trth2

THE RIGHT TO HAPPINESS
by Sonja

Chapter 2

Ad�le was in despair. In the evenings, she cried in her bed, and Charlotte heard her moan: "Quasi, Quasi..." She tried to comfort her daughter: "Darling, I'm sure Quasi will get along well with the Gypsies - this is much better for him than to be in the dark bell tower guarded by Frollo." Despite her consolation, Ad�le asked every day: "When will Quasi come back?" Her mother was very sad as well, for she liked the little boy, too, and it was hard for her to bear Ad�le's tears. Fortunately, Clopin arrived for a visit again after a week. At first, Ad�le looked at him angrily, but then she asked with agitation: "Did you bring Quasi with you?"
"I'm sorry, Ad�le, it was impossible for me to take him with me", the young man answered, patting her. "Think about if Frollo had seen us!"
"How is Quasi getting along in the Court?" Charlotte asked.
"He is starting to get used to us," told Clopin. "He lives with Sarita's family, and the children always want to play with him. However, he is still very shy and seems to be afraid of the men living in the Court."
"Oh, what a pity! Do many of the vagabonds mock him?"
"Sometimes the bigger boys shout to him: 'Hunchback, hunchback!'" Clopin admitted, "but he is always defended by all who like him."
"Please, take me to see him," Ad�le asked, climbing on Clopin's knee.
"Yes, I think you should do that," Charlotte noted. "I have never seen her miss anything so much. I would like to see Quasi again as well, but I'm sure Frollo would start suspecting me if he saw you and me together."

Indeed, Frollo was furious, for he had discovered Quasimodo's disappearance the next day after Charlotte took him out of the tower. The Minister had interrogated the archdeacon, but he hadn't informed against Charlotte. If anyone else but the priest had been in question, Frollo could have put him in prison, but of course, he couldn't arrest a churchman, because he was very religious himself as well. Another problem was that if he gave an order to search for the little monstrosity through the whole city, he would be obliged to reveal its existence to everyone, and that was out of the question! The only possibility was to find out who had trespassed in the bell tower and taken the child out of there.
Frollo deliberated the situation for several days, and he couldn't imagine that Quasimodo was very near the Palace of Justice in Charlotte's loving care, and that she had soon taken him to the secret hideout of the Gypsies - that very place which Frollo had tried to find for years already!

Clopin spent the whole day in Charlotte's company, but in the evening, he took little Ad�le with him to the Court of Miracles. Ad�le rejoiced. As soon as they had stepped in she shouted: "Quasi, where are you?" Sarita heard her voice and said to her nephew who was sitting on the floor of the dwelling, playing with some wooden toys: "I think your little friend Ad�le has come here. Go to play with her!"
Quasimodo got confused. Like Clopin had told Charlotte, he was happy now, but he still was shy if someone particularly wanted to see him. "Is Charlotte there, too?" he asked quietly.
Sarita gave her hand to him, and they went out of the dwelling. Ad�le rushed to them before Clopin had time to prevent her, and put her arms round the little boy, rejoicing.
"Quasimodo, my dear little Quasimodo!" she exclaimed.
Quasi didn't know what to think. Of course, he was glad that Ad�le had come, but no one had ever squeezed him like this. It took a moment until he was able to speak. "Where is Charlotte?" he asked.
"She didn't come, because Frollo mustn't know she saved you," said Ad�le.
Quasimodo began to shudder. "Frollo! What will he do when he finds out that I'm away?"
"You are safe here," Ad�le assured. "Do you have toys now?"
"Yes, aunt Sarita gave them to me, and other children play with me," said Quasimodo, smiling a little.
"Clopin said that some of them mock you," remembered Ad�le. "Say to them that I'll slap them if they call you hunchback."
Clopin laughed. "Ad�le, where did you learn to talk like that?"
Later, Ad�le went to see baby Esmeralda again. She was exceedingly pretty, and Ad�le embraced her tenderly. "Will you come to visit us someday?" she asked Melina. "Maybe - but right now, it would be very dangerous for all of us," the Gypsy woman noted.
Alida and Rosita introduced Ad�le to the whole community of the Court of Miracles. She asked Quasimodo: "Have you talked to those people who are disabled? Why do they live here and not in the city?"
"Yes, some of them are nice to me", answered Quasi, "they don't like Frollo but they say I have been lucky to have a place to live. I have even met an old man whose back is like mine, and he was very angry with Frollo for me. But you know what? Some people here are only pretending that they can't walk."
"Have you seen someone hanged here?" Ad�le asked suddenly - she had an excellent memory.
"No, I haven't", said the boy, "but I know people are hanged in the city as well."
"Quasi, that's not a nice thing to talk about," remarked Clopin who had come to fetch
Ad�le to sleep, "at least not for children."
"Please, Clopin, may I sleep with Quasi where Sarita lives?" Ad�le asked. Clopin agreed, and the little girl lay with her arms round Quasi the whole night.

