Meanwhile at the Police Station...
The police chief let Charlotte and Miss Clavel into his office.
"Madams, the police artist." The police officer introduced Miss Clavel and Charlotte to an artist.
"Ah, please tell me about zhis suspect..." the artist smiled to the women politely as he held his sketchpad. "Zhis... Uncle Horst?"
Miss Clavel then explained from memory while Charlotte was trying to keep herself from crying at the idea of never seeing her granddaughter ever again. Miss Clavel chose her words and described Uncle Horst with care, but the artist was sketchy, with talent and flare.
"Viola!" The artist then showed a sketch of the man in question, but with a fruit in front of his face like an infamous portrait.
"Uh, no, no, he had a brown mustache and he had a fancy black hat." Charlotte told him.
"And his hair was rather wavy and light..." Miss Clavel added in.
The artist then tried again and made a rather colorful Picasso sketch of 'Horst'. Charlotte groaned and buried her face in her hands as she was now rather annoyed.
"Oh, dear, I'm not sure if zhis is helping find our Madeline or Darla." Miss Clavel said.
At the train station...
Genevieve and Patch sniffed around, trying to get a scent of Madeline or Darla. Maisy followed the dogs with the kids not so far behind. Genevieve whimpered.
"She says this is where she last saw the girls with Maisy." Patch told the others.
"It's true." Maisy frowned.
"This stop can't be the last..." Pepito said. "Maybe there!"
"It is too late." Danielle pouted as she pointed to the clock.
"We must get back before Miss Clavel and Darla's grandmere!" Chloe added.
"We'll continue the search tomorrow." Atticus said.
"If Darla is still alive then..." Urchin frowned.
"Of course she will." Amber assured him.
"I hope so..." Urchin sighed.
"You have nothing to worry about," Amber coaxed. "Darla's stronger than she looks and we have a plan this time."
"That's right." Urchin said.
"Come on, let's get you all back to school." Bridget told the little girls.
"Agreed." Cherry nodded.
They all then went back to the boarding school before Mrs. Murphy would notice they were gone. As they left, they just had to wonder how Darla and Madeline were doing now.
Meanwhile, back with Darla and Madeline...
It rang 7:00 which made the girls stand up and show LaCroque what they made for the day.
"I'll take zhat there is a lot more antiques to be done tomorrow." LaCroque said as she took the laces.
Fifi bowed her head as hers was slightly stained.
"Look what you've done!" LaCroque snapped at the black-haired girl. "All your coughing 'as turned the lace yellow! Ruined!"
"I'm s-sorry..." Fifi bowed her head in sad shame.
"From now on-" LaCroque sneered.
"Madame, please no!" Fifi begged. "I will be careful! I will not cough!" she then suddenly coughed heavily.
Darla was deeply concerned for Fifi's health.
"You vill vork only on... BLACK LACE!" LaCroque scowled at Fifi.
"Oh, no!" Fifi gasped.
"I vill not have my precious vhites discolored!" LaCroque snapped. "Remember zhat... All of you!"
This caused for the rest of the girls to gasp.
"What is wrong?" Madeline asked as Fifi began to cry.
"With no light, working on the black lace, it takes our eyes!" Fifi sniffled.
"My grandmama went blind that way." A blonde girl added.
"Oh, dear..." Darla frowned.
"You cannot do that to Fifi!" Madeline glared at LaCroque. "It is 'eartless and cruel! She's sick!"
"I beg your pardon?" LaCroque glared back at her.
"Maddie..." Darla bit her lip nervously for her French cousin.
"She needs sunlight!" Madeline continued anyway. "She needs more food! She needs-"
"What you need is a lesson!" LaCroque scowled. "SILENCE!"
"Fifi needs to see a doctor!" Darla told her, not caring about LaCroque's scowl.
"That's it, you two are coming with me! Non, seize them!" LaCroque demanded.
Non reached out for the little girls and picked them up as LaCroque was leading them to a dungeon.
"Put us down, you big brute!" Darla glared.
LaCroque opened the dungeon door and Non then threw Darla and Madeline into the room.
"Ow!" Darla groaned.
"Spoiled brats have to learn the hard way!" LaCroque snapped as Non slammed the door to lock them in.
'If she thinks we're spoiled brats, she's sadly mistaken.' Darla thought to herself.
"You are zhe best teacher." Henri chuckled to LaCroque as he followed her.
Darla and Madeline sat on their beds which were made out of hay and looked a bit itchy.
"I don't see vhat is so funny..." Madeline pouted until she reached into her apron pocket and took out the last necklace bead and sighed to it. "Oh, Maman..." She then sniffled as she thought about her mother.
Darla began to comfort Madeline. The two hugged each other through the night. Darla then began to sing Tomorrow from Little Orphan Annie to help cheer up Madeline. The song didn't seem to help.
'I sure wish there was something I could do.' Darla thought to herself.
The girls stared out the tiny barred window as they couldn't sleep in this awful place.
"Here we sit, so cold and hungry, feeling lost and far away, Happiness is just a memory, a patch of sun from yesterday, Where is the hope that we once knew, my dreams have vanished it is true, When will the sun come shining through, where is the hope that we once knew?" Darla and Madeline sang.
