Death of My Country, The

by Maxine Trottier

The Plains of Abraham Diary of Genevieve Aubuchon, Quebec, New France, 1759

Le 13 mai 1759 - "We must leave this place," Chegual said when we walked alone by the rivier. He would take me from Quebec and back to the Abenaki mission at St. Francis so that I would be safe. When I insisted that we were safe here, that the city is well fortified, he made a rude noise. He has heard stories of the British army, of its size and strength. He knew what the capitaine of the shiip had said, that France had abandoned it people here. "I will not abandon you," he told me. "I am your brother."
What he says about France may be true. But how can I leave Mme Claire and Mere Esther after what they have done for me?
My brother's answer turned my blood to ice. "Then you may be choosing death, sister. If that is so, I will die with you."