Chapter 9: Farewell

[Undated Entry]
At Sunrise

IT FELT LIKE the longest night of Amélie’s life. And the shortest. She puzzled over the apparent contradiction in the weeks that followed and finally embraced the reality that time could be both or could appear to be both things at once.

They had remained in the library after supper on the evening of their departure, glasses of brandy at their sides, and listened to Father and Grace tell them stories of the years they had been absent. As they spoke the two of them, on a small loveseat, had seemed to move closer to each other until there was no visible space between them.

“There was an uproar after your departure,” Father said. “The two of you were spoken of in the most unkind of terms.” He turned to Grace. “Would you agree?”

“Absolutely,” Grace said. “Indeed, there was some talk of searching for you to bring you to justice, and even to levy sanctions on us, on Sunrise.” She chuckled. “It all came to naught when your father’s solicitor pointed out in no uncertain terms to the Court that there was absolutely no evidence you had had anything to do with Antoine’s escape, and that it was no crime for two free white adults to travel whenever and wherever they chose.”

“Antoine was a different story,” Father added. “I believe there was some attempt to discover where he had gone, but even those who suspected he’d left aboard Black Weasel could not prove it.”

Father turned to Grace. He took her hand and leaned close to her and kissed her. On her lips. It was a kiss of the lovers Amélie and Gérard knew they were. He took a deep breath.

“I was taken up in the heat of the moment, Amélie. To find you and Gérard and Antoine in the circumstances we did rendered me temporarily insane. I was genuinely worried you had been raped by Antoine, but even if that were so it didn’t explain why Gérard was also nude. The mere idea that a black slave would have sex with a white woman, much less my daughter, and she would welcome it was enough to enrage me, and it was enough for Antoine to be arrested and sent to trial.”

Father had tears in his eyes and his cheeks were wet. He kissed Grace again, another lovers’ kiss.

“Grace brought me to my senses. After all, our relationship has not been a secret inside this house, although our staff is intelligent enough not to broadcast the fact. It would be the height of hypocrisy to castigate the two of you for following your hearts.”

Father paused again and took a sip of his brandy.

“For what it’s worth, once my momentary fury passed I never had the slightest doubt that whatever had transpired between you was the result of mutual consent.”

“Your father and I were lovers when we were growing up, Amélie. I think you know how attractive an older brother, even if he is not your brother by blood, can be, no?” Aunt Grace laughed and Amélie and Gérard joined her in laughter. “It was over before your father met your mother, and even if we remained close thereafter we were never again lovers while your mother was alive and healthy.”

“She knew about us,” Father said. “That is, she knew Grace and I had been lovers, I did not hide that from her. Nevertheless, I was never unfaithful to your mother, not with Grace, not with anyone else.”

“Father, she didn’t care that you had been lovers before?”

“Yes, she did, Amélie, but once she knew it had been by mutual desire and through mutual love, she accepted it as part of the past.” Father looked at Grace. “When your mother fell ill, things changed. She was a remarkable woman. I loved her. She gave me you, Amélie, and your little brother, the two greatest treasures of my life, even if we lost him.

“‘Send for Grace. Ask her to come as soon as she can. You must not remain alone,’ your mother told me. ‘You know I do not have much time left. You love Grace. Let her love you. I give you my blessing.’ She did not need to add that she expected discretion from the two of us, that went without saying.”

Aunt Grace leaned close to kiss Father again.

“Your father honored his promise to your mother, Amélie, Gérard. I do not think even the servants knew of our relationship while she was still alive.”

It was probably the brandy that emboldened Amélie to ask the question she and Gérard had wondered about.

“What about Sandrine, Father?”

Father and Grace laughed.

“What about her?” Father answered.

Amélie was flustered, but only for a moment. “I mean, when did she become your lover as well?” Amélie took it as given that Father and Grace would acknowledge the relationship.

“That is a very private matter, Amélie, really,” said Grace.

“We know, Aunt Grace,” said Gérard. “But perhaps under the circumstances you could share some of your relationship with us since we’re taking her with us?”

This wasn’t quite true, Amélie thought, given stories Sandrine had already told them, and probably irrelevant even if it were true, but she wanted to know just as badly as Gérard did. She was fairly certain Father and Grace knew Sandrine was their lover, although she hoped Sandrine had not gone into detail with them about her trysts with Amélie and Gérard.

Father refreshed their glasses and took another sip of his own. His face was flushed but he was still in command of his faculties. Whatever lubrication the brandy might provide would not overcome his natural reticence and discretion. But the three of them would depart tomorrow on the high tide, and this was a night for revelations.

“You may recall Sandrine arrived on our island when her former owner went bankrupt and she was put on the auction block. Her beauty attracted the most attention, of course, and I don’t know if any of the other bidders took the trouble to look into her history.”

He took another sip.

“Some of it is kind of murky, that isn’t really a surprise given the history on that island, but I discovered she’d been educated as a girl to read and write in French and do basic sums. Her owner had intended for her to assist his plantation manager in keeping accounts. Some of his business relations were with English speakers, and Sandrine had learned to read and write basic English, too.” Father chuckled. “It’s fair to conclude that, given her beauty, she was desirable for other reasons. She was no virgin when she arrived here. Even so, her life had been fairly protected, for a slave. Her master ensured her safety.”

Grace broke in. “Your father had some spirited competition to contend with, but in the end he was successful. There were more than a few disappointed bidders that day.”