A/N: A very cute bit I've stored up for years now, and was only reminded of thanks to work.
Her Father's Daughter
1840
It only stood to reason that mornings were always slightly chaotic at 9 Rue Guisarde, owing to the fact that in residence were two very busy adults and six youngsters of different ages. 'Thankfully things will only get easier over time,' Enjolras reassured himself silently one September morning as he was readying for another day at work. While it was true that he and Eponine had their hands full taking care of their three very young children, it helped a great deal that his brothers-in-law were already old enough to not need constant reminding or watching over their daily routines. 'It only seems like yesterday that it was otherwise,' he thought as he knotted his cravat.
Just before he could don his coat he heard footsteps rushing up to the bedroom. "Something the matter?" he asked as he caught sight of Eponine now hurrying to grab her hairpins and her gloves from her dressing table.
"Yes, it's only just now," Eponine replied breathlessly. "I just got a note from the schoolhouse. The teachers for the younger classes are ill today, so this means that Laure and Julien won't have lessons. They can't stay here all day with no one to watch them especially since my brothers won't be home till much later."
"I see. This, while Jehan and Azelma are still out of town?" he asked a little worriedly.
Eponine nodded as she smoothed down her maroon dress, which had gotten quite rumpled in her rush to get upstairs. "I thought of asking Cosette if she could take them for the day but I remembered that her father has been ill so she's quite busy. Everyone else too has things to do and it's really a bit much to just drop in on them like this."
Enjolras touched the small of her back, smiling when he felt her lean ever so slightly into his hand. Even after all these years he somehow still had this effect on her. He knew better than to follow through and turn her around to kiss her soundly, especially given that they had little time on their hands for such morning activities."They could go with you to the Rue des Macons; Citizenness Stendhal is used to them being around."
"They could but I wouldn't; I'm already bringing Etienne along as I always do, and you know loud he can be," Eponine said. She bit her lip as she began pinning her hair back from her face. "Do you s'pose you could bring one of them with you, just for today?"
"To the Palais de Justice?"
"Yes, and you really may as well, Antoine. They are curious about what you do."
Enjolras sighed as he thought through his agenda for the day; fortunately he wasn't scheduled to attend any courtroom hearings. All the same it wouldn't be an easy matter to manage since both children in question were so particular. 'It's no place for little ones to be running about in,' he thought, knowing all too well what some of his colleagues thought of children being underfoot. "I'll bring Laure. Julien would prefer to run about and there's more room at your workplace than mine," he finally said.
Eponine laughed at this blasé explanation. "You probably should bring something for her to read so she won't get too restless." She paused to finish putting a last hairpin in place before turning around to face him as she clasped his arm. "Thank you, Antoine."
"You're welcome." He lifted her left hand to help her slide on her glove so it wouldn't catch on her twisted fingers. "So we'll meet at about half past five, at the Rue des Macons?"
She smiled as she nodded again. "That would be nice. I s'pose if it's Laure who's going with you, it's not going to be exactly at that hour because she'll have more questions than you have time to answer them," she remarked before pressing a light kiss to his cheek. "You ready for it?"
"I'll manage," he replied, touching her wrist again before letting her go off to see to their younger son, Etienne, who was beginning to stir in his cradle near their bed. He still remembered how it was to be a young child curious about everything, only that there were not always older persons around to help him find the answers. 'All the more reason to do my best,' he decided as he put on his long dark blue coat. He raised an eyebrow as he heard giggles and the patter of footsteps in the hallway. "Do Laure and Julien know already?" he asked Eponine.
"You know how they can guess," she quipped, pausing in the middle of swaddling the baby. "You and Laure ought to go now before you're late for work. The boys and I will be fine."
"Are you sure?"
"I would have told you by now if I wouldn't be."
"That's true," he concurred as he went to Eponine and their child. He ruffled Etienne's hair before giving Eponine a kiss. "Till later then," he said, feeling her lips curve up into a smile against his own before he pulled away and headed out of the room.
