Thank you all so much for the reviews!
Yes the title is that of a song from Les Miserables. I don't own the musical, or any of Hugo's characters.
Let's see here...Claude lies, he goes forth to try and elaborate on the lie and the lie turns out being the truth. Esmeralda comes around and begins liking him.
Preview: Gudule and Esmeralda meet for the first time as mother and daughter and things go horribly awry for Claude.
As always reviews/constructive criticism are welcome, flames not so much.
After he saw to it that she ate something, Claude needed to leave her again. This time he did not lock her in the bed chamber, he would allow her access to the rest of the house. As he left the house, he stared at the necklace in his hand. He had lied to her. Yes, it was a clever lie, a good enough lie to make her trust him to some extent, but still it was a lie. He pondered how he would find Esmeralda's mother and then remembered that the recluse in the Tower Roland had once had a daughter. Her daughter had been kidnapped. The plan began to form in his mind. He would tell Gudule that Esmeralda was her daughter! Neither the girl, nor the crone would be the wiser. Claude smiled inwardly, knowing the brilliance of such a plan.
For her part, Esmeralda felt conflicted. On one hand she owed Claude something for finding her mother, on the other, she hated him for destroying the happiness she could have had with Phoebus. That day she gladly made the bed and washed herself up. She found a blue skirt, with a dark blue bodice and black corset. She found the combination of colors lovely and decided that the priest would think the same. All day she day dreamed, not of Phoebus, but of her mother. She wondered what her mother would look like, what her voice would sound like, what the whole meeting would be like. She thought about what her mother would say about the priest, about what her mother would say about Phoebus. She wondered if her mother was a proper lady, her mother could teach her how to act in polite society and she could win Phoebus back! Everything seemed perfect that moment.
Claude approached the recluse with the necklace in hand.
"Hello father."
She greeted him, recognizing the trinket.
"That belongs to the little Egyptian demon. She and the rest of her tribe kidnapped and ate my daughter! What are you doing with that?"
Her tone was fierce, full of hate toward the young girl and now Claude for consorting with the girl.
Claude noticed that the recluse was holding something in her hand. He recognized it as a small pink shoe. He fumbled with the pouch he held. He held it up to the barred window and watched Gudule's expression change from anger to shock.
"Esmeralda, is your daughter and you are her mother."
His voice sounded as astonished, as the recluse looked. He was not expecting this to be so easy. He expected for this task to take months, even years, before he found Esmeralda's mother.
Claude had brought with him a piece of paper with some writing on it. He handed her the paper.
"They are directions to where your daughter is staying. She is safe and being cared for."
He decided to omit the fact that he had taken Esmeralda from prison and that he was madly in love with the girl.
"Be at that address at noon tomorrow."
Claude was feeling rather lucky and decided to purchase a small piece of jewelry for Esmeralda. He saw it as an engagement gift. He would propose to her that evening. In his mind, he would kneel down, ring in hand. He would ask for her hand in marriage, she would say yes and wrap her arms around his neck. She would be enthusiastic, that she would want him right then and there.
It was getting late and Claude had not yet returned home. She now wondered if he had just told her that he had found her mother so that she would stop crying, so that she would offer herself to him. He was probably trying to avoid her anger by not coming back until late in the evening while she was asleep.
"Esmeralda."
He called to her from the parlor. She was lying on the bed, staring at an open book. She did not know how to read, but she could pretend it was some fairytale about a knight and a princess. A knight name Phoebus and a princess named Esmeralda.
She placed the book down upon hearing Claude enter.
"Your mother will be visiting us tomorrow."
He was out of breath. He watched as an overwhelmed smile spread across her face. She flung her arms around his neck, embracing him.
Flustered and unsure of how to react, he scooped her up in his arms, cradling her.
"You are beautiful."
He carried her into the bed chamber and set her on the bed.
He kissed her forehead, before kneeling. Every fiber of his body was shaking, but somehow he managed to pull the ring from his cassock.
"I…will…I love you Esmeralda."
He was uncertain of what to say, or if he should say anything. For so long he had avoided interactions with women, so he could not tell this one what a normal woman would want to hear. He decided to just slip the small emerald and diamond ring on her finger.
"Will you marry me?"
He looked up at her with utter uncertainty. But she could see that he wanted her answer to be "yes." A part of her screamed out "No!" He had stabbed Phoebus, had watched her be tortured, he was the reason for her misery. And yet he had found her mother.
"Yes."
It took a moment for the word to register, as he had half expected for her to tell him once again that he was not Phoebus and that she would only marry Phoebus.
"When will I meet my mother?"
A single tear hung in her eye.
"You will meet her tomorrow at noon."
It was becoming more obvious to him that he had not thought through his plan. Only now was it occurring to him that Esmeralda might not believe him when she saw Gudule and when he introduced her as the girl's mother. Gudule would no doubt want to know who her daughter was engaged to, what he was doing living alone with a young girl. It finally struck him. He was still a man of god! He could not introduce himself as Esmeralda's husband. And what if Esmeralda mentioned the captain to her mother? He did not even want to think about that.
He decided to quickly change the subject and get his mind off of the facts that still remained. He would work those out another day. Right now he wanted some time alone with his Esmeralda.
"I must say, my dear, that you look lovely this evening."
The grin on his face had gone from kind and loving to perverted, and ugly. He quickly closed and locked the bedroom door, preventing her from rushing out. He wandered back over to the bed and placed both arms on her waist, leaning in, causing her to lean back on the bed.
"My darling, we are to be married soon."
He whispered in her ear, kissing it, trying to persuade her into a little premarital passion.
She was growing more and more uncomfortable by the second. She turned her head away from him, not wanting him to go any further. His lips scorched her neck and shoulders, as he gently positioned himself above her.
She closed her eyes, afraid of what he would do next. Even though she had agreed to marry him, she was still repulsed when he became like this.
"Claude."
She whispered his name. It was the first time he had ever heard her say his name and it sounded like poetry!
He stopped, allowing her to open her eyes.
"I'm not ready. I want to be married before we…"
"As do I."
He sighed, slightly disappointed and knowing that if he were to force her, they would be back to her hating him.
It frightened her when he became overly zealous.
He rolled off of her, keeping his arms around her, as he did not want to let go of this moment.
In that moment she turned to him, looking at him with such sincerity.
He looked up into her eyes and saw all the hope the world had to offer. She had never once given up hope that she would find her mother. In a strange way he admired that innocence of hope.
