CHAPTER 42 - General's story
- Do you know what my father wants to talk to us about? - Oscar looked at Andre suspiciously - What exactly did he tell you a few days ago, when you went to his office?
- We talked a bit about breeding in Etretat, Oscar - Andre tried not to lie - And about your father's idea that I think he wants to introduce to us today.
- What idea? - the woman was surprised - You are hiding something from me, Andre, I can feel it clearly!
- Can you wait a second longer, cherie? I'm sure you'll find out everything in a moment.
Oscar looked at him again with a great deal of suspicion and knocked on her father's office. She was concerned and did not know what to expect. Had her father discovered the truth about her relationship with Andre? If so, what would happen now?
- Oh, you are finally here! - the general said with a smile as they entered - Please sit here in front of me - he showed them the prepared chairs.
- What is it, Father? - Oscar asked in a slightly nervous voice.
- I see Andre didn't tell you anything - replied the general - That's very good. Better if you hear it from me.
Oscar cast a furious glare at Andre and he looked down. He knew very well that Oscar would be angry with him later.
- Oscar, the situation is serious - the general began to say - Last week someone organized a subtle assassination attempt on your life. If it hadn't been for Andre's presence, you probably wouldn't have survived it - he looked at the man with gratitude - Almost exactly two years ago, someone set up an ambush in which you also almost died. I'm sure the same person is behind it. I even suspect who it is.
- Do you suspect who this is? - Oscar was surprised - But how?
- It is no coincidence that I am a general here, Oscar - her father replied matter-of-factly - However, the result..
- I also suspect who it is, Father - Oscar interrupted him - So you don't have to say anything else. Even you can't go against Prince.
The general nodded.
- So you understand well yourself that if we cannot eliminate the person who threatens your life.. - the general continued - then the matter should be solved in a completely different way. I see only one solution - he broke off, then finished in a firm voice - I wish you would leave the Royal Guards, Oscar.
The woman flinched and stared at him with wide eyes.
- What are you talking about, Father? - she whispered, terrified - Why would I do that?
- It's simple - the general said - That's the only way I can protect you. If you remain in the Guards, you will be in constant danger. I'm sure this man will keep trying. And I.. And I don't want to lose you, Oscar - the old man's voice trembled a bit.
- Father.. - Oscar began to say, but he silenced her with a movement of his hand.
- Don't say anything, just listen to me. I know it's hard for you, just like for me. I've always been so proud of your career as a soldier, of what you've achieved. But your life.. is more important to me than pride, Oscar - said the man in a sincere voice - I'd rather you leave the Guards than lose you.
- Father, your proposal is very unexpected - she began to say, her voice tight with emotion - I'd like to think it over.
- You'll have all the time you want, Oscar - replied the general - But I must add something else. I am too old and I have seen too much in my life to suppose that just leaving the Guards is enough. The man who put so much effort into trying to eliminate you will not let go just because you will no longer be the commander. So I think you should get out of here, disappear, Oscar. Of course, maybe that won't help either, but we must try to do our best. And that will be the role of Andre - he said calmly.
- I do not understand anything, Father - Oscar was surprised - Disappear? But where should I go?
- It's easy. Firstly, to get out of sight. Secondly, to stop yourself being any threat in the eyes of these people – the father looked at her carefully - And here begins the hardest part of my proposal. I would like you to leave this house and live in Etretat. And to get married.
Oscar gave her father a horrified look, then looked at Andre, in whose gaze she found the same fear and doubt. Leaving the Guards was nothing compared to the prospect of marrying a stranger and living with him in Etretat, right next to Andre.
Andre felt as if someone had punched him in the face. That's why the general didn't tell him the details of his plan right away. It would be obvious that Andre would never agree to be involved in something like this. Hence the questions about his feelings for Oscar! The general just wanted to use his feelings against her. Andre clenched his hands into fists and slowly rose from his chair. He stared furiously at the general's face and was about to say something but the other was faster.
- Sit down, Andre - he said gently, and something in his voice made it impossible to refuse him - Before you get mad at me, I'd like you to hear my story first. I want to warn you right away that what I'll say may seem completely unbelievable to you, and you will probably think that I am crazy. However, I ask you to listen to the end.
Andre nodded and sat back down in his seat. He cast a quick glance at Oscar, but she was looking at her father with an expression of utter amazement.
- It all started many, many years ago - the general said - I had a dream one night. In this dream, I met a woman who introduced herself as Oscar.
...
Oscar begins to cough and it darkens before her eyes. As if through a haze, she sees a figure approaching. The familiar, powerful silhouette of a man is more and more visible. Help me please..
- Who are you?
Coughing takes her breath away.
- Who are you? - the man repeats, and leans over her to help her get up.
- Father? Father, is that you? - Oscar can't understand how it could have happened. After all, her father can't be here.
- You must have been wrong, Mademoiselle - replies the man - I cannot be your father.
Oscar stares at him with wide eyes.
- Father, don't you recognize me? - she whispers - It's me, Oscar!
- Oscar? - the man's eyes widen with surprise - You can't be Oscar! My daughter Oscar is a little girl, she is only seven years old!
...
- At first I did not believe her - said the general sadly - Because who would believe in such a thing, right? The second night she came to see me again. So I decided that through this dream my mind was trying to tell me something important.
- But it wasn't just an ordinary dream, was it, Father? - Oscar whispered, feeling her heart rise to her throat. She remembered well the touch of the rough stone under her fingers and the taste of blood in her mouth.
The general shook his head.
- It's true, it was not - he replied seriously - That woman.. that Oscar.. told me her story then and asked only for one thing.
