Memoirs of Les Amis de l'ABC

Chapter Nine: We Are Gathered Here Today

Since that Tuesday evening when Jean Valjean discovered the writings of his daughter, he printed out copies of her first essay every night. During the wee hours of the morning, he would hang them around the town or leave them in the street for people to discover hoping he would not be discovered himself. On Wednesday, there was confusion over the writing, and it was initially disregarded. On Thursday, there were more pamphlets and more people began to read them. On Friday, it was a hit. There was a general buzz about the essay without an author or a publisher.

Courfeyrac had arrived to take Sybill to the Luxembourg Gardens estate that morning with Marius in tow. The quartet took Gavroche to Madame Rosalind Dubois's bakery who sat the boy down for a day of lessons while they headed towards the fanciful manor. In the afternoon, they returned to the bakery, retrieved Gavroche, and arrived at the Café Musain.

Sybill knew not that anyone had read her ravings. She had passed several copies of her pamphlet on the street, but she thought that it would be far too daring to ask Courfeyrac anything of it. For all she knew, the boy had not even noticed the appearance of the flyers around Saint-Michel. She could not have been anymore wrong.

Over the course of the past two days, the sudden flyers had become quite the topic at the Café Musain. Most of the men agreed wholeheartedly that the unknown author was on their side of the fight. Some even believed that the author was one of them.

Grantaire sat at his regular table towards the door of the Café Musain. He was alone at the table this afternoon though the Café Musain was brimming with people buzzing about. They only tolerated him there although some had tried to befriend the man. His eyes watched as Enjolras began to launch into another speech. This one, however, was written on a bit of parchment. Grantaire frowned at the sight thinking it ill-prepared of the man to write his ideals on parchment in advance instead of speaking with his usual passions.

"I assume you have all noticed the pamphlets and flyers and pages that have suddenly come into being around Saint-Michele?" Enjolras questioned. The men murmured their agreement. "Yes, well, has anyone stepped forward to claim the work as their own?"

Bahorel scoffed. "No," he replied simply. "If one did that, then one might as well tie the noose around their neck themselves."

There was a bit of laughter around the Café while Bahorel smiled. Grantaire rolled his eyes from his position at the table.

"Where is Courfeyrac?" inquired Enjolras, noting the third-in-command's absence.

"He and Marius are out!" Jean Prouvaire reported.

"Out?" scowled Enjolras. "Where has Courfeyrac gone out to?"

"He is out with that Mademoiselle Fauchelevent from how I hear him tell it," announced Jean-Prouvaire. "They are spending the day in the Gardens."

Enjolras scowled once more. "He should know better."

"He is a man, Enjolras," countered Feuilly softly. "Perhaps he has found himself a nice woman at last as opposed to his regular sort."

Enjolras scoffed. "Nice woman or not, Courfeyrac should be here when there is a meeting. His place belongs first to the revolution then to his schoolwork then to whatever fanciful things he wishes to pursue."

"And that Mademoiselle Fauchelevent is quite the fanciful thing," smirked Bahorel with a whistle earning him another few laughs. "I caught a glimpse of her and him at the marketplace, and I daresay that for once our Courfeyrac is taken with a girl instead of merely wanting to take a girl."