Jane's costume was not, perhaps, the most incredible or creative. In fact, it was nothing more than a dress made for a century one before hers and she wore her corset and her stockings as she would anyday. She had left Liddy in the care of Doctor Chase, who did not want to be involved in such a party and then she had bound a mask to her face in order to join the lavish delight.
If Jane's costume was not particularly extravagant, neither was Combeferre's. His outfit resembled the costume a gentleman would have worn to a party in his own time more than it did something a member of any fairy court would wear. Thom had left his side to mingle with the crowd, and so he, too, went looking for familiar faces. He smiled as he approached Jane. "You look lovely tonight, Miss Bennet. It's quite the interesting party we have here, isn't it?"
Jane bowed her head in polite greeting to Monsieur Combeferre, knowing that she was to adhere to all her duties as a Lady as her Mama had taught her. "I do not think I had expected to see quite so much wildness as I do before my eyes," she admitted, utterly frank in her admittance. "Though it is not horrid. Rather, surprising!"
"We do seem to have been descended upon by maenads, don't we?" he mused, looking around at the press of bodies and the sheen of bare skin. As mad as the island sometimes was, this was something altogether new. The scene before them really did look like something out of a tale of Bacchus of the sort Grantaire would tell. He could even imagine in the crowd that he saw the sparkle of the Green Fairy that his old friend would surely have added to such a story. "But all has been done for the sake of good cheer. I cannot fault anyone for enjoying themselves so."
Jane offered a warm and soft (and brief, yet) laugh at the description and in agreeance with his further comment. "It does seem to be done with a warmth of spirit that is echoed by the attendees," she said, pitching her voice slightly upwards so that she was still composed and yet could be heard over the din. "Have you enjoyed the dancing, or perhaps the drink yet?"
"I have been enjoying the wine, yes," he said, sounding just a little sheepish. There was a strong possibility that he had been enjoying the wine a little too much. While he was not quite drunk, he was surely feeling over-warm after a few glasses. "As for the dancing, I suspect I will before the night is out, but for the moment my partner is elsewhere." He took a moment to look about for Thom, but she must have been saying hello to someone elsewhere, for he could not immediately find her in the press of bodies. "And you? I hope you are enjoying yourself."
"I have been well," Jane concurred. "I do worry on these nights of Lydia, but I do trust her sitter and find that I enjoy the air of the party, even if I do not stay too late and if I am not here for the prime reason that many others are. I do so enjoy seeing the young love between people, however," she said, a fond and almost blissed look upon her face.
"Yes, it is a happy sight," Combeferre murmured in agreement. He watched Jane with a tiny frown, for though she looked happy, he thought there was something melancholy in her pronouncement. He always thought her story to be a tragic one. It could not be easy to so resignedly raise a child alone, even on the island. "And how is Lydia, might I ask? Doing well also?"
"She is very well. The picture of a growing girl, I may assure you," Jane was happy to say, relieved that her darling girl was so well. "She is nearly two, now, do you know? I can hardly believe such a thing, but come September, she will have been in my life for two years. Of course," she said, words pained. "Without her father for all but three months of those years."
Henri bit his lip. He wished he could say something comforting, that she would surely remember her father or something similar, but that would not be the case. It was truly a pity. "But you have done very well for her on your own," he finally told Jane gently. "She is a wonderful girl."
"I do hope that she is, for I do worry each day that I am not raising her to the best of my abilities." Each word was spoken with great seriousness and she wished only to communicate how much she did worry and care for her daughter's upbringing. "Do you intend to have children someday, Monsieur?"
Henri felt a startled blush rise on his cheeks, though he could not have said why the question embarrassed him so. He had thought about it before - sort of - but always in the abstract. Something about his life now made the question feel much less abstract than it may once have. He was no longer a student, happy and comfortable, in love, and if he and Thom were not yet married, it was not too strange to imagine that they might be eventually... "I-" He adjusted his glasses and coughed. "I suppose I do intend to someday, yes."
"And I am sure they shall be beautiful, polite, and raised lovingly, as you seem so apt of citing of my own daughter." It was no more than friendly teasing and she could hardly help a glimmer of a bemused smile at him. "There is no rush, however. That is all the advice I might give to you."
Combeferre clasped his hands behind his back and ducked his head with a small grin, feeling all the more sheepish at his sudden burst of embarrassment. "Might I be so lucky, Miss Bennet." He shook his head a little. "Forgive me - I suppose I only haven't thought about it at length recently."
"The apology is mine to profess," Jane insisted as calm as she could, level-headed and simple. "For I should not have broached the topic unknowing your personal situation as I do. I am sorry for asking before knowing, but I simply do feel such a thing is true, that you shall be a good father when the time arrives."
"Please, don't apologize," Combeferre insisted, holding up a hand. "Truly, you have said nothing that you should not have." But now that Miss Bennet had mentioned it, he could not get the thought out of his head. And good God, what would Thom think of this conversation. "And I thank you. I can think of no higher compliment." He gave a small bow.
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