Disclaimer: I give up…read the other ones : ).
Author's Notes: I apologise for the delay, but with rehearsals and schoolwork I haven't had the time….but now I'm bbaaacckkk!! *cackles evilly*. And I have reviews! Eponinenkind: Well, as a special reward for being my most dedicated reviewer and reviewing when no-one else was in the early chapters…you're going to appear in this chapter! As yourself, naturally : ). Shandethe Sanders: THANK YOU! Valjean "enters the mix" in this chapter…I've never tried to write him before so I hope I've done alright. Happy Hobo : He did hit her, it's the "with a reeling blow sent me stumbling to the ground" bit. Sorry if I didn't make it clear. Rosie: Awwwwww, *gives Rosie a tissue*. The Lark: Argh! Don't mention that "book", I threw my copy down the side of my computer desk after the hundredth Marius/Cosette sex scene *glares at "Cosette"* Thanks though! But I think anyone could have done a better job than that woman *blushes*. Marzoog: Thank you! I'll definitely buy more L.M.Montgomery….got paid today *evil grin*. LadyLaura 020: Thanks! And luck you for going to see Les Mis! Estella Havisham: Thank you so much…again.
You guys really make my week so please please please keep reviewing! *hugs all her nice reviewers*
The mayor of this town
I could finally make ends meet. The first thing I bought was a large mirror, which I hooked on the wall beside my door. The wall and the door were in my new room, which I'd rented in town. I furnished it simply, a bed, a table and a chair. I dreamed of the day when I finally had enough money to send for Cosette. I kept in touch with her "guardians" through a letter-writer I had hired. I wrote every Friday, inquiring after my daughter, but rarely received replies.
Finding the job had been easy, I'd been walking past the factory (still stunned by the changes that had taken place in my hometown) and outside there was a sign advertising three job placements. Along with me, two other girls were hired – a Parisian called Valentine (I imagine her parents were rather bizarre) and a German named Mika. Valentine I immediately disliked. She looked like me – blonde, blue eyed, but underneath her angelic appearance she was a malevolent creature. Mika was the complete opposite – shy, but she had a wonderful sense of humour, that made all us girls giggle as we worked.
But, except Mika, all the other girls in the woman's workshop disliked me. It was said I "gave myself airs" – something Favourite used to say to me. They would pull my golden hair and call me "La Blonde" in a nasty tone of voice. I was so used to being liked, that even small teasing remarks upset me.
The factory made dresses, suits and all kinds of clothes for the upper classes. Each girl has a loom, which she sits in front of, and she has to thread the material through the strips of string in the loom. These strings are sharp, and I was forever giving myself cuts. There were three rows of eight looms in our workshop, a desk in front of them was where our foreman (an egotistical ugly man) stood. Above him was the office, where our boss (the mayor) occasionally came to work.
Valentine and Mika took to their new work naturally, finishing whole dresses when I had only done a sleeve. Whenever I thought of Cosette or Tholomyes tears would well up in my eyes – the girls would notice and comment nastily.
I had been in my job for two weeks when I met my boss. Mika (daydreaming as usual) was staring out of the window when she cried "it's Monsieur la Maire!" promptly letting go of her fabric and ruining the dress she'd nearly finished.
Mayhem broke out. The mayor only came to his office once every two months, we hadn't expected him to arrive this soon – he preferred to work from his study at home. In a way he'd become a sort of myth – an eccentric man who invited gamins into his home and gave them money, a kind man who made sure his workers were cared for and –
"A bachelor" cried Valentine, frantically trying to hold onto her loom and comb her hair at the same time.
"He's old enough to be your father!" Mika stared at her.
"I don't care" Valentine turned all her attention to her golden curls. "He's rich".
"He's coming through the gate" Mika said, back at the window.
"Should we be at our looms?" another girl asked.
"I look my best standing" Valentine replied.
We all sat at our looms, as I began to sit down another girl pulled my chair out from under me and I hit the floor with a thud.
Valentine cackled. After chasing men her favourite hobby was teasing me. "What's the matter La Blonde? Don't want to look silly in front of the mayor?"
I grabbed my chair and sat back down.
Valentine opened her mouth to say something but the door opened and the mayor entered. She wasn't at her loom, the only girl standing, her eyes widened and she froze to the spot
The mayor was fifty or so, but stood tall and walked quickly, not at all like an old man. His hair and beard were brown, in the process of going grey. But what always grabbed me about the mayor were his eyes. They were large, brown and…sad. They were eyes that had seen all the world had to offer, all the horrors. It seemed that despite the expensive suit, those eyes were wild.
He ignored Valentine, who was still rooted in the middle of the room like a lost sheep and moved towards his office. Suddenly his eyes hovered over me.
"Aaah" he spoke quietly and evenly. "One of the new girls?"
"Yes! She is! And I am too!" Valentine spoke up, slightly hysterically, raising her hand in the air.
"I thought I hired three?"
"Oh" Valentine waved her hand in Mika's direction. "And her. I'm Valentine, by the way!!"
The mayor's eyes never left me. "And you are?"
"Fantine, monsieur".
"Just Fantine" Valentine added.
He smiled kindly at me. "And the other girl?"
"That's Mika", Valentine said.
Mika gave the mayor a small wave, he nodded in reply.
"You are all comfortable….I take it?"
"Yes we are!" Valentine chirped up.
"I was addressing Fantine"
"I am monsieur. Very" I assured him. Why did he keep looking at me?
The foreman cleared his throat. "Monsieur Madeline…I believe we have things to discuss in your office."
"Of course…of course" he smiled at me again. "Goodbye Fantine…and Mika." He followed the foreman to his office.
Instantly Valentine rounded on me. "Mayor's pet!"
I tried to get to my loom.
"Looking for a rich old man are we?" she screeched, before pulling my face right up to hers. "I don't like you Fantine, and you've just made you situation a whole lot worse."
Little did I realise how much worse it was.
