Chapter X

That night, Gabrielle and Enjolras avoided the conversation about where they would each sleep until they were both too tired to keep their eyes open anymore.

Finally, Enjolras gave up and began loosening his cravat. "I'm sleeping on the sofa," he said simply.

Gabrielle opened her mouth to protest, but Enjolras held up a hand to stop her. "Really, Gabrielle, I insist. Neither of us are quite comfortable yet and it's been a long day. I want you to begin sleeping in the bedroom."

Gabrielle wasn't going to deny that she did feel uncomfortable – the ring on her finger seemed to weigh a hundred pounds, after all, and she had nervously twirled it around all day, marveling at what it meant. The thought of trying to sleep next to Enjolras was too much on top of everything else. She had never been that close to a man before.

"Alright. I won't argue," she replied. "I suppose I'll retire now, too..."

Their eyes locked for several seconds, neither sure what to say. At last, Gabrielle mumbled, "Sleep well, Antoine," and retreated into the bedroom. She undressed mechanically, fumbling with the buttons on the back of her dress. When she finally climbed into Enjolras' bed, she was more than ready for sleep, but as she laid her head on the pillow, his scent suddenly washed over her. It was a startling moment; even though she had been in his bedroom many times, she had never been in the bed before. This was his space, his private space, and the lingering scent of his sandalwood cologne on the pillow was a sharp reminder of his presence just outside the door.

Gabrielle inhaled, replaying the day in her mind. Nothing seemed real yet, even though the memories of their simple ceremony were fresh. She didn't know how to be a wife even under normal circumstances, but these were certainly less than normal, and she supposed they would have to find their way around day to day. The best way to start seemed to be building a friendship, though, and thankfully, she did think they were well on their way to that. For now, however, Gabrielle had to swallow the small hope inside of her that they could maybe be something more.

The next few days continued to be awkward and Enjolras and Gabrielle tiptoed around each other. Even though the only thing that had changed was the official status of their relationship, the words 'husband' and 'wife' seemed heavy.

Enjolras tried to be out of the apartment as much as possible, and Gabrielle found a lot of idle time on her hands now that she was no longer working. She began to spend the day downstairs at Musichetta's, helping her with laundry and listening to her funny stories and gossip about all of the other girls she knew. Gabrielle was a bit scandalized by some of them, but Musichetta frequently had her practically rolling on the ground in laughter, too, with her frank and bawdy sense of humor.

After a week of marriage, Gabrielle felt comfortable enough with Musichetta to open up to her a bit. Perhaps she would even have some advice, since she did have considerable knowledge when it came to men...

"Musichetta, may I ask you something?"

"Of course," she replied, folding one of Joly's shirts and tucking it away into the wardrobe.

"Well..." Gabrielle hesitated, leaning against the desk in Musichetta's bedroom. "Antoine and I...we..."

Musichetta whirled to face her, eyes lighting up. "Did you sleep with him already?" Musichetta asked excitedly.

Gabrielle gaped, frantically shaking her head. "Musichetta! Of course not!"

Musichetta's face fell. "Oh. And what? Why do you look so scandalized? You are married, Gabrielle. It is not that unusual for married people to make love."

Gabrielle's cheeks flushed. "Our circumstances are different, 'Chetta, and you know that. We aren't ready to do that... and perhaps we never will be." Gabrielle shrugged. "He seems so indifferent."

"Oh, believe me, darling, I know that...I was never able to crack him. But he certainly is nice to look at. What was your question, though?"

"Oh, I...well. I wondered, if I wanted to get to that point eventually...being with him, I mean. Where do I start?" Gabrielle felt mortified. She couldn't believe she was having this conversation.

"In any other circumstance, with any other man, I would be the perfect person to ask," Musichetta said smugly. "But like I said before, Enjolras is a complete mystery to me. Joly insists he isn't attracted to other men, though, so he must like women perfectly well. And I don't see why he wouldn't be attracted to you, Gabrielle. You're quite pretty."

Gabrielle blushed again at Musichetta's frankness and mumbled her thanks. "Maybe I shouldn't even be worrying about this yet," Gabrielle admitted. "It seems silly to think that just because we're married we should be doing that. Maybe if we get to know each other a bit better, and I can make myself stop feeling so awkward and strange, we would have a chance," she mused aloud.

"Well, then why don't you start by trying to spend more time with him? Just talk the way you used to. Try to cheer him up a bit, Joly says he is still quite a bear. Of course, I can't blame him...Joly is still sad, too, I often see it in his eyes."

