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( may 1832 )
AFTER HER CONVERSATION WITH Enjolras in the sun room that one afternoon, Corinne found herself looking for him more often than ever. She searched for him in every footstep that echoed through the halls, every turn of a doorknob as she was busy tidying a room. Amélie teased her for being so, in her words, lovestruck, but Corinne insisted that she merely wanted to prove her friend wrong— that her first and only interaction with the man she admired hadn't just been out of politeness.
But it was as if he dropped off the face of the Earth.
Nearly a week passed without even a glimpse of him, and although she was disappointed, Corinne was quick to accept that, perhaps, things weren't going to work out in the way that she'd hoped. She'd go back to admiring him from a distance, and that would have to be enough.
However, fate, she soon learned, seemed to work in mysterious ways.
One day, while Corinne was just finishing up her dusting of the library, she was approached by one of the family's valets, a young man named Lucien. He held a piece of paper in his hands, which he handed to her with a friendly smile.
"Monsieur Guillaume has asked for you to bring this to the postmaster. He has some parcels waiting," he said to her.
Nodding, Corinne took the folded piece of paper from his hands. His skin was cold to the touch, so unlike the warmth that shined in his eyes when he looked at her. "I'll leave right away," she announced, followed closely by a polite curtsey.
She made for the door but was surprised when Lucien followed after her. "Do you know the way? I can accompany you, if you'd like," he offered.
She knew that he was only being friendly, though she felt a flash of defiance. She'd lived in the city all her life; of course she knew the way! "Thank you, but I can handle it. Some time alone out in the city is just what I need."
Without waiting to hear his response, she turned on her heels and left the home.
Her journey to the city was made with a bounce in her step. It wasn't often that her duties allowed her to wander outside the grounds of the estate, so she enjoyed every chance that she got.
The scent of freshly baked goods hit her nose as she neared a bakery, and she watched the owner hand a box of pastries to an eager customer as she passed. She made a mental note to stop by the kitchen when she returned to the estate to see if the cooks had any extra pastries left over from breakfast that morning.
Not long after this, she passed a cafe. The doors were open, which allowed for the copious amount of noise from the customers inside to flow out onto the streets. Lively music being produced by a piano could be heard above the rest of the commotion, a beautiful melody that managed to grab the attention of anyone who passed by, including Corinne herself.
