can go. And even the young ladiesâ arts will be helpful to you in the future.â
Jeanne just shrugged. âI donât just worry about us, Joseph. I worry about all the Acadians. We are real Acadians, arenât we?â
âYes, Jeanne, we are real Acadians. And proud of it. As Monsieur de la Tour told you, our ancestor Abraham Dugas sailed to the new world a hundred years ago.â
âAnother Abraham,â said Jeanne.
âYes,â Joseph said with a laugh. âThatâs why we have so many Abrahams in our family. They were all named after him. This first Abraham was born in France, where he had the title of Armourer of the King, a gunsmith. Here in Acadia, he had the title of Lieutenant General. He was one of the three most important men in the new colony. He had a large farm, but he was also an armourer, a justice of the peace and chief of police. He married a woman named Marguerite Doucet and they had eight children. Our father was his grandson. So you are his great-granddaughter.â
Jeanne was captivated with the story and sat quietly, trying to commit it to memory.
âOur forefathers worked hard,â Joseph said, âbut they made an honest living. They owned land, something that was impossible for ordinary people in France. They had full bellies and a roof over their heads. Some of them became wealthy.â
âBut, Joseph, this took a long time, didnât it?â
âMore than a hundred years. And during this time the new colony changed hands many times between France and Britain. For a long time the Acadians were able to continue to live on their prosperous farms even under British rule. But when Acadia fell again to the British in 1710, many Acadians believed that this was the end. Many were afraid for their survival.â
âNow Acadia is called Nova Scotia,â Jeanne said. âBut we still think of it as Acadia, donât we?â
âYes, Jeanne, we do.â
Joseph paced back and forth as he cleaned the stalls, stopping now and then to speak directly to Jeanne when he wanted to make sure she was following his story.
âOur father, Joseph, was one of the young men who worried about the political situation. He left Grand-Pré to go to Ãle Royale and he settled in Port Toulouse. Charles and I were just babies, so I donât remember much about our first years there. But I know that Maman was very glad to leave that place to go to live at Louisbourg about ten years later.
âJeanne, you know that we had three little sisters who were born in Port Toulouse? And that they died in Louisbourg during the smallpox epidemic, when you were just a baby?â
Jeanne nodded. âI know. Marie Madeleine, Marguerite and Anne. Maman always says their names in her prayers. And there was Ãtienne who was born and died in Louisbourg.â
âYes.â He paused.
âSo now there is again the possibility of war between France and Britain. Thatâs what all the talk is about. I think itâs good that you know and understand this, Jeanne, but I donât want you to worry. We will be safe. Monsieur de la Tour has good contacts at the garrison and he will know if our situation becomes dangerous. We will get away in time.â
âThank you for telling me, Joseph.â Then with a serious and piercing look, Jeanne asked if he was named Joseph because he was the one most like their father.
âIâm not sure,â Joseph smiled. âMaybe. They say I look like him.â
âI like Monsieur de la Tour,â Jeanne said, âbut I donât think of him as my father.â
âThatâs all right, Jeanne. I know he likes you.â
âNo, I think he likes Angélique better, because she is very pretty.â
âOh, Jeanne. You are pretty too. Angélique is pretty, but sheâs not smart like you.â He paused. âIf there are difficult times ahead, youâll be fine. Angélique â