Charlotte woke up and remembered at once that Ad�le was in the Court. She wasn't worried about her, but of course, she would have liked to go to fetch her. It would also have been nice to meet Quasimodo again.
But suddenly, she got something else to think about. The door of the house was opened, and Charlotte saw a few soldiers in front of her. They were led by a scary-looking man dressed in black whom Charlotte recognized at once. Her heart started to beat loudly, but she knew she had to keep calm.
"Madame," Frollo addressed her in a cold and determined voice, "is it possible that you know something about a little monstrosity called Quasimodo?"
When hearing the word "monstrosity," Charlotte felt that her heart was filled with a cold, implacable hatred. She knew at once what she would have liked to say: "If you mean the adorable little boy I found in the bell tower, he is not a monstrosity but a human child, and you don't have any right to keep him separated from the world and lie to him about his own people! I know everything about how you killed his poor mother and about the disgusting things you have made him believe! Yes, I know where he is indeed, but I would rather die than give him back to you!" But she understood that by saying so she would inform against herself. So, hard as it was, she answered as peacefully as she could: "I'm sorry, Minister Frollo, but I have no idea what you mean."
Frollo had remembered this curious woman after several days of deliberating where Quasimodo could have disappeared. He had found it best not to start interrogating all the townspeople, for indeed, he didn't want to reveal his shameful secret. But he had remembered that this woman had once asked him directly about what he was keeping in the bell tower. He had been absolutely sure that she had something to do with Quasimodo's disappearance. So, it was understandable that he got furious when noticing that she refused to talk.
"I'm seriously warning you, madame," he said in a voice quivering with anger, "I know many ways to get you to speak if you are hiding something."
Never in her life had Charlotte been so disgusted by anything. It was hard work for her to control herself. But thinking about little Quasimodo's happiness she said: "Minister Frollo, I assure you I don't know anything that could be called a monstrosity, nor anyone named Quasimodo."
She was so calm and peaceful that Frollo started to suspect his own thoughts. Like always, he got furious when thinking he could be wrong. "Very well, madame," he said chillingly, "but if I find out that you have lied to me, you will be immediately arrested." Then he left the house, followed by his guards.

Charlotte was so shocked and agitated that she dared not leave her house at all that day. It wasn't until in the evening that Alida arrived with Ad�le. The little girl had had the nicest day of her life, but now she missed Quasimodo again.
"Alida, Frollo was here in the morning," Charlotte told her friend. "He wanted to interrogate me, but I absolutely refused to reveal anything."
"For Heaven's sake!" exclaimed Alida, and Ad�le asked scarefully: "Mummy, will you be arrested?"
"Don't worry, darling, I'm sure I'm not in danger right now," comforted Charlotte. "But we must find some way to protect Quasi - he can in no case leave the Court of Miracles, and neither can we go there any longer, for sooner or later Frollo would find out the truth, and then none of the vagabonds would be safe."
When Alida returned to the Court and told Clopin about Frollo's visit, the young man was frightened and started to consider a solution. He knew that now it was especially dangerous for them both if he visited Charlotte - Frollo could even take Ad�le from her mother - but he also knew he was in love. He had continually thought about Charlotte for many weeks already, and the more often he met her, the more he admired her. The woman was exceedingly beautiful, she was warm hearted and clever, and above all, she felt deep sympathy both toward the Gypsies and little Quasimodo. Naturally, Clopin's love was passionate as well. However, he was uncertain; Charlotte was a well-known craftswoman, whereas he was a Gypsy, a vagabond. He knew the woman liked him...but could he confess his real feelings to her?

