do a better job of convincing me.” She shrugged, adding, “You know I would do anything for you, Amelie. Of course, I will go with you. Just let me go make sure it will be alright with my parents.”
Watching her friend head back up the stairs of the church, Amelie was grateful her friend was going to come along. She could really use the distraction and hoped her aunt might refrain from her usual spitefulness with a guest present.
A few moments later, Debbey arrived back at Amelie’s side with a giant smile on her face. “My parents approved. Let’s get going.”
They had barely left the church’s property before Debbey was asking, “By the way, what were you talking about earlier? You mentioned something about having a problem with my brother. What happened between the two of you?”
Amelie had been trying to avoid this conversation for as long as Matthew had made his intentions known. She didn’t want to lose her best friend.
“It was nothing.”
“I wouldn’t say it was ‘nothing,’ Amelie,” Elise chimed in.
Amelie whipped her head to the side and gave her sister a warning look, but it was too late. The damage was done and Debbey quickly asked, “It seems you know what is going on, Elise. Tell me what your sister is keeping from me.”
Powerless to stop her sister from responding, Amelie held her breath as she waited to see what she would say.
Elise looked down at the ground as she walked. Her shoulders were slumped and she seemed uncomfortable. “I thought you knew, Debbey, about how your brother feels regarding Amelie.”
“What do you mean? How does my brother feel?”
Trying to protect her sister, Amelie intervened, saying, “You can stop questioning her now, Debbey. Your brother has made it known he is interested in courting me.”
Debbey squealed with delight. “Oh, Amelie! How wonderful. Just think, you could be married by Christmas time and we could be sisters, I mean real sisters. I have always felt like you are my sister, but this would make it official. Have you decided how many bridesmaids you want to have? I don’t want to assume anything, but you probably want to have the ceremony at the church and—”
Cutting off her prattling, Amelie stopped her by saying, “I said he wants to court me. I never said I consented.”
A confused look crossed Debbey’s face, followed by an expression of realization and then hurt. “Is my brother not good enough for you, Amelie?”
“It has nothing to do with who he is, but rather, what he expects of me as a wife and future mother. He told me he doesn’t want me to keep the bakery, and my job would be to support him and the kids. That isn’t the life I imagined for myself. It’s why I went to school to become a midwife.”
“I think you must have misunderstood my brother. He is a very fine catch, and you should be flattered he would want to court you. Most of the girls our age would give anything to be in your shoes.”
It seemed Debbey thought a
lot of her brother and Amelie didn’t want to be the one to crush her idyllic image of him. “I am sure Matthew will make some woman tremendously happy, but I’m quite certain it will not be me.” Before Debbey could respond, she added, “I would prefer to drop the subject. I don’t want this to come between us.”
There was no further conversation as they finished their walk to the inn.
Chapter 5
As they entered the front doors, Amelie leaned towards her friend and whispered, “I apologize in advance for anything my aunt does.”
As they made their way into the inn’s restaurant, Amelie watched her aunt from across the room to gauge her mood. She had an annoyed air about her, palatable as they approached the table. She should have guessed her aunt would be livid since they were running late. It most definitely didn’t help they had an unexpected person accompanying them. Maybe she shouldn’t have invited Debbey to come along with them.
The table was set for three and made for an awkward moment while the girls stood next to it, uncertain what to do.
“You are late, young ladies, and I see you have brought along an addition you did not make me aware would be in attendance.” She gestured to the table setting, “You should have informed me you planned to bring a luncheon companion.”
“I’m sorry, Aunt Marcella. It was a last-minute decision after church and I didn’t even think of how it would affect your arrangements.”
“That is exactly right. You did not think. You never think, Amelie.” Sighing with frustration, she motioned with a flick of her wrist for one of the servers to come to her side. “It seems we will need an additional place setting for our unexpected guest.”
Within moments, almost as if they knew what she would be requesting, the server had departed and returned with the requested items. In quick haste, he prepared everything and just as rapidly stepped back out of the way.
Looking at the server, Amelie recognized the young man from her bakery. He was a regular customer and quite nice. He always had a smile on his face, but today, he appeared pensive. Of course, if he had been serving her aunt, it made sense. She had a way of making everyone around her feel upset.
“Thank you, Mr. Potter.”
He nodded his head but kept his eyes averted, saying, “Certainly, Miss Leclaire.”
“Why ever would you thank him, Amelie? It is his job.”
Amelie felt herself flush with embarrassment. Her aunt constantly trivialized the working class and it appalled her. She wanted to address the issue, but knew any comment she made would be met with disapproval.
“Be seated, girls.” Obediently, they sat down around the older woman.
Trying to make conversation, Amelie stated, “Church service was splendid this morning, Aunt Marcella.”
With a dismissive huff, she ranted, “While you listened to some doltish preacher blather on about some deity in the sky, I enjoyed a relaxing morning reading a book. I think my time was better spent.”
Gasping as her eyes grew wide with shock, Amelie stated defensively, “Aunt Marcella, you are speaking about Debbey’s father.”
Not a lick of remorse appeared on the woman’s face. The discomfort was considerable as no one spoke for several seconds.
Amelie was confused by her aunt’s rudeness. She had met the McCoy family on more than one occasion since staying in West Linn. With her faultless memory, it made Amelie wonder if she made the disrespectful statement on purpose. Had she done it in retaliation for Amelie bringing Debbey along without warning?
