The Girl at the Gate

This story happens in Louisiana, in the south of the United States, many years ago, before the Civil War. At that time, rich white families owned large farms called plantations, and enslaved Black people worked on them without pay and without freedom.

One pleasant day, Madame Valmondé drove her carriage to the plantation of L'Abri to visit Désirée and her new baby. It made her laugh to think of Désirée with a baby. It seemed only yesterday that Désirée was a baby herself.

Many years before, Monsieur Valmondé was riding through the gate of his plantation when he found a little girl asleep in the shadow of the big stone pillar. She was just beginning to walk. When she woke up, she began to cry for her father. Nobody knew who she was or where she came from. Some people thought that travelers had left her there. But Madame Valmondé had no children of her own, and she believed that God had sent the girl to her. So the Valmondés kept her and gave her the name Désirée, which means “wanted” or “desired.” Désirée grew up beautiful, gentle, loving and honest, and everybody at Valmondé adored her.

One day, when she was eighteen, Désirée was standing next to the same stone pillar. Armand Aubigny was riding by. He saw her, and he fell in love at once, like a man struck by lightning. The Aubignys were one of the oldest and proudest families in Louisiana.

Monsieur Valmondé wanted to be practical. He reminded Armand that nobody knew who Désirée's parents were. Armand looked into her eyes and did not care. What did a name matter? He could give her one of the proudest names in Louisiana. He ordered beautiful clothes and presents for her from Paris, and they were married.

Now, Madame Valmondé had not seen Désirée for four weeks. When she arrived at L'Abri, she felt a little shiver, as always. It was a sad-looking house. The roof was steep and black, and big old oaks around it made deep shadows. Armand was a strict master. On his plantation, the enslaved people had forgotten how to be happy.

Désirée was lying on a sofa, resting. The baby was beside her, in the arms of his nurse, Zandrine. Désirée jumped up and kissed Madame Valmondé.

“Look at him, Mamma! Look how big he is! And his little hands, his nails! And he cries so loudly that Armand heard him far away, at the cabins.”