Once in her apartment, she sat down in a small chair and leant her head tiredly on the backrest. She couldn't understand why she had voiced aloud her thoughts and doubts in a moment like that but, even now, she felt she had acted rightfully. She had needed to tell him. God, why did he confound her so much? She had had everything so clear from the beginning…
She couldn't even understand why she had allowed him to explore her mouth with his lips. Nevertheless, that time had been different… the passion had taken over her, rendering her helpless, so that when the extremely sweet feeling of his caresses mixed with the bitter memory of their other encounters made her choke on their kiss. It could not be, she had everything to loose. Bittersweet were the moments they always shared but she did not know if she could stand it any longer.
But she should try to keep up with their relationship, despite of the suffering, for her job was at stake. She had to expect to see him again, unavoidably.
'I got your message', Édmond greeted them gentlemanly from the door. 'It sounded important. What's happened?'.
'Come in', Emma motioned to him to enter. 'You know it's not appropriate for us to have certain conversations within earshot of any passer-by, especially after this…'.
He stared at the woman with undisguised confusion. 'Will you ever tell me what's going on once and for all? I admit you've kept me intrigued, Mesdames…'.
Without further delay, he was taken to the bureau the two women shared, the place where their business meetings usually were held. Immediately, Marie went to the desk and took an envelope, handing it over to Édmond.
Édmond held it in his hands, sceptical, because he did not think that the letter was something important enough to make him rush out of his home. That was until he saw the sender's name.
He even conceded a small smile. 'So she's already asked for outer help…'. The irony in his tone was increasingly cooler. 'Let's see who the fortunate saviour is this time…', he frowned. 'Meg Giry…', his eyes turned to Marie. 'I don't seem to recall this name. Have you read the contents?'.
'Of course', Emma smiled proudly. 'We've only made sure that it was properly closed in the envelop, just like before we opened it. And, well, she doesn't tell anything new, Édmond, besides the fact that she's very frightened, doubtful and that she apparently wants to get out of your house too…'.
He shook his head in amusement. 'If the meddlesome fool had never poked her nose where she shouldn't have, she would not be so very doubtful now…'.
The two women frowned suspiciously. 'Did something go wrong?'.
He smiled, looking as calm as ever. 'No, nothing that should got us worried or that cannot be solved, of course…', he glanced at them with real interest. 'But don't think about that yet. However, I'd like to ask you if you've been able to discover anything about that other 'terrible loss' of our dear Viscountess'.
'Not too much, but…', Marie gave him a knowing smile. 'Remember that now…', she pointed to the letter. 'We now have a contact address, a referente…'.
Édmond put the letter in one of his pockets. 'Very clever. An address that, of course, you'll visit in the near future'.
Those were the last words he exchanged with his kind confidants after three days without news of their business. It seemed that things were running smoothly. Now it was his turn to convince his lady guest that, despite her intriguing discoveries, he was still the same safe and trustworthy person.
Xxx
The door of the house opened and Christine appeared behind it, looking exhausted and carrying her small bag with white-knuckled hands, as if she tried to protect a very precious treasure from anyone's sight. Her breathing was erratic and her uneasiness had worsened to the point of not even noticing the person who was watching her with worrying restlessness from the other side of the living-room.
'Are you feeling all right, Christine?'. A worried Édmond crossed in long strides the distance between them, to catch hold of her trembling arm.
She nodded. 'Don't worry, I'm just a bit dizzy, that's all…'.
He looked at her, incredulously. 'Your face tells me exactly the opposite, dear'.
'I've been feeling sick since I left the centre, sir. It's nothing else. It must be the lack of sleep'.
Édmond's eyes expressed genuine alarm. 'You are feeling sick? I reckon you should lie down and let me call up a physician. He will examine you and determine the cause of your poor health…You never know…'.
She lifted challengingly a shaky hand and rested it lightly on his shirt. 'I only need to sleep…'.
Slowly, she shook off the hand that was holding her back and with uneasy steps, she reached her room. Meanwhile, he stood in the same spot, thoughtful. Might there be a last-minute surprise for them? He smiled inwardly. Well, well, well…how interesting the game would become if they had a little De Chagny on its way…
Christine took off her thin cloak carelessly, leaving it on the chair next to her bed. She did not even worry about getting changed. There was only one thing in her mind and it was the need to sleep. She opened her bag and took out the green bottle that would probably become the only help she would really receive to endure the pain. She had been warned by the good pharmacist about the danger of not administering the right doses but she barely heard half of it. Gods, that dizziness and the weariness were annulling each and everyone of her senses.
She uncorked the bottle and looked at it thoroughly, afraid of the implications of what she was about to do. Finally, Christine took the last step and drank a full sip of the brew. Afterwards, she lied on the bed and started feeling the sweet release provided by the drug. Her breathing slowed down, her aching muscles gradually relaxed and when she shut her eyes, darkness came at last.