Giselle Ch. 03-05

Darius spent more and more of his free time in a café drinking coffee and dreaming of Giselle. He occasionally would stop by the library to view the updated lists of missing and dead, checking for his missing comrades and also checking on Bernard's status. Nothing changed for months.

Sister Agnes was moved by the story told by Darius in his manuscript. In the fall of 1918 she forwarded it to the French Literary Review. It was published in their Winter Edition. As a subscriber, Darius saw that his story was published. It was a bittersweet moment. He had finally achieved his dream of being a published author. However, because it told the story of his love for Giselle, he never revealed the story to Louise. He wept when he read the story and his remorse in losing her led to an even greater rift with Louise.

Giselle was also an avid reader of the French Literary Review. She was astonished to see her story published, but fortunately she was the only person in town who had an interest in this publication so it too was kept as a secret by Giselle. But her heart soared. She hadn't seen Darius's name on the casualty lists, but the publication of this story virtually confirmed that he was still alive. And he loved her! His story spoke of his discovery of true love and spoke of Giselle in terms so glowing she was embarrassed by the details. Was she really that woman or was the Giselle in the story a romanticized version of herself? Was Darius in love with his memory of Giselle, or was he still in love with her? Bernard was still marked as missing so Giselle was tethered to the farmhouse by invisible chains.

In the spring of 1919 Darius made his familiar tour through the library. His felt his heart pounding in his chest when he noticed that Bernard's status had changed from missing to killed in action. He quickly went to the Department of War to confirm this information. The Department confirmed that Bernard's body and dog tags had been located during a routine search of the battlefield in Flanders. The bottom half of Bernard's perforated dog tag was sent to his widow in Maurepas. Bernard was buried with military honors in one of the 17 French cemeteries in Flanders.

Giselle had learned the news three weeks earlier. She was in her garden when a military attaché arrived at her house with two soldiers in full military dress. She knew what was to transpire as soon as she saw them. Bernard was dead. For her it was a bittersweet moment as well. Her beloved Bernard would never return. She had reconciled herself to this fact even before she met Darius so her tears and grief were muted by the passage of many months. But the chains that held her to the farmhouse had dissolved. She was free to be with Darius, if he would still have her. The attaché presented Giselle with the bottom half of Bernard's dog tag and the French flag that draped his coffin prior to his internment in the military cemetery. She put the mementos on her fireplace mantle.

Giselle could not recall the name of the bookstore Darius worked at or even if he had ever given her the name. Giselle had written to the French Literary Review in hopes they would have Darius's address. She was informed that the story was submitted by a nun in St. Amiens and had no information on the author other than his name. She followed up with a letter to Sister Agnes and was told that Darius did not provide the address of his home. Giselle resolved to go to Bordeaux in hopes of finding Darius's parents and then to Paris to reunite with Darius (or if she could not locate Darius's parents, to go to the Department of War to see if she could convince them to disgorge his address).

Giselle packed her bag and set off for Bordeaux. She went to the local office of the Ministry of Agriculture and had immediate success in securing the address of the Betain vineyard. She went back to her hotel room to change into better clothes and made the two hour journey to find Darius's parents. As she disembarked her jitney she was only a ten minute walk to the vineyard. Her heart started racing as she approached the driveway to the modest home. Was Darius there? Were his parents home? Did they know where he was? Two people emerged from the home as she walked up the driveway. They too were anxious to see why this mysterious woman was approaching their home. As Giselle neared the house they saw an attractive woman wearing a fashionable hat and dress. What business did she have here?

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Betain I presume?" asked Giselle, somewhat breathlessly.

"Yes, and who do we have the pleasure of meeting?" Mr. Betain asked.

"I'm Giselle DuBois. I know your son Darius."

Their faces immediately became ashen. "You don't have bad news about our son, do you?" asked Mrs. Betain.

"Oh goodness no. I'm sorry I gave you a start. I met Darius when he was fighting in the Battle of the Somme. He hid in my wine cellar when our town was overrun by the Germans."

"Oh I see," said Mrs. Betain, with great relief. "Darius never mentioned anything about this incident, but if you helped our son we're forever grateful to you."

Giselle did a quick mental calculation. Darius was indeed alive but they were not aware of the story published in the French Literary Review. Darius did not tell them. Of course. He was either engaged or married to Louise.

Mrs. Betain went from alarmed to suspicious. "I'm so pleased to meet the person that helped Darius. Can we offer you something to drink or eat? What brings you all the way here to tell us this news?

Giselle could sense that Mrs. Betain now viewed her as a threat. "Oh, I had some business in Bordeaux. We own a champagne business and I was talking to some distributors in Bordeaux. I thought I would call on you since I was nearby. I have a dinner engagement so I should be on my way shortly, but thank you for the kind invitation."

Darius of course had not shared the collapse of his relationship with Louise. As far as his parents knew, he was still madly in love with her and would someday marry her. Mrs. Betain would tie off this loose end for her son. "It was so nice of you to come by. I'll be sure to pass on your visit to Darius next time we see Louise and him. He did mention Louise to you, didn't he?"