Gabrielle nodded and confessed, "I'm sad, too. I don't think I'll ever stop being sad. Don't you miss Bossuet horribly, Musichetta?"

Musichetta's eyes darkened and she didn't reply for a moment. "Yes. Of course I do. But..." she shrugged and said in a determined tone, "There is no sense wasting time being sad. Life goes on, it must. And we must go on with it. Our loved ones wouldn't want us sitting around mourning for them forever, would they?"

Gabrielle smiled at Musichetta's attitude. "No, I don't think they would. Sometimes, though, I think that is easier said than done. Enjolras said once that he was a pathetic substitute for my brother, but really, I am a pathetic substitute for all of the friends he lost. He still has Joly and Marius to share things with, but I know how close he was to his other friends, too. It must be hard to miss so many people so much."

"I'm sure it is, but we can't change the past. What's done is done."

"I know. It still seems unfair." The two women lapsed into silence and Musichetta went back to her work.

Eventually, she asked curiously, "Has Enjolras mentioned the Les Amis meeting again or recruiting new members?"

"No. Has Joly?"

"In a way. He said the other night that he and Marius feel like their job isn't done. But Enjolras won't even talk about it. Perhaps coming back to the issues he was so passionate about in the first place would give him a sense of purpose again?"

"Maybe..." Gabrielle wondered if it would actually have the opposite effect and keep him wallowing in the mistakes he had made, but she didn't share that thought.

Still, Enjolras was such a driven and passionate man. He needed something to fight for, and would probably never be happy until he had regained his drive. Maybe Gabrielle could help, think ofdifferent ways he could use his talents?

It was at least somewhere to start.

The next day, Gabrielle decided it was finally time to start writing again. She eyed Enjolras' desk, but it was piled high with books and papers, and she didn't want to move anything important. So, she took her little bound journal, several pens, and a full pot of ink, and went to a café down the street. It had been so long since she had written anything that she first had to look over everything she had written before.

When her pen finally touched the paper, Gabrielle lost track of time. It felt wonderful to write again, to be immersed in her characters and their lives that were so different from her own. They felt more alive to her than she did at the moment, and were a welcome escape from everything that had happened in the last few months.

She only stopped writing once she looked up and realized it was now dusk, and the streetlamps were being lit. Her stomach rumbled hungrily, and her hand was painfully cramped. She rose and stretched, ordering some food to take home, including some extra for Enjolras in case he was hungry. When she finally arrived, she found him in his familiar spot at the desk, reading an assignment for class.

"Good evening!" she said cheerily, and he raised his eyebrows.

"You seem awfully happy tonight," he replied.

"You know what? I am. I wrote all day today, so much I completely lost track of time."

"Where were you?" he asked curiously.

She gave him the name of the café, and then confessed, "I was going to write here, but there's no room on your desk. You're quite messy, you know," she teased.

He grinned and shrugged. "I am a bit disorganized when it comes to work."

Gabrielle laid out the dinner she had brought home and they ate comfortably. Enjolras told her about the lecture he'd heard in class that day, and Gabrielle was able to follow along with the legal terminology fairly easily, though she didn't hesitate to stop and ask questions when she needed to.

"I actually have a confession," Enjolras finally said. "My professor owns a law firm and he offered me a job today. So after exams in a few months, I can begin work right away."

Gabrielle gasped and smiled widely. "Antoine, that's wonderful! Congratulations!" Before she had really even thought about it, she had reached out and grasped his hand. "What an amazing opportunity!"

He looked a bit startled, but didn't pull his hand away. "Thank you."

She finally realized what she had done and slowly withdrew her hand, her gaze only faltering a bit. "Really, I'm very happy for you. I think it's wonderful."

"It will be nice to go right into work," Enjolras admitted. "It will keep me busy. And also, we've been invited to a dinner party next week with some of my future colleagues. You're comfortable accompanying me?"

Gabrielle bit her lip nervously. "Oh, well...I suppose I must. I hope I don't make you look like a fool."

"You would never make me look like a fool, Gabrielle. You will do fine."

Gabrielle put on a smile for the next week, but inside, she was a bundle of nerves. It would be the first time she was ever introduced to anyone as Enjolras' wife. How strange it would be, to have people looking at the pair of them as newlyweds, and thinking about how in love the young couple must be.

When the day came, Gabrielle fussed endlessly over her appearance, something she had never done before. She even had Cosette come help her, and bless her, she was thoughtful enough to bring a lovely necklace for Gabrielle to wear. When Enjolras finally arrived home from class, Gabrielle was ready. He stopped in the bedroom doorway to admire her, looking her up and down approvingly.

