TO CARVE AN ANGEL FROM MARBLE act three, chapter twenty three
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( february 1832 )
WHEN MADELEINE AWOKE THE next morning, she found Leon waiting for her in the kitchen. He sat at the table with a book in his hand and a cup of steaming coffee in front of him, and he looked up at her as she emerged from her bedroom.
The sight of him made Madeleine nervous. Her heart twisted inside her chest as she realized that she had become almost frightened of her eldest brother— but what would he say to her? Had he realized how monstrous of a man Monsieur Aubert was? Did he regret how he reacted to the events that occurred at dinner? Would he apologize?
He wasted no time before speaking, but what he said took Madeleine by complete surprise. "Andre's friend. Who is he to you?"
Madeleine's nerves only grew. He certainly wasn't beating around the bush, and she had no idea how to answer that question! She hated lying to her eldest brother, but there was no way in hell she could tell him how close she and Enjolras truly were— that he wasn't just Andre's friend, but hers, as well.
Not to mention the unwavering desire she had for him to be more than a friend.
"What do you mean?" she eventually asked, hoping to stall to give herself a chance to come up with an actual response.
Leon sighed. He set his book down on the table and took a sip of his coffee, then said: "I am not stupid. He obviously means something to you, and you to him— why else would he act in such a way towards your fiance?"
The word fiance caused Madeleine's stomach to churn. It was a sickening reminder of her impending marriage to Laurent Aubert, the future that awaited her if she was unable to find a way to free herself. She bit the inside of her cheek in an attempt to calm herself.
"Is it really that hard for you to believe that there is a good enough man willing to stand up to your sister?" she questioned. "Monsieur Aubert disrespected me."
"I fail to see how," Leon scoffed. The coldness in his voice hurt her. This man wasn't anything like the brother she'd loved so dearly in her childhood. "Your behavior resembles that of a child, Madeleine, not a nineteen year old lady who is to be married."
A moment of silence fell over the two siblings. Madeleine fumbled with her hands and shifted her weight back and forth. She wanted nothing more than to disappear back into her bedroom, or perhaps run off to the Musain in order to be around people who actually seemed to care for her. Before she had the chance to do either, however, Leon spoke again.
"I have seen him around before— Monsieur Enjolras. He leads revolutionary rallies."
Her heart dropped. If Leon knew that Enjolras was behind the rallies, then that probably meant that the rest of the police force knew, as well. She suddenly found herself worrying for him, but she bit back the shakiness of her voice in an attempt to sound indifferent. "What?"