Breaking the silence, Debbey kindly stated, “Miss Orelle, I’m glad you had a pleasant morning. We did as well. Regarding my father’s speaking, I think you would be surprised to find his sermons amicable. If you would be so inclined, we would be pleased to have you attend next Sunday.”
The older woman’s jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed. “I have no intention of spending any of my valuable time wasted on such a fruitless endeavor.”
“I am sorry you feel as such. Perhaps you will change your mind in the future.”
This time the older woman pounded her fist on the table with fury. “Enough! You girls need to remove all these foolish ideas out of your indoctrinated heads. There is no such thing as God. Now that I have made my opinion clear, I refuse to discuss it further.”
Jumping slightly in her seat, Amelie watched as both Elise and Debbey visibly flinched at the older woman’s reaction.
As Amelie sat stunned in her seat, she noticed tears were forming in the corner of Debbey’s eyes, and the young woman was shaking. Without warning, Debbey leaped up and stammered, “If you will excuse me, I need to visit the lavatory.” Not waiting for a response, she turned around and rushed out of the restaurant toward the front entrance of the inn.
Rolling her eyes, the girls’ aunt snorted. “I should not be surprised by her rude behavior, considering her upbringing. As your elder, I think it is my duty to point out you should probably cease mingling with the girl in the future. Bad manners tend to rub off.”
Having enough, Amelie stood up and placed her napkin on the table. “Aunt Marcella, Debbey has been nothing but kind towards you, and in return, you have measured out malice. My friend is clearly upset and I am going to go check on her.” Amelie turned around and went after Debbey.
What had caused her aunt to hate God so much? Any time the subject came up, she would respond with opposition. Something in her past must have caused her to react so vehemently but Amelie didn’t know her aunt well enough to know what it could be.
As Amelie reached the privy, she could hear soft sobs from inside the room. She gently knocked and waited. After receiving no reaction, Amelie spoke through the door, “Debbey, it’s me, Amelie. I can hear you’re upset. May I come inside?”
There were a few more sniffles before she heard, “Come in.”
Amelie entered the room and immediately felt a pang of guilt as she witnessed Debbey’s blotchy face and eyes still fresh with tears. “I’m sorry for dragging you to this awful luncheon, Debbey.”
Shaking her head, Debbey spoke in disbelief, “I never knew someone could hate the idea of God so much. My parents never prepared me to face someone with such contempt.”
“I knew my aunt could be awful, but I thought she reserved her worst treatment for when only family was present. You should be proud; you handled yourself valiantly.”
“I didn’t feel very brave. Why didn’t I stand up for my father? For that matter, why didn’t I stand up for God?”
“You demonstrated great decorum under the circumstances.”
Debbey began to shake again and put her face in her hands as the tears fell from her eyes. Reaching out, Amelie wrapped her arm around her friend’s shoulders. “Please don’t cry anymore, Debbey. We can leave right now, if you just promise to stop crying. You never have to socialize with my aunt again.”
Apparently, her comment drew a reaction because Debbey’s head popped up. With a resolute look present on her face, she pulled her frame up and raised her chin, saying, “I will not let her run me off. I promised you I would accompany you, and so I will.”
“Are you certain? You don’t have to just for my sake.”
“Honestly, Amelie, I want to show her she didn’t defeat me.”
Nodding her head, Amelie suggested, “You should probably splash some water on your face before we head back into the dining room.”
“My appearance must be a wreck. I’m not sure there is any way to salvage it at the moment.”
Amelie forced herself not to laugh. Despite Debbey’s comment being funny, she didn’t want to embarrass her further by conceding the point by agreeing.
After Debbey made herself presentable, the women left the privy. As they walked down the hall and out into the lobby, Amelie asked, “Are you prepared to enter the fray again?”
Debbey chuckled, as she replied, “As I will ever be. Too bad I don’t have a shield and helmet to deflect all her piercing words.”
This time, Amelie cou
ldn’t keep from laughing. What started out as a low giggle turned into a fit of laughter, with Debbey joining in with her.
“It seems we arrived at the right moment. What, pray tell, are you lovely ladies amused by?”
Amelie recognized the English accent immediately. It was William, which meant Pierre was most likely with him.
Both women stopped laughing instantaneously and looked at the two impeccably dressed men. Amelie should have known there was a chance they would run into them here. After all, it was the only reputable inn in town.
“Nothing of importance.”
Pierre approached Amelie and reached out to take her hand. Hesitantly, she gave it to him. What was he up to?
Leaning down, he gently let his lips brush across the top of her hand. “It is a pleasure to see you again, Miss Leclaire,” he stated as he slowly pulled back up and let his eyes drift to meet hers.
Quickly, she pulled her hand away as if he scorched it with a simple touch. What just happened? It felt like fireworks were going off under her skin where his lips had just brushed. She had never felt anything like it before.
Arching one eyebrow in a knowing look, he smiled with amusement. After releasing her hand and standing up straight, Pierre looked around, as if searching for someone. “I do not see your fiancé nearby. It is surprising you are here without him.”
Amelie was confused for a moment, until she remembered Matthew had claimed her as his intended the previous night at the Independence Day celebration. She didn’t correct the matter at the time, but with Debbey present, she knew she needed to do so now.
“Matthew misspoke about our relationship last evening. We are simply family friends.”
“I have to confess; I am glad to hear it.”
“Why ever for?”
“I think it should be obvious by now.” He looked at her with admiration.
Disconcerted by what he was saying, she stumbled out, “You pay me too much attention, Mr. Girald.”
“You may call me Pierre.”
