A Nest for Celeste (2 page)

S
he was weaving a basket from blades of dried grasses. Above her head was a shelf full of the baskets she had made, some with dried wildflowers or colored threads woven into them. Several had long shoulder straps, which made the baskets perfect for carrying bits of food or scraps of cloth. All of the baskets were skillfully made, with
perfect knots and minuscule braids and weaving so tight the baskets could hold several thimblefuls of water or honey.

Celeste’s newest basket was going to be of a design she hadn’t tried before, with a side pocket and a fold-over flap to keep things from spilling out. Her nook was dim, but Celeste was used to it. From her pile of dried grasses she pulled another long blade and, using her teeth and nimble fingers, began twisting and weaving.

“Over, under, around, through, left over right…” said Celeste to herself as the grasses sang. The blades smelled sweetly of sunshine, of summertime.

As she wove them together she pondered over where the grasses may have grown. She had nearly forgotten what a sunny day was like. She spent her time under the floorboards, or upstairs in the dining room, furtively darting about in the shadows, searching for bits of food, plucking strands of horsehair from the dining-room chairs’ seat cushions, or searching for bits of grass that had been tracked into the house on the shoes of humans. And always at night.

And lately Celeste had been finding something else on her expeditions upstairs: feathers. This was something new; she had never seen any before. Some were as small as her ear; others, long and pointy. Some were soft brown, others vivid green, still others brilliant blue and white. More often than not, after a venture to the dining room or crossing the hallway, she would
return with a feather.

Finally, her paws a bit numb, Celeste tied off the last knot and sat back to examine the completed basket. “Goes quickly, once you have a rhythm going,” she mused.

Her nose twitched, and she brushed dust from her whiskers.

She heard the deep gong of the dining-room clock resonate through the floorboards above her head.

Then she heard a rustling sound, and she glanced nervously down into the darkness of the tunnel between the musty floor joists.

Two gray rats emerged from the shadows and crowded into Celeste’s nook.

No, it wasn’t living in the darkness under the floorboards that Celeste minded. But these two, they were a different story.

T
he first rat, Illianna, had small, narrow-set eyes like a pair of black pepper-corns and a tongue like a lancet.

“Honestly, Celeste, another of your precious baskets?” she hissed. “Don’t you have anything better to do than this silly pastime?” She brushed the remaining
grasses off the table, then slumped in a chair.

The other rat, Trixie, began pilfering Celeste’s food stores, searching through her baskets, helping herself. Celeste felt defenseless against the two marauders, who frequently bullied their way into her nook, ransacking and filching.

“Hmm…bread crust…more bread crusts…” Trixie said, her raspy voice wheezing between bites. “This bread is moldy! Where’re the good bits, missy?”

“Um…what good bits, Trixie?”

“‘What good bits, Trixie?’”
In an instant the rat whirled around and nipped Celeste on the back. Celeste squealed. The pain was sudden and intense.

“You know what good bits!” Trixie screeched. “The really tasty bits…the bacon scraps and the sausage bits and the biscuit pieces…. You’ve hidden them from us, haven’t you?”

“N-n-no, honestly,” Celeste stammered.

“Try looking in her bed.” Illianna squinted at her.

Trixie yanked the oily scrap of rag off Celeste’s bed.

“Nothing!” she hollered. “There’s nothing here! Well, then, you’d better get to it, missy. Take one of those baskets to the dining room and bring back something good. And mind you. No eating along the way! I’ll smell your breath when you get back just to make sure.”

“But I hear humans in the dining room…. It’s still early yet.”

“Well, I’m hungry!” Trixie snapped, and she made a sudden move, as though she were about to bite Celeste again.

“Me, too,” Illianna chimed in. “Just keep to the shadows. Keep track of where the food is falling. And watch out for the cat.”

Celeste obeyed the two rats. She knew if she didn’t, the shoving and biting and insults and bullying would only increase. She skittered down the dark passage.

C
eleste sat in the shadows beneath the sideboard, listening and watching. She was worried about being seen, even a glimpse. Once she had clumsily let her tail protrude from the shadows, and a lady had screamed and dropped a dish. She wouldn’t let that happen again.

