Part Two: Chapter Twelve
The next day, Enjolras was sitting in Courfeyrac's office telling him about the events from the previous night.
"So let me get this straight. Libertè has been seeing this guy that you didn't know about. That guy turned out to be Marius's son, meaning the Pontmercys are back in France. Marius came to the manor after you found out about his son and Libertè, and you two had an argument. Then, you told Libertè she could still see the boy, and you told her that you'd try to get along with Marius again," Courfeyrac said, trying to get the facts straight.
"That pretty much sums it up," Enjolras shrugged.
Courfeyrac just stared at him.
"Wow. That's all I can say."
Enjolras shook his head, "I know. Imagine my position! It's hard enough that my little girl is almost grown, but she's falling in love with Marius's son!"
Courfeyrac chuckled, and Enjolras shot a glare in his direction.
"So what are you going to do next?" Courfeyrac asked.
"First, Eponine and I are going to have a talk with George. Then, I suppose I should try to make amends."
"We should invite them over for dinner," Courfeyrac suggested.
"OK. That sounds like a good idea. Tomorrow?"
"We can do that."
"Maybe we'll talk to George before the dinner," Enjolras thought out loud.
Courfeyrac started laughing, "I fear for that boy. He has no idea what he's in for. I'd hate to be him, but at the same time, I'd love to witness the conversation!"
Enjolras just rolled his eyes.
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That morning at the university, Libertè met George at the library.
"I didn't get you in too much trouble, did I?" he asked worriedly.
She smiled, "No. My Papa is going to let me keep seeing you. He was a little upset that I didn't tell him, but he wasn't angry."
"That's good."
"So, apparently your father is an old friend of my parents. Well, used to be a friend. When he came to the manor last night, the argument between him and my father wasn't pretty. I've never heard him that angry before," Libertè cringed.
"Yeah. I had no idea. I really knew nothing about my parents' pasts until my father told me last night. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around it all."
"I found out a lot about my parents last night as well. I knew about the barricades, but that was pretty much it. My parents want to talk with you. My Papa also agreed to try to get along with your father again."
"Alright. Well, with everything that's happened, we can't really keep this a secret anymore. We might as well tell Madeleine and Gabriel," George sighed.
"I suppose you're right. We should go then. They'll be waiting for me in the courtyard."
George nodded and took Libertè's hand. Together, they started walking toward the courtyard.
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When they reached the courtyard, they saw Madeleine and Gabriel sitting on a bench. When the married couple finally saw them approaching, Madeleine smiled and Gabriel's jaw dropped. He looked utterly stunned, yet slightly amused. Libertè took a deep breath, preparing for what was to come. She tightened her grip on George's hand, and he smiled down at her. As they approached, Gabriel raised his eyebrows at her.
"So you do like him. I knew it!" he said smugly.
Libertè turned red and glared at her friend.
"Does your father know and approve?" he asked.
"Yes," she answered through her teeth, deciding not to bring up the previous evening's events.
"And here I was thinking you weren't even capable of pondering the idea of a relationship," Gabriel chuckled teasingly.
Madeleine smacked her husband on the arm.
"Be nice! I am happy for you, Libertè. And you too, George," the shy girl said.
"Thank you," George smiled, and then turned to Libertè, "I should get to class. Could I walk you home this afternoon?" he asked hesitantly.
He wasn't sure if it was a good idea, considering the night before, but Libertè did tell him that her father wasn't angry. She smiled and nodded in response.
"See you this afternoon, then," he said as he bent down and placed a kiss on her cheek.
Gabriel watched the scene, greatly amused, but waited until George was gone to say anything.
"He kissed her! She actually let him kiss her!" he exclaimed, which earned him a smack from both his wife and his best friend.
"Oh, shut up," Libertè grumbled, turning red again.
Then, she started off toward her class, with Gabriel and Madeleine close behind.
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That afternoon, Libertè and George approached the gate to the manor, her arm looped through his.
"Why don't you come inside so I can properly introduce you to my family?" Libertè suggested.
