Chapter 29
Despite the Vicomte's words otherwise Meg half expected him to have thought better about involving himself in such a manner. There was still not complete certainty that Erik was indeed his long lost brother, and he could obviously tell that the situation was dangerous. Meg walked in at precisely 10 am and saw him standing beside the statue. From behind he reminded her a little of Erik. Like Erik he was tall, lean and muscular, and he unconsciously carried himself very elegantly. If Meg did not already have a husband she would have been tempted to throw herself at him. He was no worse endowed than the statue that he was admiring. As she requested he was dressed in black mourning, making him look even more Phantomlike. Perhaps that was not a bad idea since being mistaken for the Phantom might lend a mantle of protection where they were going, and Marie did accuse her of having an affair with the Phantom.
She walked up to the statue and studied it and then turned to him and asked "Isn't it exquisite? The ancient Greeks and Romans did have a fine appreciation for the human form or so my late husband told me."
He replied by following her lead "It is a lovely piece. My late wife and I went to Italy for our honeymoon. When I saw the Roman ruins in Rome and Pompeii, I was startled by both the size and the grandeur of them. Even our beautiful city of light pales in comparison to what they must have looked like in their apex of glory."
Meg replied "Then clearly you have not been to the Palais Garnier. It rivals anything anywhere including Rome."
"I have never been there so I cannot judge but I cannot see how it could." He told her.
She smiled "Let me show you."
They walked the short distance to the opera house and went in. Both were wearing hats to obscure their features. They passed several people but were careful to turn away and not to be recognized. She brought him to Christine's old dressing room, and entered. Meg opened the mirror and invited Henri to follow. He looked into the open portal and saw a vast labyrinth in front of him.
As they passed through the door, Meg turned to Henri and told him "You are now entering his domain but we can still turn back. Once you have passed this point there is no turning back. If I show you what is there, you must promise never to reveal what you have seen to anyone. This place is a sanctuary and must never be found."
Henri nodded his agreement to her. In response, she cleared some cobwebs and then she lit the torch illuminating the seemingly endless path before them.
Henri observed "I had no idea that this even existed."
"Much of it is very old Monsieur, according to my mother Erik discovered these long ago and made use of them to keep himself safe from the world above who refused to accept him. As you will see he has made modifications to them."
They descended for what to Henri seemed an eternity, to the fifth cellar. When they reached the bottom suddenly the narrow labyrinth widened and ended in a huge cavern which contained a lake far beneath the opera house. As usual, there was a mist over the lake that obscured the other side; but even from that distance they could see that there were lights in the distance beyond the mist.
"Why this is beautiful!" Henri exclaimed in wonderment. Who would imagine that such a place exists right here in the heart of Paris?
"Your brother created much of this world. For a time it was a place of retreat. He lived in this place for many years in complete solitude, away from all who would try to harm him. During his time here I never entered his realm, but my mother visited it, as did Christine."
"The late Vicomtesse de Chagny?" he asked.
"Yes. She was my best friend." She pointed to the gondola. "This is the final part of the voyage. I normally have to use the pole on my own and it is quite difficult for a woman to do. "
They stepped inside he looked at the tattered faded but once fine pillows. "It is remarkable, just like the ones in Venice but more luxurious; at least when it was new."
"He has exquisite taste. He only wore the finest clothing, and decorated with the best furnishings. Christine told me that he did so to forget the pain of his past. It is my understanding that he had a very rough life as a child, and even as a young adult."
"Can you tell me about it?" he asked.
"I only know a little, and even if I knew more it is not my place to tell you. Perhaps you will learn more when we reach the other side, should she choose to tell you what she knows."
"She?" he asked.
"Yes Monsieur le Vicomte 'she'." Meg replied.
The Vicomte looked even more perplexed.
They neared the other shore and a cloaked figure materialized out of the mist.
"Erik?" she asked hopefully. "Is that you at last?"
Meg called out "Not yet my friend. It is someone else."
Moments later they reached the shore. Both Henri and Meg disembarked. Christine's face was covered with a dark hood, obscuring her features. She glanced at Henri "It is remarkable, he looks a lot like Erik, but without his deformity. I have seen him before, at a distance at a few functions but never noticed how strongly that he resembled him until now."
Henri looked at Meg in puzzlement "Why do I feel like I am here but no one is telling me what is going on?" He asked in frustration. "Who are you?"
