It wasn't generally known, but it seems that Lucius Beaucaire has been married twice--the first time to a Creole girl in New Orleans when he was scarcely more than a boy.
Nobody now living probably knows what ever became of her, but likely she died early; anyway she never came north, or has since been heard from.

The important part is that she gave birth to a son, who remained in New Orleans, probably in her care, until he was fourteen or fifteen years old.

Then some occurrence, possibly his mother's death, caused the Judge to send for the lad, whose name was Adelbert, and had him brought to Missouri.

All this happened before Haines settled at the Landing, and previous to Beaucaire's second marriage to Mademoiselle Menard.

Bert, as the boy was called, grew up wild, and father and son quarreled so continuously that finally, and before he was twenty, the latter ran away, and has never been heard of since.