𝐿𝑒𝑡'𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑟𝑡 𝑎𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 (𝐺𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑛𝑎𝑡ℎ)

Chapter 5 - One hope

It had been two weeks since Nathalie had that conversation with Gabriel in the garden.

She thought that maybe she would have been able to make him realize something but she hadn't been brave enough.

Her mother was wise and the things she said were always right, Nathalie thought they could have helped Gabriel as well.

Nathalie sighed, one thing was sure, she had to try again with him.

As she was walking through the park she spotted Adrien doing his daily fencing lessons.

She had made a promise, that boy needed his father back at all costs.  

She returned to the mansion and spotted a carriage parked in front of the entrance. 

It looked like Mr Agreste was up for another business trip.

"Ah Nathalie! I have found you at last!" a familiar voice called her.

Gabriel walked towards her.

"I need you to come with me"

Nathalie was shocked.

"Why me?" she asked in confusion.

"It's not important! Come with me!" he ordered walking away from her to put the remaining baggages on the carriage.

Nathalie didn't know what to say, she sure couldn't refuse an order from her master but she wanted to know what they were going to do.

"Oh, you should pack your things too, we are going to stay away for a while!" Gabriel yelled.

"Excuse me?"

What did he mean with:"for a while"?

Nathalie decided to not question it and packed some extra clothes and a few other things and said goodbye to Adrien.

"What am I supposed to do all alone in here?" the boy protested.

"Don't worry we are going to stay away for a few days but we will be back soon"

Adrien didn't seem to be satisfied with that information.

"Can I see Marinette?" he begged.

Nathalie wasn't sure about that, Gabriel could have been overprotective but he was right, it wasn't safe for a little noble to hang around all alone.

"You can but please, make sure there's always someone looking after you, don't go to the village all alone is that clear?" she said looking serious.

"Don't worry and thank you Nathalie!" Adrien smiled hugging her.

Nathalie jumped on the carriage sitting next to Gabriel and they left.

While they were traveling to their destination Nathalie decided to ask her master some information about what they were going to do.

"Where are we going sir?"

"To a little town not too far away from this one, the major has called a meeting with the nearby cities for building a dam across the river in this area" he explained.

"And why did he call you?" she asked again.

"Because this river crosses my earldom and it can be quite dangerous after a big rainfall, we need that dam too"

Nathalie nodded, the reason of their trip was clear but she still didn't get why Gabriel insisted on bringing her with him.

"Can I ask you another question sir?"

Gabriel nodded.

"Why did you want me to come with you?"

The man flinched to that question.

"I... I mean... you have never brought me on one of your business trips" she tried to explain.

"I... I don't know... It's just because I..." he looked like he was struggling to find the right words to express himself.

"It's just that I enjoy your company, that's all" he said quickly.

"Really?"

"Yes, I kinda enjoyed our little conversation the other day, I decided to bring you with me"

Gabriel really enjoyed that little time spent with Nathalie, it was the closest interaction with someone else he had in two years and it hadn't been bad.

Nathalie was out of words, she didn't realize how important their little conversation had been, she thought it wasn't because of her lack of courage but she was wrong.

There was still hope for him to change and that was the proof.

Nathalie stared at Gabriel who was now looking away from her, he wasn't a bad man he was just broken.

He was not as confident as people thought he was, he was insecure and shy that's why he needed his wife back, she could put him at ease.

"Poor man" the woman sighed.

"Excuse me?"

Nathalie was staring at him with the saddest gaze he had ever seen and he got a little upset.

"What are with those eyes?" he grunted.

The woman took a deep breath, shook her head and turned towards the little window on her side.

Nathalie closed her eyes but she soon felt a gentle pressure on her shoulder, Gabriel had placed his hand on her.

She turned around to face him and saw that he was smiling down at her.

"Thank you for coming with me Nathalie, I appreciated it"

"It's no problem sir" she smiled.

She took his hand in hers, it was warm and soft, she would have liked to keep holding it forever.

Gabriel didn't retract his hand when he felt her touch, it was reassuring.

Yes, after all that time, someone was able to soothe his pain at least a little and that was Nathalie.