Chapter Two
A/N: Thanks to my first reviewers, Eponine Jondrette, Ellshainsby and MariusxEponine3.
When he slowed his steed to a halt at last, Marius could see the beautiful house at Rue Plumet that he had come to call his home since his marriage two days earlier. He was truly relieved to be home to his wife, of course, but was also a little fearful. Cosette did not know of the letter that Éponine had left him, let alone of the sleeping babe cradled blissfully in the crook of his arm. Whether she would agree, he did not know either.
Deciding that procrastination would get him nowhere, Marius led his midnight steed, Tybalt, back to the stable, then began to make his way along the path to the door. He paused to knock, then, considering the inky blackness of the sky, thought better of it, instead awkwardly reaching into the pocket of his slacks and retrieving his key, sliding it silently into the lock and turning it.
Once the door was locked and bolted behind him, Marius padded his way softly up the wooden panels of the staircase, tiptoeing warily past the slightly ajar door of he and Cosette's bedchamber, painfully aware of the faint glow of candlelight coming from within.
He carried on regardless to the room at the top of a small flight of stairs, opening the door and placing the Moses basket inside, kissing Marielle on the forehead before leaving the room.
When he slipped through their bedchamber door, Marius was not surprised to find Cosette sitting up in bed, her arms folded across her chest and her brows raised as crystal eyes met chestnut.
"What was it that was so urgent?" the blonde began calmly, not raising her voice in the least. Marius was not surprised by this. Cosette never raised her voice.
"I had an errand to go on. For a friend." Marius answered simply, giving no more information than that.
"Which friend?" she persisted, her breathing increasing just slightly.
"Éponine." he replied, silencing Cosette at once. He could hear her gasp, even as he turned toward the window, the pain of her death still raw in his heart.
"But… Marius, she's-"
"Dead, I know." Marius interrupted her, not wanting to hear the word fall from anyone's lips but his own. It would make it much too real that way. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he continued. "She left a letter for me, asking me to do something for her. It was important, I didn't want to leave her last wish unaccomplished."
"No, of course." Cosette replied, nodding her head. She was also much calmer now. "What was the wish, if you don't mind my asking?"
"Certainly not. It affects you, after all." Marius admitted to his wife.
"In what way?" she asked him, her curiosity now heightened even further. Marius opened his mouth to answer her, but closed it again, not really knowing what to say. Instead of fumbling for his words, he walked over to the bed, taking Cosette by the hand and pulling her out of it, along the corridor and up a tiny staircase.
As he opened the door, a small cry resounded from inside of it. Cosette frowned, not knowing what on earth was happening.
"Marius, what is that?" she asked, stepping a little further away from the doorway, while her husband stepped further inside, standing above a woven basket of poor quality, one which Cosette was certain had not been there before. Encouraged by the man, she took a few steps into the room, glancing down into the basket.
For a long moment, Cosette stared at the basket with an open mouth, not knowing quite what to make of the child lying asleep in it. She had not expected anything from what Marius had told her, but if she had been, she would never have expected this.
"Who is she?" the blonde breathed, her eyes not leaving the child in question.
"She's Éponine's." Marius explained simply. "She was the urgent errand."
"I can hardly believe it. She was even younger than I am now, to have a child left behind her… it hardly seems believable to me." Cosette stated quietly, pressing her hand to his chest in shock.
"I had no idea. That shows how observant I was. She was my best friend and I never even noticed that she was pregnant. I feel such a fool." Marius responded, just as quietly.
"Where will she go?" Cosette asked, seeing fit to change the subject.
"I am catching the boat to London tomorrow. She'll be safe enough in the Foundling Hospital. At least they'll be able to provide for her. Better than leaving her on the doorstep of the Paris Orphanage. She'd likely be smothered before she got in the door."
"Why would you take her to England?" the woman questioned her husband, choosing the words she would speak very carefully. "Why go to all the effort, when she has a safe, loving home much closer than that?"
Marius could hardly believe what he was hearing, clearing out his throat before asking her. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"If Éponine asked you to take care of her daughter, then we will. It would be betraying her memory to send her away." Upon saying this, Cosette reached down into the basket, gathering the thin blanket around the baby and lifting her into her arms. Though she stirred a little, the child's only reaction was to raise her thumb to her lips.
"She seems to like you." Marius observed.
"I'm seeming to like her more and more each moment." Cosette replied, turning to smile at her husband before returning her gaze to the bundle in her arms. "She's utterly beautiful. Does she have a name?"
"Marielle. That was all that was written on the letter." Marius answered. "I wanted her middle name to be Éponine, of course."
"Of course you would, I think that is only right. But what of her surname? Pontmercy?"
"No. Even though we would raise her, she is 'Ponine's child, and always will be. It wouldn't be right to give her my name."
"Then what? She'd be hated under the name Thénardier. There are no other options." For a long moment after she had spoken, Marius had agreed with his wife. Then he remembered the name Éponine had spoken to him once, when explaining about the letters she had written in her father's name.
"Jondrette. It was the name 'Ponine used to use. No one associates it with the Thénardiers, only with her specifically."
"Very well." Cosette agreed, reaching a finger down to stroke the young girl's cheek. "Welcome to our family, Marielle Éponine Jondrette."
A/N: Not too long between updates, for once. It isn't easy to update 34 stories at around the same time, but I do try my best. The next update could be a couple of months though, so please bear with me and review. The more reviews I get, the quicker I'll update.
