Chapter three - (Louisiana, Mid-February 1861)
The morning came all too soon, the brilliant glare of the winter sun forcing its way boorishly through the transparent panes of glass as the heavy thread curtains at the window were thrown open. She groaned softly at the rude invasion of light disturbing her slumber and warily opened one eye slightly to find the culprit - her view descending upon a foreign surrounding, making her stomach turn in panic as she did not recognize where she was, until at last her mind replayed the events of the past few days and she instantly relaxed a little as she remembered that she was not in Mississippi anymore.
Closing her eye once more, she allowed herself to drift back into her subconscious, listening to the playful laughter and stamping of feet as the twins, Theo and Etienne charged down the landing past the room she was in - the stampeding eventually diminishing as they hurtled down the stairs.
"Morning Rogue" The insanely cheerful voice of Kitty entered her ears making her groan in annoyance and turn away from the glaring light. A few moments passed before she felt a hand rock her shoulder in a bid for her attention.
"Come on, it's time for breakfast" Kitty implored, rocking the other girls arm forcefully to which she received an aggravated sigh.
"Yeah, okay . . . ah'll beh down in a minute" Rogue mumbled incoherently into her pillow, feeling the hand being removed from her shoulder and followed by the sound of the bedroom door clicking open and then shut softly. At this, she opened her eyes and turned her head, just about able to see over the edge of the bedcovers that she was indeed alone in the room. All she wanted right now was to be alone, to allow her consciousness to catch up with the situation at hand. Sitting herself up, she shivered a little as the bedcovers slipped from her upper body allowing the cooler air outside of the warmed bed, access to the uncovered skin on her arms - as much as she would like to not have to get up, it would be inevitable that her Mother would simply barge into the room and scold her if she did not. Sliding her legs out of the covers warm embrace, she stood resolutely and took the few steps over to the wardrobe and selected a simple deep burgundy, thick-layered cotton dress. Dressing herself quickly, she brushed out her hair and secured it back into a low-lying bun - turning away from the vanity mirror she had used, she found herself come to a stand still as the view outside the window caught her eye. Despite the unusual chill in the air, she longed to be outside and away from everyone and everything - it seemed like a better option than staying in the room or having breakfast with the other guests and her hosts- at least outside she would have a better chance at not being found. Grabbing a ragged, well-used book that had been stored on the bed stand, she made for the door swiftly.
Stepping out of the room, she closed the door quietly behind her and began to walk casually down the hallway and proceeded down the grand and intricately designed staircase silently. The sound of clattering teacups and idle morning chatter could be heard as she neared the opened doorway to the dining room in the main foyer. Peaking her head just around the corner to plan the best moment for her imminent escape, she quickly made a dash past the open entry and to the front doors, which she opened quietly and crept out of un-noticeably.
Closing the door silently behind her, a quick tremble coursed through her body as the un-flustered morning air swept into her. Crossing her arms and hugging the dog-eared book to her chest, she started off in a brisk, decisive walk toward the far end of the land boundary, making a point to not walk past the large window that overlooked the grounds from the dining room. Stepping into the ankle-height lawn, she could feel the early springiness of the grass, laced with dew that instantly wet the hem of her dress - though it did not bother her. She found herself approaching a wood of sorts in which a large, slow flow of water ran through - though she could not decide what it could be called, it was too small for a river, yet too large for a stream but it drifted at a seemingly laid-back current, instantly making her feel a little homesick.
Stepping over a few broken branches and around large rocks and such, she finally slowed to a leisurely pace until she caught sight of a large tree beside the heightened bank of the un-identified flow of water. Its roots, having lifted themselves and grown disfigured out of the earth, reminded her of the large black walnut tree she used to favor back in Mississippi and without a second thought she quietly stepped towards it and made herself comfortable on the protruding root at the base of the stump. Leaning back into the dry bark, she let out a soft sigh and opened the well-read title in her grasp, resting it on her knees. She could not count how many times she had read this book, the story of an adventurous young woman and the ideals of women in power - her mother and most others black-named it 'feminist twaddle', but the rebellious side of her nature insisted that she read it and ultimately it hooked her in. Of course she did not agree with everything within the pages, but the general idea of gender equality was somewhat inspiring to her.
She let herself fall into the world inside the book - the rising sound of the heated crickets announcing midday failed to register in her mind and only the sudden cracking of a twig underfoot threw her back into the real world.
"Je suis désolé mademoiselle. I didn't mean t' frighten y'" A deeply accented voice apologized graciously, to which Rogue looked up to the owner of the voice, instantly recognizing the handsome face of Remy LeBeau - who stood as though he had just entered a grand party and was receiving lavish attention from the guests. Rogue looked up at him blankly, trying not to let herself fall into those impossibly intense eyes - as far as she was concerned, any man with eyes such as his, was sure to be popular with the opposite sex and she didn't particularly want to fall into that sort of category of woman.
