Going Home

Chapter 8: Shall We Dance?

She felt out of place; all of these women in gowns, men in coattails, servants, dancing... It was all so overwhelming. The day itself had been a whirlwind. She had hardly seen Enjolras, Combeferre, or Joly. The household was rushing about in preparation for the party that would announce her marriage to Enjolras. Josephine had helped Musichetta and Caoimhe get ready for the evening, Musichetta gushing over how romantic it was for Caoimhe and Enjolras to get married so quickly. She felt the pair was right for each other, however, she was far from understanding the "business" aspect of their agreeing to marriage. Caoimhe began to slowly understand why they would allow her into the family; not only was she educated and held the respect of their son, but she was without a dowry. In most cases, this would work against her favor, but this also made Caoimhe more beholden to her husband's family; she would be considered much easier to control which would perhaps extend to their son. Unfortunately for them, the two weren't in love as they thought.

At the dinner, the engagement was announced as well as the day of the wedding. There was of course, shock at the date, but when Madame Enjolras explained that she merely wanted to see her son happy as soon as possible, they seemed to forgive the unconventional method. Once the dining had finished, they had moved to a larger room which acted as a sort of small ballroom; it certainly wasn't huge, but it was big enough to fit the guests so they could dance comfortably. Caoimhe avoided the dancing as much as possible, which didn't go unnoticed by the attentive Adele.

"Come on, Marie! Dance the quadrille with us!"

Caoimhe smiled and curtsied, moving towards the girl when Enjolras stopped her, "Adele, Marie and I are going to get some air."

"Tired of all the congratulations already, Alexandre?"

Enjolras didn't reply to his sister which made the teasing smile turn into a wide grin. Caoimhe took Enjolras's arm and nodded her head to Adele, "I'm sorry, Adele. Forgive me for I'm not very fond of dancing. I get very nervous! I'll take some air with Alexandre and come back in a bit!"

Adele pouted and was about to insist until a young man came up to her and bowed, "Mademoiselle, you promised me a dance."

Her attention was quickly averted, leaving the pair the ability to walk outside. This time, they didn't walk around the garden as they did before, but merely stood outside in silence. It occurred to her that perhaps Enjolras did indeed need to get some air, though it was particularly fresh air, even in Saint-Etienne. They were still in view of the party, therefore still in view of their "chaperones". Caoimhe didn't mind the silence; the party was extremely noisy and very stuffy from the amount of bodies. The cool air was a relief.

"I will say... At least since you've become my fiancee, I'm not expected to ask another woman to dance and therefore, I can avoid the dance floor," Enjolras sounded almost humored by it. Caoimhe couldn't help but chuckle a bit.

"Well, I'm glad I've been of help. So far, I can say the same goes for me as well. Watching everyone has made me even more self-conscious than before."

"You have plenty of time to learn now. I told my parents that we need to return to Paris right away and requested that our wedding party," he seemed to say the words with some contempt, "Be postponed until I have a break from classes. They agreed to it, all things considered."

"Well, I'll work hard in the meantime."

"Mother wanted you to stay here in Saint-Etienne..."

Caoimhe looked at him incredulously and panicked. She didn't even allow him to finish, "They'll find all of my flaws and..."

"And I persuaded her otherwise. I told her that you and I must not only get used to living together, but would rather not be parted for the time being. Though she insisted that when you birth a child, we return here so the child can be registered in Saint-Etienne."