Chapter Two
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November 1878
Bergeron Plantation
“ You ’ re back!” Mireille squealed. “ Did you hear?” She turned from the washboard in the sudsy laundry bucket as CeeCee entered the side yard.
“ Did I hear what?” CeeCee asked as she approached her dear friend.
“ Well, it may just be a rumor, but I heard there has been a compromise and the government has agreed to withdraw the Union Soldiers from the south. I s ’ pose our reconstruction is over.” She shrugged as she leaned into the fabric she rubbed across the wavy board.
“ De tes l è vres à l'oreille de Dieu. ” CeeCee muttered.
“ Huh? ” Mireille tilted her head curiously.
“ I said, ‘ From your lips to God ’ s ears.’” CeeCee frowned. “ Have you forgotten your French?
Mireille shrugged. “ Some. It ’ s spoken less since the reconstruction.” Bitterness laced every word she spoke.
“ I understand.” CeeCee walked up to the woman she once held in her arms as an eight-year-old child while hiding from Union Soldiers who had busted through her Auntie ’ s front door and violated Mireille ’ s mother. She held her arms out wide, and Mireille shook off the suds from her hands and forearms to accept the warm embrace. “ How are you today?”
“ I ’ m good. It ’ s laundry day. The sun ’ s shining, and it ’ ll be Thanksgiving before long. You know how Madame Bergeron loves the holidays.”
CeeCee nodded, “ Yes, I know only too well.” They giggled.
“ And… your mother? How is she?”
Mireille ’ s smile dropped into a frown. “ She… she ’ s the same.”
CeeCee bobbed her understanding. “ I ’ m sorry.”
“ She ’ s never been the same… since—”
“ I know.” CeeCee said before Mireille could finish. “ She saved you and me, but the sacrifice was too great for her mind.”
Mireille nodded. “ So! What brings you back to our neck of the woods?”
“ I finished my tour. I ’ m home for a reprise until Christmas.”
“ A reprise? What does that mean?” Mireille shoved the piece of clothing into the sudsy water and rubbed it vigorously against the washboard.
“ Well, actually, it ’ s a musical phrase. It means repetition of a passage heard earlier. What I mean is, I have been allowed to come home, at last, to repeat my life as it once was before I followed my momma ’ s footsteps to perform publicly.”
“ Oh.” Mireille continued washing the clothes, then put them in a second washtub with clear water to rinse, she tossed the article into a third to be carried to the clothesline and hung to dry in the warm Louisiana sun.
CeeCee continued. “ Momma wrote me saying Sonny returned from the war still wearing his blue uniform… and it broke Auntie ’ s heart.”
“ Yes,” Mireille hung her head. She lifted her eyes and searched the grounds to be sure he wasn ’ t within ear shot. “ His mind is still blue also.”
CeeCee nodded. “ That ’ s what Momma said. I wonder how that ’ s going to play-out with the Union withdrawing.”
Mireille shrugged as she put the last piece of clothing in the basket, carried it to the line, and began hanging them neatly across it. CeeCee walked with her to the clothesline, standing across from her, she bent to lift an article of clothing and helped hang it. CeeCee glanced at Mireille several times but remained silent for a long while. Finally, she could not take Mireille ’ s morose composure any longer.
“ Mireille, why do you look so sad?”
Mireille ’ s grey-green eyes darted to CeeCee. “ Oh, mademoiselle CeeCee, you don ’ t know what it ’ s been like. Sonny is not the same boy he was before he left for the war. He ’ s…” She glanced around. “ He ’ s awful. It ’ s as if he were never a southern boy, running barefoot through the sugar cane or the tobacco fields. He treats all of us like we are livestock, and yet he talks about how all us dark-folk ought to be free workers.” She shook her head. “ The war changed him. And not for the better.”
CeeCee stared at her friend as she pinned another chemise to the line. “ Momma said he was a changed man, but I didn ’ t realize it was so bad. What does Auntie say about his… new attitude?”
Mireille shrugged. “ Since Monsieur Bergeron ’ s casket was sent home, she ’ s not been the same either.”
CeeCee hung her head. “ Yes, I heard that too.” Sadness hovered between them as they continued to hang the clothes.
“ Monsieur Bergeron is … l'homme de la maison .”
“ Ah, you do remember your French.” She smiled, then continued. “ Why does Auntie allow him to take over as man of the house?” CeeCee asked.
Mireille shrugged again. “ Madame doesn ’ t have the strength to say otherwise.”