Christine lowered her hood revealing her light brown curls and beautiful porcelain face.
Henri's eyes widened in recognition and he stammered "But you are dead, Madame le Vicomtesse." He looked as if he were in complete shock.
Christine laughed "Clearly I am not. So you recognize me Monsieur le Vicomte? I was not sure that you would know me, as we have only met a few times, and in passing." Christine replied.
"I could never forget your face Madame, you are a beautiful woman. But, how can this be possible?" he asked again. "You died last year."
"I assure you that, although this is the realm of the Phantom of the Opera, that I am as alive and real as you are." Christine told him.
Come inside and join me, we can talk a bit. I am sorry that I have nothing much to serve you. I have been alone here for quite some time. Until recently, I've had no visitors at all. To survive I must sneak into the kitchen of the opera house and raid it for supplies."
Henri looked impressed "You are a resourceful young woman." He told her with admiration.
"Erik has taught me well." She looked at Meg "So obviously you persuaded him to believe you?" she asked
"On the contrary, he thought that Erik and I were trying to scam him." Meg told her. "Worse yet, he thought that I was cuckolding Robert, with Erik."
"Only at the risk of her life." Christine laughed "I am very possessive when it comes to Erik."
"So he did not kidnap you or rape you back then at the opera house?" Henri asked solemnly.
"On the contrary he did kidnap me. But even so it was, in a large part, my own fault due to how poorly I treated him back then. Rape me never. Erik is a gentleman. He would never do such a thing. He has never mistreated a woman in his life. In fact he is quite gentle and respectful of women, provided that they do not try to harm him." She added. "The newspaper reports about him are completely false." She added.
He looked around the sitting room. Much of the furniture bore the marks of the mob, but Christine had salvaged as much as she could.
"Like the rest of what I have seen, this must have been quite beautiful before they ransacked it." Henri observed in admiration.
"It was. It still is, though not nearly as beautiful as it once was." She told him wistfully. I remember the first time that he brought me here. I never thought that such beauty could exist, especially not in a place such as this, so far from the light. Yet he created it from nothing. He told me that it was a bare cavern when he first arrived here. But Erik has the ability to create beauty from almost anything."
"How old was he?" he asked.
"Not quite a child, but not yet a man either. That is what he told me. I think that he was twelve or thirteen when Meg's mother brought him here after he escaped from the gypsies." Christine told him.
"Gypsies?" Henri asked.
"It is a long story and probably not mine to tell. If you decide to help Erik, perhaps he will tell you someday. It is very hard for him to discuss almost everything that happened to him before he came here. He had so few truly happy moments back then." She mused.
"Did he speak of his family?" Henri asked almost afraid of the answer.
"Not a lot, but he told me that his parents rejected him at birth, that the only gift that he ever received was a mask. He was not allowed to come up out of the cellar, and join in with his family. At times he could hear his brother and sister playing with one another and heard their laughter." She added. "He longed to join them but his parents would not permit it."
He looked at her intensely "Did he tell you anything else about his siblings? Did he ever meet either of them?" he asked.
She thought about what he had told her, during their week together and then remembered something. "He did not say much about them, but he did tell me one story about the time that his brother came down to meet him. He told me that the boy started out being afraid of him, but he used his voice to calm him. Erik always did have a beautiful voice. Then they started playing a game with one another."
"What game?" Henri asked but he knew the answer.
"Why, chess of course. It is Erik's favorite game. He taught me how to play it, although I admit that I could never beat him. He told me that he had played it with Kings and Emperors, and bade me not to feel bad at my lack of skill compared to him." She looked at him intensely "He taught you how to play as well." She said "But of course you already know that. You are that boy that he described."
He met her gaze and asked "How did you know that he was my brother? Did he tell you?"
"No. He never liked to speak about his past too much. The only way that he even told me that story was because we played a silly game and he lost. As a prize he told me that I could ask him anything that I wished and he would answer. I think that I surprised him with my request. He always spoke so gloomily about his past so I did not want a bad memory. I wanted to make him feel good. With that in mind, I asked him to tell me one happy story from his childhood. At first he insisted that he had none and would not acknowledge anything from his childhood, it was too terrible."
She looked at Henri sadly and continued "I would not let him end with that and so I pleaded," You must have one moment to share that was not terrible?" Finally, he reluctantly told me about your visit. I think that it was truly his only happy memory from his childhood."
