Page 30 of Earl of Excess
“I hoped you would follow me,mon petit,” her aunt whispered. “Your man has something wrong. From the careful way he walked into our home, I think it must be his eyes.”
“He is not my man, Aunt Theodosia,” replied Bethany.I wish he were, but he is not, she thought. “Matthew has something wrong with his vision. I had hoped you might know how to help him—you and Grandmère. He could not see since he was wounded. I feel like the explosions on the battlefield must have had something to do with it, although I could see no injury to his face—none. He struggles with blindness. At first, he said there was blackness, but it has gradually gotten better. He says he can make out shapes, and with enough light, he says he can make out what things are.”
“Pas-bon. That is not good,” her aunt responded. “Here, take the tray of cups and I will bring the kettle.”
Bethany accepted the tray and followed her aunt into the room. The two of them set everything down on a large round table in the dining area. Her grandmother and Matthew joined them at the table. Matthew used his stick to navigate the area, tapping much as he had learned while living in Bethany’s cabin.
“Your man does good,” whispered her aunt for her ears alone.
Bethany turned to say something, but it was too late. Everyone was at the table.
“I suppose we should start with the morning that Dandie and I found Matthew. But first, I wonder if I might unwrap the sustenance I brought with us today. We had quite an adventure finding our way here and forgot to eat anything.”
“Oh, goodness. My manners!” her grandmother rose.
“Grandmère, we have plenty. I will get it. I am sure Matthew is hungry.” She looked down at Dandie, who had cocked her head to the right with her tongue in its funny hanging spiral. “I think Dandie is, as well.”
“Give your pup some of the stew. There are no onions or anything that can sicken her. It’s a small amount leftover from yesterday’s meal. She would enjoy it.”
“She has earned it,” Bethany said, agreeing with the choice. “Dandie, come here and get this.” The small dog followed her. Bethany placed a bowl with the cold stew on the floor in front of her pet. The dog needed no second invitation and began to attack the meal immediately. “She loves it. Thank you, Grandmère.”
Smiling, Bethany returned to the table with the basket of bread, dried pork, and cheese that she had packed for the trip. “We forgot to eat it until we got here and realized how hungry we had become,” she said, laughing and placing the two halves of the fresh baguette in the center of the table and unwrapping the cheese and meat.
Matthew nodded and waited, as was his custom, until everyone else was served before taking some for himself.
Her grandmother noticed this and smiled in Bethany’s direction. “Tell me, children. As much as I want to hear about today’s adventure, I’m curious to hear everything from the beginning.”
“I thought you might. I can start,” said Bethany, glad her grandmother and aunt were as welcoming as she had hoped. “It started the morning of the enormous battle. Dandie and I had gotten up early to pick the last herbs and winter vegetables, hoping to return before anything happened.”
“You went to the battlefield for vegetables?” her aunt’s voice sounded incredulous.
“It was not a battlefield, yet. It was the plantation, and you know Monsieur Villeré had always encouraged us to get as much from his gardens as we wanted. I feared the British would destroy the garden and had hoped to clear it before anything happened. We went before daylight, hoping not to be seen. We did not expect a battle.”
Her grandmother’s eyes rounded. “Mon petit. They could have killed you.”
Bethany realized how lucky she had been, but relating the story gave her a renewed awareness of how stupid her actions had been that morning, and it was not a good realization. “We were safe, thanks to knowing the plantation and where we could hide. Dandie and I had gotten the vegetables and herbs and had already put them in the boat when the fighting began. We hid inside until we could leave, not daring to attract attention to our little boat. But you are right. My choices were probably not the wisest that day.” She gave a sidelong glance to Matthew, who sat silently listening to her recount the day. “When the battle stopped, they took the injured away. Before we could leave, more men came, and we stayed hidden, watching them steal from the soldiers before taking their uniforms. When they left, Dandie heard cries of help and shot out across the field before I could restrain her. She found the lieutenant under a stack of dead bodies. They had left him for dead, but he was alive. I had to help him. We could not leave him.”
“Oh,mon Dieu!” her aunt exclaimed, fanning herself. “Even though I cannot see, what I picture in my mind seems too dangerous for words.”
She noticed her grandmother’s silence. Occasionally, she glanced from Matthew to her. She continued relating the story, telling about Matthew’s injuries and his slow recovery. “He is still recovering,” she finished. “But he was well enough to save me, today.” She looked over at Matthew, who now was looking in her direction with a look of concern on his face.
“I had not realized all that you witnessed, Bethany. We have not spoken of the battle,” he interjected.
“No. We were well enough. There was no need,” she replied softly, drifting her hand a few inches on the table in his direction. She stopped before touching him, but it was too late. Her grandmother appeared to have already noticed.
“That was as terrible a day as anyone could have imagined,” Grandmère inserted. “I never imagined my granddaughter to be in danger. Angels surely protected you that day,mon petit.”
“Tell us about your trip here. You said it was an adventure,” her aunt said.
“Perhaps Matthew can relate it better than I can. He saved our lives,” she said, unable to control the involuntary shudder at its mention.
“Please,” her grandmother said in Matthew’s direction. “Tell us, Matthew.” Her voice was gentle and encouraging.
Matthew silently scratched at an itch on his arm that had been bothering him for the last few hours. He nodded and told them what had happened. He related how the alligator had followed the boat and had tried to grab Dandie, and how Bethany had killed it. Somehow, he told it matter-of-factly, as if he were reporting to a commanding officer. Bethany laughed as he was finishing the story.
“Had Matthew not jumped into the water, I might have become a meal. My foot had become caught in some old rope or something.”
“Mon Dieu. It must have been those old crab nets. They are dangerous and left behind by fishermen,” Grandmère said. “I did not know all of this had taken place in my brief absence. What made you come here? I had planned to return this week.”
