Better Loved, Part Ten

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Fan-Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: PG

LINK TO PART ONE

~

The rest of the family had already sat down to supper by the time Adam returned home. He gave them an apologetic smile as he took his seat.

“How was Virginia City?” his father asked.

“Fine, Pa,” Adam answered as he tried not to show how nervous he was. “In fact there’s someone there now that I’d like you all to meet. I’m going bring her here tomorrow evening.”

His father raised his eyebrows at him while Joe and Hoss exchanged knowing glances.

“Well, who is it?” his father prompted.

“Her, ah, her full name is Antoinette Charlotte Corday Bon,” he answered. “But she’s just going by Charlotte Corday here in Virginia City. She intends to set up shop as a modiste.”

Hoss gave him an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry, Adam. If you like her, so will we—no matter what.”

Pa sent Hoss a questioning glance and then turned back to Adam. He stared at him for a moment. “Did you say Bon?” he asked at last.

“Yes,” Adam replied. “Do you know the name?”

“There was a family in New Orleans by that name,” he said. “I once heard a rumor—well, never mind.”

Adam forced himself to meet his father’s eyes. “That rumor was true, Pa. Antoinette Charlotte is a quadroon—just like her sister, Marie. But Marie was so light that her father raised her with his white family.”

Adam paused, letting his words sink in. Then he turned away from his father and faced Little Joe.

“Are you talking about my mother?” Joe demanded. “Are you—are you saying she was a quarter black?”

“Yes,” Adam answered, keeping his voice even. “I’ve tried to tell you before, Joe, but…” he let his words trail off.

Joe stared at his plate. It must’ve been a full minute before he looked back to Adam. “How long have you known?”

Adam sighed. “Joe, she asked me not to tell you. She thought that if you and Pa knew, you’d never keep it quiet. She didn’t want you to face taunts and prejudice because of your ancestry.”

“How long have you known?” Joe repeated. His eyes were flashing.

Adam looked away. “I found out a few months before Marie died. It came out during one of our arguments. Your mother had decided to, um, ‘borrow’ money from our payroll account. But she couldn’t make it up on time so she was forced to come to me.”

Adam paused and took a long sip of water before continuing. “She refused to explain at first, but she finally gave in and told me about her family in New Orleans. Marie’s father was dead by then, so Maman—I mean Madame Bon—had no protector. But she still had the rest of her children to raise. So I cleared out my savings to cover the payroll and I promised to keep my mouth shut.”

“That’s why you went to New Orleans before college,” his father said quietly.

“Yes,” Adam said. “I—I didn’t feel right just sending them a bank draft now and again, so I went down to meet them. And I’ve kept up with them through the years.”

He paused again and turned back to his youngest brother. “Joe, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before. I couldn’t bring myself to break the promise I made to Marie. But I told her from the beginning that I would only keep it secret until you were grown."

Joe continued to stare at him, but he said nothing.

"Well," Adam continued, "you’re a grown man now.”

Joe inhaled sharply and then managed to smile at Adam. “Yeah, I’m grown. And more to the point, you’ve got your eye on my aunt. How old is she?”

“She’s a year older than you,” he answered, managing a smile of his own. “So she’s eleven years my junior. There were more than twenty years between her and your Ma.”

Hoss reached out and placed a hand on Little Joe’s shoulder. He must have been shocked himself, Adam thought, but he wasn't showing it.

“How are you feeling, little brother?” Hoss asked.

Joe shrugged. “I feel fine. I don’t feel any different, if that’s what you’re asking.” He paused and broke into full-fledged grin. “But I’ll have to get used to the idea that I’m light, not white.”

Everyone at the table rolled their eyes, but they couldn’t stop themselves from grinning back. That seemed to break the tension.

At length Adam looked to his father. “Are you all right, Pa?” he asked.

He nodded. “Yes. But I wish she had told me. I wouldn’t have cared—she had to know that I wouldn’t have cared.”

“She did know,” Adam said, still trying to keep his voice steady. “But she also knew you’d never hide it from Joe.”

The table fell silent at that. It was Hoss who finally spoke up again.

"What are you going to do, Joe?" he asked. "I mean, are you going to tell people?"

Adam watched Joe give a helpless shrug. "I have no idea. I don't want to hide it--but I don't want to put an advertisment in the paper about it, either."

Their father sighed. "Give yourself some time to come to terms with it, Joe," he advised. "Then you can decide who to tell."

Joe stared down at his plate again, but at length he nodded. Adam felt himself breathe a sigh of relief.

There was so much he could tell his little brother. He could finally mention Maman and Therese and Monique--all of them. Joe deserved to learn all he could about his family in New Orleans.

But Adam stopped himself. It had waited this long; it could wait one more night.

His aunt should be the one to tell him.

LINK TO PART ELEVEN