Chapter Eight

It is a proven fact that even after a great length of time passes, there are simply some things that a man never forgets. Despite his two years away from Paris, Lucien could find his way to Le Fleur Noir blindfolded, bound, and chained if need be.

The very thought of seeing Babette again sent excitement and despair throughout Lucien's entire being. Knowing that they would soon be in the same room thrilled him to no end but nonetheless, a snowball in hell had a better chance of surviving than he did when she saw him step foot inside the door. If looks could kill, he was destined to be lying dead in a matter of minutes.

But he had no other choice; with his wedding in a few days, there was little time to put his plan into action.

Since the beginning of the Grand Tour, Lucien had thoroughly searched his mind for any possible means to reclaim his heart from the woman who had stolen it. As long as Babette was still employed at the dance hall, so near that he could feel her presence no matter where he was, he would never be free to accept his unavoidable fate of marriage. There had to be a way to move her as far away as he could, and still be assured that she would be all right.

All hope was lost until the week before. The promotion was more of a blessing than Lucien had realized. With Lumière being in higher servant ranks, Lucien now saw potential where he had originally seen misery. Everything happens for a reason; he had become a firm believer in that ever since the promotion. Not only could Lumière persuade his superiors to give Babette a full time position as a maid of sorts, perhaps, but he could also hire her onto his wait staff. It was a win-win situation! Babette would be taken care of, and Lucien would at last be free to move on.

What he would have given for something to ease the nerves in the pit of his stomach, Lucien thought as he reached for the doorknob. He hesitated for a moment, and took a deep breath before he entered.

How different the hall looked during the day with no customers in sight. Chairs were taken down from the tables to clean them; otherwise they were left alone to make way for the floor to be swept. The curtains were drawn open on the windows to let in as much air and light as necessary. And of course, while the girls were still scarcely clad in anything decent, more clothing than usual was worn during the day, Madame D'Araignée's orders. If any visitors wandered by, they were to receive a hint of what the nighttime brought, not a full-fledged visual.

As the only man present, it was not long before Lucien was noticed. Across the room, Odette narrowed a scowl at him before obliging his unspoken request to call Babette to see him. Moments later, it was Babette's turn to offer the same expression as she entered, drying her hands, apparently having been in the middle of washing mugs and glasses.

After Odette ushered the other girls out, praising the Lord that D'Araignée was gone for the afternoon, Lucien cautiously took down a chair and sat down, gesturing Babette to join him.

"You have a lot of nerve to show your face around here," she said, hands at her hips as she stood her ground.

Lucien did not move a muscle. "I did not come to fight; I need to talk to you."

"Then your efforts were in vain," Babette retorted. "I have nothing to say to you."

"But I most definitely have a lot to say to you," Lucien said, his manner still calm but his voice raised slightly. "And whether you want to or not, you will listen."

Babette snickered under her breath, clearly amused. "The mighty Vicomte still believes that everyone is his servant? Monsieur, don't make me laugh. Simply because you come crawling in here to demand that I take you back does not mean I must."

"That is not what I said," Lucien replied, calling upon all his strength to remain calm.

"You did not have to," Babette said with a shrug. "All men realize they can not live without us, and when they do, they return ready to pay any price."

Lucien rose to his feet, a deadly look in his eyes as his patience began to fade. "I meant every word I said that night; every letter I sent was the truth."

Babette glared at him, unafraid. "Well, we both know what an expert you are when it comes to that."

"What more do I have to do to make you believe me?" he shouted, unable to suppress his temper any longer. "Tell me what I have to say!"

"Say you hate me," she snarled. "It will make it easier to loathe you."

Lucien shut his eyes tight, desperately attempting to calm down; this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. "We have to stop. I came here to help you, not to argue."

"Nothing you can do will help me, Lucien," Babette said, turning her back on him. The floodgates were threatening to open, and she could not let him see that happen. "You have no idea what you did to me that night. After saying you loved me, knowing that I felt the same way about you…it was all a lie! Everything you ever told me was a lie!"

Instinct alone was all Lucien could blame as he walked to her, enveloping her in his embrace. Thankfully, the battle must have made her weary; she did not resist it.

"I never lied to you," he said softly. "I meant every word that I said since the day we met. The last time I saw you…I had fought with my father to end the engagement. I did not want to go through with it."

"But you will," she muttered with disdain.

"I have no choice," he replied in the same tone.

Babette pulled away to look at him, unable to hold back her tears. "I know I am not the most moral woman alive, but I will not be a mistress."

"Nor would I want you to be," Lucien replied, drying her eyes with his kiss. "You are better than that; you deserve someone who can love you in the way I can't right now."

Babette knew she would most likely regret it, but she could not stop herself from melting into his embrace. Her heart was not strong enough to hate this man. "Then…where does that leave us?"

Lucien rubbed her back soothingly. "The same place we have been for the past two years…just on better terms, I hope."

