Odette || Les Misérables {Marius P.} ✔

♤3 - Lottie?♤

1831

Odette was up and out extremely early the next day. Today was the day where Cosette's father would turn sixty three. Making herself look as presentable as possible, Odette caught herself in the reflection of the windows and smoothed out her dress. Braiding the two front thirds of her hair back and out of the way, she attached little butterfly clips to decorate. Last night, after Marius walked her home, she spent an hour cleaning her dress and it was still a little damp when she woke. Odette then put on her shoes and hastily picked up the music box. Locking the door behind her, Odette strolled down to work. Wandering down to the upper class streets, Odette reminisced about her privileged times when she had both her parents and a lovely house to invite her friends over. Taking in the surrounding scent through her nose, Odette smiled at the smell. Fresh bread. Not the stale kind Odette was used to getting, but freshly made, doughy sweet bread. Odette hadn't had that since she was a young girl. The years following her childhood were cruel, but they made Odette who she was and she had met so many loving and caring people since then.

Upon reaching Rue Plumet, Odette crouched down elegantly, shifted a pot to the side and took the spare key concealed underneath it. Quietly, Odette unlocked the door and snook herself inside. Her body dragged her into the kitchen where she pulled her apron off a hook and tied it around her waist. She began to make a fancy breakfast consisting of omelets and toast and cakes and some meats. It's not every year a man turns sixty three. Cosette told Odette that every year she was working for her, just the ages kept changing. Odette could tell they Cosette deeply loved her father. Every time Cosette's father had a birthday, Odette missed her own. The pain she was experiencing should have faded, but it never did. When breakfast was near enough made, Odette tiptoed up to Cosette's room. Gently awakening the girl in her bed, Odette pulled open Cosette's thick curtains and left her silk drapes hanging. Tying up the curtains, Odette was about to lean over and make Cosette's bed.

"No Etta, please, can you teach me?" Cosette asked, gently placing her hands on top of Odette's.

"Mademoiselle, this is my job. If your father caught me, I'd fear that he would reduce my pay." Odette explained.

"Please, I want to learn." Cosette pleaded, even doing her sweet puppy dog begging eyes.

"Of coarse, Mademoiselle." Odette sighed in defeat.

Odette pulled Cosette's thick duvet covers off the mattress and hung them over the footboard of her bed.

"Right. You want to start by tugging the bedsheet down tightly, you can do the opposite side to me. So tug it, oui, then tuck it down the side. Now there are no wrinkles or creases in the bedsheets. Then we move to the pillows and fluff them up. Just be a little rough with them and pull them wider. You put them at the top of the bed and then you grab your duvet and gently put it back." Odette explained, while visually doing what she said so Cosette could copy, "There you go."

"Thank you, Etta." Cosette stated kindly.

"Hold on a moment, Mademoiselle, the music box is in the kitchen." Odette smiled, dismissing herself from the room and pacing down to where the blue box sat.

Picking it up, Odette took note of the engraved pattern in the wood. It really was a beautiful melody player. Avoiding the stair she often tripped over, Odette took the music box to Cosette's room and left it on her dresser. Not getting the chance to rest, Odette quickly resumed her post in her kitchen where she had dished up all of the food and set it aside whilst she wet a rag and cleaned down all of the counters and utensils she had used. Placing the dishes in the bowl in the sink, joining the small pile she had made the previous day, Odette picked up all the clean dishes and set the table. When her stomach growled, Odette sighed and remembered she hadn't eaten for the last two days.