"You look very nice."

"Do I? Thank you, I've been worrying all day. Is it too fancy? Or not enough? Cosette says it's fine..." Gabrielle blushed when she realized she was rambling. That seemed to happen whenever she was nervous.

"I'm sure you will fit in perfectly. I will be the envy of every man there."

Gabrielle grinned, fondly remembering the night he had walked her home from the Musain and she had thought the same thing, that all of the girls would envy her for being with him. "Thank you. And please, promise you'll pinch me if I'm doing something awfully embarrassing. I'll shut up right away then."

Enjolras laughed and ushered her out of the bedroom so he could get dressed. Gabrielle waited patiently, trying to read a novel, but going over the proper etiquette for a dinner party in her mind. She had seem plenty at the de Sauveterre house, but never participated.

When Enjolras was ready, they hailed a fiacre to the Durand residence, and Gabrielle was relieved to see that it was not nearly as grand or imposing as the de Sauveterre house or Monsieur Gillenormand's mansion. It was beautiful and stately, but not overly huge and ornate. Gabrielle took Enjolras' arm as they walked to the front door. They were ushered in by the butler and Monsieur Durand came out to meet them.

"Antoine, my boy, it is lovely to see you. Thank you for coming." Enjolras shook his professor's hand.

"Good evening, Monsieur. This is my wife, Gabrielle." Enjolras' cheeks colored a bit at the word, but Monsieur Durand didn't notice. He took Gabrielle's hand and began leading her into the parlour, where several more people waited.

"I must confess, my dear, it was quite a shock when we learned Antoine had gotten married! He had never even mentioned having his sights set on a beautiful young lady, but seeing you now, I am not surprised. I am glad you are able to join us this evening." Monsieur Durand had dark, piercing eyes, but they twinkled merrily as he grinned at Gabrielle. She found she liked him instantly.

"Thank you, Monsieur, you are too kind."

"Bonjour, you must be Madame Enjolras? I am Genevieve Durand. It is a pleasure to meet you."

Gabrielle turned to Madame Durand and curtseyed politely. "Thank you for inviting us this evening, Madame. You have a lovely home."

Madame Durand looked at her evenly, and Gabrielle sensed she was being appraised by the woman. "It will be nice for us to have some fresh blood among us," Madame Durand smiled. "It has been quite a while since my husband hired one so young to his law firm. Your husband must be impressive."

Gabrielle cocked her head and gazed at Enjolras, who was now across the room talking to the men. He kept giving her furtive glances, making sure she was alright. "I think he is most impressive, yes," Gabrielle said confidently. "But I may be a bit biased."

"What do you do while your husband is at class, Madame Enjolras?"

Gabrielle wasn't used to being addressed by her new last name, and she found it strange. "Please, call me Gabrielle. And...well, I write. I have been searching for other things to fill my time, though," she confessed.

Another woman, older than Madame Durand, perked up. "We can always use one more in our sewing circle."

Another said, "And I do know we have been discussing some charity work. Are you interested in helping the less fortunate, Gabrielle?"

Gabrielle smiled, thinking about how she had nearly been one of the less fortunate not so very long ago at all. "Yes. In fact, that is an issue my husband and I are both quite passionate about."

Madame Durand smiled slyly and leaned closer to Gabrielle. "Ah, so that is why my husband thinks so highly of Monsieur Enjolras. Tell me, Gabrielle, what did your husband think of the death of General Lamarque?" Her question was absurdly unexpected.

Gabrielle stared at Madame Durand. She didn't know how to respond – was the woman baiting her or was it an innocent question? What if Gabrielle's answer somehow got Enjolras in trouble? Hehad recruited most of the Les Amis from the university, and Monsieur Durand was a professor. What if they were suspicious of him and the part he had played in the barricade? Gabrielle thought all of this in a split second, but she was rescued from answering by Enjolras' own voice close to her side.

"I was deeply affected, Madame, as I believe all who shared General Lamarque's views on equality and justice were."

Gabrielle let out a breath and moved closer to Enjolras, laying her hand on his arm. His eyes were steely, and Gabrielle could tell he wasn't quite sure what to make of this line of questioning, either. One thing was certain, however, and that was that he wouldn't let anyone scare him. He was commanding again, confident and strong, and Gabrielle felt a rush of pride as she gazed at him.

