Dead With The Wind

CHAPTER 9

“It’s about time you learned who runs this house.” Mireille put her face close to her granddaughter’s. “I say who works and lives here, and no one else.”

Sondra started to speak, but her grandmother cut her off.

“The only thing I want to hear from you is an apology.” Mireille’s cold tone surprised An’gel even further. She had never heard her cousin speak in such fashion. “If you can’t apologize and act in a civilized manner, then you can leave this house yourself. Do you understand me?”

Sondra stepped back, the mark of Mireille’s hand showing red in stark contrast to the pale skin of her face. Her breath came harshly, and she stared wildly at her grandmother. Suddenly she turned and ran, and An’gel heard her going up the stairs.

Mireille, after a moment, turned to regard them coolly. “If you’ll excuse me, I must do something but I’ll be back in a minute.” She walked out of the room.

An’gel and Dickce stared at each other. An’gel found her voice first. “Heavens above, I never thought I’d see the day, but the worm finally turned.”

“I’ll say she did,” Dickce replied. “I guess last night’s little episode really was the final straw.” She walked over to the sideboard and picked up a plate.

An’gel noticed Benjy appeared uncomfortable. She felt suddenly impelled to apologize for her cousin and for bringing him along and subjecting him to these family scenes. She explained this to him, and he gave her an uncertain smile.

“It’s not your fault.” He shrugged. “If you’d like, I guess I could get a plate and take it back to the cottage. I don’t want to be in the way if there’s serious family stuff going down.”

“As far as we’re concerned,” Dickce said, “you are our family, An’gel’s and mine.” She gave an impish grin. “You don’t have to claim the rest of them, though.”

Benjy laughed, and An’gel shot her sister a look of gratitude for lightening the atmosphere.

“I guess we’ll stick around, then,” he said. “Because I am starving.” He looped Peanut’s leash around a chair leg and told him to stay. He put Endora in a chair and told her to stay, and to An’gel’s pleasure, the cat did as she was told.

The three humans filled their plates, and the sisters poured coffee for themselves while Benjy chose orange juice. They sat together at the far end of the dining table to keep the animals out of the way. Peanut whimpered a couple of times, but Benjy responded with firm no’s. Endora curled up placidly in the seat of the chair next to Benjy.

Before they had taken more than a few mouthfuls of their delicious breakfast food, Mireille returned with Jacqueline in tow.

To An’gel’s practiced eye, it appeared that there was tension between mother and daughter. Mireille’s shoulders had a rigid set, and Jacqueline kept darting furious glances at her mother.

Sondra had no doubt gone to her mother to complain about Mireille’s behavior toward her, and An’gel was sure Jacqueline was unhappy over the incident. She hoped they would restrain themselves during breakfast, because she didn’t want to sit through another meal fraught with emotion.

That was not to be, she discovered quickly.

“I can’t believe you are more loyal to Estelle than you are to your own granddaughter.” Jacqueline stood at her mother’s back with fists clenched while Mireille calmly filled her plate with food.

“Frankly I don’t care what you believe.” Mireille used the tongs to pick up a couple of biscuits to add to her choices. She set the tongs down and turned to face her daughter directly. “Sondra will soon be married and out of this house, and I have to think about my needs for once. Sondra couldn’t care less about how any of this affects me, and I am tired of pretending that she cares about anything other than herself. She barely pays attention to her own child, Jacqueline, much less to anyone else.”

The rest of them might as well be invisible, An’gel decided. Mireille behaved as if only she and her daughter were in the room. Jacqueline didn’t appear to care about having an audience either.

“I know she’s selfish, Maman,” Jacqueline said in a weary tone. “She’s been that way since she was a baby. But she does love you, in her own way. She loves me, too, and she adores Tippy.”

“You sound like you’re trying to convince yourself,” Mireille said. “You needn’t waste any efforts on me, however. I’m too old at this point to care any longer, and I have finally decided I don’t give a damn about what Sondra thinks or wants.”

