Part Two: The Play

Scene One

"Now, Marius, you're going to have to how to play the lover," said I, smiling. The three of us were still standing outside the Café Musain, going over Marius' lines. We were rehearsing, you might say, the evening that Marius would have to spend with his pretty ghost. "You must be romantic," I continued, "Never talk unless asked a question by your beloved. Lovers find silence romantic—"

"Or awkward," muttered Marius, crossing his arms indignantly.

I paid no attention: "They love to look at each other and think and feel, drinking in that silence. So your role is simple, Monsieur. That is to say, if your—ahem, what's her name?"

"I've absolutely no idea," said Enjolras in a sigh, a dreamy smile altering those cold features. I held back a laugh.

"Fantastic," said Marius dryly, "You love a woman whose name you don't know. What am I supposed to call her? Beloved? Don't even think it! This is infidelity," he moaned. "I'm cheating on my Patria for this!" He gestured to his body.

"Beloved?" said I with a thoughtful smile, "That isn't bad at all! But really, a lover needs to know the name of his maiden. Ask her. And then remain silent and look at her with large, adoring eyes—Marius' eyes are perfect for that sort of thing—and then let her do the rest. Of course, you must act your part convincingly. Oh, don't worry, it isn't that bad. Besides, we'll be there the entire time, just behind the bushes."

Head held high and arms crossed, Marius declared arrogantly, "There is no sport in being one of those revolting lovers. No sport at all."

I laughed. "My dear Enjol—pardon! I mean, Marius, after tonight, you will find that acting the lover is not at all easy."

"Acting, yes!" cried Enjolras. "But being in love! Being in love with the woman of your dreams and unable to woo her, because, because—ohhh!" He ended with a sigh. "This is a nightmare," he moaned.

"Stop complaining!" scoffed Marius, "You are the one responsible for this! It's all your fault that we're in this mess!"

"Oh, stop it, you two! Come on, let's get going!" I hurried forward, dragging Enjolras and Marius along with me. We walked and walked for a short while, and soon we found ourselves in a dark, quiet neighborhood. Perhaps it looked much better in daylight, but at the moment, it was frightfully dark. (I don't suppose I mentioned to the dear reader how much I hate the dark!) Curious, I whispered to Enjolras, "Is she rich?", and he, with another dramatic sigh, answered, "Oh, I don't care!"

Finally we came to the house. It was very small and—'quaint' came to my mind as I looked at its little brick chimney and tiny windows and little flowers blossoming in that pretty garden. All this would have looked very pretty. If it wasn't dark, of course…

Anyway, I spotted a little figure standing in the garden and whispered sharply, "Marius, go! She's waiting by the gate. We'll hide here!" I pulled Enjolras with me and together, we hid ourselves behind the bushes outside. And, as it was nighttime, our skin blended with the shrubbery in the dark.

We watched the play come to life.

Marius walked slowly, hesitantly, toward the gate, eyeing us nervously. I almost screamed: "Look at HER! Look at the GIRL!" As if he understood me, Marius cleared his throat and took quicker steps, determined to succeed.

The girl appeared by the gate, her pretty face illuminated by the moon. How romantic! I thought. But Marius ruined it with a formal bow and a single, grave word:

"Madam."

I stifled a laugh; Enjolras, beside me, groaned.

For a moment, the girl looked confused, and then she smiled and gave a pretty curtsey.

Marius hesitated before asking awkwardly, like a child reciting his verses, "May I ask for the beautiful lady's name?" The words sounded foreign on his tongue—I'm sure I would have recited those lines beautifully.

"Cosette," she whispered.

"Ah," said he, his eyes wandering towards the bushes. Enjolras glowered, turning Marius' attention back to the girl. "Cosette," he began uncertainly, "Cosette, I don't know what to say."

"Then make no sound," she replied, smiling, much to Marius' relief. But then, she still looked expectantly at him, as if waiting for him to chirp his next verse in this strange love song. Marius darted an alarmed, very accusing glance toward our bushes that clearly said, "LOVERS LIKE SILENCE, EH?!"

His face turned cherry red; he looked as if he was about to burst, and I was already planning to pull him off the stage when the girl slipped a hand out of the gate and grasped his with an encouraging smile. Marius' face grew pale. Perhaps he had remembered what I'd advised back at the café, or perhaps his wits were flying apart at an alarming rate, but suddenly he stepped even closer and his already large eyes widened into enormous, round orbs. He looked like an owl on display.

I burst out laughing, and Enjolras had to clap his hand over my mouth and slap me hard to silence me. My vocal cords calmed down, but my shoulders were still shaking violently.

The girl, Cosette, now looked very confused as she stared at her lover and his large eyes.

I could tell that Marius was getting impatient. Seeing that his 'adoring-eyes-feat' was not working, he dropped the act and tried a new one. He took her other hand and smiled softly. It was working. I never knew that Enjolras could smile like that, but it sure was successful in drawing the girl in. She was falling for him.

"I am lost," said he dramatically. Yes, of course he was lost! He had no idea what he was doing!

But she chirped back, "I am found." It was all very amusing—of course, it was romantic, yes. The scene reminded me very much of two love birds sweetly singing their song. However, knowing that this 'Marius' was really Enjolras, the leader of the people, the lover of the country, the hater of women…

And yet, Cosette never seemed to notice how her lover was at times nervous and at other times plain irritated.

However, while things were going very well for Marius, Enjolras was steaming like a bull. His face was very, very red, and his hands were clenched into tight fists.

"Mar—I mean, Enjolras, what's wrong?" I whispered.