- What story? And what did she ask you for, Father? - Oscar asked. This part of his story never appeared in her own dreams.
- She told me about her great love for a man who was her childhood friend, her faithful companion and protector. About a person who loved her all his life and whose love she did not notice until it was too late. About a love story that only lasted a day. About how his heart was shattered by a bullet and that just a few hours earlier she had to say goodbye to him forever. This man's..
- ..name was Andre - Oscar finished, fighting the panic that flooded her heart.
- Yes - the general confirmed, looking at them both intensely.
Andre looked first at the general, then at Oscar, not understanding anything. Why did he feel as if the two understood each other almost wordlessly? What did it all mean?
- That Oscar - the general continued - she begged me, crying, to promise her one thing. She asked me to refuse to take a little orphaned boy under my roof. And that I should never, ever let that boy meet my daughter Oscar. I was surprised at her request and didn't know what it was, at least then. The dream didn't come back, but Marie Glance came over a week later.
Andre started and looked up to meet the general's eyes staring at him sadly.
- Marie asked me to let her adopt and raise her grandson, whose parents both died during the smallpox epidemic. The boy was eight years old and his name was Andre.. - the general broke off and hid his face in his hands - Can you imagine how I felt? - he asked in a broken voice - How confused I was? What should be just a dream turned out to be unexpectedly a reality. Maybe I should agree then, let Marie take you here, Andre.. I made her hurt by refusing. But I just couldn't do otherwise. Since then.. I have been doing my best for you to not meet each other. I didn't let Marie invite you here, Andre, she could only visit you in Normandy. When you grew up, I couldn't forbid you to come to Paris anymore, but I organized it so that you and Oscar always passed each other. And for many years it has been successful. And finally I lost my vigilance. One day Oscar told me she wanted to spend her vacation in Normandy and I was terrified. I didn't know then that you two met before. At first I did not notice your intimacy, and I congratulated myself on avoiding the danger. Then Andre left for America, and I started dreaming again about that Oscar. When the rumors of Andre's death came, she appeared in my dreams despairing and cursing me. She was also furious with herself for not having been able to deceive..
- ..fate - whispered Oscar.
- Yes. How do you know that's what she said, Oscar? - the general looked at her with glittering eyes.
- I heard her voice one day.. - she said quietly.
The general nodded and smiled understandingly.
- So you believe me, don't you? - he asked hopefully.
- Yes, Father - she confirmed without hesitating. - I'm sure you're telling the truth. While this truth is shocking and completely inexplicable, what you are telling me fits so perfectly into my own dreams that I have no reason not to believe you.
- I'm so glad - the general sighed with relief.
Andre was sitting in his chair, completely stunned and not saying a word. Everything the general told him was so improbable that he did not know what to make of it. Why did the general's secret dream many years ago have such a great influence on his own past? Where did the woman, whose story had almost separated him and Oscar, in the general's dreams come from? Why did Oscar and her father seem to take it all so seriously? It had any sense at all! Andre looked at them both in shock. The general saw his gaze and smiled reassuringly.
- I see Andre, however, you are not convinced about my story.. our story.. - pointed at Oscar - Besides, I'm not surprised at all. If I had heard something like that, I would have thought someone made it up or was crazy. For now, however, you have to accept that we, Oscar and I, aren't crazy and try to believe us. Especially since the whole thing would affect not only your past but also, hopefully, your future.
- I don't understand, sir - Andre said very quietly - I don't understand what's going on here.
- Let's hear my father completely, Andre - Oscar asked.
He looked at her and nodded.
- Oscar from my dream - the general began to tell again - she also told me one thing that upset me very much. She told me about a father who wanted to kill his own child only because he thought she, by her decisions, had stained the honor of the family. I had a lot of time to think about it, maybe more than that father.. than I.. had in this other reality - he said painfully - And I don't agree with what he tried.. I.. tried to do then. I am deeply convinced that the life of my child, my beloved daughter, is much more important than my pride or the honor of my family. Your life and happiness, Oscar, are the most important to me - he said, looking at her intensely - That is why I made one of the most difficult and at the same time the easiest decisions in my life. I decided to let you go - he said, his voice trembling - If you want it too, you are free, Oscar..
- Father - the woman groaned - What do you mean by that? I am free after all! The the life I lead, I chose it myself! You never made me do anything, those were my own decisions.
- That's not true, Oscar - the general shook his head sadly - If I had made a completely different decision after your birth, if I had raised you like a daughter, the woman you have always been and are, your life would be completely different now. And I want to try to make it up to you, Oscar. I want you to be able to live your life according to your nature. I want you to be able to realize yourself as a wife. Have children. Don't you want it too, Oscar?
- Father.. - she began cautiously. How was she going to explain it to him? That being married to a man other than Andre would not be freedom for her, but a bondage. That she would rather be unmarried forever, but be close to him. Could she say such words to her father?
- You hesitate and I understand it - said the general - But you forget that I know all the secrets - he smiled - And I want to ask you exactly the same question that I asked Andre recently. Do you love him? Do you love Andre, Oscar?
Oscar cast a frightened glance at Andre. He was looking at her now with an expression of absolute certainty. He nodded gently, motioning for her to speak honestly. They both shouldn't be hiding anything anymore.
- I know we have no right to love each other, Father - she said firmly - But apparently this love was meant for us, and whatever we do, or anyone else, we would still love each other. Yes, Father, I love him - she added unhesitatingly.
- So it's all clear - the general sighed with relief - I told you earlier that I want Andre to look after you and protect you. I also said that I want you to get married. In light of your confessions, I have no doubt that this is the best option for you. I would like you to get married together! - concluded Oscar's father cheerfully and completely without hesitation.