C'est La Vie

Chapter Four

C'est La Vie

Chapter Four 

Matthieu walked a few paces ahead of her, he seemed eager to get to the stables and only paused once and a while to allow Jeanne to catch up, or to look at something that caught his interest. Jeanne allowed him to lead the way, seeing as he knew the way and she didn't. 

She barely recognized the young boy she met in the kitchen a few minutes ago, moving from bashful to excited and talkative in only a few minutes. Though, it made her sad to think that he was to grow up under the shadow of a much more wealthy family, and would most likely end up working for them too when he grew older. He would eventually lose that freedom he must be feeling at the moment. 

But, for now, he seemed to be happy running through the grass and peeking from around the trees with a little grin. It had been a long while since Jeanne was in the presence of a young child, seeing as she was the youngest child in her family. There had been children on the farm, one girl that she had been friends with. Marianne. 

Not many babies survived the winters back when Jeanne was a young child, and Marianne had been rather frail looking and sickly. It was amazing to see how she seemed to bounce between being sick and being healthy. At that time, Jeanne had no idea what was happening. Though, Jeanne did notice how worried her mother got when she would come down with a cough or when she would run a fever. 

Marianne had simply disappeared one winter, nobody told Jeanne what had happened to her friend. Though, she noticed that Marianne's mother cried much more often once that happened. It wasn't until she was older, and when she saw how much problems the winter months caused, that she understood what had truly happened. 

She then understood why there weren't many children on the farm, and how her mother had managed to raise three while living there was nothing short of a gift from God. 

"Papa!" 

Matthieu broke away from his stride beside Jeanne and ran towards an older man who was just walking out of the stables. The man smiled as Matthieu ran towards him, the young boy wrapping his arms around his waist. 

"I am surprised to see you without Clare," Matthieu's father said, placing a hand on the young boy's head as Matthieu released his hug from around his father's legs. 

Matthieu pouted slightly, "she got upset with me and locked herself in her Maman's room. So, I went into the kitchen and I met Jeanne!" Matthieu turned around and beamed up at her as she walked over, Matthieu's father looking at her. 

"Oh, yes," he said, walking towards her with a friendly smile on his face, "I had heard that you had arrived. I was hoping to meet you eventually. I am Marc, I believe my wife is with the other maids preparing dinner."

"It is a pleasure," Jeanne said, "your son, he has not stopped talking to me about horses."

Marc looked down at Matthieu, who seemed to simmer down slightly under the reprimanding gaze of his father. 

"You haven't been bothering the other house staff with pointless banter about horses again, have you Matthieu?"

Jeanne chuckled, Matthieu looking at her with an apologetic expression. 

"It was not a bother," Jeanne said, "I assure you, I believe that I rather enjoy horses as much as your Matthieu does." 

Marc raised his eyebrow slightly, Matthieu giving him a small smile. 

"Is monsieur Jeremie here?" Matthieu asked, Marc glancing behind him towards the stable. 

"Yes, he is," he said, "do not bother him, though. He seems to be in a rather foul mood today."