"But you still haven't answered my first question. How did you know? Henri asked again.
She looked at Meg and then motioned to him. "Follow me. The answer is inside his bed chamber. I will warn you that you might find that what you will see to be very disturbing." She led him to the bedchamber and opened the door.
"How did you do that?" He asked in amazement "A door just appeared out of nowhere."
Christine replied proudly "It is not my magic Monsieur le Vicomte, it is Erik's, it is another one of his wonders. How do you think that he could masquerade as a ghost for all those years without a few surprises?"
"I hadn't thought of that." He admitted.
Come inside and your question will be answered." She told him, motioning to him to follow.
They entered the room, and like Meg and Christine before him, he stared at the casket in shock. It dominated the room.
"What is this?" he stammered "Where is his bed?"
Christine replied "You are looking at it. Quite handy don't you think? To have your grave ready for you just in case no one cared enough to provide one. There is more look at the inscription."
He looked at it and blanched.
Christine walked over to Erik's desk and picked up the yellowed newspaper and handed it to him. "He knew that you were looking for him, but he did not answer. Do you still believe that Meg and he are trying to scam you? If he wanted to do so, he would have sought you out long ago when this was first published, don't you think?"
He looked at them sorrowfully "Yes. I agree."
Christine replied almost sternly "Good, now look at me and know that I am living proof of the falsity of the current charges against Erik. He is the father of my son, that is the truth, but Gustave was born of our love not hatred and certainly not by rape. I love him still."
"Did your husband know?" he asked.
She answered "Raoul knew everything, once he learned that he could not have fathered a child. But it made no difference to him, at least after the initial shock. Gustave was as much his son, as he is Erik's and mine. He was there when Gustave was born, and they were inseparable, despite everything. Not everyone in his family was so pleased with the prospect of Gustave being heir to the de Chagny title or Raoul's fortune, which was self-made after being cut off by his family for marrying me. No matter how hard they tried to do so, they could not strip the title of Vicomte away from either Raoul or Gustave. As long as Raoul acknowledged him as his son and heir, there could be no question of his legitimacy. Raoul and I were married at the time of Gustave's birth, and we both acknowledged his paternity in Gustave's birth certificate."
"But it could be argued by some that he was duped when he acknowledged Gustave, that you and Erik did so to gain access to the title and the money after your husband's death. You admitted that he did not know the truth about Gustave originally." Henri averred.
"Perhaps, except for several things. First of all Erik never knew of Gustave's existence until after Raoul's death; therefore it would be hard to prove that it was his motive for killing Raoul. Secondly, He let Raoul and I go almost nine years ago, and made no attempt to harm him in all that time. Besides, as you now well know, Erik himself has a title to bestow on his child, so he hardly needed to kill Raoul to get one. Also, money has never been a problem for Erik. He came away from both Persia and as later as an architect very wealthy. Additionally, he received his salary of 20,000 francs per month for a number of years, and barely used any of it. Most of it he gave back to the Giry's and to help maintain the opera house. He did not really need it. It was a tool that he used to bend them to his will. Finally, and most importantly, he would never send in assassins to harm neither me, nor Raoul for that matter. He promised me a long time ago that he would never kill again except in self-defense. Even if he had not made that promise, he knew that if he would have so much harmed a hair on Raoul's head, he would sacrifice my love for him. That would have been a chance that he would never knowingly take. So you see Monsieur le Vicomte, Erik is innocent of all of it. They are all vicious lies" She told him passionately.
"It is clear from your strong defense of him that you did love him; you called Gustave a result of that love; yet how did you come to marry another man?" Henri asked.
Christine smiled and told them "It is a long story. Follow me and I will make us some tea. I can do that much."
They followed her out and she returned with a tea caddy bearing three cups and some sugar. She sat down across from Henri and began explaining. Throughout her explanation he would ask various questions. In some ways Christine felt that he was as intelligent as his brother. They had the same aqua eyes, which was a little disconcerting for her.
She concluded by telling him "Perhaps you might think of me as a fallen woman; but at the time we felt that Erik could be arrested at any time. I wanted him to experience love in all of its aspects, so that he could at least have one beautiful memory, should he be executed. He deserved that, and so much more. Erik made many mistakes back then, but my initial fear and loathing of him was the catalyst of his downfall. I was young and Raoul seemed like a handsome knight who was coming to rescue me from the ogre. I misunderstood Erik and his love for me, and have regretted my actions to this day."
