"What're you doing?" Francis asked from the doorway of the guestroom, watching as their French guest sat at the desk, writing something that seemed to be multiple pages long. Since his arrival, the man had been rather busy, running around the city with his father to meet plenty of his father's friends and make plans to figure out how he'd get into Washington's army.
Lafayette jumped a bit at the sudden little voice that broke him out of his trance. He set a hand and turned over to look at the little boy in the doorway. "Ah, Francis. You frightened me. Venez ici, venez ici." He said, waving the little boy into the room.
Francis nodded and moved to walk over to the young Frenchman he'd quickly started to look up to as a role model, letting the man pick him up and seat him on his lap. "Are you writing something?"
"Yes, I am. It's a letter to my family. Well, just my wife, really. Little Henriette's doesn't know how to read yet, she's just a baby." Lafayette replied to Francis, letting the boy take one of the dried pages and look over his loopy handwriting and all the French words across the page.
Francis seemed to consider the unfamiliar language for a bit. "Will you read some of it to me? Please?"
Lafayette nodded and started to read over Francis's shoulder, holding the little boy close. He didn't mind the boy's frequent requests to hear him speak French, knowing Francis was intrigued by the foreign language and sounds, along with the accent that came out when he attempted to speak English. He read to Francis easily until he noticed that Francis had fallen asleep against his chest.
Lafayette smiled softly and set the papers down, moving to pick up Francis and take him out of the guestroom, meeting Mary in the hallway.
"He really does like you. Do you have any idea how much longer you'll be here?" She asked as they walked to the little boy's nursery together.
"Monsieur Franklin sent word of me to General Washington in Philadelphia. There is to be a dinner with some of the members of the masonic brotherhood where I can meet him in a bit over a week. I will have to leave on Saturday." Lafayette explained to her, moving to set Francis down in his bed, tucking him in with Mary.
"That's only a couple days from now. Do you have everything lined up for your trip?" she replied to him as they got her son settled in for his nap.
"Yes, do not worry. I will go with a few other men from the brotherhood." Lafayette replied to her easily. "They will be here to pick me up around ten in the morning. The trip should take five to six days."
Mary nodded and smiled softly at the young aristocrat. "When were you planning to tell Francis?"
"I thought I would tell him at dinner tonight." Lafayette replied to her as they moved to leave the room together.
"That's probably for the best. I'm not too sure he'll be too happy about it. He's gotten rather attached to you." She replied with a small sigh. "We'll just have to keep an eye out for your name and listen for any mention of you. If you get to work with Washington like you want to, I'm sure we will."
Lafayette nodded and smiled to her gently. "I hope everything goes well. I wonder what General Washington will be like."
"From what I hear, he's a highly respectable man. To meet him at a dinner party will me amazing. You'll have a lovely time." She replied with a small smile to him.
"I do hope so. I just hope I won't be pressured into dancing. I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of the General."
"You don't like dancing?"
"No, I like it. I'm just not that good at it." Lafayette admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "My legs are too long for my brain to control. I'll end up falling on my face in front of General Washington."
"Has something like that happened before?" Mary asked curiously, watching the slight flush rise to the Frenchman's freckled cheeks.
"Yes, at King Louis's coronation. I was dancing with my wife and I tripped over my feet and fell on my face. Marie Antoinette and plenty other people laughed at me and I had to leave early."
Mary listened at the story and moved to rub the young man's back gently to comfort him. "That's unfortunate. I would have been awfully embarrassed, too. My God, I would have left in tears. How long ago was that?"
"It was about two years ago now. I was seventeen at the time. I went home with my wife and she held me the rest of the night." Lafayette replied to her honestly.
"That's sweet of her. You two really love each other, don't you?"
"Yes. She is my everything. She and little Henriette are my two most favorite ladies in the world."
"What's Henriette like?" Mary asked as they walked through the hall absently together while they talked.
"Very small. She is a tiny little thing, but she's only about one year old. She has big green eyes and my curly red hair. I feel sorry for her when she is grown."
"Oh? Why is that?"
"In France, red hair is bad, ugly. Women and men with blonde or brown or black hair are the pretty ones. I hope her skin is as fair as Adrienne's and won't be as spotted as mine."
"Well, I think your freckles suit you. Freckles give a person more character, I think. Fair, perfect porcelain skin is only seen on dolls. It's unattainable." Mary said with a small shake of her head.
Lafayette smiled softly at that, absently touching one of his freckled cheeks. "I think she is a beautiful little girl. She is learning everyday. She hates insects and will get mad at every one of them that she sees. She will say 'Punaise! Allez-vous en!' and wave her hand until the bug leaves." He said, making his voice higher pitched when talking about his daughter's words.
