Memoirs of Les Amis de l'ABC

Chapter Six: The First Letter Proclaiming Some Rules

Gavroche was taken by the collar by Courfeyrac and hurried out of the Café Musain. Once Enjolras had given Courfeyrac the letter for Sybill, Courfeyrac realized that not only did he have a reason to see the girl again, but that he had no idea where she actually resided. He had likely lost a full twenty minutes while Enjolras composed the letter so it was likely the pair of adopted sisters had already huddled away from the Café. For all he knew, they could be at their home already, and he would never be able to find them again.

"Where are we going?" Gavroche demanded as they filed down the stairs as quick as they could.

"We have to find your new little governess," smirked Courfeyrac.

"I don't have a governess," countered Gavroche defiantly.

"You know very well you now have a governess," Courfeyrac teased. "You could have far worse than that Mademoiselle Fauchelevent. There's a certain...charm to her."

Gavroche looked at the man knowingly. "You fancy her."

"You talk too much," scoffed Courfeyrac in response.

Gavroche sniggered as they arrived at the door at the bottom of the stairs. Courfeyrac opened it to see a panicked-looking Muschietta. She looked like a desperate animal caught in a trap whose head whipped round to see the predator set to ensnare it. He knew she was being wary of Enjolras. Courfeyrac gave her a pitiful glance. "I'm sorry, Muschietta, about...about him."

Muschietta shook her head. "No, no," she quickly countered. "No, it was my fault. I imagined that they would remember their attachment from when we were children, and we could all be friends once more. I should've known... I mean, he and I no longer share that...that bond of childhood years." She shook her head. "Nine years change people. I should have known."

Courfeyrac placed a hand comfortingly on the girl's shoulder. "It's not your fault," he assured her. "It seems that the stars have brought them too far apart, and now they're forever caught on different orbits."

Muschietta chuckled, "You should have seen the quarrels they got into when we were all so little."

"So she grew with you and Enjolras then?" Courfeyrac inquired. "I swear I never knew the girl, and I thought I knew of all of Enjolras's secret friends from town."

"You knew of me," she agreed, "but there were a few others. His greatest friend - I suppose - would have been Nadine."

"Mademoiselle Fauchelevent?"

"Mademoiselle Fauchelevent," Muschietta nodded. "She was Little Nadie when we were younger because she was two years younger than me and three under Enjolras. She was stubborn and argumentative, and her family situation was...was not of the kind that Enjolras's family would have approved of."

Courfeyrac's interest was peaked at the now secretive-seeming past of the girl. "What was it?"

Before Muschietta could answer, she noticed the very woman they were discussing coming over to them. She nodded with a slight smile on her mouth as Sybill strode over with Gavroche leading the way. As Courfeyrac had been comforting Muschietta, it appeared that Gavroche had found Cosette and Sybill where they sat at a table and brought them over. Courfeyrac was shocked that the sisters were still in the establishment. He had planned on having to pull some strings and knock on several doors before discovering where the girls resided.