“ I wonder if I played for Auntie if it would cheer her up?”
Mireille lifted her face and smiled. “ Oh, I ’ m sure it would. She so loved to hear you play long ago, I ’ m sure she ’ d enjoy it now.”
CeeCee jerked a nod. “ That settles it. I ’ ll go ask the cook to fix us a pot of tea and then I ’ ll go play something lively for my Tante .”
“ Can you come too?” CeeCee asked.
“ Oh, I have a lot of work to get done today. Thanksgiving ’ s just around the corner.”
“ All right, see you later.” CeeCee said as she walked to the back door of the large home. Cook opened the door to let her in. “ Good day,” CeeCee said. “ Is my aunt available?
“ Oui, Mademoiselle. ”
“ Great. Would you make a pot of tea for us and bring it to the ballroom?”
“ Oui, but why the ballroom? Madame doesn ’ t go in there anymore.”
“ Oh.” CeeCee stopped short. “ I wanted to play the piano for her.”
The cook looked confused. “ That piano ain ’ t been tuned in years.”
“ What?” CeeCee ’ s heart slammed against her ribs. “ Why not? It was Auntie ’ s pride and joy.”
Cook shrugged. “ Yanks ’ reconstruction changed a lot of things. The piano tuner died in the war, and no one left behind knows how anymore.”
“ Oh no.” CeeCee ’ s legs suddenly felt heavy, and moving forward was difficult. “ Could you put on a pot of tea and bring it to the ballroom anyway? Maybe I can convince Auntie to come with me and I ’ ll do my best to play something soothing for her frayed nerves.” CeeCee smiled, remembering Auntie L é onie ’ s words about CeeCee ’ s playing.
“ Oui.” Cook turned to fill a kettle and put it on the stove, already hot from her baking. Pumpkin and pecan pies lined the windowsill. Four crust-topped pies sat on the cool side of the cooktop. Thanksgiving preparations were indeed underway. “ Shall I send for Madame?”
“ No, I ’ ll go to her.” CeeCee cleared her throat. “ Where is she, exactly?”
“ In her bedchambers, I assume. She don ’ t come down much anymore.”
CeeCee drew in a slow breath and sighed. “ Thank you.”
She left the kitchen, headed to the great stairs at the front of the house. Momma had not shared with CeeCee how morose the Bergeron home had become since she left for her piano concerto tour five years ago. She returned between tours for holidays, funerals, and birthday celebrations, but she was gone more than she was home.
Tante L é onie never got to have that big celebratory ball she had dreamed of having when Uncle Louis came home. She had a wake and buried him in his eternal resting place on the south side of the plantation, instead. It was one of the saddest things CeeCee had endured in her final teen years.
CeeCee was so sad when that casket arrived, but she was even sadder when she comprehended that é lise had never recovered from her heroic stand against the rogue Union soldiers. She and Tante L é onie had both turned inward and stayed to themselves but in different ways.
Mireille ’ s mother, being a servant, didn ’ t have the luxury of seeking refuge in her bedchambers, but it was obvious she was no longer herself. She silently did her chores and made it through each day. But lately she moved a lot slower and had become very forgetful.
Tante L é onie allowed for the old servants to remain in her service. But if Sonny was as vicious as Mireille said he was, CeeCee wasn ’ t sure how much longer é lise ’ s reprieve would be allowed to continue. Some plantation owners were a lot more hard-hearted about their servants. If their productivity went down, so did they, or were “ freed,” which really meant they were abandoned to fend for themselves. The older servants who were considered completely useless were not fed well and generally withered and died rather quickly.
CeeCee reached the lovely staircase and put one foot on the first riser.
“ Ah! Cousin C è dez! There you are.” Sonny ’ s voice echoed across the foyer.
CeeCee halted, looking toward the voice.
He quickly emerged from the library where Uncle Louis used to retire to smoke a cigar and enjoy a snifter of brandy. From Sonny ’ s slurred words, she assumed he had been indulging in his father ’ s brandy long before the appropriate hour. She plastered on her best smile and swirled to face him.
“ Sonny! ” she said, using her happy hostess voice. “ How good to see you!”
“ Yes, and you as well,” he said with roving eyes that suggested much more than a familial greeting.
An oily sensation filled CeeCee ’ s instincts. She swallowed hard to subdue the disgust in her heart.
“ You are back from New York.” He continued to close the distance between them with a staggering stride.
She wanted to run away from him, to ascend the stairs and seek refuge in her aunt ’ s bedchambers, but he had ahold of her arm before she could act upon her inclination.
