September 18th 1892: ???
I couldn't believe I had lost her. In one minute she had still been there, talking to another woman as they had walked down the corridor, and in the next one she was gone, vanished without trace. If only I had been able to follow them more closely!
´Stay behind her all them time. Never lose sight of her.´ My master's instructions had been very clear, but it hadn't been possible to carry them out in the way he had expected me to. There hadn't been many people in the corridors, and the two women would have easily noticed a man walking behind them, changing directions when they did. So I had only been able to watch the Countess from a certain distance, relying on their voices to guide me most of the time. Since the other woman had done most of the talking, I hadn't grown suspicious right away when I hadn't heard the Countess for a while. But then the other woman had come into view again, and the Countess had no longer been with her.
My master would be furious if he found out that I had lost her. Strictly speaking, it had been a flaw in his own plan that had made me lose her, for he had been sure the corridors would be crowded, but of course I'd never be able to use that as an argument to justify myself with. My master didn't make mistakes. His plans were always correct. If they didn't work, it was our own fault, because we hadn't carried them out properly. I had heard that speech a hundred times, and I didn't need to hear it again.
It was a catastrophe. My master had already been angry when we had admitted that the attack on the coach hadn't worked the way he had planned it. But then, it hadn't been a complete failure, which was why I could still walk today. At least there had been someone hurt, even though it hadn't been the right person. Frankly I had no idea who the man had been. Not even my master seemed to know it, but he didn't seem to care, so I didn't care either.
Of course the intention of the attack had been a different one: When the coach had been returned to the stable, we had assumed it would only be used again in the morning, preferrably by the whole family. According to my master, a few serious injuries would have been a nice prelude to the truly important part of his plan.
But it hadn't worked. Moreover, we still didn't know who the mysterious companion of the Countess was. I had been sure that I'd catch a glimpse of his face after the accident. That was why I had waited in a nearby alley and had come running as soon as I had heard the crash. Yet I hadn't predicted that so many people would be there, blocking the man from view. I hadn't been able to make my way through the crowd, and peering over the other people, I had only seen the same back of the man's head that I had seen a thousand times in the last days. It had seemed to mock me.
In the end, I believed that this was the reason why I had been beaten.
´I need to know who he is!´ my master had roared, brandishing the whip in his hand. ´I need to know whether he can be dangerous for the plan.´
Personally, I didn't think so. After all, he hadn't kept us from doing anything yet. But of course I couldn't tell my master what I thought. He didn't value other people's opinions very highly.
He had ordered us to pursue all members of the family today, except for the father, who still seemed to be in Norway. Two of the others had taken the coach and had gone after the girl and the maid. Two more were staying at the house to keep watch over the remaining servants, and I had been told to follow the Countess and the mysterious man. Unfortunately they had not left the house together. I had decided to stay with the woman and follow her. My master had always stressed how important she was.
And now I had lost her. I gulped, trying not to think of what my master would say… or do. I really liked my life, and I didn't want it to end yet. Some people might have argued that it wasn't such a fantastic life, but it was the only one I had.
As I marched up and down the corridor, a thought suddenly hit me. I just had to find her again. If I found her soon, I'd be able to pretend I had never lost her. No one would ever know the truth.
But where could she be? Unlike my master, I had never been inside this building before, and I had no idea where people usually went. The only thing which was clear to me was that they all went somewhere. I seemed to be the only person who didn't know where to go. As if to underline this assumption, two girls passed me with fast, purposeful strides. I bowed my head and tried to look as if I belonged here. Apparently it worked, for they didn't even glance at me. My ability to blend in even surprised me every now and then.
"Oh, come on," one of the girls was just saying. "We'll just take a little sip in our dressing room."
"But what about Mme.Giry?" the other girl asked in an anxious voice.
"She's still on the stage. She'll never…" The girls' voices grew fainter and fainter, till I could no longer hear them. But it didn't matter. Listening to them had given me the second good idea within minutes. The stage! Why hadn't I thought of it before? Even I knew that it was an important part of an opera. Surely I'd find the Countess there.
This only left me with one problem: Where was the stage? I made a half-hearted attempt to locate it myself, but the corridors all looked the same to me, and there weren't signs anywhere. After just a few minutes I had no idea where I had come from or whether I was anywhere near the stage. For all I knew, I could have been further away from it than when I had started.
It was no good. I had to ask someone. It was a pity that the girls were no longer there, for I'd have loved to ask them. They hadn't been as pretty as my mistress, but it had been better than nothing. Unfortunately I couldn't wait for another girl to come my way. Sometimes a man had to take what he could get. In my case, that was a man who just strolled down the corridor.
"Excuse me, Monsieur, can you help me?" I asked with a winning smile. I might not have had the best upbringing, but I could pretend it. The man looked at me in confusion for a moment, then he gave me a nod.
"You're late!" he informed me. "All the others were here in the morning. Couldn't get out of bed, could you? Well, you should better learn it, for the work here starts early, hours before the first dancer enters the stage. So don't be late again. Come with me!"
He ended his monologue abruptly and marched away, much more quickly than before. I followed him without another word, sensing that it was the best thing to do. If I was lucky, the man would show me the way to the stage right now. In the worst case possible, I'd have to work here for a couple of hours and would ask one of my new colleagues where the stage was later.
I was indeed lucky, for apparently the man wanted to show me around first. After a few minutes he slowed down, allowing me to walk next to him, and started explaining. I listened attentively, trying to learn as much as I could. After all, who knew how much of the information he gave me I'd still need?
"And this is the stage," my companion finally said. "Well, actually it's over there, but we can't enter it at the moment. It's reserved for the dancers, even though I don't think any of them is still there. Remember that you mustn't disturb the dancers, the singers or the musicians! If you do, you can as well pack your things right away because…"
In that moment he caught sight of a piece of scenery that was lying on the floor. Two men were just adding a fresh layer of paint. I couldn't see anything extraordinary about it, but his eyes narrowed.
"I don't believe it!" he called, walking over to them. "You were supposed to paint it green, just like it used to be. Not black! For Heaven's sake, are you colourblind?"
My instinct told me to get away from the man as quickly as possible. I waited till he had turned his back on me, then I parted two curtains, slid through the gap I had created and found myself standing at the back of the stage.
The Countess was not there, that much I could see right away. I only spotted two people, the blond woman the Countess had been with and an older one. They were engaged in conversation.
"Where shall we start then?" the blond woman was asking. "Christine is down in the cellars, so we don't have to cover that part. Perhaps we should search the dressing rooms first. He could be there." The other woman nodded.
I left quickly, before anyone could see me. The man who had shown me around was still busy yelling, so I passed behind him without problems. I smiled to myself. So the Countess was in the cellars. The man had pointed out a door to me on our way, muttering something about dangers and never going down there if I knew what was good for me. But the Countess was down there. Silly girl. It was high time that someone went after her and offered her protection. My smile widened. I had always had good manners around the ladies.