It was only after the children had left that Josephine accepted the photocopied pages.
She checked them one by one.
Camille waited.
“I brought everything I could copy before Oclair locked the safe,” Camille said.
“He locked it?”
“This morning.”
Josephine looked up.
“He claims the documents are under judicial review.”
“He’s trying to stall.”
“Yes.”
Josephine tied the pages together. “Then we won’t ask his permission anymore.”
Camille sat opposite her at the rustic table under the oak tree. “What do you plan to do?”
“A public reading.”
“Where?”
“The chapel.” ā
Camille thought back to the white families standing before the covered stone, the priestās trembling hand, Oclairās anger. āThey will resist.ā
āThey already have.ā
āThey might accuse you of stirring up trouble.ā
Josephine looked her straight in the eye. āMadame Duron, the first criticism leveled at truth is almost always disorder.ā
āMademoiselle Duron,ā Camille said mechanically.
Josephine raised an eyebrow.
Camille lowered her eyes. āForgive me. Itās a habit.ā
āI didnāt ask you any questions about your marriage.ā
āNo.ā
āThen letās focus on whatās important.ā
Camille accepted the reprimand because it was deserved.
Josephine unfolded Ruthās letter and placed it next to the copies in the ledger.
āMy grandmother wrote confessions because the Church taught her that silence was a sin. But she also wrote accusations, because her experience had taught her that silence could be a matter of survival. I donāt want her to be remembered only as someone who lied to protect Marcus. She was a witness. She chose life over the law. Thereās a difference.ā
Camille said, āYouāre not defending what Marcus did.ā
āNo.ā
The response was immediate.
āMrs. Duron died a violent death,ā Josephine continued. āThatās true. But the parish used that truth to stifle all the truths that came before it. They made Marcus into a monster so they wouldnāt have to ask themselves what kind of world it had been built. I wonāt refute that lie by purging it. I want the whole truth.ā
Camille watched the children chasing each other near the cabins.
āWhat kind of complete inventory can there be when so much is gone?ā