Henri looked at her almost in tears "We all failed Erik in our own way. My family bears the largest blame for what we did to him, not you. If we had not rejected him to begin with, perhaps none of the tragedies that followed would have occurred. He would have assumed his rightful position as the head of our family. I have never felt that I could fill his shoes, not without knowing his fate. The spot at the head of our table remains empty, out of my shame, for what was done to him to drive him away from us. Our mother is still unrepentant but our sister feels the same way that I do."
"You will help him then?" Christine asked him.
"I intended to from the moment that I saw you Madame le Vicomte." He told her.
"You make me feel better about doing so." He admitted "I was not sure how I felt about being the brother of the Phantom of the Opera. To tell the truth the very idea of it repelled me. I had heard so many horrors about him, even my wife spoke ill of him. She was there that night when the opera burned and barely escaped with her life. I had always hoped that my brother would be some sort of quiet gentleman living anonymously out in the countryside somewhere. Now that you have shown me this beautiful house and all of his wonders, and acquainted me with his true nature, he not is exactly who I hoped to find, and yet he so much more."
She smiled at his words and told him "You must call me Christine. I am glad that you think better of Erik. He would never defend his own past to you. He holds himself in very low esteem because of both his face and his past."
"What can I do to help?" he asked.
"I believe that Erik has all the evidence that he needs to prove his innocence of all of these new crimes against him including de la Croix's unfortunate death. De la Croix was in my husband's employ and he was most surely helping Erik, not hunting him. You see Raoul knew that we were all in danger; the only person that he knew that he could trust was, ironically his old enemy, Erik. It is the reason that Philippe has framed Erik, to hinder him from helping us and to give the gendarmes a convenient scapegoat for our murders. After all, who would believe a deformed madman over a handsome nobleman? Darkening Erik's existing reputation with innuendos would only serve to further his goals. He already has half of the officialdom in Paris believing him. Yet these same men who do so were the targets of his political activities only a year ago. If it had been up to Philippe and his friends General Boulanger would be in charge of France right now under emergency powers. My husband knew all of this." She told him.
"So Philippe was part of the attempted coup last year?" Henri asked.
"Yes, not just part of it, a central figure in it. He tried to talk Raoul into joining his circle as well, but Raoul would not hear of it. He did trust neither those men, nor the general. He felt that Boulanger was using men like Philippe to become a new Napoleon, and push France back into war with Germany to regain Alsace and Lorraine. He was sure that such a war would once again result in both a crushing defeat, and the loss of thousands of good Frenchmen. Raoul knew that Germany has only grown stronger under the Kaiser and Bismarck. Soon it will be as strong as Great Britain. As a patriot, he did feel obliged to go to some meetings of the group to ascertain both what they were planning, and who was planning it. He turned some of his findings over to the Government, and later gathered even more. When he saw the danger to us, he put that information, a copy of his will declaring Gustave as his heir, an affidavit confirming Gustave's succession to his title and money, and a few other items in a safe deposit box. After the attack on our house, De la Croix was given the key to this box by me, and was instructed to find Erik and give the key to Erik. I also charged him with the task of bringing Gustave to Erik to keep him safe."
"Why didn't you go with him?" Henri asked.
"Raoul thought that it would be safer if I remained here, while de la Croix and Simone, Gustave's nanny brought Gustave to Erik. We were frequently followed by reporters due both to our past involvement with the opera house, and my fairy tale ending to that story. He was afraid that someone might recognize me and tip his brother off. He trusted only Erik. He told me to go here and remain in hiding until Erik could come and get me and bring me to safety. It is why I know without a doubt that Erik will come here. He would never trust anyone else to bring me out of here to safety. He is protecting me even now. This place is almost impossible to get to, without help from someone that Erik knows. He has only revealed the safe path down here to a few trusted people." She told him.
"Yet the mob got down here and damaged it. What is to stop them from doing it again?" he asked.