Mary smiled and laughed a bit, listening happily as Lafayette talked about his little family, fumbling with his words and often pausing to find the right English word he was looking for. His English was far from perfect, but he was doing better than he had when he'd arrived at their home. When writing, though, he frequently made spelling errors and his grammar left much to be desired. However, it was always understandable. As someone who was only just starting to really get a grasp on the English language, no one at all expected him to be perfect, especially when English was a lot harder of a language than French was.
"So, tell me, what's France like? It must be beautiful." Mary asked as they headed outside together to take the clothes down from the line and fold them neatly together.
"France is very pretty. There is plenty of art and wine and beautiful land to enjoy. The cities are big and busy and it is easy to find a beautiful woman. I love France like I love America. I pray for France." Lafayette described as he took down one of Mary's petticoats down from the line and folded it up for her.
"You pray for France? Why is that?" She asked, looking over at the young man.
"There is a lot of tension. Plenty of people look to America to see if this country will be able to have a successful revolution. There are rising differences in social and economic levels. Barely any upper class wants to notice it, though, so it's only the lower classes that are starting to make noise." Lafayette replied to her with a small sigh. "I fear for my home, but I agree with the noisy people. We do not need more money. There are plenty who go hungry while the King and Queen have feasts for dinner every night."
Mary looked over at him, noticing the frown on his lips and the slight crease between his eyebrows. She finished folding the shirt in her hands and moved to gently rub his back to relax him. "I'm sure everything will be fine. It might have a few hiccups, but I'm sure all the wrinkles will be smoothed out in no time."
Lafayette looked over at her and smiled softly at the woman, nodding as she rubbed his back and comforted him. "I hope you are right. I want my Henriette to grow up in a good world without tyranny."
"I want the same thing for Francis. That's why I really hope you get into Washington's army. There's a fire in your eyes, Marquis. I can see how determined you are to see this all to the end. You'll make an amazing soldier, just the kind of young man the Continental Army needs." Mary said with a small smile to him, leaning up to kiss the taller man's forehead gently as they finished with the laundry.
Lafayette smiled when the woman kissed him gently and sweetly, remembering all the times his own mother would do the same. He helped her carry the basket of laundry into the large home, more than happy to do the heavy lifting for the people who were letting him stay with them in their home.
When dinner came around, he volunteered to wake Francis up and get him ready to eat.
"Frère Francis, frère Francis, dormez-vous, dormez-vous? Sonnez les matines, sonnez les matines. Ding, dang, dong. Ding, dang, dong." Lafayette sang happily as he walked into Francis's nursery, going over to the bed as the little boy slowly woke up and looked up to him. He happily helped the boy out of the bed. "Come, Francis. Is dinner time. You must wash your hands."
Francis nodded and took Lafayette's hand, walking with him to the bathroom where he let the Frenchman lift him up so he could reach the sink and wash his small hands.
"Now you have to." Francis said with a smile, pushing Lafayette by the backs of his thighs to the sink to wash his own hands. When they were both washed, they walked down to the dining room together to the table that was set for the four of them with the food they'd be having that night.
Lafayette followed Francis to the table easily, sitting down politely with the little family.
"Shall we say Grace?" The major asked, prompting everyone to fold their hands and bow their hands. "Lord in Heaven, we thank you for food on our table that keep our bellies full and our bodies healthy. Please, be with our dear Marquis de Lafayette as he soon starts out on his journey to Philadelphia to join Washington's forces in the fight for America's liberation. In the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."
"Amen" Everyone repeated before looking up and starting in on the food together.
"When are you going to go to Philadelphia?" Francis asked curiously as his mother fixed his plate for him.
"I will have to leave on Saturday morning with some men from the brotherhood." Lafayette replied honestly to the little boy, looking over at Francis as the boy's face dropped visibly.
"Are you gonna come back?" he asked hopefully.
"I don't know. If I am able to join Washington's army, I will go wherever I am commanded. I might come back to visit you, but I don't know for sure." Lafayette replied to him honestly.
Francis frowned at the answer, looking down at his plate of food and away from the Frenchman's face. "But, but…. My birthday is in a month…." He sniffled, not wanting to think about living in a house without the young man talking to him in French and just acting like a big brother to him.
Lafayette set down his silverware and moved to gently rub Francis's back. "I am sorry, mon petit ami. Remind me on Saturday, and I will give you a little gift before I leave, so you will have a little piece of me."
Francis looked over at him once again and sniffled a bit. "Alright. I like gifts."
"Me too." Lafayette replied with a happy grin to the boy, and Francis couldn't help but start to smile in return before they began to eat their dinners together with the family.