After a couple of days the young man made his decision and went to meet Charlotte very late in the evening. Naturally, she was rather amazed.
"It would have been better if you had come in the daytime," she said in embarrassment.
Clopin flushed. "I know...But then HIS guards could have started to harass me."
"Is everything all right with Quasi?" Charlotte asked. "Yes," answered Clopin, "but sometimes he
would like to meet you and Ad�le."
Both of them were embarrassed, for this was the first time when they were alone together -
Ad�le was sleeping. Charlotte wondered why the young man had come to her, and when she happened to think about the possible reason she felt herself confused and avoided to look at Clopin. He, in turn, hesitated: was this a suitable moment to talk?
"Charlotte," he finally started, "what was your husband like?"
Charlotte was surprised, for although she had talked about many kinds of things with her new
friends, this was the first time ever when any of them asked about her marriage. After a moment's hesitation, she said:
"We were married when I was fourteen. Jacques was fifteen years older than me. Our marriage was naturally arranged, but we were devoted to each other. Ad�le was born when I was sixteen.
Mostly Jacques treated me well and was good to Ad�le, but he was also abstemious, and that's why Ad�le hasn't missed him very much."
"What did he think about vagabonds?" asked Clopin.
"He had prejudices against your people," admitted Charlotte, "I don't think he would have let me meet the girls or at least not you. But, fortunately, he didn't really hate the Gypsies. My parents taught me to accept different people."
"Did your husband ever maltreat you?" Clopin asked a bit hesitantly.
Charlotte was amazed again. "No, not me, but he was rather strict to Ad�le," she noted, "however, she is not afraid of men, because no one else has ever hit her."
Suddenly, Clopin came to sit by her.
"Charlotte...I...have something to tell you", he whispered. "You are very attractive...Did you know that?"
"You think so?" Charlotte laughed a little. "What do you actually mean by that?"
Clopin was more embarrassed than ever. "What I am trying to say is...What do you think about me?" He was still quite inexperienced.
"I like you, of course," assured Charlotte, smiling warmly. Then, however, she remembered that Clopin was a man of her age, and flushed. "I...haven't thought about that very much," she said in embarrassment.
"I think about you very often," confessed Clopin. "You are friendly, clever - and beautiful."
Charlotte smiled. "You are clever and warm-hearted as well," she noted, "and I like you especially because you are so kind to Ad�le and Quasimodo."
"Quasimodo...," Clopin repeated, "if we think about him...Charlotte, do you think Ad�le would like to live together with him?"
"Definitely", answered Charlotte, "she adores him. But we know that's quite impossible."
"No, it isn't," smiled the young man, "there is one solution. If you lived with me in the Court of Miracles, we could take care of both Ad�le and Quasi."
"Clopin!" Charlotte was bewildered. "You can't really MEAN that...you would like to..."
"Yes, I do mean that." Clopin was very serious. "Charlotte, I love you!" Then he took the woman in his arms and pressed her passionately against himself.
It took a while until Charlotte could speak. "Clopin...I must think about your proposal," she said at last, "I'm not sure about my feelings, and I don't even know much about the Gypsy way of life."
"I promise we will advise you," answered Clopin, "and there are also lots of non-Gypsies in the Court."
"Are you sure Ad�le and I would be accepted?" Charlotte was uncertain. "I definitely don't want to make your people believe that I have sought your friendship only to find a Gypsy lover!"
"Are you out of your mind, Charlotte? It is true some of us believe that women belonging to the majority are immoral, but you have always been friendly to us, you are totally free of prejudices, and above all, you have helped us by bringing Quasi back among us. Because of all this, I'm absolutely convinced you would be welcome to join us."
Charlotte happened to think about something. "It would be necessary to give up Ad�le's inheritance, the workshop!"
"Did your husband have siblings?" Clopin asked.
"Yes, his younger brother is still alive."
"Then you could deliver the workshop to him," proposed the young man. "Among us you could continue doing handiwork."
"But my family would never allow me to become a vagabond," remarked Charlotte.
Clopin looked annoyed. "Charlotte, do you want to live with me or not?" he asked determinedly.
"Clopin, you must understand that it would be a big life change, and I must deliberate it carefully. Firstly, I have to tell my relatives I have found a new husband - and think about how different we are in relation to society!"
"I know. But please, deliberate my proposal, not only because of us but also because of Ad�le and Quasimodo."

