Tarnished Gold

'It will be Pierre's child, and therefore, it will be mine. We are married; we are as one, whether Pierre recognizes that fact or not. I have come to assure you I will accept the child as my own and I will raise him or her to be a Dumas. The child will have all the benefits, the education, the finest things, and will be with the father,' Madame Dumas added pointedly.

I started to shake my head. 'I can't give up my child . . .'

'Why not? You think by holding on to the child, you will somehow hold on to Pierre?' she asked, her smile widening. 'I assure you, Gabrielle, Pierre is out of your life. He is a rich Creole gentleman. He's had flings before and I've overlooked them before, but this time . . . this time he's gone too far and he knows he has.

'Look at the alternative, Gabrielle,' she said, sitting back. She nodded toward the shack. 'Your life will become more of a struggle. Your parents will have to work harder and harder. You will feel more and more guilty. It will affect the way you treat the child. Oui, 'she said before I could protest, 'it will. You won't even recognize it and maybe not even think it, but it will nevertheless.

'And if you should meet another man, someone who will want to marry you even with a child, you will be afraid that he will come to resent the child, that he will look at the child and think this is the child of another man, another man she loved, and not my child, and here I am working to support this child. Then there will be arguments and resentments.

'And if you don't ever find another man, what do you have to offer this child? What hope for the future? How will she or he attend school, for example? Will the other children in the bayou accept this fatherless child or will he or she always feel inferior? You know what happens then, Gabrielle? The child begins to resent you for bringing her or him into such a circumstance.

'Are you prepared for all this? Why should you be?' she added before I could even think of a response. 'Why should you have to worry and think about ways to avoid this hardship? I am the first to admit my husband abused you.'

'No,' I said. 'He didn't do anything that I didn't want him to do.'

'I see?' She smirked and sat back again. 'Then you are happy?'

She stared at me a moment. This woman with her expensive clothing, her well-manicured nails and styled coiffure, her makeup, jewels, and her urban sophistication, was so different from me, we could be speaking different languages, and yet our destinies had crossed and intertwined us in ways neither of us could ever imagine.

'You are a pretty girl,' she said in a softer voice after a short pause. 'A natural beauty and perhaps not as young as you appear.' She leaned toward me, fixing those light blue eyes on me. 'Whether we like it or not, pretty girls, beautiful women like us, are often victims simply because we are attractive. Yes, in some ways I am a victim, too. I know I look rich and successful to you, but like you, I find myself in circumstances I would like to change, but can't. Like you, I'm trapped. I'm in a different sort of cage, but nevertheless, I'm not free.'

She looked away for a moment, and ray heart, which had hardened against her from the moment I set eyes on her, softened a bit.

'I'd like to be a mother,' she said, facing the window and gazing at the darkness across the way. 'I'd like to be the mother of my husband's child.'

She dabbed her eyes with an embroidered silk handkerchief and then gazed at me. 'Will you do it?' she asked. 'My father-in-law will give your father the money he wanted, too. It will help your family, your mother. . . .'

'I won't do it because of the money,' I said. She nodded. 'If I do it, I would do it for Pierre and because . . . because a lot of what you said is probably true.'

'Oui. I am sorry. I wish I had given my husband more so he wouldn't have come here to spoil your life, too.'

'He didn't,' I said, and then felt foolish for saying it.

'Nevertheless, if I would have been able to give him his child, my marriage would have been more successful. It still can be,' she said. 'You and I can take hold of some happiness and turn something bad into something good, especially for the poor, unknowing child you carry inside you. N'est-ce pas?'

I thought for a moment and then I nodded.

She smiled warmly, beaming with tears in her eyes.

'Merci, mademoiselle. Oh, mademoiselle, merci.' She reached out with a hand full of rings to touch mine. I felt as if I were extending my arm from one world into another, from reality to illusion. She took hold, smiled, and then released my fingers.

'Would you like something cold to drink?' she offered, nodding at the bottle.

'No, thank you, Madame Dumas.'

'You have given my father-in-law a new lease on life, Gabrielle. I can't wait to return to New Orleans to tell him. He's mostly in a state of depression these days. Perhaps you know about my brother-in-law.'

'Oui. '

'And my poor mother-in-law, who died shortly after the accident. So you see, rich people have no guarantee of happiness. Money can't buy everything.'

'My daddy thinks it can,' I said sadly. 'And unfortunately, I'm only firming up that belief now.'

'Yes, well, I'm sure he will realize the truth eventually. Thank you for listening to me,' she added with a tone of finality. I recognized she wanted to leave. The moment my hand touched the door handle, the chauffeur opened it and stepped back. He held it open as I turned.

'Au revoir, Gabrielle,' Daphne Dumas said. She looked like a beautiful mannequin set in the corner of that long leather seat. 'I don't expect we shall see each other again, but I promise to be a good mother.'

I simply nodded and the chauffeur closed the door.

'Good evening, mademoiselle,' he said, tipping his hat. He went around to get into the limousine. I stood there