Ballad of a Godless Man (Part 7b)
Letter from Mme. Quancard to Mme. Duvalier
Chère Euphrasie,
Bless you for coming by the other day. I am only sorry that I was not at home when you called. With every day that passes without Jean-Yves’ return, I find myself oscillating between restless and listless moods by the hour. I hear his voice down every corridor and in every doorway – but it is only the cruelty of my mind. And so I am resolved to spend as little time in that house as possible.
I travel to Chartres daily now – I spy down every street, bridge, and alleyway, and then I walk the riverbank from one end to the other. In the slightest, most infinitesimal hope that I will find some sign of my son. How I wish the Lord would deliver him to me.
Meanwhile, Monsieur Quancard remains absent and utterly silent. My last three letters to him have gone unanswered. I know, Madame, that he suffers too. But it is by his cruelty that this terrible chapter in my life has come to pass. Despite the teachings of the Lord and the Book, I cannot find it in my heart to forgive him for what he has done.
In fact I know what I must do… I pray that God endows me with the strength to do it… Tell me if I do wrong to even contemplate it, chère Madame.
With affection,
Mme. Quancard
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