Hey,

It took a long time for me to finish this chapter. I hope you will like it, it's been a fun story. I will write the entire story of Les Misérables with the kids of Jean Valjean's sister being alive. So some of the events of the story might change.

Please, leave a review. I read them and try to put them in the story. I like your thoughts on the story. Special thanks to Sarah1281 for leaving a review.

Enjoy this chapter. I hope to update the story fast!

Chapter 2: Working in Brie

Marie woke up at 4 in the afternoon. When you were poor, it was nice to sleep in the afternoon. Especially when there was no jobs out there. A 10 year old girl was supposed to attend school, but there was no money for food. So where would they get the money to get an education for the youngest Boussards? Marie didn't know how to read, write or even count. She was able to count to five, but she hardly had a clue what proceeded that number. She assumed she heard the first five numbers in a song the Prideux kid sang, when passing by the house. She knew a couple of letters of the alphabet. She knew that the world of letters was a world she would never experience. It was something Marie begged for, stories to carry her away from the world. Sometimes she would listen to story on the small city place. It was once every three months, and sometimes the stories didn't tell much. Yet it kept her going.
"Jeanne!" Adelaide the youngest screamed for her sister. The door opened up and the oldest two Boussards walked in the door.

"Jeanne, what did you do?"
"Marie,…" Jeanne smiled "How are you?"
"She's still got that dead cat." Adelaide rolled her eyes. "Tell her to get rid of it!"
"Maybe we'll be able to buy a doll." Gerald smiled "We have a job, 40 francs for running the Prideux household."
"But we hate the Prideux…" Marie complained
"Well, we would be able to live…" Jeanne whispered. "We would eat on a regular base."
"But we hate the Prideux family!" Adelaide reacted "I won't work for them for 10 francs a week. Not for those horrible people."
"Would you rather starve?" Gerald turned to them. "Would you?"
"I just feel like we…" René Boussard the youngest son from the 6 of them walked out of the other room. "I mean we don't need rich people. We'll make money in an honest way."
"Well, I think there is no noble way." Gerald spoke "It's not like we wouldn't be working hard. We won't get one franc we didn't earn."
"I still say no." Claude repeated. "Tell them no."
"We already said yes." Jeanne spoke "I'm the oldest, I make the decisions. And I say we'll work for the family Prideux . That's final!"
"I guess I have nothing to say about it…" Marie turned to her. "Jeanne, you're not going to marry him right? Please tell me you're not interested in that Henri…."

Marie turned away. She had to admit that she needed to accept their new job. If they didn't take it, their live would never turn around. Ten francs a week was a lot of money. More than any of them made in a factory. They would be able to afford a new doll, covers for the beds and new clothes. Not all at the same time, but they could if they saved some money. Marie threw the dead cat out of the window. A smile appeared on her face. Maybe somehow their lives are going to change.

The six Boussards kids stepped towards the big mansion. They had never seen such a large building. Their house was just as big as the garage. That's where they kept their carriage, they could imagine. Actually Marie didn't know. She never sat in a carriage, she had seen some of them close. Yet, she couldn't form a mental picture of it. Adelaide was right next to Marie, she was just as impressed by the house as everyone was. Maybe it were René and Claude that were left unimpressed.
"Oh my dear…" Marie Prideux stepped towards them. "I thought there was 7 of you."

"Our mother left for Paris…" Jeanne spoke "I assume there was no room for our presence on this journey. She only took our baby brother Bernard. Maybe because he doesn't have an opinion of his own."
"Well, …" the old woman didn't know what to say anymore. She just stared at them. "I guess it's perfectly normal that I want you to move in one of our barns. It's for more close to work, and I doubt it's worse than your current location ."

"Thank you…" Jeanne smiled
"First things first." Jeanne smiled "You can clean up in the garden. I will bring everything you need. I think it's important that my employees look clean at all times. I have seven beds made up in the barn, I wasn't aware that your mother had taken your youngest brother. You won't need to pay any rent, but you will pay for your food. I'm not a charity. I will pay you, and you will work for your money. I will need wood every day. Or every two days. You will keep the gardens clean and you will clean the house. You can go to school, I don't mind that you learn how to read. As long as your job doesn't suffer under it. I won't take any rebellion, I will fire you. Understood?"
"Crystal." Jeanne smiled

"You can call me Mrs. Prideux." She turned around. "May I excuse you now?"
They turned away from the woman. Slowly Jeanne stepped towards the place they had to clean up. It was a simple, there was clean water. Jeanne assumed it had not been used today. They started to clean up themselves. Their hair everything. In a way they never noticed how dirty they were. Jeanne saw how her dark black hair returned to its glory. It reached over her shoulders. She started to bread it. For the other children it took longer to clean up. A couple of minutes later they saw the brand new clothes brought for them. Mrs. Prideux wasn't lying when she wanted them to look good. They had never worn clothes this new and respected. Jeanne could see that the woman even brought clothes to work outside with. One for each one of them. In total there were clothes for 7 days. They had never owned so much. She was wearing a pink dress. She believed the dress cost a fortune. She spilled around in the new dress. For a moment she allowed herself to be 14 years old.

