A/N: Thank you for the reviews! And now where the trouble actually kicks off
The Benefactress
Part 3: A Rose and Its Thorns
Mondays were always busy at the Stendhals' office on the Rue des Macons, mostly owing to the influx of mail and requests from various consulates, bookshops, students, and other individuals concerned with the study of various languages. "I do wish that the post would sort out these documents in some way; it's terribly confusing to find a Spanish book stuck between English documents," Eponine remarked one morning as she and her employer Odette Stendhal were putting some semblance of order in a heap of new orders. "I s'pose it all looks the same to the postman at times."
"At least the consulates use their own couriers, if only for confidentiality's sake," Odette huffed. She frowned as she held up one particularly bedraggled envelope. "This is not in Russian or anything they speak in Prussian."
Eponine inspected the writing on the envelope. "It might be Polish. There's a word or two there that sounds familiar."
"I didn't know you knew anyone from there."
"Not too well; they are more of Citizen Feuilly's friends."
Odette chuckled only to fall silent on hearing a thump from upstairs. She scowled and put her hands akimbo. "I'd best go see what Emile is up to. I'll have a word with him about trying to get his father's books out of the shelves again."
It was all that Eponine could do to keep a straight face as she waited for Odette's footsteps to fade on the stairwell; she knew that in a few minutes the quiet would soon be broken by yet another argument between Odette and Emile. Fortunately at that moment she heard a squeak followed by the rustling of blankets from Laure's makeshift wicker cradle in a corner. "Now what do you think of that, petite?" Eponine asked as she scooped up her daughter. "I just fed you, you haven't made a mess, and you don't look sleepy, so I s'pose you just miss me?" she asked before tickling the infant. Laure squealed and waved her hands, then laughed louder as Eponine bounced her on her lap. After a few more minutes of play, Eponine tucked Laure in the crook of her left elbow before sitting down at her desk to write out some new translations. "Some day you're going to get big enough to read things like this, but before that I s'pose you'll have to start with drawings. Maybe I'll get your aunt Azelma or your uncle Grantaire to make some you'd like," Eponine mused as she filled her inkwell. She chuckled when Laure cooed and stared up at her with something of a curious expression. "Or maybe you'd like to hear stories instead? Your uncle Gavroche is great with telling those, but I have to make sure you don't learn any of that argot. You're going to be a proper lady, darling," she added as she pushed a wayward golden curl out of Laure's line of sight.
She had only written a few lines before she heard a single loud knock on the door. Eponine smiled, already guessing who this visitor was. She quietly scooped up Laure and tiptoed to the door in order to open it. "You're early, Antoine," she greeted.
"One meeting was called off," Enjolras replied as he touched Eponine's shoulder. "Of course I won't forget you either, Laure," he added as he ruffled the baby's hair.
Eponine took the opportunity to kiss her husband's cheek before pulling him into the office. "I have that, and this article for you; Emile helped me translate it yesterday and he allowed me to make a copy for you. It would be useful for that debate about the navy and the borders," she said as she handed a few sheets of paper to him. "What do you think?"
"It's a captain's log," Enjolras remarked after perusing the first page of this article. "A very detailed one at that. How did you come across this?"
"An old captain came calling on Odette, and he was telling stories. So I asked, and he said he'd seized a thing or two while fighting the English at Toulon," Eponine explained as she settled Laure back in her lap. "I s'pose a proper map of the coasts of France would have been useful too, but this mentions a bit about other places in the Mediterranean."
"It's useful. Thank you," Enjolras said as he put the paper in his satchel. "Are you still planning to call on Citizenness Fontenay today?"
Eponine nodded. "Don't let her catch you calling her that."
"I do not understand the outmoded form of address."
"You still pronounce Bonaparte as Buonaparte."
"Which is how he was properly known," Enjolras pointed out as he reached out to pick up Laure. The baby squirmed in protest for a moment before quickly settling down against Enjolras' chest and letting out a contented sigh when her father began to rub her back. "This is why your brothers will be visiting the Bahorels later?"
"You know how Gavroche is with Bahorel and his stories, and how Neville and Jacques will always follow," Eponine replied with a grin.
Enjolras chuckled knowingly." When Citizen Fontenay was still alive, he financed the education of several young men at the seminary on the Rue Ferou. He and his wife were very exacting in their choice of scholars," he said more seriously after a few moments.
"So I s'pose that I may have to convince her why it would be a good thing to take care of many pupils instead of just a few, and girls at that," Eponine mused aloud. "They have never given anything to a school for younger children, or for any school of trade?"
"Never," Enjolras replied. "This will be quite new."
'Isn't everything nowadays?' Eponine thought as she inched closer to him. "I'd like to get her to listen to the idea, even for a while, maybe even attend a meeting where it is being discussed."
Enjolras looked at her intently. "You might thoroughly convince her first."
"I do hope so," Eponine said, feeling her cheeks grow warm. It always meant a lot to her whenever Enjolras would commend her debates and public speaking efforts, especially since he was such a gifted orator. 'I should be able to manage if I remember to speak a little more daintily,' she told herself as she picked up Laure again. "Tell me what the others think of that translation," she said.
"Of course." Enjolras ruffled Laure's hair once again before giving Eponine a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you later, Eponine."
Eponine smiled at this familiar reassurance before kissing him back on his lips. "You too," she said before showing him out the door. As brief as this visit had been it was enough to keep her spirits buoyed throughout the rest of the work day. All the same it still felt as if far too little time had passed by the time the clock struck four and Eponine bundled up Laure before taking a fiacre bound for the Rue de l'Oratoire, in the neighbourhood of the Avenue de Neuilly.