A fly flew into the dungeon, only to get trapped into the web above the water pitcher.
"Friends would call us bravest lion~," Madeline sang as she took out the bead from her pocket. "I once had that kind of roar, If I reach inside for courage, Perhaps I can be strong once more~"
"We'll find the hope that we once knew and we will make my dreams come true~" Darla sang. "We'll see the sun come shining through, full of the hope that we once knew~" She then freed the fly and allowed it to go without having to be eaten by the spider.
Darla and Madeline soon felt much better and more inspired as they felt like they heard an angelic chorus in their ears. "Fifi!" they both called out and knelt on the hay bed.
Madeline tried to push through the stone walls, but took out a pick to weaken the stones and let it out. "Fifi, are you there?" she then asked before she removed the stone to see the black-haired girl and the other girls who seemed to had been listening on the other side for moral support.
"Madeline, Darla, we were worried; are you both alright?" Fifi asked.
"Mas oui, Fifi!" Madeline confirmed.
"Good news, girls," Darla informed as she could see the girls in their own room as they were wide awake. "We're going to escape."
"Ah, that is not so easy," Fifi told her before coughing even more. "I tried. As punishment, LaCroque cut off my hair to make black lace."
"Oh, dear..." Darla frowned. "Why is she so horrible?"
"They say she was a cabaret star once," Fifi replied. "Then... Something happened."
"What happened?" Madeline asked.
"There was one fatal night, her dress ripped apart which made the people laugh at her and someone kicked her off the stage, but I was sure it was an accident," Fifi informed. "Her fame ended and she could no longer preform because she felt so humiliated."
"Oh, my..." Darla frowned.
"She had no money, so she sold her long hair to make lace," Fifi continued. "Now she runs the factory..." she then let out yet another sickly cough. "And she will cut off your hair like mine if you make trouble!"
"It will grow back!" Madeline glared in determination. "I will take the chance. We will find a way out!"
"You two are not scared?" Fifi asked.
"Nope." Darla shook her head.
"I am angry!" Madeline added.
"Your families must be worried sick." Darla said to Fifi and the other girls.
"Oui." Madeline nodded.
"Well, see, we have no family," Fifi replied. "None of us. LaCroque and Henri lied to the courts. They say they will take care of us, then treat us like this!"
"Don't worry, Fifi, we can look out for each other." Darla smiled.
"Like real friends?" Fifi asked.
"Better... Like family." Darla replied which made Fifi smile back.
"Family? You really think so?" Fifi soon became hopeful.
"We know so." Madeline smiled as she extended her hand out to Fifi.
Fifi smiled back as she held out Madeline's hand. There was then a squeaking heard. The mouse jumped out and came onto Fifi and Madeline's hands and bowed as he also trusted the girls which made them all laugh.
"By the way, what is your name?" Darla asked the mouse.
"They call me Mortimer." The mouse squeaked in a Parisian accent.
"Well, it's nice to meet you, Mortimer," Darla smiled. "By any chance, do you know Jerry?"
"I believe I've heard of him, is he brown?" Mortimer replied.
Darla smiled and nodded to that.
"He knows that cat Tom!" Mortimer laughed in amusement. "I have a friend in Italy who met them once and tried to get them to be friends."
"Nice." Darla smiled.
"It worked a little bit." Mortimer shrugged.
"Yeah, they're more or less friends now," Darla told the French mouse. "I think Patch said that their new friends Puggsy and Frankie showed them the light."
"And such a good thing." Mortimer smiled.
"It sure is." Darla smiled back. She then scooped up Mortimer and nuzzled against him with LaCroque not watching.
Mortimer nuzzled her back with a smile.
Back at the boarding school, it was beginning to rain as the weather seemed to understand how the girls were feeling about not having Madeline around as Amber was miserable without Darla since they were such best friends ever since her first day of school. The girls were brushing their hair as they were in their nightgowns and getting ready for bed, trying to ignore the rather scary storm.
"I hope the girls are alright." Amber frowned.
"Do not lose 'eart, mon petite~" Miss Clavel soothed her girls. "We will find our Madeline and Darla."
"Vhere could zhey be?" Chloe pouted.
"I 'ope zhey are not lonely." Yvette added.
"Or cold." Amber added.
"Or 'ungry..." Danielle pouted as she looked out the window as lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
"Oh, come now, sugar lumps," Charlotte comforted. "They know we love them."
"Zhat is right." Miss Clavel nodded.
"And tomorrow, we'll be looking for them again," Charlotte continued. "And we won't give up?"
"'Til we find them!" The other girls chanted back.
"Exactly," Miss Clavel smiled before she went to close the doors. "Bon nuit, mes enfants~"
"If we can get any sleep." Amber sighed.
The lights were turned out and everyone tried to get some sleep.
Amber sighed as she turned over in her bed. "I hope you're okay, Darla... You're my best friend forever..." she whispered sadly. She soon closed her eyes to sleep.
Darla and Madeline were curled up together in LaCroque's dungeon. Mortimer decided to stay with them for the night.