As he walked downstairs to retrieve his satchel of papers from the study, he could hear the chatter of his two older children playing in the front room. 'What incredulous game have they concocted now?' he wondered as he heard Julien's high pitched shrieks of laughter over Laure's breathless storytelling. "Laure, Julien, I need to have a word with you both," he said as he walked into the adjoining room.
The two youngsters who'd been rolling about on the floor quickly jumped to their feet. "Papa! Is it true that Julien and I get to stay with you and Maman today?" Laure asked.
"It is, but we can't all be together in one place, petite," Enjolras replied as he bent to scoop up Julien, who'd now hugged his shin firmly. "You'll be going with your mother and Etienne to the Rue des Macons later," he said to the little boy.
Julien frowned before wiping his nose on his sleeve of his jacket. "Tienne is so noisy!"
"You were also noisy too when you were little. Everyone says so," Laure chimed in.
"When you get older you'll learn that all babies make a lot of noise," Enjolras said firmly. He gave his son a reassuring look as he patted his blond curls. "You're older now, my little man, and you know how to do some things better. Can you do something for me?"
Julien nodded after a moment. "I'll be good and quiet so Tienne won't cry so much."
"That, but you also need to help your mother a little if she needs it. She'll tell you what to do," Enjolras said. "You can run about and play, or read whatever you like during the rest of the time."
The child's blue eyes brightened at the mention of reading. "I'll help," he said before throwing his chubby arms around Enjolras' neck. "Where will you and Laure go?"
"To some meetings today. Now run along," Enjolras advised, ruffling Julien's hair one last time before setting him back on his feet and letting him scamper off. He looked to where Laure was now poring through yet another book. "You can bring that one with you. It's going to be a long day," he said to her.
The little girl hopped off the settee and shook out her wool dress. "Who will you be talking to, Papa?"
"Some people who need help with cases," Enjolras replied as he picked up his daughter's book and placed it in the satchel while she raced to put on her coat and her hat. It wouldn't do to go into a complex explanation of litigations and questions of criminal law, at least not yet. He let Laure hold on to his wrist as they headed out of the house and walked down the street to the Marche Saint Germain and turned towards the Rue de Four. "We'll have to take the omnibus from here, so stay close," he told her.
Laure restlessly looked around. "Which way will it pass?"
"Straight, then we'll cross the Seine near the Place Dauphine," Enjolras explained. For a moment he thought of hailing a fiacre to make the trip a little shorter but none of these hackney coaches were in sight. After about half a minute he caught sight of the omnibus, thankfully a little less crowded than it would have normally been at this hour. "Ladies first," he said as he carefully helped Laure onto the omnibus' step.
A matron sitting nearby grinned on hearing this. "What a sweet little girl! She's awfully a lot like her mother, isn't she?" she said to Enjolras.
"Certainly," Enjolras replied proudly. 'Though it's more than just a resemblance,' he thought. It was clear from the very beginning that Laure was a wilful and lively child, and it did not take much guesswork to tell which parent these traits had come from. It was heartening yet somewhat worrisome for Enjolras to see all of this; would Laure only be met with frustrations and thwarted opportunities in the coming years, or would there be doors open for her?
He did not have much time to mull over this, for soon the omnibus had reached the bridge, prompting him and Laure to alight near the quay and walk the rest of the way to the Palais de Justice. By now the sun was high in the sky, lending some warmth to the otherwise brisk day, but all the same the feel of damp could not quite be banished owing to the chilly wind.
Suddenly Laure tugged on his hand. "Why are we meeting at the Palais de Justice and not at the Hotel de Ville?"
Enjolras had to hold back a sigh before looking at the little girl skipping beside him. "Because it's a legal matter for the courts to deal with later," he said in a level tone.
Laure's brow furrowed quizzically. "Why are you visiting that awful and dark place? The Hotel de Ville is so much nicer."
"Because I'm the one asking questions, and it's only polite to be the one calling then," Enjolras replied. Thankfully this explanation seemed to suffice for the time being, since Laure nodded before continuing to skip beside him, all the while singing a little ditty. 'How is it that children never seem to run out of questions or at least the energy to ask them?' he wondered as he lifted her up to give her a better view of the barges sailing past the Quai de Gevres.
