Erik had promised to look in on her and he was as good as his word. He materialized in her bedroom, in the semi-darkness of the pre-dawn hours. Meg vaguely remembered rolling over and finding him kneeling beside her bed. There had been earnestness to his posture, like a little boy at his prayers. He hushed her with a feather light kiss and whispered goodbye; the only proof it hadn't been a dream was the note beneath her pillow, reassuring her that he would return "soon". Meg hoped it would be very soon; she might still need her bones buried once her mother burned her to a crisp.

Madame Giry, as it turned out, did not have the energy to take her errant daughter to task, even the next day. She could only muster a look of disappointment when Meg missed the Christmas Eve Gala due to "illness". It broke Meg's heart to call off but she couldn't stomach the thought of Desjardins' red face. The understudy took the stage that night, to rave reviews on Christmas Day. The Girys marked the holy day with a personal mass said by their parish priest, whom Meg had prevailed upon for a house visit. Faith didn't mean much to Meg but her mother was a dedicated Catholic. Hearing mass with her was the least Meg could do. Though the Christmas services in their past hadn't concluded with last rites.

Each night before bed, Meg watched out the windows, wondering if Erik would come that night, but he never did. What had he meant by "soon"? Men had a peculiar way of keeping time.

While Christmas in Paris was for church and the children, New Year's Day was for everyone. Le Jour de l'An: the day they exchanged presents, once Meg had outgrown Père Noël. Outside their somber home, Paris was in a frenzy of preparations. Just last year, they had walked about the square, calling on neighbours.

"Just last year, we had supper with the de Chagnys." Meg frowned down at her mending; had Christine died just last year? It already felt like a lifetime ago. She glanced at her mother, dozing fitfully in bed. She stabbed the needle into a pincushion and tossed the garment to the floor.

"What did that pincushion do to you, darling?" Madam Giry had roused again. The lamplight threw dark shadows over her gaunt features and the light glinted in her dark sunken eyes. There was a feverish sheen to her skin.

"Nothing maman, do not trouble yourself to talk."

"Nonsense, I am fine." Her mother snapped and though her voice was very raspy, she did not cough.

"Yes, maman." She demurred.

"Are you finally going to tell me where you were for two days?" Madam Giry tried to sit up; Meg reached over to prop her up with the pillows. "It's unlike you to miss appointments. The manager was quite concerned too."

Meg sat back in her seat, hands clasped tightly in her lap. "Did he really call on you?" She swallowed thickly.

"I didn't know you were in rehearsals."

"I'm not." Meg clenched the fabric of her skirt, willing away the nausea.

"Dearest, you must tell me what has happened, even if you think I already know."

Meg gave her mother a watery smile and took her time, refilling their water glasses and giving her mother a clean handkerchief. "You must promise not to scold until I have finished."

"Meg." She warned.

"Promise, maman!" This earned her A Look but Madame Giry held her tongue and waited for Meg to speak.

"I went to find him." Meg clasped her hands tightly in her lap. "Erik."

"Marguerite!"

"Maman you promised." Her mother glowered and set her mouth in a firm thin line. Meg knew this to be her mother's Determined Face. "I wanted to apologize to him, for overreacting in the Bois. I hadn't seen him for weeks; I believed I had scared him off." She laughed half heartedly. "The Rue Scribe was locked but I thought I could find a way down somewhere backstage."

"That was a foolhardy thing to do."

"Yes, thank you, maman for pointing that out."

"And Monsieur Desjardins found you snooping backstage"

"In a manner of speaking." Meg paused for a sip of water. "I tried to make my excuses and hurry away but he started chasing me until he caught up with me."

"Did he.."

"He intended to." Meg shook the ripped dress at her mother. "I got away from him but he chased me into a dead end."

"A dead end with a secret passageway." Madam Giry supplied wryly.

"Yes, and I fell through just in time."

"That doesn't explain why you didn't come home for two days."

"I apparently passed out maman. He took me to his home. I begged him to let me stay. If he hadn't been so insistent on my returning, I would be there still."

Madame Giry was quiet, staring thoughtfully at her daughter. "You are really that afraid of Desjardins?"

Meg nodded and gulped the rest of her water down.

"Your understudy received quite the reception at the gala night." Her mother said casually, trying to spark her daughter's competitive side.

"As well she should. Jeanne is a magnificent dancer." It killed Meg to admit it out loud but she would not rise to her mother's bait.

"Those should have been your accolades."

"I would forsake ballet for eternity if it meant I would never have to see Monsieur Desjardins again." Meg choked back a sob. It hadn't been all that long ago she declared she would dance until she died. She snorted derisively. "He has been trying to court me for months. And your encouragement in the matter has not helped."

"To think I had hoped you would've taken a shine to him..." Madame Giry lapsed into silence again. Meg trained her gaze on the floor; she suspected her mother had fallen asleep again.

"I don't like this affection, between you and Erik."

"Yes, maman." She murmured.

"But I know that I can't stop it. If he truly has feelings for you, then I know he will keep a sharp eye on you when I'm gone."

Meg waited for her mother to catch her breath.

"If he wishes to court you, darling, then tell him that he must come to me and ask. Otherwise, the next time you slip out to see him, I will send the whole of the Paris Police to his doorstep."

"Yes, maman."

"Yes maman what?"

"Yes, maman, I will tell him."

Any answer she might have made got lost in another fit of terrible coughing. Meg wrapped her arms around her mother and wondered if Erik would even arrive in time to ask.