“I suppose you’d like it if Horace and I moved out as well.” Jacqueline plopped down in a chair next to her mother’s seat at the head of the table. “I just don’t understand you. How could you suddenly be so cruel, so unfeeling?”

An’gel watched the scene unfold in horrified fascination. She wondered whether she should interrupt but quickly decided she would do better to keep her mouth shut, at least for the moment. She checked and saw that Dickce and Benjy were staring at their plates and that Endora had climbed into Benjy’s lap. No doubt the cat was unsettled by the rampant tension in the room. She didn’t blame Endora for seeking comfort. She wouldn’t have minded some herself, because it pained her greatly to see her cousin’s family unraveling in so nasty a fashion.

“There is no need for you and Horace to move out.” Mireille ate a bite of her eggs. “If you want to move out, however, I can’t stop you.”

“Maman, how can you be so hurtful?” Jacqueline burst into tears. After a moment she jumped up from her chair and ran out of the room.

Mireille put down her fork and sighed. “I’m sorry you all had to witness that.”

Benjy pushed back his chair. “Mrs. Champlain, ladies, Peanut and Endora need to go outside, if y’all don’t mind. We’ll be back in a little while.”

An’gel nodded, and Dickce said, “Of course.”

Mireille nodded, and when Benjy and the animals were out of the room, she gazed at the sisters with a sad smile.

“Do you think I’m being horrible and hurtful?”

An’gel got up from her place and took the chair Jacqueline had vacated. Dickce moved to sit on the other side of their cousin.

“My dear, I honestly don’t know what to think.” An’gel patted Mireille’s hand, then squeezed it. “I know you’ve had a lot to bear over the years, and it’s no wonder you’re weary of it.”

“You sure have,” Dickce said. “We hate to see you and your family in such a terrible state. Is there anything we can do?”

“Thank you both,” Mireille said. “Your support means a lot. I can’t quite believe myself that I have finally spoken up to say ‘enough is enough.’” She sighed heavily. “I guess I don’t want to spend whatever time I have left dealing with all this drama. Sometimes it’s like living in the middle of a soap opera, and I’m weary from trying to keep things calm and stable around here.”

An’gel felt a mild chill at the words whatever time I have left. Was that simply an expression, or did it have a deeper meaning in Mireille’s case?

She decided she might as well ask. If she didn’t, Dickce would. Her sister was too nosy sometimes.

“Mireille, are there any health problems you haven’t told us about?” she asked.

Mireille gave a faint smile. “My heart isn’t in the best shape, I’m afraid. My doctor says I’m good for a few more years, though.”

“Oh, my dear,” Dickce said, and An’gel could see her sister’s eyes welling with tears. She had to blink back a few herself. She didn’t want to distress her cousin by breaking down, however.

“Then you certainly deserve to rid yourself of whatever stress you can.” An’gel spoke in what she hoped was a firm, reassuring tone. “Is Jacqueline aware of this?”

“No,” Mireille said. “I’d rather you didn’t tell her. She’s going to have enough to deal with, because I refuse to deal with my granddaughter anymore.”

“I should think not,” Dickce said.

“I’m so happy you’re here.” Mireille glanced at each of them in turn. “I don’t feel quite so alone now.”

An’gel’s eyes stung. She felt such pity for her cousin, to have this kind of stress in her life. She should be able to enjoy her last years in calm and quiet. An’gel would happily have taken Sondra over her knees right then and given her a sound spanking for causing her grandmother so much grief.

They were startled by a loud cry from outside the dining room.

“Sondra, no! What are you doing?” Jacqueline was yelling.

An’gel and Dickce rushed into the hall, and Mireille was a few steps behind them. An’gel stared in shock at Sondra, on the second-floor landing, as the girl threw scraps of white cloth over the rails to the first floor.

With a dull ache in her heart, An’gel realized that the source of the scraps was Mireille’s grandmother’s lovely wedding gown. Sondra had cut or ripped it to shreds.

She heard Mireille gasp and cry out “No!” As she turned, Mireille fainted and hit the floor.