What Is A Legacy?

Chapter Eleven

Leon sat down at the desk, and picked up sheets of paper off the desk. "Here is the declaration you and Lafayette signed the last time you were here. And here, this is your President's precious treaty," he started,"that he has chosen to ignore. Please tell me and our general why." He was calm, but it was hard to miss the tension that crackled in the air.

Thomas swallowed. Clearly the acceptance shown to him by Lafayette didn't carry over to the Ambassador or General. "President Washington believes our country is too weak to offer our assistance to another war effort. While I hate to be the one to admit weakness, we simply do not have the funds to aid a war."

Leon scoffed, and shook the papers at him. "Your people made a promise," he said. "We never asked for land, only the promise that you would help us in our revolution."

Thomas opened his mouth, but Josué took a step forward, crossing his arms. "We provided you funds, ammunition, and the chance to win your war."

"I know, and believe me-" Thomas tried to get a word in, but was cut off.

Leon tossed the papers onto the desk as he spoke. "You back out of our alliance so quickly, you rip the very foundations under us! What is a promise if all you intended to do was break it?"

Thomas stood up from his chair, catching the three men off guard. "You don't think I fought for you?" he asked. "For our treaty? I took your side. I defended France, and defended it well. Alexander Hamilton doesn't think we're strong enough to fight in another war, and Washington agrees with him. I was sent here to make sure France doesn't start a war with us, too, because that's the last thing America needs."

Leon slowly turned to Lafayette. "Monsieur Hamilton?" he asked, and the Frenchman nodded slowly.

"Mon ami." My friend. "Je le connais, Leon. Il devait avoir ses raisons." I know him, Leon. He must have had his reasons.

"Un ami n'abandonne pas le sien en cas de besoin, Lafayette." A friend doesn't abandon his own in times of need, Lafayette. Leon turned back to Jefferson. "Your president is already asking for another war, Jefferson. Don't lecture me about taking our side. " He leaned in close. "Just because you were a friend to France once does not mean that America is. This isn't close to over."

Thomas didn't respond, balling his hands into fists by his side. He didn't want to show aggravation, but he hadn't gotten a good night of sleep in four days, and this tense situation wasn't helping matters any.

Leon noticed his tension, certainly hadn't overlooked his outbursts. He rose to his feet and leaned towards Thomas, towering over him.

"Mr. Jefferson," he began quietly. "I know you are a smart man and in America you are used to having the upper hand when it comes to your politics. But I will remind you that this is France. You have no 'leg-up' here. This will not be one of your cabinet meetings or political debates where you scream at each other for hours on end. This is France, a debate between your country and ours in which we most certainly have the upper hand. You are here to defuse a time bomb, the only question is if you will snip the right wires in time. I would advise you to keep your temper in check when dealing with such matters."

Thomas bit back a response, knowing that he was right. He nodded stiffly. "My apologies, sir."

Leon looked him up and down, as if gauging how sincere his apology actually was. Finally he spoke.

"We're done for today. Lafayette will show you where you will sleep while in France. I do hope you'll find it to your liking."

Thomas sniffed. "I'm sure whatever you have set up will be fine."