Éponine jumped up from the edge of the bathtub she was sitting on when the door burst open. A flustered-looking nun stood in front of her, and Éponine recognised her as the nun that had shown them to Enjolras' room. They stared at each other with wide eyes before the religieuse spoke. "I'm so sorry, mademoiselle." She said, backing out of the room.
"No, I'm-" Éponine started, attempting to dry her tears with the sleeve of her dress, but the woman had gone and closed the door behind her. She sighed, and sat back down, realising that she'd probably been in there quite a while and that it was time to sort out her appearance and leave.
Back in Enjolras' room, there was a knock at the thick wooden door, and the three men turned their heads toward the sound. "Come in," Enjolras called, and a nun entered, eyes searching the men before letting them rest on Joly.
"Monsieur, may I speak with you?"
Joly pushed himself up from his leaning stance on the desk and followed the nun from the room, closing the heavy door behind him.
"What is it, Sister Musichetta?"
"The young woman visiting with Monsieur Pontmercy is in the washroom crying. Would it be best to arrange for her to be taken home?"
Joly raised his eyebrows and leaned back slightly. "I should think that would be a good idea. Merci beaucoup, Sister."
When he reentered the room, Marius and Enjolras ceased their quiet mutterings and looked up. Joly looked between the two before finally settling on Marius. "I have been informed that Éponine is crying in the washroom, and that she is asking to be taken home." Marius sighed and stood up, but stopped when Enjolras sat up and pointed at his chest of drawers.
"Let me dress myself. I will meet her in the gardens; perhaps I will get a better look at her in the daylight. I won't let her leave on such bad terms." Marius nodded, and left to find Éponine.
Éponine dabbed her face with water and patted it dry with a towel. It now looked as though she had only been weeping and not violently sobbing, as she had been earlier.
"Éponine?" Marius' voice called through the door and she jumped a little.
"Just a second!" She replied, trying to make herself sound happier than she was, but cursed herself silently at her overenthusiastic sound. Éponine drew a deep breath and took a final look at her appearance before she opened the door, a fake smile on her face.
"'Ponine, I know you've been crying." Marius stated, and her smile faltered. She frowned and crossed her arms, upset her façade had been blown apart in a matter of seconds.
"How?"
"A nun came and told us."
Éponine's arms dropped down by her side again and her cheeks reddened. "What? She told you? Oh God." She groaned, running a hand down her face in embarrassment. Marius chuckled at her childish demeanor and took her arm, pulling her from the washroom. "It doesn't matter dear 'Ponine. Enjolras would like to speak to you again, in the gardens this time."
She stopped and pulled away from Marius slightly, staring at him as though he'd called her something vulgar. "What?" She said again. "No! No, I am far too embarrassed. He knows I've been crying! I look like this, for God's sake!" She gestured to the tear stains on her cheeks, forgetting her blasphemy in a place of worship. Marius only laughed.
"Éponine, it doesn't matter. He was mortified that he'd made you cry, and he said he wouldn't allow you to leave on bad terms with him." He took her hands and made her face him. "He's trying very hard, Éponine. He's even meeting you outside in the daylight, so that he can get a better look at your face and perhaps remember who you are."
Éponine's eyes lowered to the ground. Her heart swelled at the idea that he was trying his hardest to remember her. "Okay." She whispered, drawing in another few deep breaths before she let Marius accompany her to the gardens.
Enjolras sat on the fountain with Joly again, drumming his fingers against his thigh. Joly noticed this and sighed. "Calm down, Enj. She'll come."
"How do you know that? She might have run before Pontmercy even had the chance to get to her. She gives that impression; a bird that's always ready to take flight." He mused, and Joly rolled his eyes.
"Well you'd better watch how you go then Enjolras, because here she comes now."
Enjolras snapped his head up to see the girl, striding towards him with Marius linked to her arm. His mouth twitched at the corners, and this time he stood, batting away Joly's attempts to help him. Éponine had to stifle her laughter at this scene of his stubbornness, and noted that even as he leaned heavily on his cane, he was still taller than her by at least a head. Not that she'd expected him to shrink or anything, it wasn't like he'd had any limbs cut off.
"Mademoiselle Éponine," He greeted, once again offering his hand.
"Monsieur Enjolras." She smiled a small smile, taking his hand and shaking it firmly. This was progress. She had answered without stuttering, and she didn't feel like as though she wanted to cry as much as she did when they'd first laid eyes upon each other that day.
"Please, sit with me." He said, and Joly stood up from his place on the stone, offering his seat to the girl.
"Merci." Éponine said shyly, lowering herself down.
"We'll be back soon." Joly smiled at the pair, taking Marius by the cuff of his jacket.
"Where are we going?" Marius looked bewildered and Éponine once again had to hide a chuckle, this time behind her gloved hand, at his exaggerative expressions.
