"And why not? Why not?! Does it hurt your pride? Do you fear that it may make you less of a man than you are? Oh, you never seemed so less of a man until now! Why must you be so stubborn? So childish?!" Her soprano voice rang throughout the house in a terrible screech, all of her muscles clenched in anger. The women of the house were paying no mind to the scene downstairs, instead purposefully taking up their attention with the young master, who had confined himself to his room the moment that he suspected tension. The master and mistress of the house had been arguing for months on end about the same thing, the single thing that the boy felt they didn't need any more of: money.
"Childish? Your complaints ring throughout the property with the appeal of a crow, and you call me childish? So what if I'm not to accept the pay,hm? Not once have I accepted it, not once in my life, and I've no reason to start now." The boy buried his face in his pillow at the sound of his father's voice, which, however steady and calm, was just as loud as his wife's. The child's sister, Aline, let out an exhasperated sigh and ran a hand through her brother's hair, forcing a smile. "Come, brother, surely there's something you want to do. I could read to you again about the stars, or you could read to me your favourite with the pup."
He glanced up at his sister, and knew that she was just trying to distract him from the fighting. After a moment, he rolled over. "Read to me about the sky. I want to know about the stars." She smiled and nodded, going to fetch one of his books about astrology. She was always pleased to read to him about it, and he seemed to enjoy it, despite the complexity. She knew that he was lucky to have gotten their father's brains along with their mother's beauty and both of their voices. She, her twin, and their other brother were not graced with all of these traits, but were not jealous in the least. The youngest of them was a true noble, and they would do anything to ensure his happiness and success.
"Take it back." He said, stopping her on her way to the shelf. She turned. "Is there something else you would like?" He looked up, knowing that it would almost be supper time, knowing that he would have to sit inbetween the tension and pretend to be grateful. "I want to read the diary again. The one about grandfather. Mother's father." Aline nodded, and found it right away. It was a book that was passed around through all of the children, though they were certain that their parents were not aware of them reading it. It was the captivating tale of success against all odds, of death and life, of peace and chaos. There were many doubts among it's readers that it was actually true, yet none of them had the courage to simply ask. Instead, they read.
She brought the book back to the bed, sitting beside her brother, who looked over her shoulder to see the pages. "We stopped at her death, yes? The sick woman?" He nodded, and leaned back to hear his sibling read. He favoured her voice out of the others, mostly because she was the only one who had gotten a fraction of their parent's good tones. It was strong, like father's, but pronounced as well as their mother's ever was. She had gotten their parent's beauty, too, with her glossy raven locks and her healthy, glowing skin. The boy was convinced that she was the luckiest out of them all to be graced with such genes.. right next to him, of course. He'd have at it with anyone who tried to take her hand in marriage, which were many. Her voice went through his thoughts as she read,
'Take my hand,' she begged, 'the night grows ever colder'. He clutched the woman's hand, looking her in the eye, feeling her slipping away and knowing that there was nothing he could do. 'Then I will keep you warm...' 'Take my child, I give her to your keeping.' Yes, the child! He could still save the child. He could leave her spirit at peace. 'Take shelter from the storm...' She took in a breath. 'For God's sake.. Please stay till I am sleeping. And tell Cosette I love her, and I'll see her when I-'"
A chime rang through the house, getting the attention of it's members, ending the story abruptley. The boy pouted as the cook called for supper, wanting to hear the rest of the chapter at least. His sister looked apologetically, and set the book back where it belonged. Her twin came out of the powder room as he rose out of bed, and fixed his hair and his clothes in order to make him seem presentable. "Good, you still manage to look fine even if you haven't gotten out of bed in the past hours. Now remember, please do not mention anything.." He gave her a sharp look. "I speak as I please." She just nodded and gave an inward sigh, escorting her siblings down to the table.
The meal looked lavishing, as always. There were meat pies, peach dishes, some noodled dish with raspberries that the boy didn't recognize, a beef dish with mushrooms and covered in espagnole, fish and fruits and roots of all sorts. The food was hardly the center of attention, though. It was the mother and father, who sat at opposite ends so that they faced each other, as always. Beside the master of the house sat their oldest child, Phillipe, who was as always less than pleased with the atmosphere of the gathering. The two girls sat on either side of their mother, and the young master took his place at his father's left hand. All was silent for some time as they ate, everyone either too afraid to break the ice or too used to it to care. In the end, it was the master who cleared his throat. All looked up, and he spoke.
"It... it's been obvious to everyone that some things have been stressing us of late." Their mother resisted the urge to pop out a jab at him, and let him continue. "And I feel that perhaps we've been growing apart as a family. Our bonds were strong, and now they wither. We no longer laugh and play. There's a tension that is thickening. I think we should get away. A vacation to the North lands. To see the ocean and the swarms of performers that have offered to make joy out of our remorse." The children looked at each other, and at their mother for confirmation. She gave a slight smile. "A vacation? I... I do suppose we need one. It's been so troubling, these past days. We do need to get away... Yes. Of course. What a lovely idea, Marius." Her husband nodded, gleaming for the first time in a while. "Very good! We leave in two days time. I've everything prepared, all we must do is organize ourselves."
Oh, how quickly the mood lightened. The rest of the meal was filled with nothing but conversation, and fantasies between the children as to all the coast would hold. They were acting as one again, and they were happy. Mother was happy, father was happy, his siblings were happy, and that made Raoul Pontmercy the happiest boy in the world.