Chapter Six

Good gracious was the ballroom packed in that evening! Guests and servants alike made their rounds to the others present in the lavishly decorated room, even more beautiful in times of celebration. Freshly grown flowers and various banners of fabric could have made a full tapestry, connecting each and every wall, and as beautiful music began to fill the air, the gala began.

As Babette kept at her tasks, Lumière stood by watching her intently, pausing only briefly time and again to do his own. A few months at most she had been here, and in that time, he could not get her off of his mind.

He would be the first to acknowledge there was not one young woman in the castle that did not know Lumière personally. Romance and charm were his specialties, and while he had admired them all, love was never in the cards. Say a few pretty words, steal moments alone, and enjoy life while you could. That's how it always was. If love happened, so be it, but he had no intention to be on the hunt for it. Admiration without adoration one might say.

But this one time, things had change. Babette did not succumb to his charm like the others. She had a free spirit in her, making her the single most fascinating woman he'd ever known. Girls were pretty and demure; she was exquisite, ambitious, and passionate. He tensed with fret every time he'd attempt to speak the habitual words of love to her. Not like she listened, he mused, but he had to keep trying, couldn't let this one get away.

Excusing himself to get through the crowded room, he waited until she took a break and placed the glass tray on a cart to sit for a moment, then stood beside her, following her eyes to the dancers.

"Wish you could be out there?"

Babette growled quietly, "He says as if I would have wanted him to know."

"Even so, you should know that I'm here...ready to be the envy of every man in this room..."

"In case you have not noticed, I am attempting to do the work you yourself requested of me," she responded sharply and taking up the tray again, looked for any means out of this conversation.

Of course, he just had to follow and she rushed to stay one step ahead of him, hissing through her teeth, "Will you please give me one moment's peace without you?"

"Funny how we want similar yet different things; I'd love for a moment's peace with you."

That did it! For a moment, Babette thought of nothing but how much of a nuisance he was. "Will you just leave me alone?!" she retaliated loudly spinning on her heel to let him see her anger. However the heel had different plans, and as she turned, slipped from under her, taking her and the tray down with it.

It took her a few seconds to recover, but Babette felt no pain as she noticed nothing but where her tray had gone. In horror, she stared at the glass strewn at the feet of Vincent and a few of his guests, wine drenching their clothes.

Hurriedly offering a few rags, Babette rambled, her words shaking with every syllable. "Master, I am so sorry...I beg your forgiveness...I slipped and...but..."

The young man, while a few years her junior, looked at her with disgust and anger. "You clumsy wench!! Have you any sense of what you are doing?!"

"No, master, I admit I did not watch where I was going...I beg for your mercy..."

He snatched the rags harshly from her. "Leave my sight, and don't step foot in this room for the rest of the evening. You will be lucky if you even have a place to stay and work by morning!"

Lumière cringed in guilt but stepped forward nonetheless. "Master, really, it was an accident; she slipped, and..."

"SILENCE!" Vincent stared them down as both lowered their eyes. "How dare you interrupt me...I ought to rid this place of you both! My word is set in stone." Turning to Babette, he concluded, "I said, do not come back in here; do you have capability of understanding that?!"

Babette swallowed a sob that had reached her throat, nodded as bravely as she could, and immediately ran from the room, the silence breaking into chatter the moment she did. After helping clear away the glass, Lumière soon did the same to find her.

For one who could spot a girl in a meager second, it surprised Lumière that it took him quite a while to find where Babette had run to. He looked everywhere, rooms that she frequented, her quarters, and all proved a failed effort. Whatever it was that possessed him to go outside, however, he followed his instincts, and upon hearing sobs coming from the stables, traced them to where he knew he would find her.

Once inside, he found her on the loft, and climbing up the ladder, he caught her attention despite his attempt to be quiet.

"What are you doing here?" Babette snapped ruthlessly through her tears. "Can't I just have a moment to myself?"

Lumière sat next to her, for once not his normal optimistic self. "Since you left some time ago, time's up; you already had your moment."

Babette hid her face on her knees. "Just leave me alone; you have done enough."

Too bad she had done that, or else she finally would have seen this man with something that did not resemble a smile. Guiltily, he replied, "Listen...I did not intend for that to happen. I was foolish, and taking full responsibility, I am truly sorry."

She raised her eyes to him, wiping them again. "What?"

"I apologize."

"I think...I think that was the nicest thing you ever said to me."

Lumière smiled tenderly as she seemed to be feeling better. "First for everything." He reached into his coat pocket, took out a handkerchief, and affectionately reached for her eyes. "There, now dry the tears; the most depressing thing in the world is seeing such a gorgeous creature like yourself cry."

Babette nodded her gratitude, allowing him to rid herself of the remaining tears, and then took a deep breath. "I will just be lucky if I still have somewhere to stay tomorrow morning."

"Believe me, you will; I will see to that personally," he promised. "The master may not be the easiest person to deal with but trust me, I will pull every string I have to get you to stay here. You're not going anywhere."

As he saw her smile, Lumière felt his worry very well start to vanish. Maybe there was hope for them after all. "Now then, if you do not mind, could we possibly go back inside? It is still a little cold out here and as I can feel a talk coming on, this is not the most appealing place to do so."

She nodded again and followed him down the ladder, allowing him to lead her back inside.