"Are you sure?"
She nodded with a smile, and then they made their way to the front door. Once they entered the manor, they walked to the kitchen where Libertè's mother, father, and two siblings were sitting at the small table. Enjolras looked up from the newspaper he was reading when he saw them come into the room.
"Oh, hello George," he said stiffly.
"Monsieur," George responded with a slight nod.
"I thought he needed a proper introduction since he wasn't introduced last night," Libertè explained.
Enjolras nodded, "Yes, I suppose so. I'm sure you already know who I am, but I'm Libertè's father, Enjolras. This is my wife, Eponine," he introduced, placing his hand over Eponine's.
Then, he motioned to the other children, "This is Gavroche, and this is Jolie."
Gavroche stuck his hand out for George to shake.
"How do you do?" he asked, trying to sound much older than he was.
George chuckled as he shook the boy's hand.
"I'm seven!" Jolie exclaimed proudly.
"Are you? I would've thought you were at least thirteen!" he joked.
"You're silly!" Jolie giggled.
George just laughed at the little girl.
Enjolras cleared his throat before speaking, "Actually, I'm glad you're here, George. Eponine and I wanted to invite your family over for dinner tomorrow."
"I'll tell my parents, but I'm sure they'd be happy to come. Thank you," George responded.
"And could you walk Libertè home tomorrow as well? Eponine and I would like to speak with you before dinner," Enjolras said.
"Of course, Monsieur. I should be going. Thank you for the dinner invitation. Goodbye, Libertè," he said, kissing her hand politely.
Then he turned to the rest of the family, "It was nice to meet you Gavroche and Jolie. Goodbye Monsieur Enjolras, Madame Eponine. I will see you tomorrow."
Enjolras acknowledged his goodbyes with a nod, and Libertè walked him to the door. When she returned, Libertè smirked at her father.
"What?" he asked.
"You were nice to him," she smiled.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know. You're just a bit protective. I figured you'd have to warm up to him," she shrugged.
Enjolras wasn't sure what to say in response, so he just shrugged as well.
"Gavroche, Jolie, go wash up. Dinner will be ready soon," Eponine said.
As the two children ran off, Eponine and Libertè sat down at the small table with Enjolras.
"Libby, we wanted to talk to you one more time before we talk to George. We want to make sure that this is truly what you want," Eponine began.
"It is, Mama," Libertè said quickly.
"Just hold on a second, and let's think this though," Enjolras said, "Are you sure he won't be a distraction from your studies?"
"Just as you said, he will only be a distraction if I let him, which I won't," she confirmed.
"And you do realize that he is a year older than you," Enjolras pointed out.
At this point he was saying anything he could that might change her mind. It wasn't that he didn't want his daughter to be happy, but he wasn't ready to let her go.
Libertè rolled her eyes, "Now you're just making up stuff. You are three years older than Mama, so I don't see a problem with one year, Papa."
Enjolras sighed, and Eponine stifled a chuckle. She knew he'd never win this argument. Then, Eponine reached over and grasped Enjolras's hand.
"Do you love him, Libby?" Eponine asked.
"Yes, I think I do love him," Libertè smiled.
Enjolras thought for a long moment before finally saying, "Alright. We'll talk to him, then."
"Thank you," Libertè smiled again.
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The next day, George and Libertè were walking back to the manor after their classes.
"Don't let him scare you," Libertè said, referring to her father.
"Well, I'm already a bit intimidated," George admitted.
Libertè moved closer to him, looping her arm through his.
"Don't be. He just wants you to think he's mean, but he really isn't. He's just a bit protective."
By then, they reached the gate, and they entered the manor together.
"Papa? Mama?" Libertè called.
"In the study, Libby!" her mother yelled.
She made her way to the sound of the voice and George followed. When she stepped into the study, Enjolras was putting books back on a shelf, and Eponine sat on the sofa with her legs tucked up under her.
"Did you two have a good day?" Eponine asked.
"Yes, Mama. Would you like for me to start dinner?"
"That would be nice," her mother responded.
