Free Let Them Have Cake by Kathy Pratt Page A

sleeping wear.
    She stepped back out into the damp air and began walking slowly along the walkway.
    “Madame. Madame Toussaint. It is marvelous to see you! You’ve been absent for quite some time. Monsieur Andrieux has been beside himself with worry. We’ve all been quite concerned. Welcome back.”
    The odd little man scurried off towards what appeared to be a barn. He was dressed in peasant clothing. He carried a bent stick that he used as a walking cane and leaned to the side as he walked.
    Anna thought it strange that he called her Madame Toussaint, and his appearance was strange as well. The sound of running water drew her attention. She followed it through the fog until she located the source. A waterwheel on the edge of the small lake in the center of the hamlet turned tirelessly.  Ducks and geese paddled by. She sat on a rock by the lake and gazed at the peaceful pastoral scene. The scent of a wood smoke fire reached her nostrils with shifts of the wind. 
    Being in the hamlet felt comfortable to Anna. She believed she’d been there before, perhaps in another lifetime. At the very least her ancestors had been there before her.
    Anna thought about her theory that human beings are a composite of all of their ancestors that came before, not just their physical selves but their mental selves as well. It only made sense that little bits of your ancestors lived on within you, and that their experiences and memories got passed on as well. Someday she would research this and write a journal article. She was certain she wasn’t the only person in the world to believe this and that this was where feelings of déjà vu came from. Maybe she’d never been here before, but her ancestor had and the memory was encoded in her brain.
    She reached down to smooth her skirt and then wrapped the shawl tighter around her.
    Chattering female voices were approaching in the fog. Shadowy figures grew clearer and Anna watched as two beautiful young women approached. They, too, were dressed in period costumes. A pretty brunette wore a simple blue, full-skirted dress. Her hair was done in an elaborate up do. Her companion, an exquisitely beautiful creature with ebony hair and eyes, wore a similar blue dress.
    “Anne-Marie! When did you return? We have missed you so,” said the brunette. “Look, Genevieve, it’s Anne-Marie.”
    They were speaking French and Anna was amazed at how well she was able to understand them.
    Both young women picked up their skirts and ran to Anna, who had stood up from the rock she was sitting on. They simultaneously embraced her.
    Anna felt the need to explain and hoped her high school French was convincing. “I only just arrived. I’ve been here a very short time.”
    The women seemed to understand her perfectly.
    “Monique,” said Genevieve as she pulled away from Anna. “Anne-Marie is freezing and she’s wet. We must get her inside by a fire. Come.”
    Monique and Genevieve each took one of Anna’s arms and guided her through the fog. A large thatched roof house came into view. The chimney of the farmhouse was the source of the wood smoke Anna had smelled. They threw open the door and entered into a pleasant scene.
    Young women sat about engaging in various activities. Some were doing needlework, some spinning wool, and another was playing music on a harp.
    A young man was painting a portrait of two of the women as they did their embroidery. The man was dressed in a velvet waistcoat, pants that reached just below his knees, and white tights. His hair was long and pulled into a tail at the nape of his neck. He was aristocratic looking, with a long thin nose and sunken cheeks. His hair was a mouse brown color and had sausage curls rolled above his ears. His hands were artistic and thin with long fingers that held the palate and brush he was using to paint.
    All of the women were dressed in simple yet elegant long dresses with full petticoats underneath. They were trimmed in lace and ruffles. The bodices