"Au!" A scream cam e from her left side.
"I'm so sorry…" Jeanne turned to the man next to her. It was Henri Prideux, the youngest son of the family. His hear was red, just as bright as the flames. His eyes were a simple grey color.

"I didn't know you were so…" Henri paused "Beautiful."
"I didn't know you could be so…" Jeanne stared at him. "Polite."
"I know I can act like an ass…" Henri smiled "You will learn that I don't always act like an ass. I mean people see me as an ass, you act the way people see you."
"Makes sense…"
"How's your uncle?"

"In jail." Jeanne replied "That's what they told me anyway. I mean they won't tell us anything. He was send to prison for 10 years. God knows how long he'll stay today."
"He stole a bread, didn't he?" Henri turned to him.
"He did." Jeanne smiled "We're eternally grateful for it. He saved our lives, and now he's paying for something he shouldn't be paying for. If people gave us food, we wouldn't have to
steal it."

"That's true." Henri replied "I think he was punished way too harsh for the crimes he committed. How is he?"
"How should I know?" Jeanne stepped next to him. "He doesn't exactly write. For all I know he could be dead. We're on our own. I'm happy with your mother's job."
"My mom…" Henri laughed "She's something isn't she? She insisted you looked pretty all the time. So…"

"Jeanne…" Marie stepped back.
"You must be Marie." Henri smiled "I'm Henri."
"Hello, rich boy." Adelaide stepped next to them. "So how is live with food? Pretty darn good right?"
"Addi." Jeanne turned to her sister. "Forgive her, she doesn't always have manners."
"Well, I'll see you later."l

Jeanne turned away from Henri. He wasn't what she expected of him. Sweet and nice didn't start to explain what he was. There were so many ideas that they had shared about him, not of them even got close to the man he was. Henri seemed a handsome 16 year old boy. Only two years older than her. She would turn 15 in a month, she assumed he would turn 17. In a way they could be a match made in heaven.
"Remember, we work for him." Gerald stepped next to her. "Or do you think he will ever be interested in his maid? No."
"No one in their right mind would marry him." Adelaide spoke. "He should be grateful with a made that chooses to marry him and carry his off spring. I mean with his red hair, the devil will have a hand full."
"That's nonsense." Jeanne turned away.
"Was he talking about uncle Jean?" Gerald spoke "Have you heard anything of him? We haven't heard anything of him in ages."
"It's not bee a year." Jeanne turned around. "And we won't hear about him. You do know it's a hard life in jail. I think it's sad that he's there…"
"No one ever returns from Toulon." Gerald turned around. "It's our fault he's in jail."
"It's not." Jeanne turned to him. "We all make choices. He didn't do anything wrong. He was punished way too hard for his crime. Don't you agree?"
"Yeah." Gerald nodded. "Let's get ready."

Jeanne took her two sisters inside. They were starting to clean the inside of the house. The house was gigantic. It had 4 floors and an attic. Jeanne couldn't stop laughing every time she lay eyes on Henri. Off course she knew that he would never look at her. That didn't stop her from watching the older boy. He was nothing she wanted him to be. He wasn't a rich snob. He was nice, sweet and polite. His mother was something else, she looked down on her family. When they went to the store, Madame Prideux demanded that they would wear their best clothes. The rich woman didn't want the neighbors to think that she couldn't give her employers clothes. Jeanne and her sisters even needed to wear a tight corset.

