From the minute her mother had suggested the dinner, Adele had been a little nervous about Marie meeting Jerry. Her mother hadn’t batted an eyelash when Adele told her about Jerry’s business, she’d just gushed on about how adoringly he looked at her daughter.
“I can tell,ma chérie,” she’d said. “That man would never do anything to put you in danger. Don’t worry about what Marie says.”
Of course, Guillaume already knew all about Jerry’s work, and he’d fessed up cheekily to the connection when Adele had come home after that first dinner.
But now Marie was coming, and the truth was, Adele wanted to share this news with her sister because she had never been happier. Whenever she was in Jerry’s presence, a sense of calm came over her, whether they were talking or not. It was often in those quiet moments that they remembered the war, but the memories weren’t so bad when Jerry was holding her hand. She still worried about him—she always would—but he assured her that he had taken care of things with Ernie, at least for now, and she had no reason to doubt him. Over the last couple of months, she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Ernie, and Jerry promised that all was going well—even better than usual—for Bailey Brothers’ Best.
“We’re here,” Adele said, turning into the driveway. “Look, Madeleine! There’s Grandmère!”
No sooner had she turned off the engine than her mother came rushing out to greet them, pulling Marie into a fierce hug. When they broke apart, Adele wasn’t surprised to see tears in their eyes. It had been far too long this time. Their mother took little Arthur into her arms, cooing over him, then reached down to Madeleine, marvelling at how tall she’d grown since she last saw her, her words blending joyfully between French and English as they walked.
Madeleine thrilled at her grandmother’s pronunciation of her name. “Mad-leen,” she echoed, studying her grandmother’s lips. “Mad-leen.”
“Oui, oui!Madeleine, the Queen!”
The little girl beamed at her mother and aunt. “I’m the Queen.”
“Now you’ve done it,” Marie said. “We’ll never hear the end of it.”
“That is all right. While she is here, she is the Queen,” Maman declared. “And this little man is a prince.”
The little prince, who had fallen asleep on the drive, woke up at that moment, and began to wail, his face turning an angry red.
“He has a healthy set of lungs,” their mother said, smiling.
Marie rushed to take him. “He needs to be fed. Then he’ll probably fall back asleep.”
“Come along,” Adele said, leading the way to Marie’s bedroom. “And when you’re done, maybe you’d like to hand the reins over to Maman and me. We can entertain Madeleine and make dinner. You look like you could do with putting your feet up for a while.”
Marie drooped slightly. “That would be very nice. But you’ll wake me in plenty of time to be ready for supper?”
“Of course.”
Her mother was already bending down, addressing Madeleine in an adult voice that the little girl seemed to appreciate.
“Would you like to help me prepare tonight’s feast, Your Majesty? We have some handsome princes coming as well.”
“Oui, oui,” Madeleine chirped.
As they prepared the meal, Madeleine counted cutlery and set the table as she saw fit, singing bits of songs most of the time. When Marie emerged from her room an hour later, the previous strain was gone from her face, and Adele was relieved to see she seemed rested. She rustled up a cup of tea for her sister, and they all bustled about the warm kitchen.
Just when Adele didn’t think she could get happier, in walked Guillaume, laughing with Jerry and John. It was so good to see the brothers together after all this time. She’d given John a proper hug when they’d reunited the week before.
Guillaume went to Maman and gave her a peck on the cheek. “Smells delicious in here,mon amour. Let me just wash up.”
From across the room, Jerry caught Adele’s eye.
“I’m so glad you came,” she said, heading toward him. She leaned in for a chaste kiss on her cheek. “You too, John. You look very handsome, both of you.”
John gave a mock bow. “I aim to please, Nurse Savard.” He sniffed. “That smells delicious. What are we having?”
“Roast beef,” she replied. “It’s a celebration, after all.”
“Are you sure it’s all right for us to be here?” Jerry asked quietly. “After what you said about your sister and her thoughts on liquor, I thought we’d make things awkward.”
She took his hand and cocked her head toward Marie. “Come and see. She’ll be very civil, I promise.” She winked. “Or she’ll answer to me.”
They had just started toward Marie when John stopped short. “And who is this?” he asked, peering down at Madeleine. The little girl was standing at his feet, staring way, way up, and wearing her most regal expression.
