“No! I will not do it!”
Henri Lefevre stared at the parchment in front of him defiantly and crossed his arms with this statement, but it wasn’t long before his arms slowly slid down from their defiant position and his stare mellowed into an abashed one.
“And zat is because I cannot do it.”
Henri, along with Sarah, was staying with the Marquis de Lafayette and his troops, helping report on what was happening and sending their stories to Moses for publication in the Pennsylvania Gazette. Henri couldn’t be happier—he was close to the action; there were plenty of interesting things to explore here; and best of all, he got to be close to Lafayette, who he would gladly spend every moment of every day with if possible.
But unfortunately, that was not possible. Lafayette was obviously very busy with the troops, and Sarah and Henri were busy, too. Sarah was endlessly reporting and asking questions of everyone she came in contact with. As for Henri… well, the mail to Moses was not one-way only. Moses sent them not only letters to Sarah, but also various readings and documents, as instructed by Dr. Franklin, to Henri to help continue his education.
And what Henri had just received, with instructions to read it out loud to Moses as soon as possible, was not pleasant. In fact, Henri was fighting the urge to tear up the paper right there, despite the fact that he actually did know more or less what it said… somewhat… well, he knew enough to know that tearing up those words, in any language, was blasphemous. But still…
…why on Earth did Dr. Franklin want him to know how to read the Declaration of Independence… in French?
Henri’s first language was French, true, and had someone recited the Declaration in English he could offer a spoken translation… well, more or less, barring any large words that he didn’t know the meaning of in either French or English. But he could read English far better than he could read French, mainly because there had been few people to help him with his French, especially with Dr. Franklin gone. Besides, the Declaration was for American independence, and it was written in English! Why did Dr. Franklin think it was so important that he could read a French translation when the original English was so much easier?
Henri groaned, but he wasn’t about to give up just yet. He picked up the parchment again and found the second paragraph, knowing the words that started that particular one off in English fairly well. All he had to do was just translate those to French in his mind, then speak them out loud, and then it would seem as if he were actually reading the document!
“Nous tenons pour évidentes pour elles-mêmes les vérités suivantes: tous les hommes sont créés égaux; ils sont doués par le Créateur de…” He stopped. What was it that came after that? His eyes frantically scanned the first line of the second paragraph again, trying to figure out where he had left off, but had no idea where that was. With a sigh, he started at the beginning of that line again, although slowly, trying to sound out the words and actually read them this time. “Nous… tenons… pour évidentes… pour elles-mêmes… les vérités suivantes—”
“Ah, those words are music to my ears!” a very familiar voice called out—in French.
Henri immediately brightened when he saw who was poking his head into his tent. “Gilbert!” he cried happily.
“And I am even more pleased to hear them being spoken in my mother tongue!” Lafayette continued with a smile, stepping into Henri’s tent.
Henri’s face fell. “I’d like it better if I could actually read it!” he complained, also in French. “Dr. Franklin wants me to be able to read and write French, but it’s too hard! And besides, why should I read the Declaration of Independence in French? I can read it in English, and that’s all that matters… right?”
“Ah, Henri, you are overlooking the transcending power that ideas have over language!”
“The what?” Henri asked, cocking an eyebrow.
Lafayette chuckled a bit. “Here, let me explain.” He held out his hand, motioning for the parchment, and Henri handed it to him, still with a look of mild confusion on his face. Lafayette opened it up and smoothed out the wrinkles. “You do understand the significance of these words, Henri, don’t you? How they have inspired thousands of people to fight for freedom? How they have created a nation out of colonies?”
“Yes, of course,” said Henri.
“This document, this one set of words, has had an amazing effect in this land! Think of the effect it can have throughout the rest of the world! It can inspire all people to fight against tyranny! But only if all people in the world can understand it. That’s why it needs to be translated, not only into French, but into every language in the world!”
“But I already understand it in English,” Henri protested. “Why should I learn it in another language? I already understand it in the language it was written in!”
“And think of how much better you will understand it when you know it in two languages!”
“That’s what Dr. Franklin said,” Henri muttered. “Are you teaming up with him to get me to read?”
“Maybe just indirectly,” Lafayette said with a laugh, handing Henri the parchment. “Besides, if you can read English, it shouldn’t be too hard for you to learn to read French, too. The letters are the same, just pronounced differently. I can help you, if you’d like.”
“You’ll… help me? You’ll help me read French?”
“Of course.”
“And write French, too?”
Lafayette nodded.
Henri flung his arms around him in a tight, happy hug. “Oh, thank you, Gilbert! You are the best friend in the world!”
“So are you,” Lafayette said with a soft smile, returning the hug.
“So!” Henri said eagerly, holding the parchment out in front of him. “I understand the title, Déclaration d’indépendance, but the first line is—”
“Oh, but Henri, I’m too busy right now!” Lafayette interrupted. “But maybe tomorrow…”
Henri’s face fell—no, crashed. “Tomorrow?”
Lafayette looked at the ground rather at Henri’s dismayed face. “I’m sorry, Henri, but I simply don’t have the time today. I’m meeting with my officers, and—”
Henri instantly perked up. “Is there going to be a battle?” he asked eagerly.
Lafayette smirked. “Perhaps.”
“What do you mean, perhaps?” Henri countered with a playful smirk of his own.
“Well, I can’t be telling you my military secrets! You could be a spy for all I know!”
