Non-Stop

Chapter Sixteen

~Isabel's POV~

"Bon...good morning," Lafayette greeted as he trotted toward Isabel as she led Cheval out of his stable.

She giggled at the way he corrected himself and how much he wanted to learn English. "You can speak French to me, Laf. I understand it."

"I'm trying to be bilingual, mademoiselle," Lafayette said as he dismounted. "I never will be if I speak French to you."

"Just saying," she laughed as she gave him a hug. "Comment ça va?"

"Mademoiselle," Lafayette began.

"C'est une belle journée, oui?"

"Mademoiselle."

"Nous devrions obtenir quelque chose à manger."

"We...we should," he stuttered, struggling to respond in English.

"I'll stop now. Good job with your English. I'm proud." She pat Lafayette's chest a couple times and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Let's ride."

He nodded and mounted onto his horse as Isabel did the same.

"So what have you been up to?" Isabel asked as their horses galloped through the long grass.

"Nothing," he replied focusing on the dirt path.

"Well, I wanted to let you know that Alexander asked me out on a date," she informed him.

Lafayette nodded and didn't look anywhere but ahead. Isabel couldn't tell if he was upset or not.

"Are you okay with that?" she asked hoping to get a response out of him then.

"Oui, I'm fine with it, mademoiselle. Whatever you want to do."

"But you're my friend and I want to know if you're okay with it."

"It's fine."

"Are you sure because-"

"C'est bien."

His tone of voice changed dramatically. The Frenchman sounded angry almost and that made Isabel extremely uncomfortable. She really liked Lafayette and considered him a friend so his opinion mattered.

"I just wanted to know," she said, looking over Lafayette's face for any signs of discomfort. "You can tell me if you have any problems with that."

"When are you two meeting?"

"At sundown...tonight."

"Ce soir?! I mean, tonight?" he exclaimed, shaking his head when he realized he had slipped back into his French.

"Yes, tonight. He sent me a letter yesterday." Isabel's lips curled up when she remembered Alexander's sweet words.

"Oh. That's...that's nice."

"You don't sound impressed," Isabel noticed.

"I'm just upset because Alexander's a good friend of mine and I would hate to have to shoot him if he hurts you."

Isabel giggled. "I would hate for that to happen too."