"Now, if you'll excuse us, Libby. I believe we have some things to talk about," Enjolras said as he slid the last book onto the shelf.
She nodded and turned to leave. Just before she left, she made eye contact with her father and mouthed the words "be nice" to him. He rolled his eyes at her, and she smiled back before shutting the door.
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Dinner was almost ready, and Libertè's parents were still talking with George. They hadn't emerged from the study, Courfeyrac and his family wasn't there yet, and the Pontmercys were sure to arrive at any moment. Libertè sat in the kitchen, nervously drumming her fingers on the table top as she waited. After starting dinner, she went upstairs to freshen up and dressed in her red dress. Then, she made sure Gavroche and Jolie were ready before leaving them in the living room. Now, she just had to wait. Finally, there was a knock at the door, and Libertè went to answer it. On the other side of the door was Monsieur Marius, whom she'd met a few days prior, and his large family, his wife and five children, not including George.
"Come in," Libertè smiled as she moved out of the doorway.
"Thank you. It's nice to see you again, Libertè," Marius smiled back.
"It's nice to see you as well. Papa and Mama should be coming…"
Libertè was interrupted when her parents stepped out of the study with George and, to her surprise, they were laughing. They stopped when they saw Marius, Cosette, and the children standing there.
"Marius, Cosette welcome," Enjolras said.
Eponine had a huge smile on her face, and she walked briskly to Cosette, who was also smiling widely. The two women hugged each other tightly.
"Cosette, it's so good to see you!" Eponine exclaimed.
Cosette laughed, "I can't believe we're here. I thought I'd never see you or Enjolras again!"
The two broke apart, and Eponine moved to Enjolras's side where he wrapped an arm around her waist.
"Courfeyrac and his family should be coming. I thought they'd be here by now," Enjolras said.
"Well, we'll save introductions until they get here," Marius responded.
The room was filled with an awkward silence and to get away from it, Libertè excused herself to go find her siblings. When she returned with Gavroche and Jolie, Courfeyrac was just walking through the door with Brigette in his arms, Giselle holding an almost one year old Remi, and Henri tagging along behind.
"Hello Marius, Cosette," Courfeyrac said.
"Courfeyrac," Marius smiled.
Courfeyrac put down Brigette and hugged his friend as Giselle embraced Cosette.
"I'm glad we're all here now. Marius, Cosette, you've already met Libertè, but this is Gavroche, and this is Jolie," Enjolras said introduced as he swooped his youngest daughter into his arms and ruffled his son's dark hair.
"You named them after our old friends, little Gavroche and dear Joly?" Marius asked, a sentimental look in his eyes.
Enjolras nodded.
Then Courfeyrac spoke up, "My oldest is Henri. Then we have Brigette and Remi, who's not even a year old."
Marius began to introduce his family to everyone. All of his children were very well behaved and stood patiently through all the introductions. Of course, everyone already knew George, who was named after Marius's grandfather. The more Enjolras saw them together, the more he resembled Marius. The next oldest was fifteen year old Jean who was named after Cosette's adoptive father, and he looked exactly like his mother with blonde hair and blue eyes. Then came two girls, Vivienne and Belle. Vivienne was thirteen and resembled her mother. Belle had dark hair and green eyes like Marius and was ten. The next child, Philip, was a mixture of both parents with blonde hair and green eyes, and was only seven years old. The youngest was a four year old little girl named Lucille who had brown hair and blue eyes. She looked between all the new people curiously as Vivienne held her.
Once everyone was introduced and reunited, they all went to the dining room for dinner. Everyone laughed and talked, glad to be together again. For once, Enjolras thought he might be able to let go of the past and enjoy being with his old friend again.
Author's Note: So what do you guys think? Please review! The answer to why Cosette acted strange before they left France is coming soon. So, I just noticed that Libertè is of course just like Enjolras, but Gabriel is a lot like Marius with his personality. I planned the Libertè thing, but not Gabriel. Does anyone else see this? Anyway, please let me know what you think.
~loislane16