Charlotte thought about her discussion with Clopin, and she became restless. She remembered how the young man had embraced her and confessed his love, and she felt that she wanted to be with him. But at the same time, she thought about the future; would it be good for Ad�le to grow up in a vagabond community? She wasn't even sure that Sarita would give her newly-found nephew to another family.
However, after a couple of days she went to meet her brother-in-law and told him: "I have been offered a new marriage. If I decide to agree, that means that I must give up the workshop, for I would become a member of a totally different community."
Her brother-in-law was amazed. "Which community are you talking about?"
Charlotte hesitated for a while. Then she told shortly about her new friends, the Gypsies, but she didn't mention Quasimodo. "Now a young Gypsy man says he is in love with me, and he is ready to raise Ad�le as his own daughter."
Her brother-in-law was rather confused. "I would never have expected this!" exclaimed he. "I have always known you are very peculiar, Charlotte, but this is quite incredible...you would marry a vagabond man! Are you sure you have considered enough?"
"I know I still have to think about everything. But could it be possible for you to take care of the workshop?"
"Charlotte, if you married that man you would have to leave the whole honorable society!" exclaimed her brother-in-law. "Everybody would dispise you, and you would be very poor!"
"I know, but we would provide ourselves by handiwork, and besides, Clopin is going to become a storyteller," Charlotte smiled. "I am not afraid of poverty."
"But - a GYPSY! What do you know about their way of life?"
"Not very much yet", admitted the woman, "but he has promised that they would advise me."
"In any case, Charlotte, I don't want to have anything to do with vagabonds," her
brother-in-law said determinedly. "Maybe I could take care of Jacques's workshop, but you mustn't make stupid decisions that might make you sorry for the rest of your life!"

This was the most difficult decision in Charlotte's life. True, now she was almost absolutely sure she was in love with Clopin, but she was not an inconsiderate girl, but a woman and a mother who couldn't just stay with some man and leave everything behind her. On the other hand, if she decided to refuse, Ad�le maybe would never meet Quasimodo again - and that would break her heart. Besides, in the Court of Miracles she would be completely safe from Frollo's guards.
The next morning, when she was alone with Ad�le, she said to her: "Darling, today I will take you to the Court of Miracles - if only the guards don't see us. Clopin has asked us to move there, so we all can live there together - you, Quasimodo, Clopin and me!"
Ad�le rejoiced. "We'll get Quasi back! And Clopin is so nice!"
"Yes, and he will be a good father to you," answered Charlotte, flushing. "But after settling down in the Court we must be very careful whenever returning to the city."
"What about the workshop?" Ad�le asked suddenly.
"Your uncle will take care of it", noted her mother. "In fact, he is not very happy about us moving with the Gypsies."