"Of course. I'm sure Darius is married now, isn't he?"

"No, but I'm sure they'll set the date soon," replied Mrs. Betain, leaving no room for doubt about Darius's lack of availability.

"Please give him my regards," said Giselle as she shook each of their hands and departed.

Mrs. Betain harbored a strong suspicion that Giselle wanted to find her son for romantic reasons and Mr. Betain went away puzzled by the visit. Giselle made the slow walk back to the town where she would catch the jitney back to the train station in Bordeaux. She was crying during the entire walk. Her beloved Darius was as fleeting as the note he quickly dashed off to her. She had no desire to look further in Paris, only to find that he was engaged to Louise.

When Darius received confirmation of Bernard's death he rushed back to Louise's apartment and told her that he was going to Maurepas to find Giselle and would likely not return. It was a fairly tearless farewell as their relationship had deteriorated almost from the moment Darius arrived home. Alone back in his apartment, Darius packed a single bag and left his apartment without looking back. He went to Gare du Nord and boarded his northbound train with great anticipation of his reunion with his beloved Giselle. His five hour train ride felt like a decade. He watched mile after mile of farmland, much of it still bearing evidence of the Great War. At the train station he boarded a bus that would take him to Giselle's village. He didn't have the address but he was sure he didn't need it. He was right. When he arrived at the village one of the locals quickly pointed out the road he could take to find her farm house.

Darius walked down the muddy rutted road, admiring the extent to which the region had rebuilt after the war. It was late afternoon when Darius arrived at the farmhouse. It now looked so neat and clean with the spring rains bringing life to all of the foliage surrounding it. No longer was there the acrid haze of war hanging over the surroundings. Darius went to the house and knocked on the door. He patiently waited but no answer. He opened the door and entered the farm house. It looked much the same as the way he remembered it, except for a new watercolor gracing the mantle. It was a painting of Giselle's claw foot tub with rose petals scattered about and candles lit around the perimeter. Giselle had memorialized their bath together with loving attention to detail.

He then walked through the kitchen to the back and saw a woman hunched over in her vegetable garden. He stepped out of the back door. She heard someone approaching her and turned. It wasn't Giselle.

"Hello," said the woman, not recognizing Darius. "May I be of help to you?

"I'm looking for Giselle," he replied anxiously.

"Giselle's not here. I'm just picking her vegetables while she's gone."

"Do you know where she is?"

"I do. She went to Bordeaux on business; I think to market her champagne."

"Do you know when she will be back?"

"I'm not certain. She said that after Bordeaux she might go to Paris. It might be a few weeks or maybe longer. I'm a neighbor and was asked by Giselle to tend to her garden while she's gone. I'm sorry. I don't know anything more."

Darius was crushed. Did he want to wait for her? There was a hotel back in town. He would get dinner and think about what he wanted to do. Darius began the long walk back, still carrying his bag, retracing his steps on the rutted road. The late afternoon sun beat down on Darius and the disappointment of missing Giselle was accentuated by his fatigue. As he was about to seek the shelter of a tree for some shade and rest he saw a figure in the distance wearing a hat and carrying a bag. It was Giselle!

Giselle saw Darius at the same instant. She dropped her bag and ran to him. Darius did likewise, with all of his accumulated depression and disappointment vanishing in an instant, turning to a feeling of pure joy. They embraced in the middle of the muddy road, holding on for dear life as if they were standing on the edge of a precipice. They kissed, embraced, and then kissed again.

Giselle looked as beautiful as Darius remembered. Darius looked even more handsome to Giselle than when they were last together.

"My love, you came back to me!" cried Giselle.

"I couldn't stay away. Your memory haunted me from the day I left your farm house. When I saw that Bernard was officially classified as killed in action I knew we were meant to be together."

"I saw your beautiful story in the French Literary Review. I went to see your parents in Bordeaux because I didn't know how to find you in Paris. They gave me the strong impression that you were going to marry Louise."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know how to break the news to my parents that I was no longer in love with Louise. And with Bernard still classified as missing until recently, I never thought we would ever be together."

Darius and Giselle walked hand in hand back to the farmhouse. Giselle showed Darius the painting on her mantle of the bathtub surrounded by roses, and they enjoyed their first proper dinner in the farm house. They then descended into the cave with lamps in hand to find the marking Darius had made in 1916. They searched until they found "D. Betain and G. Dubois 1916" carved in the wall. They lit candles all around the area, shared a bottle of the finest champagne in the cellar, and made love to celebrate their reunion and then falling asleep in each other's arms.

Epilogue

Darius and Giselle were married two months later. Darius opened and operated a bookstore in town. Giselle continued painting and stayed at home raising their son, Bernard. They lived in Giselle's farmhouse and made champagne until their passing some 40 years ago. Their grandchildren still own and manage the family champagne business.