Each month I will give you parts of my books published and unpublished. Newsletter subscribers will receive the completed chapter. This is only a portion of it. ____________________________________________ This is copyrighted material. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information browsing, storage, or retrieval system, without permission in writing to Carla Reighard. Months after the war had ended, Gerard found a new normal in the small village where he and Leo boarded. The Americans had finally won their revolution, and the British had been forced out of the colonies, so it was a time of peace and reconstruction. Secretly, Spain had also helped in the war efforts; they now controlled the Louisiana territory. Their motive for helping the Americans was to weaken the British on two warfronts so they could easily take Florida from the British—it worked.
After getting comfortable in their new lives, Gerard and Leo decided to move to Louisiana rather than return to France. Both of them needed a different life and a fresh perspective. Going back to France would be more of a hardship than a joy. Yes, they would miss their families, but they weren’t the same boys they were when they had left. They were men now, and their families would expect them to pick up where they had left off. They couldn’t. Pretending to be the boys they no longer were would only create more stress than either Leo or Gerard wanted to face. The Louisiana territory had been under French control in the past, and it was a mixture of French, Spanish, Creole, and other cultures. Gerard felt it was a place where he could find a way to fit in and adapt easily. The King of France was so pleased with what Gerard had done for France’s reputation that he gave Gerard an overly generous bonus for his service in the French army. Gerard sent some of the money to his father in France to pay off the family debts, but he kept some to begin his new American life. While looking for the perfect career opportunity, Gerard hung out at The Swan daily. It benefited him to forget his sorrows, and in addition, his drinks were always paid for by those who admired his courage in the war. Stories about his heroic deeds began to be blown out of proportion. Rather than deny the praise, Gerard began to soak it up and believe every word. Leo became his shadow; he bent over backwards to help Gerard feel like a king whenever he was around others in the tavern. Leo took longer to learn English than Gerard had, but there were always people who spoke French who could interpret what Leo had said so Gerard didn’t have to be the only one to talk about his own exploits. “Gerard killed fifty British soldiers with only his knife in less than an hour. It was the most spectacular thing I’d ever seen. He didn’t even break a sweat,” Leo exaggerated to the men who surrounded them, all eager for battle stories. Gerard pushed thoughts of Elayne so far from his mind that the lies dripped easily from his tongue. “Leo is right, but he left out the part about how many colonial girls swooned over my bravery. I could have taken one of the wenches as my wife if I had wanted to.” Gerard smiled with a full set of white teeth exposed. “But why be tied down by one woman for the rest of my life when there are so many to experience first?” He then laughed while all the other men cheered over his comment. Laughter forced his true emotions far away from the surface. The barmaids fought over who would keep Gerard’s mug full and batted their lashes at him every time he was near. He noticed how they bickered over serving him, so he commented, “Ladies, don’t argue over me. I can drink all the ale you want to bring me—keep it coming.” He winked and the girls giggled as if they were being given a rare treat. “I don’t know how you do it. Every single woman in town wants you, and you manage to keep them wanting more without making a commitment. I have one girl who notices me and she gave me an ultimatum that I need to marry her or lose her,” Leo sighed. “Are you going to marry her?” Gerard asked “I suppose so. She’s kind and willing to love me despite my missing leg.” “I promised myself I wouldn’t get tied down to anyone. I have so many women willing to compliment me without needing to give anything in return. I don’t have the energy left to care for anyone but you, Leo. Why would I want to settle for one woman? Besides, I wouldn’t want to rob the others of a chance at flattering me. If I was married, they would have to stop trying. And after all, I deserve this.” “They’ll be writing songs about you someday. Singing about how no one is as great as Gerard.” While Leo continued to boost Gerard’s ego, an unfamiliar barmaid walked by the two men. She was picking up the empty mugs and pushing forsaken chairs back under the table. She acted as if Gerard was invisible and paid him no mind. She had a book that was sticking out of her apron pocket; the title, The Scorned Fairy, caught Gerard’s attention. He grabbed the book. “Is this any good?” “Give that back! You had no right to take it!” “Settle down; you’re lucky I’m showing you any attention. You seem to not know who I am.” Gerard puffed up his muscular chest a little more. “Unfortunately, I know exactly who you are. The other girls talk about you like you’re some kind of god. Believe me, you’re nothing like the hero in this book.” Gerard wasn’t discouraged by the young woman’s dismissal. He paged through the tome in search of a description of her fictional hero. She tried to grab it from him, but he held it out of her reach. She jumped up in another attempt at retrieving her book, but failed. Gerard laughed at her and she scowled at him. “I’ll give you your book back, if you let me know your name.” _____________________________________________________ To read the complete book it is available for purchase here: Gerard
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Carla Reighard Archives
December 2023
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