Lisette

Chapter 41 ~ Sugar Plums, Soap, and Roses

Heading back home from the Rue de Babylone, I was somewhat surprised to run into Gavroche near the Saint-Sulpice church. 

"This isn't your normal haunt," I commented, as he fell into step beside me. 

"No, but I haven't seen you since before Christmas! I thought I'd try and find you. And Enjolras said that you'd gone to visit that girl who's in the Luxembourg sometimes, so I thought to come and look for you. He said they live towards the Hotel des Invalides, but he didn't know exactly where."

"Well, well done on finding me. I've got a New Year's present for you, if you want it?"

"Ooh! Yes please - what is it?"

"A surprise. I'm afraid you'll have to come all the way back to the Rue du Gindre again."

"I don't mind. I haven't seen you in ages."

"It's been what - a week? Ten days?"

He was looking thinner than he had done in the summer, and the fact that he was beginning to grow taller was evident in his trousers and shirt sleeves, both of which were becoming too short. 

"Still. It's been ages since we've done any reading. And you said you'd learn me to write soon."

"Well, I've acquired a couple of slates and some chalk, so we can begin that this evening, if you like?"

"That would be fun!" he grinned.

Enjolras seemed entirely unsurprised to see the two of us when we arrived home, and Gavroche stood as close as he could to the fire, while still trying to appear nonchalant about it. I didn't blame him - it was freezing outside, and I was glad of the shawl that Enjolras had given me in this weather. I opened my box, and pulled out the slates and chalks, and the little paper bag that contained Gavroche's present. 

"Here you go," I said, passing the paper bag to him.

He opened it, and pulled out the sugar model of the bar of soap, looking somewhere between disappointed and confused.

"I should probably clarify," I smiled, as he looked at me somewhat askance, "that it isn't exactly what it seems. Try taking a small bite."

"You're trying to make me eat soap! When I said to you about dining on soap, I didn't mean literally!"

"It was you saying about dining on soap that made me think this would make a good present. It's not really soap - I promise. It's sugar. You know - the sugarpaste models that they make on the Rue des Lombards - this is one of them."

Still looking at me somewhat suspiciously, he took a small bite.

"Do you believe me now?" I asked.

His expression had changed to one of delight at the sweet.

"You're not to eat it all at once, mind," Enjolras interjected. "For all that Joly says it's good for you, like everything, it's only good in moderation. But you can have one or two of these as well, if you like."

He offered the boy the box of sugar plums, and Gavroche took a couple and put them in the paper bag for later, carefully folding it closed and putting it in his pocket. Before Enjolras could put the box back on his desk, I stole one of the small, hard sweets too. They were made of multiple hard layers of sugar coating different nuts and seeds - this box seemed to be a selection, and I could but hope that the one I had chosen had an almond, since I didn't much like any of the other centres.

"I'm not sure we're going to the Musain this evening, but I can give you a writing lesson this afternoon, if you like?" I asked Gavroche.

He nodded, and I pulled my notebook out of my pocket, and passed it to him along with the slates and chalks. As he flicked through to find the page with the alphabet on it, I took the bottle of ink that Cosette had given me out of my pocket as well, and set it down on the desk.