Anna Marie stayed silent most of the walk. The sky was turning orange.
Will was busy looking around at the sites. The houses were big and ornate,
much like the style of the French. Soon, they were going down a quiet
street. Will had to stop the silence. "So where did you get the army?" he
asked.
"Shhh." Anna Marie looked nervously around. "I can't believe ye would mention it out in the open. What is wrong with ye?" she hissed. She stepped closer to him and slowed her pace, whispering. "They were slaves that I had to buy. I knew they wanted to revolt from . a source. This idea has been growing for awhile. It is now that we are going to act."
"But why would the slaves want to revolt? Why would you want to revolt?" Will asked.
"Say it a couple a more times, I don't think everyone heard you!" She took another look around. "Some people do not want to spend their lives serving others." Will thought about it and saw it could be taken in more than one way, especially when he thought about staying with Elizabeth. Was he staying with her for her? "And I think it's about time we had our own country."
Will said nothing. What could he have said? Nah, why would an entire people need a country? It just wasn't his place. So, he decided to change the subject. "I guess this is why you asked me to come with you," he said, looking around at the alley. Criminals could creep out of the cracks and no one would be able to help.
"Don't act so macho. I invited you in case I came across some people that might get suspicious with someone like me walking alone in such a nice place." Sarcasm could be heard from her whisper.
"Is that why you wore the dress?" Will asked. "To fit in?"
"No. I dressed up because I'm meeting someone."
"So that's why we're here. Meeting someone to talk about business, I suppose?" Will asked but he was not answered. Two French men were walking down the street and were about to meet them. They were dressed richly with enough gold around their necks to weigh down a person's head. Somehow, the two were able to keep their heads up, though it seemed like they were overcompensating. With their noses in the air, they laughed about another one of their petty jokes.
"Get in front of me," Anna Marie whispered as she took a stepped behind him.
"What?"
"Get in front of me. Pretend that I am your slave," she whispered. "Say bonjour."
"What?"
"Bonjour, monsieur," one of the men said.
"Bonjour," Will repeated, still not understanding what was going on.
The other man whistled as he caught sight of Anna Marie. "Voir un beaux bete." The men laughed. "Touchez la jambe. Ooh la la." A string of more French words and stuck-up chuckles came as he pinched Anna Marie and brought her closer to him. Her instinct would have been to hit him but she was submissive instead, never giving a clue to the thoughts of revolt she was discussing with Will earlier.
"Take your hands off her," Will said once one of the men had wrapped an arm around her waist. Will took Anna Marie's arm and pulled her behind him. "Don't you know how to treat a lady?"
"Oh, zis iz one of de English men," the man with red hair guffawed. "Are you color blind, monsieur or do you fancy ze beast?"
"Enough, we had our fun. Let him do what he wants with his slave. Are you drunk are do you forget zat ze English are possessive?" the other said. The red-haired man bowed to Will and went off with his friend.
Once the men were gone, Anna Marie kept walking as if nothing happened. Will didn't know what to say so he silently followed.
"Thank you," Anna Marie said. "I didn't think ye would be so useful."
"How could they treat you like that?" Will asked, aghast at the experience.
"The only blacks here are slaves. Now ye know why we want to revolt." She stopped and played with her shoes. "These things are killing me. Walking all this way in these shoes. What was I thinking?" Will didn't say anything. "I'm surprised ye called me a lady."
"I am not like them. I do not think you should be treated like that and I take offense if you thought I would," Will defended.
"Ye don't have to think like them to act like them." She explained herself. "Last time I saw ye, ye were obsessed with Elizabeth. Now, I haven't heard a word about her. Now, ye are actually paying attention to other women."
"I love Elizabeth," Will said, still defensive. "Besides, you didn't act like much of a lady while I knew you."
She stopped in the middle of the road and looked Will in the eye. "But I am now."
"Yeah, I noticed." His voice was heavy. He had never realized how beautiful she could be. He wondered at the relationship he had with Elizabeth before coming back to the woman in front of him and wondering at the type of relationship that could develop here. That was the problem with falling for the first love so hard, you couldn't get back up. You would never know anything else. Unless.
Anna Marie recognized the look in Will's eyes, hunger. She had seen it in eyes of other colors before. She had mistaken it once but now she knew it and usually took advantage of that. But what about now? There was nothing to get out of it. Unless there was something more than she had ever gotten before that she would get from Will. He leaned into her. and she backed up. She looked down, speaking to the ground. "You don't even know me." She was obviously not ready, Will thought while Anna Marie thought, I am not ready for anything deep.
She turned from Will and kept walking ahead. They had stopped in front of a mansion at the end of the road. Anna Marie was walking across the lawn as if she owned it though she walked that way no matter where she was walking.
A little boy was running across the lawn coming from the garden in front of the mansion. He ran into Anna Marie's arms and she picked him up and twirled him around. The sun was setting, casting a red hue on them. She was beautiful when she smiled.
She kissed him on the cheek and then propped him on her hip. He must have been only 4 years old and yet Will could still see a sibling resemblance in him to Anna Marie. The boy was talking without a period in between his thoughts. He pointed this way and that, accenting his thoughts. When the boy was just finishing his recap of all that happened while she was gone, Anna Marie brought him to Will, still in her arms. Will prepared to be introduced to Anna Marie's brother and straightened his posture.
Her face was again serious, as if their conversation had not been interrupted. The boy suddenly became silent. He then turned to Anna Marie. "Ma, who's this?"