Adelaide and Marie hated the damn corset. They could never breath when wearing it. After a while they would not wear it. Most people didn't notice is. Madame Prideux didn't notice either. So after a while the little girls wouldn't wear it anymore. Cleaning the house took a long time. It took 3 days to clean the whole house. They needed to clean every surface, every small thing. There were many candles that were never used. In house like this, that didn't make sense. They even needed to clean the hanging chandelier. A part of Jeanne wanted to know what happened to her uncle. Another part wanted him to be back here. He was a strong hard worker. Her little brothers could take it easier if he was here.
After a while, it was possible for her younger sisters to go to school. They would get up before 4 o'clock and go to bed late at night. Just to get their work done. Jeanne wouldn't let herself go. Gerald and Claude didn't want to go either. They said they would be able to teach themselves how to read. Jeanne didn't know if they would be able to do that.

e HeH

Adelaide stared at the night sky. They were teaching how to read an d write. It wasn't easy, she knew that before she went to school. People weren't nice to her, everyone knew her as the cousin of the one who stole the bread. No one knew that his name was Jean Valjean. Yet that didn't stop them to make up their own story. Nothing stopped them from making her uncle super violent. People told each other that he killed the person who ran the job. The truth was that he was still alive. Yet these lies traveled faster than the actual truth. Most people said they would never see Jean Valjean back. Something in her told that was the truth.

She continued to stare at the sky, until she heard a soft voice. It was the 16 year old Henri that sat down next to her. He stared at the same skies as she was. For a moment a smile appeared on his face.
"You've been here 4 weeks now." Henri spoke "How has those been?"
"Busy." Adelaide stared away from him. She couldn't face him, but she couldn't say anything rude either. She didn't want to lose this job.
"If you have troubles with reading and writing, I can help you." Henri turned to her and took a box. He pushed it next to her. There were all kinds off paints in it. She smiled as she opened it and whispered a word of thank you.
"I saw you liked to paint." Henri spoke "I mean you used to display your art. You're really good, all you need is some paint. Isn't that right?"
"Yes, thank you." Adelaide smiled

"Well, I have to go." He whispered as he stood up.

Jeanne sat down by the high mountains. She was staring at the beautiful mountains. Brie always had them, but never was she able to stare at them like this. She always had the time, but never had the opportunity to look at them in an extraordinary way.
"So…" Henri stepped next to her. "I just saw your sister. I gave her the paint."
"Wow, I didn't see that coming." She smiled at him. "I am impressed you're not just a rich snob. I really mean that. I would never have guessed.. I'm sorry for that misinterpretation."
"It's not a big deal." Henri smiled "I don't care what your first impression was of me. You've changed it. It takes a strong woman to admit they were wrong. I'm really happy you took the job. Why aren't you taking reading classes? I mean reading and writing would be really good for you. I promise that to you."

"I don't know." Jeanne spoke "Who cares if I can read? I am the oldest, I'm supposed to take care of my sisters. I don't have the right or the time for an education. I have to clean the house, and I have to do all my tasks. That's how it is."
"Life sucks, doesn't it?" Henri smiled "If it were up to me, you wouldn't have to clean every room. I mean we haven't used the attic for years. I don't understand why my mom wants it clean there. We store garbage there. Not important."
"Well, some people think it's important." Jeanne smiled "You shouldn't say it's stupid. I won't think anything you do is stupid."
"My mother wants me to get married before I'm 20." Henri turned to her. "I don't want to marry someone she chooses for me. She has this type of girl she chooses for me…"
"Rich." Jeanne smiled "Someone like Elénore."

"She looks down on everyone." Henri spoke "Even on me. She thinks she has more money than I do. It shouldn't matter you know. You should like someone for who they are, not for their money. Right?"
"Well, I certainly like you for your money." Jeanne gave him a playful push. "No, that's a joke. That was the very thing that turned me away from you. If you don't want to marry someone your mom chooses for you, why don't you tell her?"
"How I'm I supposed to tell my mom that I want to marry someone…" He paused "Someone like you? I mean someone that she doesn't think is right for me."

"Poor you mean?"
"Not necessarily." Henri stared at her. "My mom doesn't understand your devotion to family. She wouldn't do the things you did. If I were to marry someone she didn't like. She would shun me. I would have right to my fortune. I wouldn't have my mom. Sometimes I feel like she isn't my mother."
"Well, your mother is still here." Jeanne spoke "She didn't leave for Paris and left you here to take care of your siblings. I hate my mom for doing that. I don't hate her. I just want to know why she didn't take all of us? We could have been together."

"Sometimes being together is the biggest curse…" Henri spoke "Maybe she was scared to lose you. If you bring one child, you don't have to deal with losing any kids."
"I don't know…" Jeanne turned to her. "She was very confused the last time we saw her. I doubt she knows she had 7 kids. I think she believed she only had 1. In her mind, we don't exist. Just Bernard."
"Do you miss him?"

"Every day."