The vagabond community welcomed Charlotte warmly. Actually, she had been a little restless about the possibility that Alida or Rosita would regard her as a rival - they were very fond of Clopin, too - but it seemed that they didn't have any intentions towards him. Instead, Sarita was surprised and even disappointed when Clopin came to her and told:
"Charlotte has returned here. She stays to us, and I'm going to marry her. Both she and little Ad�le love Quasimodo, and we have thought to adopt him if he agrees. So, please, Sarita, could you talk about this to your family?"
Sarita was amazed indeed. "We like him as well, and he has a good home by us. Besides, I am his nearest relative."
"But I am your cousin, so he is my relative, too," remarked Clopin.
Right then little Quasi stepped in the dwelling. He had waited behind the door for a while, so he had heard something the adults had said. Now he came straight to Clopin.
"Ad�le said to me that I will come to live with you and Charlotte," he said, smiling shyly.
Clopin burst into laughter. "Ad�le is a telltale! But would you like to have Charlotte as your mother and Ad�le as your sister, little one?" And he patted Quasi's back.
"Yes, because Charlotte is so kind to me," answered the boy, quietly, "if I may see aunt Sarita very often."
"Oh, yes, darling! We all live here together," Sarita convinced, abatedly.
The same evening, when a group of guests had arrived to see the new family, Charlotte, who was holding Quasi in her arms, asked: "Who was Quasi's father? I have wondered that for a long time. I suppose he wasn't a Gypsy."
Her question was followed by an embarrassed silence. Finally, Clopin answered: "No, he was a Frenchman, and he mistreated Quasi's mother."
Charlotte embraced the boy. Unexpectedly, she was startled by an incredible thought.
"Mistreated!" she repeated, quivering. "Is it possible that...Frollo would have had something to do with Quasi's origin?"
Of course, Quasimodo didn't understand what she meant, but when hearing Frollo's name he was startled and looked at Charlotte with fright. Alida shuddered at the thought, and Clopin exclaimed, after recovering from his amazement: "Are you out of your mind, Charlotte? None of our women would EVER have fallen in love with a persecutor like him!"

"No, no, no, I meant that Quasi could have been 'a child of hatred'," Charlotte explained quickly, "and it's easy to imagine that someone like Frollo..."
"AARRGH!" Sarita only needed to think about that possibility, and she was full of disgust and anger. But she added calmly: "Thank goodness it's not that bad a thing. My sister fell in love with a son of a wealthy family, and she was sure he loved her as well. But when she got pregnant he abandoned her, for his family would never have let him marry a woman of modest origin, least of all a Gypsy."
"That man was blue-eyed and red-haired," continued Clopin, "I met him once."
"What do you think could have caused Quasi's hunchback?" asked Charlotte, sorry for that she had to talk about it.
"My sister got sick when she was expecting him," said Sarita, "but if his father had seen him, I suppose he would have thought that he was some kind of a deamon."
"No, my Quasi is not a deamon!" shouted Ad�le and rushed to embrace her new brother. "That's right," smiled her mother, "and now you, Quasi, have had a real family." She embraced him again.
"I have a secret as well," said Melina, "actually, Esmeralda is not my own child. I adopted her a few months ago, but she will find her own mother again someday."
"Oh, really?" Charlotte was surprised. "Who is her mother? Does she belong to the majority?"
"No, she is a Gypsy, but she couldn't keep her child," told Melina, "her life is much more difficult than ours."

That night, Charlotte felt herself very excited, for she knew what was to come. Ad�le and Quasi, in turn, were in a boisterous mood and didn't want to sleep at all. At first, Clopin laughed at their rejoicing, but finally, he said: "Take it easy, children, don't disturb us any more!" Charlotte flushed and pressed her face against his shoulder, but Ad�le got curious. "We are not disturbing you - can't you tell us what you are going to do?"
"Hush, Ad�le, didn't I say it's your bedtime already?" Clopin laughed in embarrassment.
As soon as the children had agreed to go to their own bed, Clopin folded Charlotte passionately in his arms and started to caress her. The woman answered his tenderness. "This is quite different from what I have experienced before," she whispered. Clopin burst into warm laughter. "Now you have a Gypsy lover indeed!"
Quasimodo and Ad�le listened to their voices with interest. Particularly Quasi was surprised, because this was totally new to him. Ad�le whispered something to him, and after a moment, the little boy jumped in his new parents' bed! Charlotte screamed and Ad�le laughed loudly, but Clopin was rather annoyed.
"Quasimodo, you mustn't do this! We forbade you to disturb us!" Charlotte got up and tucked the boy in bed again. "Good night, my dear. In fact, it's good you can do some mischief, too."

NEW!!! Go to Chapter 3

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