Babette smiled halfheartedly. "Oui…but it is not where I hoped we would be."

Lucien grinned. "Then you did miss me?"

"Maybe a little, just a bit," Babette said casually, but his expression clearly showed that he did not believe her. "Fine, very much," she admitted in defeat.

A lax curl escaped the loosely tied mass of her hair, and Lucien reached to brush it away tenderly.

"That is all I ever wanted to hear you say," he murmured. "I never meant to hurt you, but this is how it must be. If we must end this, I want to walk away knowing that there are no ill feelings between us."

Babette nodded. "That is it then?" she asked. "That is all you have come to say?"

"Not quite," Lucien replied.

"What else is there?"

"The only way to make life easier for the both of us."

Babette furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Lucien glanced around the room quickly to make certain they were not being watched. When he deemed all was clear, he took down two chairs, sitting in one and gestured Babette to the other.

"Babette, listen to me," he said, clasping her hands in his. "I can not leave you here like this. Surely you do not believe that you can be a show girl for the rest of your life."

Babette shook her head, her puzzled state increasing with his every word. "I still do not understand."

Lucien thought for a moment before he spoke again. "The least I can do for putting you through this is help you. I can get you out of here, ma chérie; you will not have to do this forever."

"I do not want charity," Babette interrupted. "If that is what you mean, then no."

"Do not look at it as charity," Lucien pleaded. "There is no future for you here; there never will be."

"Then what do you propose I do?"

Lucien smiled. "I have another job for you. It is not as 'glamorous' as you are used to, but it is a future and what many consider more respectable."

"I never worried about what others thought," Babette said.

Lucien sighed, thinking deeply before he said anything else. "Very well, if you want more than that, then think about this. It will help us both move on from here. Admit it, this place holds too many memories; I know it does for me. If you go where I can recommend you, it will be easier to accept our fates, and personally…I would feel much more comfortable knowing that you are safe and secure. If you do it for any reason…let it be for me."

Babette stared at him, indecisively. "What kind of job are we talking about?"

"Most likely, a maid," Lucien replied, but seeing an unsure expression begin to take over, he quickly added, "In the king's palace."

Her interest instantly returning, Babette asked, "The king?"

Lucien nodded. "My friend, the one I brought with me that night, was sent to serve his majesty recently; he will help you settle in."

Babette could hardly believe what she was hearing; it was unbelievable. The last place on earth that she ever thought she would see, let alone work in was the king's castle, the center of France and the very lap of luxury itself!

Above all, the royals and aristocracy stood by one another; she could always look forward to seeing Lucien again from time to time.

With a nod, Babette smiled. "We have an agreement then; name the date and time, and I shall be on my way."


Holy crow, 10 reviews for the last chapter; not bad at all.I'm pleasantly surprised and honored, guys!

TrudiRose: To write Cogs and Lumi again was SUCH a breath of fresh air, and after this chapter, I'm really looking forward to working with them again. Very glad you liked it!

Tinkerbell: I am so delightedly honored by your review; thank you so much for your kind words! The musical is my standard, more so than the film, so to know that it's coming across so well is wonderful. We've got to chat some time so you can tell me more about your B&B on Broadway experience; I LOVE swapping stories. My email is listed on my profile page. (Oh, and I have to say, you're NOT the only one who has snagged a feather from Babs' costume, so don't worry about that! LOL!) Hope to talk to ya soon!

FairlyOdd: I have GOT to see that pic! I love your work with Lumi and Vitani! Thanks!

Lyndsi05: Very happy to meet such praise:-) There will be more Lumi/Cogs, and now Lumi/Babs, antics to come, so stay tuned!

ShortStef: Cogs very much seems like the sort to repeat himself constantly, so I had no qualms about taking his infamous tour spiel directly as he said it in the film! LOL! Glad the coat matter is fixed up; I still feel so bad about forgetting that A/N! As for the young prince...he's not on the existance scene yet, and I'm still debating about whether I will go into detail about him. We'll see :-)

beautygirl: Do I think Lucien was too hard on Lumi? Maybe so, but in such times as that, I don't expect any less from him. :-) To be compared to Disney though, wow, thank you! Very much appreciate it!

Nikki: If you laughed at the joke...even if you were the only one...then I did my job right! LOL! Thank you so much for the love:-)

Nadiil: Hey girl, I missed you! So happy you're loving it! Peter has finally read Condemned like I told him to, and he really enjoyed it. I was going to let him start reading this one, but he wants to wait till it's finished. :-) I'll make a fanfic addict out of him yet! LOL! Thanks so much and glad to see you back!

Knux: Yes, met and know! LOL! I strive to do my best, and I consider myself very fortunate to have such loyal readers to back me up. Thank you!

CrystalTear: I take it you enjoyed Cogs' Romance debut then? LOL! As I've said, I'm SO happy I can start focusing on the regular B&B characters again; it's going to get interesting:-) Thanks for the perfect thumbs score!