“ Ow, you ’ re hurting me. ” She winced under his rough grasp.
“ Why have you chosen a spinster ’ s life? Hum? ” He pressed in closer to her face. His breath reeked of whisky. “ Perhaps I should marry you and save you from a barren life.”
“ I-I am happy touring the country and playing the piano, like… like Momma did. ”
“ Oh, come on. You ’ re what? Twenty-nine? Thirty? How could you possibly be happy without a man in your life?” He angled himself to look her over, especially eying her backside. “ And what man would want you now that you have become such an old prune-of-a-maid.”
His eyes roved over her again making her feel as if she were standing naked before him. A shiver trickled down her spine. She pulled her arm, trying to get out of his hurtful grasp, but couldn ’ t.
“ I can be that man for you. We are cousins, twice removed.” He slid his hand around and pinched her derri ère.
She squealed and tried even harder to move away from him.
“ It ’ d be fine with the clergy for us to marry. Especially since you have kept yourself from any man ’ s bed.” He wiggled his eyebrows solicitously. “ You have, haven ’ t you?”
Nausea lapped at the back of her throat. “ Sonny, please, you ’ re hurting my arm.”
“ Come on, CeeCee, let ’ s go talk to the pastor and get married. I don ’ t care if your virtue is intact or not. I ’ ll marry you anyway. I prefer me an experienced woman.”
“ No! ” She moved up the stairs a few steps, but she had to bend at the waist, being held so firmly she couldn ’ t free herself. Glancing toward the landing above her, she considered whether she could slip out of his grasp and run from him.
Mireille was right. He had turned into a vile man. As children, he had been ornery, but never this repulsive. Uncle Louis would tan his hide for acting this way toward a lady. But Uncle Louis was no longer here to see that his son behaved as a gentleman should. CeeCee straightened to her full height and lifted her chin a notch. “ I have come to see Tante L é onie, please release my arm.”
Sonny rushed up closer to her, wrapped his hands around her waist, and pulled her against him. She could feel his ill intentions as he pressed against her hip. “ Sonny, please, don ’ t do this.”
Cook scurried from the kitchen, balancing a tea pot and cups and saucers on a tray. She halted abruptly at the sight of Sonny holding CeeCee in a most inappropriate embrace on the stairs.
“ Oh! ” she exclaimed. “ I beg pardon, Monsieur. ” She dropped her eyes to the contents on the tray.
Sonny turned to place CeeCee at his side and grinned at Cook. “ It ’ s alright, Cousin C è dez and I were just catching up for old times’ sake.” His grin revealed all the evil thoughts that were churning in his mind.
CeeCee seized the opportunity to break free of his hold, ran toward Cook, and took the tray. “ Here, let me take that for you. I ’ ll be in Auntie ’ s bedchambers if anyone needs us.”
CeeCee took a wide berth and rushed up the stairs, avoiding Sonny ’ s reach, and left Cook and Sonny staring at her. She ducked into her aunt ’ s room and pressed her back against the closed door. Breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and tried to calm her racing heart. She had no idea her cousin had become so wicked. Were all of the Northerners of the same mind as Sonny?
Men in general had but one thing on their minds. She knew that since the day the rogue soldiers attacked the plantation and had their way with poor é lise. They could not have a care in the world that they left her devastatingly wounded in her mind and spirit.
Tante L é onie lifted sad eyes from a cross-stitch in her hands. “ My child, what brings you here in such a bother?”
“ I-I brought you tea, Auntie.” CeeCee tried to settle her heart and her breathing. She did not want to reveal what her cousin had done on the stairs.
“ I thought we might go to the ballroom and I play something soothing for you.” She looked at the closed barrier that blocked her insane cousin from assaulting her any further. “ But… perhaps it would be better if we stay in here and have our tea. How have you been?” She moved closer to her aunt and set the tray on a table between the two sitting chairs.
Her aunt ’ s eyes filled with tears. “ I ’ m not doing so good. But it warms my heart to see you, dear C è dez. ”
“ Oh, Auntie, I have missed you.”
“ I missed you too, child.” Tante L é onie sobbed.
CeeCee hugged her aunt, then sat down and poured them tea. She did her best to visit with her aunt casually and not discuss the way in which her son had changed since the war. An hour passed and the two of them had a delightful yet morose visit. Tante L é onie was not the joy-filled woman she had been when CeeCee was growing up. There was little CeeCee could do about that, but she vowed to come visit the Bergeron Plantation as often as she could when she had a break in her touring schedule.
