Henri perked up with the biggest grin on his face. "Gilbert!"
He flung himself into Lafayette's arms. Lafayette laughed and hugged the boy back.
"Well I'm happy to see you too, Henri." "Hello, Marquis," Moses greeted. "It's nice to see you my friend. What brings you here today?"
"I'm here to ask Dr. Franklin a favor. Is he here?"
"Sorry, but Dr. Franklin is in France right now. He'll be coming back soon, though."
Henri noticed a young black girl stood clutching to Lafayette's side.
"And who is this young fille Beside you?" He walked toward the little girl but she hid further behind Lafayette.
"Well, She is the reason that I'm here today. This is Charlotte Marie Francine Dubois Auclair, my newly adopted daughter. I want to ask if she could stay with you all while I'm at war."
Sarah beamed,
"Yes! Of course she can. Why, she's absolutely adorable." She went over to Charlotte but the little girl hid further behind her father.
Henri couldn't help but see that Charlotte had a deeply sad look on her face.
"Gilbert, why is Charlotte so sad?"
"That is something unfortunate that I have to tell. You see, Charlotte and her parents came to America with me on my ship. They settled here in the Colonies for a new and hopeful life. But just recently,her parents had passed away from Scarlett fever. I went to visit them but found my dear friend and his wife lifeless, and poor Charlotte barely alive, and I took her with me and took care of her until she was well. From then, she became my daughter"
Everyone in the room was silent with a deep sadness. "Marquis that is so terrible. Oh, Charlotte, you poor girl."
"Oui. It's truly is heartbreaking." Lafayette caressed Charlotte's head, the little girl's face buried in his stomach.
But no one felt more sadder for Charlotte then Henri; who knew the pain of losing his parents. It was something that he could relate to her.
"It truly is sad, Gilbert. I wish for her to never have to go through that. Isn't there any way that we could make her feel better?"
"I'm not sure, but with all your love and compassion, I'm sure she be feeling more better than no time."
Lafayette kneeled in front of Charlotte.
"I want you to be good with these folks. Don't go doing your daring stunts, either. Je 't aime Mon dox angel."
"Oui, uncle Gilbert," Charlotte answered with a small yet sweet French voice.
Lafayette kissed Charlotte's forehead, making her smile slightly. Henri already loved the bond they had with each other. He always wished to have Lafayette as his father.
"Well, I must be going now. Au revoir , my dear folks. Make sure my daughter well took care of."
Before opening the door to head out, Lafayette took one last sad glance at Charlotte, feeling terrible for her loss, and walked out the door. It was silent for a moment, with Charlotte looking at the door as if she longed to her father to come back. Tears began to fill her eyes and a tear slid down her cheek.
Moses walked over to try to sooth the little girl.
"Hey, you're going to be all right, Charlotte. We'll take good care of you see and we'll be right here for you-"
Charlotte then burst into tears, running upstairs crying.
Everyone felt horrible for the little girl.
"Oh, Poor girl", Sarah said.
"Yeah, it really is unfortunate," James added, remembering the loss of his parents.
"Charlotte!" Henri was about to go after her when James laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Just leave Charlotte alone for now, Henri. I know you want to cheer her up, but we just have to give her some time."
"Okay," Henri answer, not believing his advice. "I'm not feeling hungry anymore." His sadness for Charlotte made him feel so bad that he lost his appetite.