"Come now, Genevieve," Monsieur Durand's voice suddenly broke into their conversation. "There is no need to dig for information this way. Like I told you before, I would hire no one that I know does not share our beliefs."

Enjolras looked a bit startled at Monsieur Durand's words and kept silent.

Gabrielle looked from one to the other and then asked quietly, "And what beliefs would those be, Monsieur?"

Enjolras put a hand on the small of her back, ready to lead her out the door if need be, but Monsieur Durand answered gaily, as if there was nothing to it, "That a republic would be best for the country, of course. We know all about your little secret society, Antoine."

Enjolras raised his eyebrows, but still didn't say anything.

"Your friend Monsieur Combeferre told me all about it," Monsieur Durand said in a more gentle tone. "He was quite a close pupil of mine, did you know that?"

Gabrielle watched Enjolras closely, wondering how this strange turn of events would affect him.

He looked calm, the only thing betraying any kind of inner turmoil being the tightening of his jaw. "No, I did not know that, Monsieur."

Monsieur Durand waved a hand. "I don't think this is exactly the time or place to discuss it, my boy, but rest assured that all who are here this evening and who work for me share your beliefs."

"I didn't see any of you fighting with us," Enjolras said quietly, and Gabrielle tightened her hand on his sleeve at the slightly confrontational tone she detected.

Monsieur Durand smiled calmly. "No. And that is also something we will discuss later. I am sorry my wife brought up this issue so abruptly, Antoine. Do you think that perhaps, for now, we can put it aside and have a nice, relaxing evening? Discuss the work you will soon be doing with us?"

Enjolras hesitated and glanced at Gabrielle. She smiled encouragingly, and finally, Enjolras replied, "Yes. Of course."

Gabrielle sighed in relief.

She certainly had not expected her first dinner party to be like this.

As soon as they climbed into the waiting fiacre to go home, Gabrielle turned to Enjolras and exclaimed, "What in the world was that?!"

Enjolras smiled wryly and leaned back against the seat. "Enlightening is one word I could use."

"Did you have any idea what we were walking into? Why he hired you?"

Enjolras shook his head. "No. Honestly, I didn't. I knew I liked him, that he seemed like a nice man. But I didn't know he knew, and I didn't know Combeferre..." Enjolras stopped, wincing as he said his friend's name.

"You didn't know he confided in him," Gabrielle finished. "I wonder how Combeferre knew Monsiur Durand believes in a republic?"

"There's no telling. Combeferre was...well, he was more observant than me," Enjolras said quietly. "More interested in people, in talking to them, in listening to them. He had a great interest in education. Perhaps that is why he began talking to Monsieur Durand."

"I suppose you will find out soon enough," Gabrielle said, then smiled brightly. "But Antoine, just think! You are going to be working for people who believe the same things you do. This is your second chance, Antoine, to keep fighting..."

He looked at her and frowned. "Like I said before, Gabrielle, I didn't see any of them on the barricade with us. I don't call that much of a fight."

"There are other ways to fight, Antoine," Gabrielle said softly. "Many other ways."

Enjolras didn't respond, and they said nothing else until they were back in the apartment and bid each other good night.

Gabrielle went into the bedroom and undressed, carefully laying Cosette's necklace on the nightstand. She climbed into bed and crawled over to the side nearest the wall. There was a small window there, and Gabrielle pushed the shutters open a bit to look out into the street. It was quiet, with only a few people milling about. The moon was nearly full, casting long shadows on the ground. Gabrielle liked this window – she liked being able to peer down at the world and watch it go by, feeling a bit distant from it all.

She turned as the bedroom door opened with a creak, and Enjolras stood in the doorway, bathed in moonlight.

She said nothing, though she wondered what he was doing, and they stared at each other for several seconds until Enjolras tentatively crossed the room. "We may as well get used to this," he mumbled uncertainly and gestured to the bed. "That is, if you don't mind?"

Gabrielle shook her head and pulled the shutters closed, crawling beneath the covers. "No, I don't mind."

Enjolras nervously ran a hand through his hair and laid down on the other side of the bed, looking up at the ceiling. Gabrielle turned on her side and gazed at his profile, still illuminated in the cracks of light peeking in from the window. It was strangely comforting having him beside her.

"Bonne nuit, Antoine," she whispered before closing her eyes.

Well, hey, there's a little action there at the end. :)

Thank you for all of the reviews for the last chapter, and I'm sorry I misspelled your name Carollina. That's what updating at 6:50 am before going to work does to you. haha

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!