Tuesday Tales: From the Word STRONG

Good day. For many, this is an important week with Easter and Passover on the weekend.  May this special time of year bring you joy and happiness.

Welcome back to Tuesday Tales, the blog hop where I share a bit from a work in progress with you. Today’s word was STRONG, but I’m using the variation, STRONGLY as I continue with The Price of Courage.

Enjoy!

Isabelle smiled and sipped her tea. “You’ve become quite the gardener. Maman told me Bernard planted oats, wheat, rye, and flax as well as hemp out in the common. Wherever did you put it? Are you planning to sell animal fodder as well?”

Sophie chuckled. “ Maybe not animal food, but I will weave my hemp to trade for thread.”

“Guy has several acres planted in hemp as well, but I hear Claude de Boutroue D’Aubigny, the new intendant, is considering lifting the hemp monopoly. Guy was saying he may not be staying long though. He doesn’t like it here, but if Talon returns as he planned…”

“Whether he lifts it or not won’t really matter. The fabric is excellent for all matter of things and far cooler in summer than wool. It’s ideal for children’s clothing. Besides, I have lots of planting place. I owned four lots which entitles me to substantial space on the common and since Henri purchased the last lot on the street, we have five parcels of land. I intend to grow a different crop on each. If we have extra, we’ll sell it, but we hope to make the auberge as self-sufficient as possible. Of course, I couldn’t manage without Henri and Tante Aline, but since we share the profits equally, what’s good for me is good for them, too.

Isabelle stood and stretched her back.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” Sophie asked, frowning.

Isabelle shook her head. “Well enough, but I’m always restless when Guy isn’t by my side. The babe was particularly active last night.”

Sophie sighed. “I envy you. How wonderful it must be to feel life growing inside you. I was afraid of the idea of becoming a mother, but watching Michel and Murielle, the orphans Henri and Tante Aline adopted, seems to have changed my mind. They were barely a year old when they got them, now, they’ve gotten so big.”

“Yes, the twins are adorable,” Isabelle agreed. “Sister Pauline says that it’s hard to place children who are of mixed race, but it shouldn’t matter. They’ll be raised in a good Catholic family with all the advantages Henri and Maman can give them. And once my child is born, they’ll have a playmate. Where are they?”

“Having their baths with Elise. They love the water and the girl dotes on them. She’ll put them down for a nap before she starts on the laundry. It’s amazing how well the milkweed with peat moss or grasses in the animal skins absorbs the child’s waste and are so easily disposed of—so much better than the linen napkins we use in France. In a few weeks, Claire will help her train them. Have you decided what you’ll do?”

Isabelle nodded. “The natives have been collecting milkweed and moss ever since the fall and curing it. Since Guy insists I have help, I’ve chosen a young mother with a two-month old to help me. Her husband is a coureurs de bois, one of the men Talon recruited last summer. She and her daughter live with us.” Isabelle grabbed her belly. “Oh.”

“What’s wrong?” Sophie cried.

“Nothing,” Isabelle answered. “He caught me by surprise. Come. Put your hand here. Feel how strongly he kicks.”

Sophie reached out her hand and started.

“Is that his foot?” she asked, filled with awe.

That’s it for this week! Don’t forget to check out all the other posts on  Tuesday Tales.