Laure squirmed in her father's arms as she watched a particularly dingy boat unloading some large bundles. "Papa, where do the boats come from?"
"From Montereau," Enjolras said. "It's a very old town."
"Is it as big as Aix?" she asked.
"They are around the same size nowadays," he replied.
"Grandfather told me that Aix was once a small village. Do all big cities like Paris and London also start out that way?"
"Somehow. When people like a place because it suits their needs, they stay there. Then that place can become important in things like politics, trade, or even wars. That's one way big cities can begin."
Laure's brown eyes widened. "I thought wars destroy cities."
"Yes, but sometimes cities like Marseilles are built around fortresses or ports," Enjolras explained. "They serve as places to stop enemies from invading countries."
"Like what almost happened during the time of Robespierre?"
"Precisely."
Laure was silent for a little longer, even when Enjolras set her back on her feet so they could walk the rest of the way to the Palais de Justice. "Maman told me that when she was a very little girl, no one was allowed to sing La Marseillaise. Why didn't the kings like it if the song is for France?" she asked as she adjusted her dark blue hat so that it was a little askew.
Enjolras smirked at this innocent though pointed query. "It's a song for the people, and not for kings."
"I think they were being silly," Laure said. "Did you ever get in trouble for singing it?"
"A few times," he replied. He paused to help her up the steep steps of the Palais de Justice, which were even more slippery than usual. 'Hopefully there won't be much chance of rain till later this evening,' he thought as they reached the foyer, where he caught sight of a lumbering figure also entering the foyer. He nodded to this fellow newcomer. "Good morning Verdier."
"Good morning to you as well," Verdier said. His eyebrows shot up when he saw Laure. "What's this? Couldn't get someone to watch your little one?"
"It's a temporary arrangement," Enjolras said candidly. "Laure, meet Citizen Verdier. Verdier, meet my daughter Laure."
Laure nodded though she was clearly taken aback by the newcomer's massive bulk. "Pleased to meet you, Citizen," she managed to say politely.
"Shouldn't she be home with her mother?" Verdier asked, addressing this query to Enjolras.
Enjolras raised an eyebrow. "Not necessarily. Eponine is at work today."
Laure hopped about impatiently. "Are you a lawyer too like my Papa?" she asked Verdier.
"I'm a district attorney," Verdier replied. "You don't need to worry your pretty little head about such things, my dear."
Laure shook her head. "I'm going to be a lawyer like my Papa."
Enjolras gaped at his daughter while Verdier burst out laughing. "How charming!" Verdier wheezed. "You'll change your mind, Laure, once you grow up to be a little lady."
"I won't. Maman says it's not good when people keep changing their minds," Laure said adamantly.
"She's right about that one. Now if you will excuse us, I have some matters to attend to before the meeting," Enjolras cut in, nodding more courteously to his colleague. 'Did she really mean that?' he wondered silently as he and Laure walked up the wide stairway leading to the second floor offices.
Laure frowned as she looked around the dingy hallways. "I don't like him. He was laughing at me."
"He's only not used to people saying things like that," Enjolras said. It wasn't just because Laure was a young girl; he knew that Gavroche and the younger Thenardier boys also faced similarly disbelieving reactions when they would talk about their own dreams and plans. 'Simply because our institutions are still used to narrow windows,' he mused silently.
Laure shook her head. "Uncle Courfeyrac, Uncle Bossuet, and Uncle Marius are lawyers too and they are always doing good things. I don't know why he finds it funny," she said after a while.
Enjolras stopped walking and crouched to look her in the eye. "It's not the only way to do something great, petite," he said seriously. "There are many other good things to do, like being a doctor or a writer, or learning to make something well."
Laure sniffed. "But I want to be like you, Papa!"
Enjolras took a deep breath, feeling now the weight of these words. 'I don't want her to see what I saw, and what made me what I am today,' he couldn't help thinking. Yet all the same he knew that there were some struggles that only she could face. "You'll be better, Laure. I'm sure of it," he said, drawing now on every bit of conviction he had if only to strengthen this far off wish.