Anna Marie looked at Will. "This is Will, Armande. Will,. this is my son."
"Shhh." Anna Marie looked nervously around. "I can't believe ye would mention it out in the open. What is wrong with ye?" she hissed. She stepped closer to him and slowed her pace, whispering. "They were slaves that I had to buy. I knew they wanted to revolt from . a source. This idea has been growing for awhile. It is now that we are going to act."
"But why would the slaves want to revolt? Why would you want to revolt?" Will asked.
"Say it a couple a more times, I don't think everyone heard you!" She took another look around. "Some people do not want to spend their lives serving others." Will thought about it and saw it could be taken in more than one way, especially when he thought about staying with Elizabeth. Was he staying with her for her? "And I think it's about time we had our own country."
Will said nothing. What could he have said? Nah, why would an entire people need a country? It just wasn't his place. So, he decided to change the subject. "I guess this is why you asked me to come with you," he said, looking around at the alley. Criminals could creep out of the cracks and no one would be able to help.
"Don't act so macho. I invited you in case I came across some people that might get suspicious with someone like me walking alone in such a nice place." Sarcasm could be heard from her whisper.
"Is that why you wore the dress?" Will asked. "To fit in?"
"No. I dressed up because I'm meeting someone."
"So that's why we're here. Meeting someone to talk about business, I suppose?" Will asked but he was not answered. Two French men were walking down the street and were about to meet them. They were dressed richly with enough gold around their necks to weigh down a person's head. Somehow, the two were able to keep their heads up, though it seemed like they were overcompensating. With their noses in the air, they laughed about another one of their petty jokes.
"Get in front of me," Anna Marie whispered as she took a stepped behind him.
"What?"
"Get in front of me. Pretend that I am your slave," she whispered. "Say bonjour."
"What?"
"Bonjour, monsieur," one of the men said.
"Bonjour," Will repeated, still not understanding what was going on.
The other man whistled as he caught sight of Anna Marie. "Voir un beaux bete." The men laughed. "Touchez la jambe. Ooh la la." A string of more French words and stuck-up chuckles came as he pinched Anna Marie and brought her closer to him. Her instinct would have been to hit him but she was submissive instead, never giving a clue to the thoughts of revolt she was discussing with Will earlier.
"Take your hands off her," Will said once one of the men had wrapped an arm around her waist. Will took Anna Marie's arm and pulled her behind him. "Don't you know how to treat a lady?"
"Oh, zis iz one of de English men," the man with red hair guffawed. "Are you color blind, monsieur or do you fancy ze beast?"
"Enough, we had our fun. Let him do what he wants with his slave. Are you drunk are do you forget zat ze English are possessive?" the other said. The red-haired man bowed to Will and went off with his friend.
Once the men were gone, Anna Marie kept walking as if nothing happened. Will didn't know what to say so he silently followed.
"Thank you," Anna Marie said. "I didn't think ye would be so useful."
"How could they treat you like that?" Will asked, aghast at the experience.
"The only blacks here are slaves. Now ye know why we want to revolt." She stopped and played with her shoes. "These things are killing me. Walking all this way in these shoes. What was I thinking?" Will didn't say anything. "I'm surprised ye called me a lady."
"I am not like them. I do not think you should be treated like that and I take offense if you thought I would," Will defended.
"Ye don't have to think like them to act like them." She explained herself. "Last time I saw ye, ye were obsessed with Elizabeth. Now, I haven't heard a word about her. Now, ye are actually paying attention to other women."
"I love Elizabeth," Will said, still defensive. "Besides, you didn't act like much of a lady while I knew you."
She stopped in the middle of the road and looked Will in the eye. "But I am now."
"Yeah, I noticed." His voice was heavy. He had never realized how beautiful she could be. He wondered at the relationship he had with Elizabeth before coming back to the woman in front of him and wondering at the type of relationship that could develop here. That was the problem with falling for the first love so hard, you couldn't get back up. You would never know anything else. Unless.
Anna Marie recognized the look in Will's eyes, hunger. She had seen it in eyes of other colors before. She had mistaken it once but now she knew it and usually took advantage of that. But what about now? There was nothing to get out of it. Unless there was something more than she had ever gotten before that she would get from Will. He leaned into her. and she backed up. She looked down, speaking to the ground. "You don't even know me." She was obviously not ready, Will thought while Anna Marie thought, I am not ready for anything deep.
She turned from Will and kept walking ahead. They had stopped in front of a mansion at the end of the road. Anna Marie was walking across the lawn as if she owned it though she walked that way no matter where she was walking.
A little boy was running across the lawn coming from the garden in front of the mansion. He ran into Anna Marie's arms and she picked him up and twirled him around. The sun was setting, casting a red hue on them. She was beautiful when she smiled.
She kissed him on the cheek and then propped him on her hip. He must have been only 4 years old and yet Will could still see a sibling resemblance in him to Anna Marie. The boy was talking without a period in between his thoughts. He pointed this way and that, accenting his thoughts. When the boy was just finishing his recap of all that happened while she was gone, Anna Marie brought him to Will, still in her arms. Will prepared to be introduced to Anna Marie's brother and straightened his posture.
Her face was again serious, as if their conversation had not been interrupted. The boy suddenly became silent. He then turned to Anna Marie. "Ma, who's this?"
Anna Marie looked at Will. "This is Will, Armande. Will,. this is my son."