He didn't answer. He was seething with rage. "What is he doing!" roared the madman, stepping out of his hiding place. My heart leapt and I reached for him. Grabbing his arm, I yanked him back behind the bushes, hissing,

"What do you think you're doing!? You'll ruin it!"

I held his arm tightly, hoping that whatever madness had possessed him would die away. The light of the glowing moon fell upon his face, and I saw that, besides the ferocity of his eyes and the scowl that contorted his lips, his face was green! So! Poor 'Enjolras' was jealous, was he?

"If you don't stop this act, you'll ruin your lovelife! You really want to betray yourself?"

Enjolras hesitated, his chest heaving: "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Monsieur, that if you show up in all Enjolras' glory, then perhaps Cosette would fall in love with Enjolras and not you!"

"But—what?" spluttered Enjolras, "Cosette would never!"

"Well, Monsieur, you said that it was love at first sight, didn't you? She doesn't even know you yet! If what you say is true, then perhaps Cosette wouldn't mind falling in love a second time with another, much handsomer face."

Enjolras fumed, and I wasn't sure if it was because of my questioning of Cosette's faithfulness or because of my declaration of Enjolras' better looks.

"So behave yourself!" I conclued forcefully.

"Fine!" sulked Enjolras. He remained silent the rest of the evening, and I could tell he was nursing his anger by plotting against me. One dark night, when I'm sleeping…

I laughed softly but made a quick note to buy a guard dog.

Turning back to Marius to see how he was faring, I saw that the 'love song' was almost ending. Everything seemed to be going just fine when suddenly, much to my amazement, I heard someone whisper in a broken voice,

"He was never mine to lose."

Enjolras leapt when he heard the voice. "'Ponine?" he whispered incredously.

My eyes focused in the darkness on a small, crouching figure just a foot away from us. Hiding, just like us. And spying… just like us.

"Who's there?" came the cautious reply.

"It's me! Mar—" he wheezed (my elbow had landed on his stomach)—"Mar—ah, mademoiselle, it is… it is I! It is I, Enjolras!"

"Monsieur?" whispered the intruder, confused.

"Eponine, I am Marius Pontmercy's friend."

The girl's hand went to her face—I thought I saw something shimmer and disappear—and then she sniffed and turned to leave.

"Wait!" called Enjolras in a whisper. "'Ponine, what are you doing here?"

"Don't call me that," hissed the girl. "Only Monsieur Marius has that right." And then she was gone.

Enjolras, amazed, turned to me, waiting for an explanation.

"Oh dear," said I as solemnly, as sagely as I could. I nodded sadly to add effect. "Oh dear, how blind are the eyes of men! Some stand with one foot on shore, the other on land—but other men stand with both feet planted on the water without realizing who waits vainly on the shore."

"Courfeyrac!" interrupted Enjolras. "What's going on?"

"Marius, my friend," said I, "You have a little, faithful follower who loves you even though you love another."

Enjolras' eyes widened, his mouth hanging open. "Eponine… I never…"

"Yes," I continued, nodding wisely, "They never do." Then, leaving my friend with his new, surprising discovery, I turned to see how Marius was faring.

He looked just about ready to puke, really. No, I am not exaggerating. He looked me in the eye, completely wretched, and his face was sallow, his lips pressed tightly together.

His lover seemed completely oblivious.

"Help!" mouthed Marius. And then, to the girl, "Ahem, Cosette—" he paused, then said emphatically, "Cosette, my love, we must say our goodbyes and part. I really must be going."

"Marius?" said the girl, looking as if he had literally stabbed a knife into her heart.

It was a hopeless case. I knew that if Marius failed to finish his part of the deal, his revolution would be lost. Hands tightening into fists, face turning even sallower, eyes squeezing shut, Marius took a deep breath, planted a smOOCCH! on his beloved's lips, and turning, sped for the bushes.

Once safely out of her sight, he bent down and put his head between his knees, his chest heaving. "Safe!" he choked out, "Safe at last!" But he was terribly wrong. Enjolras, huffing and puffing and looking just about to burst, stormed towards Marius like a bull. There was a great crash (I looked on, not bothering to tear them apart) and Enjolras, punching and scratching, bellowed:

"How dare you kiss her! How dare you! How DARE YOU!"

"I didn't want to," gasped Marius, "Why would I want to kiss that… ugh!" He probably shivered at the thought, but I couldn't see him from behind Enjolras' large, powerful build.

"Don't call her that!" screamed Enjolras.

"I didn't call her anything!" retorted Marius disdainfully, pushing Marius away and smoothing his crumpled coat. "Ugh! A man like me has no time for women anyway! I kept my part of the deal! It's your turn now!"

At this point, I decided to intervene. "Ahem, gentlemen! Please, behave yourselves. I do believe Enjol—eh, Marius, has a point. He has played the faithful lover. Enjolras, he has saved you."

Enjolras scowled. "But—"

"No, no," said I, feeling very much like a parent with his two quarelling children, "No buts. Marius didn't want to do what he did."

"Ohh, fine!" said Enjolras, pulling on a despondent face. "My beloved!" he mourned, "That should have been my triumph! Mine!"

"Oh, the silly nincompoop!" muttered Marius scornfully. "Goodnight, Courfeyrac." I murmured goodnight and turned to my apartment, much amused with this interesting night. How would Enjolras fare tomorrow, with all the Friends of the ABC at his feet? I laughed. Oh, no wonder my mother named me Etienne!

Thank you for the reviews! Much appreciated! Kudos to JB for editing and advice!