"To get some tea… or something." Joly could be heard as he dragged Marius away. "Do be careful Enjolras! I'm not in the mood for sewing any reopened wounds tonight."
Enjolras rolled his eyes. "All I am doing is sitting on a fountain." He grumbled, and Éponine smiled at him.
He sat as though there was nothing wrong with him, but if you looked closely, as Éponine was doing now, you could see his winces and jolts at all slight movements, giving away his injuries. Her eyes grew sad again, and she lowered them to look at the grey stone between them, worn and discoloured with age.
"I like to come here and think." Enjolras stated, and Éponine jumped slightly at his voice. His eyes lingered on her a little while before carrying on. "But sometimes it gets a little too much and I have to find some sort of distraction."
Éponine nodded slightly, wanting to ask him what distraction he'd been using but her throat had dried up and apparently she'd lost all words.
He waited for her to speak, but when she did not he spoke again. "I am truly sorry for what you lost fighting on that… my barricade. For who you lost. Marius told me that Gavroche was your brother."
I've lost the feeling in my hand. I've lost my little brother. I've lost you and you're sitting right in front of me.
It took so much strength for Éponine not to burst into tears again, as she nodded. This whole day had drained her, mentally and physically. "I'm sorry for what and who you have lost too, Monsieur." She whispered, and he stared at her face. Do you count me as a loss because you cannot remember me? She thought.
"Yes," He cleared his throat and startled her again. She hoped she had not said it out loud, but she knew she hadn't and that he was just responding to her previous condolences. "Well, thank you."
Cosette sat at home, awaiting the return of Marius and Éponine. She sipped her tea and returned to the sewing on her lap, keeping an eye on the old grandfather clock in the room.
The front door opened and she excitedly discarded the things to the side, getting to her feet and rushing to the foyer. "Oh, how did it go?" She called, before she'd even got to the pair.
Éponine took off her bonnet and placed it carefully next to Cosette's on the shelf by the door, dusting it down gently. She sighed as the couple behind her gave little giggles and squeals, poked each other and were just sickly sweet.
"He doesn't remember me." She started solemnly, turning to face the two. Cosette's smile dropped immediately into a face of concern, and Éponine almost rolled her eyes.
"Oh Éponine," Cosette gathered the smaller woman into her arms. "I'm so sorry." Éponine sighed and nodded.
"I s'pose his memory will come in time." She said, by way of reassuring herself, and pulled away from Cosette. "What have you occupied yourself with all day?"
"Oh, not much. Sewing, I suppose. My day was boring in comparison to yours, I'm sure! Tell me all about it." They sat in the kitchen as Éponine relayed the whole story to Cosette with inputs from Marius here and there, who only managed to fall silent when she told them about their conversation in the gardens.
That night, Éponine sat on Cosette's bed watching the girl plait her long hair and she sighed, leaning back against the headboard. "I think I'll look for work tomorrow, Cosette. I'll make a living honestly, not like how my father did." She saw Cosette raise her eyebrows in the mirror and nod approvingly. Éponine carried on watching her, and opened her mouth to speak again. "And then… when I've made enough money I can rent a room of my own somewhere."
She felt like she'd long outstayed her welcome. Soon Cosette and Marius would get married, she'd be La Baronne Pontmercy and they'd live with his Grandfather in his large house, and have little Pontmercys.
But the longer Éponine stayed, the longer it would take for that to happen and she didn't want to do that Cosette, or to Marius, They had been too good for her to be selfish like that.
"Move out? But Éponine, I would be so worried about you." Cosette finished her plait and turned to face the girl on her bed. "You have everything here! Are we smothering you, Marius and I? You can leave the house at anytime, you know that! Of course I'd prefer to know where you were but as long as you were returning-" Éponine sighed and slid to the bottom of the bed, snapping Cosette out of her ramblings.
"Cosette! You and Marius aren't smothering me. Really, it's me who's doing the smothering. You're going to get married one day, and me being here is just prolonging the inevitable." Cosette blushed and Éponine took her hands. "We'll still see each other, I'll visit you always. You can help me look for a room, and I won't take it unless it's up to your standards."
Cosette nodded and let go of Éponine's hand to wipe a tear that had fallen onto her cheek, and then quickly grabbed it again. "I just don't want to lose you as a friend Éponine. I've not had any friends in my life, and now we've been reunited and things have pleasantly changed so much that I just couldn't bear to let you go again."
Éponine smiled and hugged the girl, rubbing her back. "And I want you to know Éponine," Cosette sniffed, "If I marry Marius-"
"When," Éponine corrected, earning a giggle from Cosette.
"When I marry Marius, I'll still be expecting visits at least once a week from you."
"Of course. And you'd better be visiting me, too."
The girls chatted about what they thought of the future and what it held for them, until Éponine decided it was time to go back to her own bed.
She wondered about her future, who would be in it and what it would entail.
Tomorrow was a new day.