Bonjour!

Forgive my absence. The majority of this chapter has been ready for a week, but there were bits that would not come until today. There is a second chapter also being posted today, one that is rather more, shall we say, involved than most of my recent chapters. Well, enjoy!

S.R.

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Cecily stood nervously, the cane that was now her constant companion gripped tightly in her left hand. It was her first real day of work for M. Lefevre, and she was anxious not to disappoint. This was her chance to stay in the Opera House, and she would not waste it. It had been a week since she had appealed to M. Lefevre, and only three days since Mme. Giry had told her to visit Lefevre's office again.

She had filled out paperwork and passed test after test in mathematics, French, etiquette, and Russian. She had had significant help from Erik, who had informed her of the finer details of the manners of the people who utilized the Opera antechambers as their own stage. Her Russian had improved significantly since she had first started, and basic sentences were within her grasp. The Cyrillic alphabet was still foreign to her fingers, but she gradually was teaching her mind and hand to accept it.

M. Lefevre was looking over her work for the day, checking for mistakes in her arithmetic. The clock seemed to tick slowly, each one encompassing hours for Cecily. Finally, M. Lefevre closed the book with a sigh. "Not a one. You have done well. I'll read your letters tonight. I think I will take a short break, perhaps to the café. Have you eaten?"

"No, monsieur."

"Of course you haven't. You've been here. Would you care to come with me? We can discuss payment and such."

Cecily nodded, perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. She bit her lip and gave one small nod to finish. "It would be a privilege, monsieur."

M. Lefevre drew his coat from the stand by the door, then reconsidered. "It is spring. I think that I should enjoy the warm weather. Perhaps we shall take my carriage down the road a bit to Les Deux Magots, eh?"

Cecily nodded again, this time slowly. "As you wish monsieur."

"You should relax a bit, mademoiselle. You have done well today. We should celebrate." He touched her forearm in reassurance. Cecily flinched unwillingly. "Ah, I see. Perhaps we should bring along someone else? A friend or two of yours?"

Cecily's eyes widened. "Do you mean it, monsieur?"

Lefevre was locking the books away in his safe as he replied, "Of course I do. Go get a friend or two. We shall have ourselves a fine lunch. Get them and meet me at the front entrance. Vite!"

Cecily smiled and hurried out the door. She wished she could take Erik, but that was out of the question. She could imagine the situation. 'Uh, M. Lefevre, this is Erik, er, the Opera Ghost.' No, she couldn't take Erik, and she doubted he wanted to go. Linnea of course would go. Perhaps if she could catch Fabrizio with her, she would have her friend or two.

As if her thoughts had called to them, Fabrizio and Linnea came around the corner, talking animatedly. "Cecily! How did it go?" Linnea asked, pausing her conversation with Fabrizio, whose French was apparently gaining in leaps and bounds.

"Well enough. In fact, M. Lefevre offered to take myself and two friends to Les Deux Magots to end the day. You wouldn't know of two people who would be willing to go with me, would you?"

Linnea clapped her hands together, then grabbed Cecily's arm in one hand and Fabrizio's in the other. "You did so well? That's wonderful! Of course, I'll go! Fabrizio can join us, can't he?"

Cecily shook her head, laughing as she pried loose from Linnea's grasp. "I was rather hoping he would." She winked at Linnea, who immediately blushed pink.

The three of them began to walk toward the entrance when suddenly Linnea asked, "Cecily, perhaps you can settle this for us. Fabrizio and I were discussing which has the better view of Paris: Notre Dame or the Opera House."

"Well, the cathedral is beautiful, but I do believe that the Opera House has it beat. Particularly the highest reaches. There is nothing in the world that can boast over that view."

It may have been something about the way she said it, but both soon agreed with her. "But Cecily, you don't go to the pinnacle do you?"

"I was there, once. It is not something I attempt everyday." She did not inform them that she had gotten there by the use of Erik's exit into one of the upper level gargoyles. "Usually I stay on the flat area. There is a gargoyle there that has a perfect seat for reading."

"You and your reading! Sometimes I think that you love books more than anything else in the world!"

"Not anything else, Linnea." Linnea gave her a questioning look, but Cecily said no more.