"Do y' min' if I sit down?" He asked unsurely at her lack of response, gesturing over to a fallen tree a few feet from the one she was resting under. At his unprecedented question, Rogue nodded her head lightly - a little annoyed that her peace had been disturbed and by none other than one of those she was trying most to avoid. She watched over the top of her book as he took a seat on a flatted area of the fallen tree, looking on to the steady flow of water - the peaceful interlude cueing her to go back to reading her book.
"I like dis spot, it nice non?" Remy asked conversationally. Rogue sighed inwardly and decided to ignore his question - with any luck, he might take it as a hint and remain quiet.
"Y' don't talk much do 'y?" He observed aloud, making Rogue let the book drop limply onto her raised knees and look at him incredulously.
"Do ya make a habit o' talkin' when someone is obviously readin'?" She admonished irritably. The slow lazy smirk that rose on his mouth somehow annoyed her even more.
"Jus' tryin' t' make conversation chérie" He replied complacently, noting the light furrow of her brow as she absorbed his words.
"Well, not ta beh rude mistah LeBeau but ah jus' want ta beh alone" She countered in a calmer manner, making another attempt to finish the page on her book.
"I can't believe dat y' would want t' be completely alone" Remy observed some more.
"Well ah do" She mumbled condescendingly, not removing her eyes from the current passage she was trying to read.
"Careful chére, y' might sound jus' a little thorny" He relayed lightly, referring to her stony attitude. At his words she instantly looked up from her book and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Did ya come heah t' deliberately annoy meh?" Her voice raised slightly, the annoyance illustrated highly in her tone of voice and the look of utter contempt on her face. Her misplaced accusation made him laugh a little to himself as he met her glare.
"I happen t' like it here as much as y' do an seein' as we both be in de same place at de same time, conversing seemed de most obvious t'ing t' do" At his firm countenance, she let out an aggravated breath and without hesitation, raised herself from the tree root she had been sitting on and walked away resolutely. That last sentence from him was all she needed to know that she would not be getting any peace while he was in her presence.
Not sparing a glance behind her, she walked briskly back to toward the house - though upon seeing a small crowd at the main entrance to the large house, she decided to enter through the back entrance and so made a quick diversion around the side of the impressively sized building. Upon entering however, she was instantly accosted by Kitty.
"Where have you been? We missed you at breakfast" The bright-eyed brunette reproached lightly. Rogue found herself at a loss for words at the sudden question, glancing down to the hem of her dress and was silently thankful to realize that it had dried and was not noticeably dirty.
"Ah . . uh, wasn't hungry so . . ah went foh a walk" She finished lamely, with a small apologetic smile.
"You should have said, I would have come with you. Anyway, I'm just about to have tea with Mercy. . do you like, want to join us?" Kitty asked her hopefully, to which Rogue smiled in return and nodded her head in acceptance. It didn't look like she was going to get any time to herself today and so followed Kitty wordlessly into the drawing room, in which Mercy LeBeau sat on one of the Victorian imported chaise lounges, pouring tea into a fragile looking teacup on the low table on which it was situated upon. Mercy looked up as they entered and smiled warmly as she moved herself a little more comfortably into the seat.
"Bonjour Anna, how are you?" Mercy asked kindly as Rogue took a seat opposite her while Kitty poured some more tea.
"Ah'm fine thank you. Wheah is everyone?" Rogue replied politely, taking the cup Kitty was handing her.
"Oh, Monsieur Pryde an' Henri are sortin' business, y're Mére an' Priscilla hav' gon' int' town an' I don't know where Remy an' y're frére are" She finished with a small laugh, taking a sip of her tea.
"I was with Kurt this morning, he was teaching me German - he's really good!" Kitty said conversationally to which Rogue smiled in return.
"So how long hav' you an' Henri been married?" Rogue asked after a moment's silence had passed.
"Two years dis June. I couldn't hav asked f' a better husband. An' now we have a bebe on de way" The light haired woman replied proudly, rubbing her protruding stomach with her free hand. Rogue smiled at Mercy's happiness as the conversation drifted on with Kitty taking the lead, watching silently as a tall, well built figure sauntered past the open archway in the back hall and further away into the house, out of her view.
Ooohhh . . . chapter 3, what did you think?
Lot's of appreciation to everyone who has read up to this point, I hope you are enjoying it - if you are, please review!
Rogue 181 - Thanks for your review hon! Glad you are enjoying the story so far!
Ishandahalf - LOL; Yup the main man has entered the building and he's not going anywhere just yet. Thanks for your review, hope you liked the chapter!
Melissa Black 13 - Thanks for your review! I'm glad you think it has promise and I hope you liked this chapter too!
Musagirl15 - Thanks for your review hon! Yeah, I got Remy in the story early so !hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Enchantedlight - Thank you for your review! Hope you enjoyed this chapter as well!
So, until next time . . .