A Sitting in St. James by Rita Williams-Garcia

Author:Rita Williams-Garcia [Williams-Garcia, Rita]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780062367297
Google: jSz5DwAAQBAJ
Amazon: 0062367293
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-05-24T23:00:00+00:00

II

EUGÉNIE DUHON HAD TWO AUNTS, AND THE GUILBERTS reckoned with each in one way or another. Both aunts were childless and focused their maternal energy on Eugénie. One aunt couldn’t be confused with the other. Eugénie’s deceased mother’s sister, a countess by marriage, lived a countess’s life in New Orleans. This aunt had suitors lined up from wealthy, well-connected families on both sides of the Atlantic for Eugénie’s societal debut. However, at the tearful behest of her niece, the countess was forced to desist from her networking efforts, although she was equipped to present her niece in grand style.

The older aunt, Eugénie’s father’s aunt and Eugénie’s grandaunt, had been watching over her niece from her early childhood. Aunt Agnes kept the younger, wealthier aunt at bay, and provided Eugénie’s moral and religious education. The grandaunt was devoted to her niece’s chastity and hoped to direct her toward the convent.

Byron intended to do as his grandmother advised. As the engagement was negotiated and understood, it lacked the token to make it official: there was no engagement ring. The token he planned to give Eugénie was not an engagement ring, but it would bespeak the intention of marriage, children, and property. His grandmother had given him instruction on how he was to bestow the ring and the story of the ring’s journey. This would hold Eugénie Duhon’s attention during the two years of Byron’s absence. How could she not want to take her place in the history and triumph of the Bernardin de Maret Dacier Guilbert lineage?

When Byron appeared at the Duhon home without an invitation, Grandaunt Agnes did all she could to turn him away. If not for a house servant, Eugénie would have been unaware of Byron’s arrival at the home. Eugénie rushed to Byron’s aid, much to her aunt’s objections, and took a stroll on the grounds with him. While the young couple strolled, Agnes kept four paces behind, muttering the rosary and issuing warnings, periodically reminding them to keep a cordial distance; “flesh rots to dust; the soul is eternal.”

It wasn’t a good day for a walk, the grounds damp from an earlier rain. Eugénie was likely to ruin the hem of her dress with mud. She didn’t want to stay indoors. She did what she could to cheer up the home, but her father’s health was poor. His doctor said he had a few years to look forward to in his condition, but Agnes prepared the home for what she deemed the somber end.

“Your friend sounds like an interesting fellow,” Eugénie said after hearing stories about Cadet Pearce of Yorktown Heights.

“He isn’t my friend, but my dearest, closest mate. We’ve learned to rely on each other at the Academy,” Byron said. “My letters do the rigors of West Point no justice. I won’t bore you with it, but it’s impossible to succeed at the Academy without true camaraderie.”

“I see.”

“Do you, Eugénie? One day I might put my life in my friend’s hands,” Byron said. “Or any cadet I train with.

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