Gaudet seemed stunned by my honesty. And for the first time that day, he was the one who was speechless.
Sensing his sudden lack of ease, I continued without restraint. “I realize you must find my manner and words extremely forthright, even a bit impertinent. But I have always been afflicted with bold speech. It has more than once gotten me into trouble but it is not something I find easy to contain. In my family, speaking your mind is encouraged. My grandmother insists on it.”
Gaudet looked at his brother, then Benjamin. He suddenly burst into a laughter that could be heard as far away as the fort.
“Your grandmother insists on it, does she?” He continued to laugh so uproariously that I thought he might collapse from apoplexy.
Benjamin and I returned home that day, not having resolved the dilemma I had found myself in. But there would be another day. Bernard Gaudet was without a doubt aware that I had put a stake in the ground where his daughter was concerned.
Chapter 9
Days passed with mere pleasantries at the work site. But ominous murmurs from the fort changed all that. Lieutenant-Governor Armstrong was on a sacred mission to have the entire colony take the unqualified oath. Mangeant’s willingness to take the oath of allegiance without qualification only encouraged Armstrong in his quest. The royal favourite, as he was called by those at the garrison, was getting under everyone’s skin. It was then that Bernard Gaudet began to rant.
“I don’t know why I did not relocate to Île Royale years ago. Denys and I had the opportunity to move to Louisbourg. We could have had a good life there. At least we would have been saved from this continuous oath business. And that demon Armstrong, he could unsettle the patience of a saint, mon Dieu!”
“Hold your tongue, brother!” Denys cautioned. “We do not need trouble. The walls of the buildings in this town have ears. You made your choice to return to Annapolis years ago. Remember, we still have the advantage of distance from the fort. Gaudet Village is our refuge. Life is wonderful there. Continue to work and keep your opinions to yourself!”
Later, I asked Gaudet about Louisbourg.
“Monsieur, you visited Île Royale?”
By this time, he had calmed himself sufficiently and was able to manage a civil answer to my question.
“We not only visited, we lived there for close to two years. Our departure to Île Royale is a fascinating story.” His enthusiasm for storytelling seemed to return. “Thinking we might move to Louisbourg, we decided to visit there and investigate the land and the people’s life. We had heard that a group of Acadians from Annapolis had travelled to Île Royale to make an official investigation for those who might wish to migrate. We were not authorized to join the group, but we obtained a passport to fish in the bay as a pretext for joining the delegation. Denys and I hid our fishing boat at St. Croix and boarded the ship and sailed to Port Toulouse, where we spent a short time. Then we continued on to Louisbourg.”
I was captivated.
“To our great good fortune, our building skills were much prized in the French colony. We practised our beam construction on the governor’s house at Louisbourg, can you believe it, and on many other homes of important Frenchmen there. The building trade kept us busy and it became quite profitable. However, the land beneath our feet was made of solid rock. One could walk on the water, there were so many fish in the sea, but the land was barren. And the fogs were so thick you could barely see the sea or the land for days on end. As for farming, such an enterprise was impossible. You could plant nothing but turnip and cabbage. We considered ourselves builders, but more importantly we saw ourselves as keepers of the land, much as our ancestors had at Port Royal and in France. A man has no soul if he is not tilling the soil or rescuing the salt marshes from the sea. This is what makes one an Acadian. His dikes and his fertile soil mean everything to him!
“So we returned home after two years abroad. Our boat was still safely hidden at St. Croix.” He began to laugh. “I am not certain anyone at the fort noticed our long absence. Perhaps those who granted us our passports thought it was a particularly long fishing expedition!”
We all began to laugh. The company was merry. I liked Bernard Gaudet — exceedingly!
Chapter 10
The business of the oath began to heat up to such a degree at Annapolis that most of the men at René’s building site agreed it would be prudent to escape the flames flickering around them. Gaudet declared he was leaving Annapolis and was returning home to Gaudet Village.
“My friends, it is time to leave here before we are forced to do what we know we cannot possibly do. And you all know what that is. I was wondering, young Belliveau, whether we might impose on your brother Charles to transport us home in his chaloupe. We have no vessels, since ours returned home when our families sailed upriver after your grandmother’s birthday celebration. Perhaps you could stay on at my home as a guest. It is summer, and life in the upper river is especially pleasant at this time of year. And there are many amusements which you might find attractive.”
Gaudet was giving me his blessing to court his daughter Jeanne. It was an invitation I could not refuse.
A short time later the mood was altered by the sound of approaching soldiers. They appeared in the lower town, led by the lieutenant-governor himself, who was, in turn, accompanied by the royal favourite, Mangeant, and Major Cosby, chief officer of the military. They carried with them a sense of fear and intimidation as they made their way through the streets of Annapolis to the town square.
Everyone was ordered into the street to hear Armstrong’s proclamation. Mangeant acted as translator, which gave the order an even more sinister tone.
“Be advised that all adult inhabitants of the town and surrounding areas must gather at the church no later than tomorrow at noon to take the oath of allegiance to the newly crowned king of England. Those who fail to do so risk imprisonment in the garrison jail. Members of the Acadian Council are still in custody there as an example to the rest of the community.”
The tone in Mangeant’s voice matched the vehemence in Armstrong’s. The royal favourite appeared to enjoy his superior status in the square.
Soon after the regiment returned to the fort, I volunteered to go to Charles at the shipyard to arrange a hasty departure. Charles was already aware of the proclamation and quickly agreed to my request to leave for Gaudet Village. I believe he was as relieved as the rest of us to have an excuse to get as far away from Annapolis as possible, if only for a short time. We Acadians had cultivated a variety of escape routes to avoid the will of the lieutenant-governor.
Our exit went unnoticed. Although we evacuated the building site with great speed, no one in the fort could have suspected our destination. Charles carried passengers to and from Melanson Village daily, so our departure caused no suspicion. We were fortunate in our timing. The direction of the tide was in our favour. Not only did we have the advantage of a southwest wind, but the river was approaching its high tide. Charles would be able to drift downstream with the tide when he sailed home.
Our journey up the Annapolis River was a revelation to me. Along the way the rich grain fields danced in the breezes and filled our sails with the warmth and energy of late summer. The river meandered through the verdant valley protected by the North Mountain on its left side and the South Mountain on its right. This protection created a natural haven for growing and grazing. We sailed by Belle Isle and Paradise, apt names for both communities. The further we floated upstream, the freer I felt. Nearing Gaudet Village I was seized by a sense of peace I had not experienced since my winters at Grand Pré with Uncle Pierre and Isabelle — and by a new awareness of the path I was to take on my life’s journey.
As Charles’s chaloupe approached the shore at Gaudet