Although she was no stranger to opulence, Eponine could not help but feel uneasy as she caught sight of the sprawling edifice that she knew to be the Fontenay residence. 'I could fit maybe three or four of my own home in there,' she realized as she alighted from the fiacre. She felt Laure stir in her arms and let out a whimper. "It's only a short visit we have to make. We'll be home soon," she whispered before kissing the baby and patting her back. She made a slight bow to the footman waiting at the house's gate. "Is Madame de Fontenay at home?" she asked.
The footman nodded. "Your name is, Mademoiselle?"
"Citizenness Eponine Enjolras," Eponine said. 'Only because at some point the name Madame Enjolras was more for Monique,' she thought, recalling her very spirited and accommodating mother-in-law all the way in Aix-en-Provence.
The footman cleared his throat before going into the house to announce Eponine's arrival. After a few moments he emerged and motioned for her to walk up to the door. "Madame will see you in the drawing room," he intoned.
Eponine hugged Laure more tightly as she was shown down a corridor leading to a pair of tall doors with gilt handles. These doors opened into a large hall with imposing Corinthian columns on either side of the room. Elegantly carved mahogany settees and high-backed armchairs formed the bulk of the room's furnishings. A large fireplace embellished with Rococco curlicues and roses stood at the far end of the room. Huge tapestries hung from the walls, both as decor and to protect the room against drafts. Eponine noticed that the tapestries were heavily embroidered with gold and silver thread in the shape of stars and foliage. She took six steps into the room before she heard a cough followed by the sound of a chair creaking. "Good evening Madame de Fontenay," Eponine said.
A woman rose from a seat near the fireplace. A tall powdered wig covered her head and she wore a voluminous black gown with a high collar and several layers of petticoats. Her face was not wizened but more angular and hawkish in bearing, an impression that was furthered by her thin gilt-rimmed spectacles. She pursed her lips as she surveyed Eponine and Laure. "I have heard much about you, young lady. The Rose of the Radicaux party so they say," she said slowly. "I expected you would be older. What is your age?"
Eponine bit her lip for a moment, feeling rather shabby even in her best maroon gown and with her long hair properly pinned up, but she willed herself to meet Madame Fontenay's gaze. "I turned nineteen last April, Madame."
"I see that you have not been able to employ the services of a nursemaid," Madame Fontenay said, indicating the baby in Eponine's arms.
"I believe it would be healthier for my daughter if I could personally attend to her upbringing and education," Eponine answered. "I do not wish to be a stranger to my child for any point in time."
"It must be quite the burden on your social commitments, I daresay," the widow sniffed as she took a seat. "I have also heard about your...coterie and its projects. No doubt this is the intent of your calling on me, to ask if I can finance this venture."
"Madame, I have also heard that you and your deceased husband-my condolences also too, Madame-have been benefactors too in the past, to deserving young men," Eponine said. She saw the widow's eyes widen with a look of surprise. "The intended students, the girls who will be studying in these workshops, are also deserving. They will be useful to their families if they can learn something to bring more francs in."
"Is it necessary to teach a girl other than what she needs to run her home?"
"It is, to make sure that fewer girls will take to the streets."
"They are there for the weakness of their characters," Madame Fontenay sniffed. "These girls need moral schooling, and not a trade."
"They have the churches and sermons for that," Eponine replied. "The priests and their boys do not teach our girls how to make a living."
Madame Fontenay regarded the young woman for a long moment. "You are very bold in your opinions, Madame Enjolras."
It was at that moment that a footman opened the door. "Mademoiselle Lafontaine has arrived," he said breathlessly. "The elder," he clarified.
"Send her in," Madame Fontenay said. She looked at Eponine curiously. "Are you acquainted with my niece, Mademoiselle Cerise Lafontaine?"
"We have met," Eponine replied thinly. It was all she could do to hide her disdain; there was no other way she could regard someone who'd nearly destroyed Azelma and Jehan's good names and had nearly brought down several prominent other men with her rumor-mongering and greed. 'Not to mention everything she said too about me and Antoine,' she thought as she adjusted Laure's bonnet to protect her against the chill.
In a few moments the drawing room door opened, admitting Cerise Lafontaine. The tall brunette was dressed at the height of fashion in a billowing yellow dress paired with a lace pelerine for both warmth and modesty. "Dear aunt, I must ask you about my dowry-" she began before she realized who else was in the drawing room. Her eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "What is she doing here?"
"Madame Enjolras and I were discussing a project," Madame Fontenay replied, sounding a little taken aback at her niece's behaviour. "Is there a problem, my dear?"
"She does have a pretty name," Cerise said in an undertone before making something of a respectful bow. "Will it be long?"
"We'll talk for a few more minutes, then you shall have all the time you like," Madame Fontenay said amiably. "She is the sort of girl who should have a fine marriage," she remarked, looking at Eponine.
"I am sure she has no lack of suitors," Eponine pointed out, patting Laure's back as she began to whimper again.
"That is not enough to arrange a match," Madame Fontenay said patronizingly. "There are many other things to consider."
"Since your niece is in such a hurry, when may we talk about this project again?" Eponine asked.
"I will call on you," Madame Fontenay said. "At your home, of course. You are there in the evenings?"
"Yes Madame," Eponine replied. She made a quick curtsy. "Thank you for your hospitality Madame," she added before quickly exiting the room. It was all she could do not to turn back if only to catch a snatch or two of whatever Cerise and Madame Fontenay were discussing. In fact the sound of Cerise's laughter only served to unsettle her further. 'I shall certainly have a thing or two to clear up when we meet again,' she noted, feeling a shudder of revulsion at the very thought.