She watched for the cat, a silent mass of gray fur that roamed the dining room. She saw five sets of shoes around the dining-room table. This meant that there were guests dining.

Two pairs belonged to the ladies of the house; she had seen them before and knew them well,
remembering their silk shoes beneath the rustling skirts and petticoats.

Another pair of shoes at the head of the table belonged to the master of the house. Celeste had seen him before, too. He had a fuzzy set of graying whiskers on each cheek and a red nose. Celeste noticed a napkin fall as he scooted his chair back and stood up.

“And now, Mr. Audubon,” he said. “May I formally welcome you and your young assistant to Oakley Plantation and wish you a happy stay here.” There was a clinking of glasses.

“
Merci
…ah, thank you, Monsieur Pirrie,” boomed another deep voice. “Both Joseph and I are so very grateful for your hospitality. Your good wife, Madame Pirrie, is a most charming hostess. And your daughter, Miss Eliza, is a delight; I look forward to instructing her in the art of dancing, of drawing, and of painting. She looks to be someone…mmm…light on her toes? And she is now at the age to have dancing
with many
beaux
, yes? Outgrown the dolls, yes? I have the latest gavottes and cotillions from Paris for her to learn.”

“Excellent, Audubon,” said Mr. Pirrie. “That sounds fine, mighty fine. I can’t have my daughter right on the verge of bein’ courted by every buck in
the parish and not knowin’ the proper way to dance. That Mr. Bradford over at Bayou Sara has taken on a fancy teacher for his daughters, and I won’t give Liza anything less. I’ll leave you in charge of all the drawin’ and the dance steps.”

“Thank you,
monsieur
.”

“And I understand that you’ll be studyin’ the birds around here? And paintin’ their pictures?”

“Their portraits,
monsieur
. Yes, I will be collecting specimens of as many different species as I possibly can when not instructing Miss Eliza here. It is my intent to paint the portraits of every single species of bird in North America. And to paint the birds in their natural surroundings, and as lifelike as possible.”

“Quite an undertaking!”

“Yes, it is indeed. And this evening I have brought along an example of what I am trying to achieve.” He held up the large sheet of paper. “
Voilà
…a canvas-back duck.”

Celeste could see a painting of a beautiful bird.

“Very nice, very nice indeed, Audubon,” said Mr. Pirrie.

“It’s quite large,” commented Mrs. Pirrie.

“Yes, it is. It is life-size. I have much to do. It may take many, many months. My assistant here, Monsieur Joseph, is but a lad but is quite capable as an artist himself. He will be helping me with backgrounds perhaps, yes, Joseph?”

Celeste heard another voice, younger and softer. Still keeping to the shadows, she very carefully peeked up at the table.

“Yes, sir,” the boy answered. He looked much younger than the other men. His hair was the color of a chestnut, and his face was smooth. His eyes were wide and pale blue; Celeste noticed something melancholy in them.

“Parents alive, son?” Mr. Pirrie asked.

“Yes, sir. In Cincinnati, sir,” Joseph replied.

“Cincinnati? That’s quite a ways from here…several weeks’ journey! You’re a long way from home, young fella.”

Celeste watched Joseph as he ate.
That explains the lost look on his face,
she thought.
He’s a long way from home. And lonely, too.

“Monsieur Joseph has been a student of mine,” Audubon explained. “The training and experience he receives as my assistant is invaluable. His mama and papa see that he has talent; he may at some point be quite capable at the botanicals.”

“Botanicals, eh? That’s plants and such, am I right?”

“Yes, sir,” said Joseph. “Mr. Pirrie, I noticed that you have several magnificent magnolia trees in your yard…in full bloom. I’ve never seen such beautiful trees. And some outstanding specimens of tulip poplar, as well. Perhaps we can use those in our paintings?”

Mr. Pirrie looked pleased. “That’d be fine, son, just fine,” he said.

The conversation turned to the weather, to the crops, and to horses as Celeste watched carefully for crumbs dropping to the carpet. Eventually, the candles and oil lamps were snuffed out for the evening. The dining room was dark and silent. Celeste prepared to venture out from beneath the sideboard to gather the remains of the meal.