"At the time it was Meg's fault." She looked at Meg apologetically for her words. "Meg heard her mother's instructions to Raoul and followed behind him. The mob followed her. Meg had feared for my safety at the time, and thought that by bringing a mob with her that she could help me escape from Erik. In fact it ended up hurting us, and led to the destruction of Erik's sanctuary. He has never returned. When I came here last year, I repaired most of his known traps that I could, with the exception of the ones that protect the Rue Scribe entrance, and the route that you accessed via the mirror. Neither of those two entrances are clearly visible. You went through the mirror entrance so you can understand why that one is hard to find. The Rue Scribe one is even harder. There is a real door there leading into the main part of the opera house; there is also a panel which works much like the door to his bedchamber which he used to get in and out of the opera house It was mirrored so he could be sure that he could see who was coming and going from all sides. He has other passageways and trap doors throughout the opera house which I have utilized since I have come to live here. Meg will tell you that I dress just like Erik used to, mask and all, so that those above believe that he still haunts the opera house. In reality he left long ago."
"You are very wily in your own right." Henri told her with admiration.
"I had a good tutor." She replied. "Your brother taught me about much more than simply how to sing. He gave me books to read about all sorts of topics, particularly history, art, and geography. He told me that if I wanted to play an important role in an opera that I needed to understand both who my subject was, and what sort of place that she came from. He also taught me how to defend myself if someone tried to harm me. He had learned something called martial arts during his time in the East and taught me a few defensive moves."
"Erik visited the east?" He asked in surprise.
"He visited there and everywhere. He is a great architect, he once designed a palace in Persia that is considered a modern wonder." She told him.
"Mazenderan?" he queried "I heard that it had been designed by a mysterious Frenchman."
"Yes that is the one." she added proudly. "He designed a similar palace in Constantinople as well and helped Monsieur Garnier with some of his projects including some repairs right after war with Prussia and after that the Communards. They had inflicted heavy damage to the building making it structurally suspect. It was then that Erik constructed his system trap doors and panels, and the lake as well."
"With each new revelation you are making me prouder and prouder to claim him as my brother. I am sure that you know that I will be starting my new position in the Justice Ministry in March. I will be working under Armand Fallieres who will reassume the position then. In the meantime I am a man of leisure with a few good contacts in both the Surete and the current Justice Ministry. I believe that I can ask the same contact that I used to investigate you and your husband's death, to investigate Philippe de Chagny. If you would like to I can offer you sanctuary in our estate in Bretagne. Given the fact that you are reputed to be dead, and the lack of past interactions between us, I am sure that we can keep you safe until my brother can come and get you." he offered.
"That is very tempting Monsieur le Vicomte but I am safer here than I can be anywhere, thanks to Erik's traps and my extreme precautions. I would like to be where Erik can find me. I am a stranger to both you, and your family, and could hardly impose." She told him.
"You would not be imposing. Since I am now convinced that Erik is truly my brother; it also means that he is the Comte de Rennes, not I. The Chateau where I would take you is, by virtue of the laws of Primogenitor, Erik's property. My parents could not remove him from the line of succession even if they had wanted to. I have already made it clear that I am willing to step aside, and let him become the Comte as is his right." He told her.
"I doubt that Erik would take your title or your property away from you, but I will consider your offer." Christine told him.
Meg cut in "Perhaps you should leave here. My comings and goings have been watched. I was almost kidnapped yesterday, and I am sure that it was by someone that the Comte sent. Henri rescued me which was why I decided to trust him enough to show him that you were alive."
Christine looked at her in shock "What happened?"
"A man attacked me near the Rue Scribe entrance. I believe that he was waiting for me to visit the opera again. It is very unsettling, and it makes me wonder whether or not they have discovered the way down here. When I came down here years ago I was followed by a substantial mob. If any of them are called upon to try to remember the way, you could be harmed with no one to defend you." she warned.
Christine was shaken "Perhaps I should reconsider your offer, but my face is well known. If I am seen I could put all of you in greater jeopardy." She told him.
"I will escort you there myself, and settle you in. My wife Eulalie is a most gracious hostess. She is very well inclined towards you, although I admit I will have a lot of convincing to do to get her to view Erik differently. As I told you, she was there that night when he burned down the theatre. She almost died in the confusion." He told her.
"Erik was not at his best that night, but neither were any of us. He felt betrayed by me, and he was. Unfortunately he felt that he had to take drastic actions to gain our attention. We took drastic actions as well, by attempting to put him down like a rabid dog. We treated him like a monster not a man, and he in turn behaved accordingly. If our plan had succeeded then he would have been dead, and the world would have lost a man who is capable of both great love, and genius. Look around and tell me if any of this is the product of a monster?" She told him.
