Acadian Star (12 page)

“Marguerite!” Madame Galland rushed to her side. Joseph clung to his mother, burying his face in her chest. Relief swept over Meg. There was still hope that the family could stay together.

“Where were you?” Madame Galland cried. She wrapped Meg in a desperate hug. “I thought I had lost you!” Madame Galland drew back. “Where are Geneviève and baby Daniel?” The relief Meg had felt just moments before was snatched back.

“You mean they're not with you? I went to look for you and Joseph in the barn and when I went back to the house everyone was gone.”

“The soldiers forced us onto the wagon from the barn; Joseph has been beside himself without Mache-couine.”

On cue, Mache-couine poked his head out from the blanket Meg held and mewed. Joseph's face brightened. Meg placed the precious bundle into his arms.

“Prepare for the last load!” The call came from down the beach.

Meg turned towards the voice. Through the crowd, she saw Geneviève's golden hair peeking out from beneath her bonnet. She was sitting on a low outcropping of rocks farther down the shore with baby Daniel swaddled in her arms, red-faced and crying. The wooden trunk lay at her feet. The soldier from the house grasped Geneviève's arm to help her stand and led her to the boat at the water's edge. Geneviève's head waved back and forth in confusion.

“Geneviève!” Meg grabbed Madame Galland's hand and they stumbled over the rugged shore littered with the Acadians' possessions. The crowd parted to let them through.

“You again!” The soldier stepped in front of Meg, blocking her way with his arm. Her face bumped up against his crimson uniform.

“Please! You need to let us on that boat, too.”

“Marguerite! Where are you? Don't leave me!” Geneviève reached for her. Baby Daniel continued to wail.

“This load is complete. All other deportees will board the remaining ship.”

“But we all need to stay together. We're a family!” Meg pleaded.

“You haven't given me one shred of evidence that this girl is a member of your family. Until you do so, she and her brother will be boarded with the sick and infirmed.”

Meg struggled under the soldier's arm and grabbed onto Geneviève. He swung around.

“I've had just about enough of your foolishness! This girl doesn't even look like you! Where she is fair, you are dark. Where she is tall you are nothing but a runt.”

Meg fumed. Runt? If only she had more dirty diaper linens, she'd show him.

“Move!” He levelled his rifle, waving Meg away with its barrel. Meg didn't budge.

A whistle and a hiss filled the morning air. Without looking, Meg realized the dolphins were swimming at the water's edge. Giving her comfort, giving her strength. The soldier lowered his rifle slowly and gazed over Meg's shoulder, mesmerized by the spectacle.

Think on your feet and you will find the answer.

Tante Perle's words ran through Meg's mind.

Think on your feet.

Meg looked down. She was still wearing her leather dance shoes for the step-dancing portion of the Acadian Star finale.

Could it be? Could that be the answer? If not, they were doomed. But maybe, just maybe…

“I can show that we are related,” Meg stated. “In fact, what you are about to see will prove it!”

Meg linked arms with Geneviève and whispered in her ear. “Do you need to be able to see to still be able to dance?” she asked hopefully.

“As long as you keep that clunky right foot away from me, we should be fine,” Geneviève whispered back. A smile tugged at the corner of Meg's mouth. That alone convinced her that her plan might work.

Madame Galland took baby Daniel from Geneviève and held a boy in each arm. Concern furrowed her brow.

“Be careful, Marguerite,” she whispered.

Meg jumped up on the wooden trunk and pulled Geneviève up along with her.

“What's the meaning of this?” The soldier shook his head, emerging from his trance.

“I'll make you a deal,” Meg said. “If this convinces you that we are related, we get to stay together. If it doesn't, make me a promise that you will put
me
on the other ship and not her.”

“
Non
!” Madame Galland yelled.

Meg put her hand up and shook her head slightly. “
C'est bien
,” she whispered.

“What could a common pipsqueak and a blind, bumbling twit possibly have in common?” the soldier sneered.

“Is it a deal?” Meg asked.

“Fine. If nothing, this will serve to entertain.” He lowered his rifle and slung it over his shoulder by its leather strap.

Meg held Geneviève's hand and whispered.

“Ready?”

Geneviève nodded, her mouth opened slightly in preparation. Her eyes stared blankly into the distance.

Tap, tap, tap.

Meg started the timing with her right foot. Geneviève joined along. The soldier propped his boot up on a nearby rock and folded his arms in bemusement.

“This should be good,” he mocked.

“Toe-heel-toe. Toe-heel-toe,” Meg muttered under her breath.

“Got it,” Geneviève replied.

A few of the Acadian deportees gathered to watch. Despite the sombreness of the morning, they tapped their feet or clapped their hands with the beat.

Toe-heel-toe. Toe-heel-toe.

Meg and Geneviève tapped their heels and clickety-clicked as if joined at the hip. Their movements merged in perfect unison. Meg glanced over to her friend, smiling wildly. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the rhythm of the dance.

Tap and roll.

The energy of the crowded beach pulsed as they clapped and stomped their feet, propelling them onward. Meg opened her eyes to the smiles on the faces of her Acadian brothers and sisters standing on the shore. The soldier dropped his arms to his sides and watched on.

Toe-heel-toe. Toe-heel-toe.

