Chapter 34: The Construction
Esmeralda woke up in her husband's arms. She sighed. It hadn't been her intention to stay the night, especially with Quasimodo expecting her. But last night's heartbreak had made her dysfunctional. Phoebus, whom she longed for, did not want to be with her. That was crushing. It had been impossible to cope when the rejection was fresh. Esmeralda hadn't been able to let go of Claude when he hugged her, let alone face Quasimodo, who expected her to be the strong one. In the end she'd gone to bed with Claude so that he could stay by her side through the night.
It was embarrassing. Esmeralda couldn't believe that she'd let herself depend on someone so intimately, and Claude Frollo of all people. She told herself it wouldn't happen again. There would be no more falling into Claude's arms out of desperation. She was done crying over Phoebus. She needed to be strong again, for the sake of her friend in the cathedral belltower. Quasimodo needed her. And as a matter of fact, she was late to return to him.
For a moment she let herself enjoy the position she was in. As ridiculous as it was, she felt very comforted by Claude holding her under the bedsheets. It occurred to her that he was still asleep. The morning was only barely starting. The bells had not rung yet. Perhaps Quasimodo wasn't even awake. Perhaps, if she left right now, it would be like Esmeralda had never come to the palace at all.
She squirmed away from Claude and got out of bed, but her plans to leave unnoticed were quickly foiled.
"Esmeralda..." Claude muttered, just opening his eyes.
Esmeralda looked at him awkwardly.
"I need to go." She explained. "Quasimodo is expecting me."
"...Alright." Claude accepted.
There was a touch of disappointment in his voice. Esmeralda was slightly sorry for leaving him so quickly, but it was definitely necessary.
"Take your money on your way out." Claude reminded.
Esmeralda nodded. She uncomfortably met eyes with Claude. They looked at each other for an awkward moment, then Esmeralda decided to address the situation.
"Can we... Forget about this?" She asked.
"If that is what you want." Claude replied with even more disappointment.
"Thanks..." Esmeralda said solemnly.
She left. Claude groaned. He was hurt by Esmeralda's eagerness to forget about last night, but he did understand it. She had chosen to sleep in a bed with someone who had done awful things to her in the past, and whom she still had complicated feelings about. And of course, she wouldn't have done it if she'd seen a better option.
But it hadn't been like that for Claude. His intentions had only been to support her. He'd only wanted to make her night easier. He never would have been the one to suggest sharing a bed, knowing how she would likely feel about the prospect. But last night, she had asked him for this. She'd wanted to sleep by him because she'd been going through emotional turmoil and hadn't felt ready to be alone.
And she was ashamed of that. Sleeping together, as friends, with clothes on, for emotional reasons, was apparently even more shameful to Esmeralda than having passionate sex out of hate and lust. Claude knew that part of it was her reluctance to be dependent, but there was definitely more to it than that. She wouldn't have been so ashamed if it had been Quasimodo hugging her through the night.
Claude wished that he didn't have this effect on her. He wished that she could see him like any of her friends. But she still wrestled with anger toward him, and Claude knew that was his own fault. After everything he'd done, of course she felt ashamed to accept comfort from him.
Quasimodo had just finished ringing the bells when Esmeralda returned, carrying several bags of food.
"I got us some breakfast." She reported.
"Great!" Quasimodo smiled. "It sure is good to see you! I was starting to worry. Where were you?"
"Well, it got dark." Esmeralda explained, setting down the things she was carrying. "I was a little afraid to walk back alone, so I stayed in one of the extra rooms."
Quasimodo was surprised by that explanation. Esmeralda didn't seem like the type of person to be afraid to walk in the dark alone. She handled herself well and was generally brave.
"You stayed because... It got dark?" Quasimodo questioned.
"Yes." Esmeralda insisted. "What about it?"
"That just... Seems unusual for you." Quasimodo explained.
Esmeralda tried to think of a response, but she couldn't argue with this logic. It certainly didn't sound right for her. She regretted not coming up with a better explanation.
"Is everything okay?" Quasimodo asked, starting to become concerned.
"Yes." Esmeralda answered abruptly.
Quasimodo decided to try the more obvious question.
"Did you get the information you came for?"
Esmeralda froze. She didn't know how to address this. The simple answer was "Yes", but as soon as she said it, she would have to regretfully inform Quasimodo that she couldn't relay the information to him. She didn't want to deal with that now. She needed to find a way to relax, to recover from what had happened with Phoebus.
"Quasi, I'm sorry." She apologized. "But please, talk to me about anything but last night. I don't want to think about it right now."
Quasimodo nearly said something, but Esmeralda interrupted him.
"Don't ask." She begged. "I'll tell you about it later. All I can say right now is that I had a long night. I need to take my mind off that. Can you help me?"
Naturally, Quasimodo wanted to know what had put Esmeralda in this unusual mood. But he was willing to wait for that information. If what she needed right now was a distraction, he would gladly provide that.
"Okay." He accepted. "What do you want to do, then?"