"No, as I told you it is an amazing place." He told her. He looked at both women apologetically "I owe both of you an apology, especially you Baronesse. The other day, I accused you of all sorts of crimes, and yet you have returned my long lost brother to me. Hopefully you have restored to my family the honor that has been missing for all these years."
Christine looked at him sadly "Perhaps we have, but only if we can expose the Comte for who, and what he is, and clear Erik's name once and for all. Only then will he be restored to any of us. It is the reason that Meg and I violated what we knew to be his wishes in coming to see you. My former brother -in-law will stop at nothing to achieve his aims, even harming his own brother, my husband Raoul. Raoul was well loved by many, including me, and was probably the most honorable man ever to live." She wiped a tear from her eye. "I hope that you do not think me a terrible person to love two men, in such different ways. I loved Raoul for his noble nature, kindness, and generosity. I love Erik for his huge capacity to give love, his intelligence and his passionate nature."
He looked at her "I think that you are a very kind and loving woman. My brother is most fortunate indeed to have found someone like you to love him. I would be most honored to welcome you into our family; that is, if Erik will acknowledge us as his family. I would like to spend the rest of the day making arrangements for my man to look into this situation and see what might be done. Additionally I will try to do what I can to get the charges against Erik dismissed. I am not sure that I can change his image in the public media just yet. Our newspapers prefer to sensationalize matters to sell more copies. Perhaps, I can at least cause them to cease further slandering Erik, so that public opinion can be calmer. When I am done, I will ask the Baroness to bring me down here once again and we can go."
He turned to Meg. "Perhaps you would like to go with her to Brittany. I am sure that, given the circumstances, Eulalie would welcome both of you. My wife is a very protective woman, and she has seen too many men, over the years try to masquerade as Erik."
Meg replied. "It is tempting, but I need to remain in Paris, so that Erik and Nadir can find me."
Henri nodded. "At least let me provide you with a security detail. I am sure that Robert would appreciate that, Erik as well. They tried to kidnap you before they might do so again."
Meg replied "Alright. That makes sense. How will we smuggle Christine out? Philippe's spies appear to be everywhere."
Christine interjected "You can attend the opera tonight, and sit in box 5. Erik has a door that opens directly into the box there. I can wait beside it."
Henri nodded to Christine. "Be ready to go tonight. I will buy that box." He turned to Meg. "I would not have you return here to arouse further suspicion."
Meg smiled "Sorry it is my choice. I will come dressed as Eulalie and we will enter the box together. We will get there right before it starts to avoid mingling with the crowds. Christine can wear the color dress as mine. You and she can walk right out the front door during the intermission while everyone is mingling in the lobby. People go out for fresh air all of the time so it will not look suspicious. I will then head back down to Erik's lair and make my way up and out, and then back up through the mirror. I will leave when the opera is done."
Christine looked at Meg in concern "What if someone sees you and wonders what is going on?"
Meg laughed "I came to see the opera just like everyone else. Has it become a crime for me to return to a place where I once worked?"
"But you were attacked. If Henri is with me how can he protect you as well?" Christine asked fearfully.
Meg replied "I will find someone to escort me home. Robert has many friends who attend the opera. I can ask one of them to help me."
Henri interrupted "You will do no such thing. You will discretely come to my home in the late afternoon where you will remain until we leave for the opera. I will have a servant, Jean Paul, who has been with my family for many years come switch places with me. I will lend one of my suits to him and buy him a ticket. He will ride in a separate carriage and then he can sit downstairs during the first part of the performance. He will make his way back to Christine's old room; where he will meet up with you. Then you and he can then go back up to the box together and leave when the performance is over. I will have my friend, who is a gendarme, watching as well just in case."
Meg smiled "Also I have my derringer. I know how to use it. You will need to show us the way to Box 5 Christine so I can get to the lair safely. I do not want to fall into one of Erik's traps."
Christine replied tentatively "Alright. I don't like your plan but I will go along with it."
After deciding on a dress to match one that Meg would wear, Christine escorted them to box 5 and then to her old dressing room from there. After practicing for a few times, Meg was confident that she could find the right way. When they were finished Henri and Meg left the way that they came. They made it appear as if they had come from the roof where the statues were. When they assured themselves that they were not being followed, they found their respective carriages waiting near the Louvre, and went their separate ways.
