The next morning then came.
Atticus checked on Miss Clavel and smiled. "Well, your temperature's gone back down and you got your color back, looks like you're all better!"
"Merci for your help, Atticus." Miss Clavel smiled as she then decided to get out of bed to get dressed.
Everyone soon got dressed to get ready for the day. Madeline told Darla and Amber what to wear as this was an outing. Miss Clavel stood outside, waiting for her girls and smiled to Charlotte before hugging her niece as she stood with Cherry. Once the girls arrived, Miss Clavel led her girls down the block with their two extras, and where the first ones they met in the morning were a man with a monkey.
"Bonjurno." the organ grinder greeted.
"Did you know my uncle is coming?" Madeline smiled as that was the only thing on her mind today.
"Who is also my uncle." Darla added with a smile.
"Si?" the organ grinder asked.
"From Vienna!" Darla and Madeline announced together.
"Ah, then here is a Waltz in his honor!" the organ grinder chuckled as he then played a tune to make his monkey dance along to it and where this made the girls giggle out of amusement.
Madeline curtsied as the monkey bowed and they shook hands and began to Waltz together.
After that, they continued their walk as a man smiled and was selling balloons. Madeline and Darla were now going over to him to inform him about their uncle arriving.
"Did you know today I have a visitor?" Madeline smiled to the man.
"Who can that be?" the man replied with a friendly smile back.
"It's our uncle from Vienna." Darla whispered.
Madeline nodded to confirm what her cousin whispered.
"For your uncle so you each have something to give him." the man smiled as he handed a dark blue and a hot pink balloon to the girls.
"Merci/Thank you, sir." Madeline and Darla thanked with smiles back.
"Girls, please keep up." Atticus said.
Darla and Madeline then came back as they stopped by a woman who was selling flowers.
"Guess who those are for?" Madeline pointed with a smile to the bouquet.
"Your uncle, Madeline?" the woman smiled as she plucked more flowers.
"How did you know?" Darla and Madeline smiled.
Yvette and Amber giggled as they came out from the flowers.
"Now everybody knows!" Chloe announced with a laugh.
Soon enough, they all went back to wait for Madeline and Darla's uncle to arrive.
"I still can't believe Darla has an uncle and that Madeline is her cousin..." Atticus said to Cherry.
"I know..." Cherry replied, not listening all the way.
"Are you even listening?" Atticus asked.
"Sorry, Atticus, trying to get this spot out." Cherry said as she was scrubbing against a spot on the floor.
"Understandable." Atticus said.
Cherry groaned. "Out, darn spot!"
Atticus then used his magic to get rid of the stain.
"HA! I win." Cherry smirked once the spot was gone.
Soon enough, a taxi cab arrived at the gates.
"He's here!" Darla and Madeline cheered to each other before running down the stairs.
"Ah, wait!" Miss Clavel held them back and straightened them out. "We must make good first impression, no? Oui!"
"Miss Clavel is right, we wanna make a good first impression." Atticus nodded.
The other girls laughed as they ran down the stairs, but their mistress stopped them.
There came a knock at the front door and Miss Clavel opened the door to show a young adult man who had a smile on his face.
"Clara Clavel, I presume?" the man tipped his hat to the woman. "Ja, I am Madeline and Darla's Uncle Horst."
Darla and Madeline seemed to frown as this man was not who they had expected to see.
"Mai oui, Monsieur, and this is Madeline and Darla." Miss Clavel introduced the now frowning girls.
"Bonjour, Monsieur." Darla and Madeline greeted.
"Ah, 'ow could I not recognize my own kind?" Horst asked before giving his hat to the woman. "You are both are as every bit of beautiful as your mothers!"
"You knew our mothers?" Darla asked.
"Ah, but of course," Horst chuckled. "I am your uncle, I'm family!"
"Family? I did not know I had any." Madeline smiled.
"Is good, ja?" Horst replied.
"Oh, oui," Darla replied back as she practiced the French that her new friends taught her. "Ja!"
"JA!" the other girls copied.
Patch soon saw a man outside with presents which would be for all of the girls.
Horst snapped his fingers to summon the man inside. "Und now, zhe gifts!"
"Am I the only one who thinks it's weird that Madeline is French, but has a German uncle?" Cherry whispered to Atticus.
"You are not the only one." Atticus whispered.
"Oooohhh... Ahhhh!" the girls oohed and awed as they were given gifts from their guest.
The girls put down their presents and opened them to find that they were each given lace to go with their uniforms.
"These are lovely." Amber smiled.
"Merci beaucop, Monsieur Horst!" The girls smiled to their guest.
"You are most kind, Horst." Miss Clavel smiled to the man as well.
"No, no, no, it is my pleasure," Horst smiled. "It is good etiquette to bring parting gifts."
"Parting gifts?" Darla frowned.
"We do not understand." Madeline added.
"Perhaps I should start at the beginning," Horst said before taking out an envelope and handed it to Miss Clavel. "As you can see, the courts have made me Madeline and Darla's new guardians. After all, that is how it should be, ja? We are family!"
"Family..." Madeline beamed at that word.
"But... I have a family..." Darla pouted. "I'm a Fudo..."
"That's right." Atticus glared at Horst as he kept Darla away from him so he couldn't take her away.
"Oh, my dear, we are family though," Horst told her. "I'm your real family... But..."
"But?" Amber asked nervously.
"I live in Vienna," Horst then said. "Und my work is in Vienna, und there is a very fine, exquisite finishing school..."
Darla was now being torn between the family she loved and the new family she just learned of.
"Leave our friends?" Madeline asked. "Leave Paris?"
"For zhe fine Viennese finishing school!" Horst smiled back.
Darla and Madeline looked to each other and they both felt in despair. Patch began to growl as he didn't like this man one bit.
"Down, Patch..." Atticus warned. "I-I'm sorry, sir, he must be hungry..." he then smiled nervously and apologetically.
Patch soon used his magic secretly to take a strand of Horst's mustache so he could let the French Pound Puppies run a DNA scan of it.
Atticus took Patch out of the room to 'feed him'. "I don't trust him either, boy."
"I'm gonna give this to the French Pound Puppies." Patch said as he took the DNA sample.
"Perfect." Atticus nodded.
Patch's stomach then rumbled and he smiled sheepishly with a weak chuckle.
"Wow, you are hungry..." Atticus said. "I just said that so we could talk."
"I know, I didn't I know I was actually hungry." Patch said.
Atticus chuckled, he then took of Patch's favorite and put it in a bowl. Patch them smiled and ate the food up instantly to satisfy his hunger.
"Zhis school is zhe same one your mothers went to..." Horst told Madeline and Darla.
"The same where our mothers went?" Darla smiled.
"Oh, it must be wonderful..." Madeline also smiled.
"Tomorrow, we take zhe Orient Express." Horst replied as he took out a pocket watch.
"The Orient Express?!" The girls gasped.
Atticus poked his head in as Patch was eating the food given to him.
"Tomorrow?" Darla and Madeline frowned.
"It precisely leaves for Vienna 10:05 in the morning," Horst replied. "I will be here at 9:00, please take note of that."
"But leaving tomorrow is so soon." Cherry said.
"Uh, Monsieur, we hope you will dine with us this evening, no?" Charlotte invited.
"Oh, most definitely." Horst smiled and bowed as he then decided to go to his cab and come back for dinner tonight.
Madeline and Darla then watched as Horst was parting ways with them until later tonight. Patch and Maisy both left the building after he finished eating and where they saw something confusing while they made their way to one of the entrances to the French Pound Puppy and Pound Furry headquarters since the two teams had so much in common.