Even The Darkest Night Will End

Chapter Eight: A Debt To Be Paid

As light footsteps on the hardwood floor above them scurried across the wine shop, each person down in the dingy cellar grew rigid, rooted to their spots. It was as if their hearts were afraid to beat and the air coming in and out of their lungs threatened to give them away. The faces of the Amis all had that same petrified, white blankness from when they first escaped the barricades at the time, and were on edge, just waiting for the bullets or bayonets to come and end it all.

Being their bold leader, Enjolras was the first to take action as he tip-toed across the brick floor and silently motioned to his men to take cover. The rest of the group followed his orders and slipped behind crates and in shaded crannies. The candles were blown out and the men sat in darkness for several minutes hoping, praying that no one would discover them.

Enjolras was sitting against the cold wall behind three large boxes and shutting his eyes tightly in fear as Éponine crept behind the crates next to him. Their shoulders touched, and as much as his mind told him to, he didn't scoot away; for Éponine was warm and her presence was comforting.

Suddenly, the flap of heavy fabric hitting the ground and the undoing of the trapdoor's latches had Les Amis de l'ABC holding their breath, and Éponine grasping Enjolras' wrist tightly. The door opened abruptly and a middle aged, tall man came down the stairs, nearly hitting his head and dropping his lantern on his way. He looked around quizzically and obviously sensed something strange.

Éponine spied the man through the warm light of his lantern and searched her memory for the vaguely familiar face. She remembered him being involved with this shop and having something to do with the con her parents devised against him. As the memories were put together, Éponine recalled that this was the wine shop owner, Monsieur Bourdeaux, that once had avoided being stolen from by Éponine's father.

A few years ago during the winter, the Thérnardiers pretended to be a family of homeless beggars, with a dying baby in tow (of whom was Gavroche, wrapped in swaddling clothes) who needed warm shelter. Being a soft, kind man, the owner of the building let them stay the night, unbeknownst to the fact that Thénardier would later ransack his shop, searching for a secret room full of expensive wines and money he had heard about. Thénardier, his wife, Éponine, Azelma, and even the little toddler Gavroche quietly looked everywhere for this room in the dead of night, scanning every nook and cranny of the place. Eventually, little Éponine felt a strange lump in the carpet that appeared to be a small hinge. Éponine knew she had found the door. However, she also knew that what she was doing was terribly wrong, and had no reason to steal from a man that had done nothing to her, so she kept her discovery to herself.

As she was backing away from the spot, the owner came down and angrily confronted Thénardier, sad and disappointed that he would take advantage of his generosity. Out of frustration, Thénardier took out his gun and threatened to shoot if he didn't tell him where the room was. Monsieur Bourdeaux denied its existence, but then looked back at Éponine briefly and saw her eyes fall upon the location of the trapdoor. He was genuinely terrified that she would say something to her father, but Éponine kept quiet, probably saving the man's life, and also, his prized possessions. Later on, when they were banished back to the streets, Thénardier gave a brutal beating to his daughter, from which she still has scars today. He knew that she knew where the room was, and was infuriated, but was aware that his daughter could also be used as a source of profit, so he kept her alive. Bourdeaux witnessed this and approached Éponine with a note of gratitude, some bread for little Gavroche, and twenty francs the next day and told her that he was "eternally grateful" and "owed her".

Éponine never forgot this man, and hoped he didn't forget her after she let go of Enjolras and stood up to face him.

Monsieur Bourdeaux was very startled by Éponine, and even some of the men in hiding gasped at her sudden appearance.