The rhythm of their feet grew and grew until they came to the big finale.

“Snap!” Both right feet slapped down on the wooden trunk in perfect unison.

The beach erupted in applause. Meg clutched Geneviève's hand. Geneviève squeezed it back in earnest and turned her head towards her, eyes smiling.

The soldier swept his arm across the mass of deportees for the crowd to hush.

“That proves nothing!”

Chapter 18

A
DISGRUNTLED MURMUR RIPPLED THROUGH THE
CROWD
. Meg's grip on Geneviève's hand tightened. “It didn't work.” Meg leaned her head on her friend's shoulder. “I'm so sorry.”

“Down!” The soldier motioned for them to get off the trunk.

Meg started to climb down, but Geneviève's voice stopped her. The melody that came from her lips took Meg's breath away. It was a song she had practised with Nève countless times with their hairbrushes before the Acadian Star competition.

“
Ave, maris stella
…” The pure tone of the Acadian anthem washed over Meg. Tears stung the edges of her lids.

The faces of the deportees rose towards the two girls. One by one, they joined in the melody.

“
Déi mater alma
…”

How many of her ancestors had sung this same song? Meg wondered. The thought brought a lump to Meg's throat. She joined in the harmony.

“
Atque semper Virgo
…”

Meg heaved out the words between silent sobs. The song grew louder as an invisible energy rippled through the crowd. The mass of people pulsed and shifted. At first, a few at a time stepped forward in quiet defiance and linked arms.

“
Félix caeli porta
.”

As the mounting voices grew in song, a ring of deportees encircled the wooden trunk where Meg and Geneviève stood. Soon, row upon row of Acadians formed a human wall between the girls and the soldier.

“
Félix caeli porta
.”

The soldier shifted from foot to foot, surveying the restless mass. He searched around for other soldiers, but few remained. His face twisted in a mixture of concern and then finally resignation.

“Okay, okay, you've convinced me,” the soldier said. The crowd erupted anew. “But I trust there will be no more dirty nappies anywhere near me if I put you two together?”

“Deal.” Meg helped Geneviève down from the wooden trunk and hugged her tightly. “We did it!” Meg allowed herself to feel the relief she craved.

“Now's your chance—get in!” The soldier led the Haché-Galland family to the boat. Madame Galland held Joseph. Geneviève held baby Daniel as Meg guided her to the boat. One by one, their feet left the ground of their beloved Acadian shore.

Would they see Acadia again in their lifetimes? Meg wasn't sure. She gazed back towards the rolling landscape, the farmer's fields, the simple houses, and the unforgiving shore, where the Acadians' possessions lay strewn amongst the rocky outcrops.

“Our trunk!” Madame Galland cried out.

“Shoving off,” the soldier yelled, disregarding her plea. The trunk holding all of the Haché-Galland's worldly possessions lay abandoned at the water's edge.

Madame Galland's face sagged with grief. How could Meg tell her this was the lesser of two evils? Although this was the worst fate imaginable, the future held the promise of tomorrow. The spirit of Acadia would endure.

Madame Galland took an oar and Meg took another. They rowed the boat in silence as a soldier navigated them towards the ship. Two dolphins flanked their hull and swam just below the water, surfacing only to take a breath.

They boarded the ship and Geneviève grasped Meg's arm.

“I'm scared, Marguerite. Don't leave my side.”

“It's okay to be scared, but we're together now. We're all together.”

“Be my eyes, Marguerite. What does the ship look like?” Geneviève's grip tightened on Meg's arm.

Meg looked up to the towering masts. The soldiers waved the muzzles of their rifles and motioned them to the hatch.

“It's the most beautiful ship on earth. The deck is inlaid with golden stars, the masts are encrusted with diamonds, and strands of pearls hang from the railings.” Meg's description brought a smile to Geneviève's face.

“And the soldiers?” Joseph joined in on the game. Madame Galland smiled at Meg in appreciation. Their group moved towards the hatch.

“The soldiers wear dresses and have jester's hats.” Meg kept the game going. The familiar smell of smoke wafted in the air.

“Smoke, I smell smoke,” Geneviève hushed. Madame Galland looked back to the burning village and gasped.

“It's the most amazing thing you've ever seen. They've prepared the loveliest fireworks display for our departure!” Meg said.

Madame Galland wept through her smiles and hugged her little group. She started down the ladder of the hatch and disappeared with Joseph in her arms. Meg guided Geneviève to do the same. Geneviève stepped over the rim of the hatch and tilted her face upwards.

“And the sky? Is it like I remember? Is it the bluest blue streaked with the prettiest pink?” Geneviève was crying now despite the game they were playing.

“The sky is the colour of the prettiest oyster shell you've ever seen. The bluest blue streaked with the prettiest pink,” Meg said.

Geneviève stopped suddenly and reached into the pocket of her apron.

“I almost forgot! I found it back there as I sat on the beach before you came. I think I found its pair!” She pulled out the half shell of an oyster, wrapped in her handkerchief.

“How did you…?” Meg stared at the shell in disbelief.

“Just take it and keep it with you. I'm afraid to lose it. Will you do that?” She pressed the handkerchief and shell into Meg's hand and continued down the ladder with baby Daniel in her arms.