Henri laughed. “Me? A spy? I would never spy on you!”
“That is why you’d be so effective—I’d never suspect you!” Lafayette placed his hands on Henri’s shoulders. “Now, I promise you that tomorrow, no matter how busy I am, I will make time to help you with your reading—but you must promise me that you will try to work on it on your own before then!”
“I promise!” said Henri.
“Wonderful! I look forward to it!” Lafayette squeezed Henri’s shoulders affectionately and turned to leave the tent.
“Gilbert?” Henri suddenly asked.
Lafayette turned back to face him. “Yes?”
“Will it be an… important battle?” Henri’s voice was uncharacteristically quiet.
“I hope so,” Lafayette said softly. “If this battle goes well… it could very well win us the war.”
“But what if it doesn’t go well?” Henri demanded.
“I shudder to imagine,” Lafayette admitted.
Henri looked down at the ground, taking in a deep, unsteady breath.
“Don’t worry, Henri,” Lafayette said quickly. “We will make it go well. That’s why I’m meeting with my officers. We won’t let it fail.”
Henri’s eyes darted back up to look at him. “But what if something happens to you?” he blurted out.
“To me?” Lafayette flinched momentarily, but immediately straightened back up and continued, in a professional tone, “The men can handle themselves, and they’ve been trained. They can carry on without me if need be.”
“But—but if you—died, then what would happen to—to me?”
This caused Lafayette to hesitate, without an answer, momentarily at a loss for words. A million responses flashed through his mind, but Henri’s wide, terrified eyes silenced them all, as he realized for the first time just how much the boy had grown to depend on him.
“Henri,” he finally said, gently, “you have Sarah and James, and Moses, and Dr. Franklin to look after you—and they can do so far better than I can. If I do die, you—”
“But you can’t die!” Henri shouted, flinging his arms around Lafayette again, but this time doing so far more urgently and with a sense of growing panic.
“Henri, my dear boy—” Lafayette wrapped his arms around Henri’s shoulders and hugged him protectively before continuing “—I assure you that dying is not part of my plan!”
“Easy for you to say! But the British soldiers might have other ideas!”
“Well, I promise you that I won’t let them kill me,” said Lafayette firmly. “And if they do, then I give you permission to spit on my grave—I’ll deserve it!”
“Well,” said Henri resolutely, “I’m not going to let them kill you either! If I see anyone coming at you I will throw rocks at them!”
Lafayette laughed before he could stop himself. “Rocks against rifles?”
“…well, I would slow them down!”
Henri’s stare continued to be hard and forceful, and Lafayette’s smile vanished as he realized just how serious Henri was… no, no, he couldn’t really actually mean that… really?
“I’m serious!” Henri said, as if reading Lafayette’s thoughts and answering them. “I am the mascot, right? I’ll be your drummer boy on the field of battle—and I’ll throw whatever I have to at—”
“You’re not going to be on the field,” Lafayette interrupted, a little harshly.
“Yes I am!”
“No you’re not! You’re far too young!”
“Well—but—and you’re old enough?”
“Henri, please,” Lafayette pleaded, “don’t make me argue with you. If you got hurt, then I—could never forgive myself.”
Henri finally slouched a bit, his eyes darting back to the ground.
Lafayette looked away too, taking in a deep, calming breath. He was more sensitive than he would sometimes like to admit, and his throat had constricted with his last sentence. Oh, he had cried in private, many times. And he knew that Henri wouldn’t think any less of him if he did happen to see any tears. But he was in a military camp, where the soldiers would scoff at any military leader who openly cried, let alone a twenty-three-year-old foreigner who hadn’t had his respect from them just handed to him. Not only did he have to work for that respect, but he also had to work even harder to keep it.
He swallowed, took another deep breath, and then knelt down to be able to look Henri in the eyes.
“Someday, Henri,” he said, gently lifting Henri’s face up with one hand, “when you’re older and have had military training, I am sure that we’ll be on the battlefield together, and you can protect me just as much as I can protect you right now. But that day is not now. For now, your duty is to learn to read French.”
One corner of Henri’s mouth began to tug up in the beginnings of a smile. “Someday?” he said hopefully.
“Yes, someday. And I promise I’ll still be around!”
Henri’s face broke into a full-fledged grin. “And I promise I will not disappoint you!”
“So you will work very hard on your reading, yes?” Lafayette said with a smile, squeezing Henri’s shoulder.
“Yes, and you’ll be amazed at how good I am when I’m done!”
“I have no doubt!” With a parting smile, Lafayette stood up and made his way to leave the tent… but stopped right before leaving. “Oh, and Henri, one more ‘sing,” he said, in English this time.
“What?” Henri asked, also in English.
“If I hear from ze cook zat you have stolen anymore sweet rolls, I’ll have to limit your rations to only gruel.” He said this in a serious tone, but also with a smile to show he wasn’t as angry as the cook apparently was.
“But… zey are so good,” Henri protested.
“Well zen, maybe I will have to sneak an extra one zis time for you. So ze cook doesn’t get too angry.”
“Merci!” Henri said, with an even bigger smile than before.
Lafayette laughed and left the tent, a very pleasant feeling of surprise overtaking him. He had been surprised just now to realize how much Henri apparently depended on him…
…and now he was beginning to realize… that he might possibly be feeling the same way.