Collecting the tea dishes, she kissed her aunt ’ s cheek, bid her adieu, and carried the tray down to give to Cook. Sonny leapt out from behind the doorway into the dining room.
“ Ah! ” He laughed. “ There you are.”
CeeCee jerked back from him, and the cups and saucers slid to the edge of the tray. She adjusted the tray, only to cause the tea set to slide to the other side and fall. CeeCee winced as the lovely china crashed to the floor.
Cook burst out of the door leading to the kitchen and gasped. “ Oh dear!”
She rushed to where CeeCee stood statue still. Tears filled CeeCee ’ s eyes, she regretted the broken china with all her heart.
“ I ’ m so sorry.” CeeCee cried.
“ It ’ s all right.” Sonny said as if he were confused about CeeCee ’ s emotional reaction to the broken china. “ Cook will clean it up.” He took hold of her arm and roughly pulled her away from the broken dishes. “ Come here, I want to talk to you some more about our nuptials.”
Cook gasped, but then dropped her gaze to the broken dishes and squatted to sweep them together and onto the tray where she could take them back into the kitchen. CeeCee saw blood ooze from the tiny cuts the china made on Cook ’ s bare hands. She stared at Cook. “ You ’ re bleeding. ”
How she wanted to impress upon her that she needed help but cook kept her head and her gaze to the floor.
“ No, I ’ m fine, ” she muttered and scurried off once she had everything swept onto the tray.
CeeCee thought to cry out for help, but who would come? Sonny obviously was in charge, and as “ l ’ homme de la maison ” no one would go against his wishes.
“ You ’ re hurting me,” she said as sternly as she could. “ If you think for one minute that you will force me to marry you, you should not be handling me so roughly.”
His grip eased up. He still held her, but not as firmly. “ You ’ re right. I shouldn ’ t have to force my wife to stand next to me.”
“ You know,” she began. “ It was devastating to your mother when you chose to fight the war between the states on the side against the confederate way of life, but to come home and continue to act like the Yankee devils who claimed to be reconstructing everything they tore down…” She swallowed. “ Shame on you!”
A laugh began deep in his throat, he tossed his head back, and opened his mouth as the laughter bellowed out. He jerked her arm, pulling her back into the painful grip. “ You are nothing but an ignorant woman. What do you know about the politics that changed our way of living. The Union won the war. All y ’ all in the south are lucky you were allowed back into the nation. Whatever comes as a result of your rebellion is nothing more than what you deserve.” He growled.
CeeCee glared at her cousin. “ If you find us so disgusting, why would you want to marry me?”
He shook her arm, jerking her head back on her shoulders and causing her even more pain. He pressed in close to her face. The vile odor of his drinking offended her nose. His eyes reflected nothing but evil intent. “ Because I can.”
CeeCee swallowed. “ I see.”
“ Sonny! ” Tante L é onie called softly but firmly from the stairs.
He turned toward his mother ’ s voice. The vise grip on CeeCee ’ s arm loosened. She pulled out of his grasp and moved back a few steps. Rubbing her sore arm and looking around for a way to get away from him entirely.
“ Let your cousin go. She is only home for a little while. I ’ m sure her manman has plans for her.”
Sonny turned back to glare at CeeCee. “ We were just catching up, Maman ,” he said through gritted teeth.
“ Well, that ’ s fine, but let her go home now.” Tante L é onie came all the way down the stairs and glided across the floor to where the two of them stood. She looked up into her son ’ s eyes. “ I know how fond you have been of your cousin all these years, but she needs to spend time with her parents.”
CeeCee prayed her auntie ’ s words would be enough to convince Sonny to let her leave the Bergeron Plantation without further harm. She took a step back.
“ It was so good to see you, Cousin.” She pressed her best debutant smile on her mouth. “ You too, Auntie.” She turned and hastened from the mansion, out the back door from where she had entered, and continued at a run. She wanted to get back to her own home where she would be safe from his evil plans. Would he come after her despite her auntie ’ s words?
He seemed very determined to get what he wanted. How could she guarantee her freedom from his intent to marry her? He seemed to wield a lot of power in Pointe Coupee Parish. Especially with the Union soldiers withdrawal, there had to be a way to thwart his control over her. Perhaps it would take something extremely desperate to seal her fate in such a way that he could not have his way. Going back on tour was not enough. She needed something even more conclusive to stop her cousin from forcing her to marry him. But what would that be?