"I think another walk around town would be nice." Esmeralda suggested. "When it's a little brighter outside."
"Sounds good." Quasimodo agreed.
The construction to repair the damage from the fires had begun. Claude spent the morning on horseback, journeying around to each construction site to observe the progress. Eventually, he arrived at the largest one. The damage to this house was severe. It had to be practically rebuilt, and the Captain of the Guard watched over the men to ensure that they didn't slack.
Claude dismounted his horse. The Captain noticed him and approached with a salute.
"Good morning, Sir." He greeted.
"Good morning, Captain." Claude returned. "How goes the construction?"
"Slowly." The Captain replied. "The damage is quite bad."
"Well, you have another man for the job now."
"I do? Who?"
"Me."
Claude discarded his outer layers so he was down to his civilian clothes. The captain watched in disbelief.
"Sir, this is manual labor!" The officer gasped. "It isn't your job!"
"It is now." Claude insisted, throwing his robes over Geoffrey's back. "And your new job is watching Geoffrey."
"Geoffrey?"
"My horse."
He handed the reins to the soldier before marching into the construction site.
All of the men seemed to be as shocked as the captain was when the judge began to work with them. Claude paid them no attention. As far as he was concerned, taking part in this labor was the least he could do. He'd ordered the damage. He would repair it.
The soldiers didn't expect this to last, thinking the judge was too frail to do such work for long. But he soon proved to be as capable as any of them, carrying large planks of wood without difficulty.
Claude had always been stronger than he looked. His slender frame suggested weakness, but he'd always been active. Years of physically exhausting manhunting had made him strong. He'd never been the type of judge who simply waited for criminals to be brought before him. He'd always rather liked to get his hands dirty, and his muscles thanked him for it now.
Still, it was tiring work. As the day went on, the weather became unusually warm. Combined with the natural sweat the men were working up due to their labor, the heat made them especially uncomfortable. They started to take their tunics off. Claude was hesitant to follow suit, not wanting to expose his scar. But as the heat increased, he became desperate.
It's not as if they don't already know...
Finally, Claude took a deep breath and gave in. He laid his tunic with his robes and anxiously went back to work. He was automatically stared at when his scar was revealed, but a quick glance from him was enough to turn the soldiers' eyes away. He told himself it was possible to ignore them. Besides, he was already getting some looks due to his bruised eye.
"It's a beautiful day." Quasimodo observed while he walked with Esmeralda.
He had much appreciation for the weather since being outside was so new to him. Esmeralda smiled.
"It really is." She agreed.
Suddenly, the pair had their path cut off by an accumulating crowd. People were whispering.
"What's going on there?" Quasimodo asked.
He worked his way to the front of the crowd. Esmeralda followed.
They quickly saw what everyone was worked up about. Before their eyes, a damaged house, burned by Claude Frollo's orders, was being repaired by many soldiers. And among them, working on the construction, was Frollo himself. To add to the surprise, he was bare from the waist up, his large scar visible.
Esmeralda and Quasimodo watched in disbelief. The whispers around them added to the confusion.
"What in the world is he doing?"
"Rebuilding the house, obviously!"
"But why? He's the one who had it burned!"
"Well, he does seem to have changed lately."
"But manual labor? He's a judge!"
"He's REALLY changed!"
"That scar, though! He's not even trying to hide it!"
"It's horrible! What happened to him?"
"And is that a black eye?"
Esmeralda was particularly shocked at the sight of Claude, bare-chested in public. It made sense because all the other men were in the same state of dress, visibly sweating from heat and exhaustion. But Esmeralda wouldn't have thought that Claude would take up the kind of work that would require this. That scar was so embarrassing to him, and everyone was staring. But he didn't seem to notice the people yet.
He noticed only barely after Esmeralda and Quasimodo arrived, freezing just as he turned in the direction of the crowd. They were staring... Eyeballing his damaged flesh...
The captain realized what was happening and decided to intervene. He stepped in front of the crowd.
"Nothing to see here!" The officer declared. "Be on your way!"
The people finally dispersed, except for Esmeralda and Quasimodo. Claude noticed them quietly observing, evidently shocked by what they saw. He wondered if he should go to them and say something, but he was quite busy, and he didn't want to approach Quasimodo without his permission. So instead, he briefly nodded at the two, and resumed his work.
Quasimodo was awestruck, seeing Claude Frollo in the last way he had ever expected to see him.
Esmeralda was less surprised. She knew by now that Claude was remorseful. But to do something like this was more than she could have possibly anticipated. She watched him labor away, dealing with the fact that his scar was visible, ignoring the sweat that dampened his skin. And he wasn't doing this because of her or Quasimodo. He was simply trying to repair the damage he had caused, even though ordering others to work on it was the most that anyone would have asked of him.
Esmeralda slowly came to terms with what she was seeing. She was seeing who Claude was after shedding the malice he had previously built into his heart.
"I could like you," She'd once said. "If you were a better man."
Claude was a better man now, and Esmeralda did like him.
