TO CARVE AN ANGEL FROM MARBLE act three, chapter twenty
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( january 1832 )
ANOTHER WEEK PASSED SINCE Madeleine last visited the Cafe Musain. She knew that she had to put distance between herself and the blonde revolutionary who'd managed to capture her heart, no matter how difficult it was to d so. She's gotten so distracted by her feelings for Enjolras that she'd nearly forgotten why she was there, why she joined the group of revolutionaries in the first place.
Her last conversation with him had been a reminder of that. She had joined Les Amis de l'ABC for the very same reason that he had founded it— because she longed to see a brighter future for her country, to bring liberty and the freedom of choice to everyone— and she realized just how unfair it was of her to distract Enjolras from that goal. He was one of the good ones, even if he didn't always know how to show it. Anyone who was willing to lay down their life for the future of their country deserved all the praise and admiration in the world; it was the one thing that first drew her to him, and it was the one thing that she would always respect him for.
It was difficult at first. Every evening when Andre would ask her to accompany him to her beloved cafe, part of her was tempted to go so that she would be able to see her other friends, but she knew that it would only make things more difficult for her. She'd return eventually, when she was certain that she would be able to control the feelings she had for their leader.
Until then, she knew that she had to distance herself— for both her own sake as well as Enjolras'.
Her absence was felt by everyone at the Cafe Musain, and she was told this by Andre every night. Though not even her brother had an explanation for the other revolutionaries as to why she suddenly stopped attending meetings. Whenever he would ask her, she would immediately shut down and respond with nothing more than a shrug.
Andre knew there was something going on with his sister, and it was beginning to worry him. After all, Madeleine seemed to be her happiest whilst in the company of Les Amis. Why on Earth she suddenly avoided the Musain like the plague was unbeknownst to him, and for the first time in their entire lives, he felt as though there was something she wasn't telling him.
But Madeleine's absence wasn't the only thing off about the cafe. Enjolras was much more irritable than usual— snapping at anyone who dared try to argue with him, giving up entirely on his nightly speeches as soon as anyone attempted to move the conversation away from the revolution.
Most of Les Amis simply didn't put two and two together, failing to see the correlation between their leader's foul mood and the lack of Madeleine's presence. Combeferre, however, was ever so observant.
