It was Karyn who first broke the silence.
“There is no way we are missing this pause thing, whenever it is,” she said determinedly.
“I will do all I can to ’elp you get ’ome, but I think you may ’ave a problem,” Madeleine replied.
“What problem is that?” Karyn asked, trying not to let her confusion show.
“From what I know—and I admit that is not very much—people who pause cannot be moved. So, if you are paused when the door returns, you will not be able to leave through it,” Madeleine explained.
“Why would I be paused? Just because it happened to me once doesn’t mean it will happen again,” Karyn replied.
“True. I do not know what will ’appen. Strange things ’appen ’ere every month, but tonight is stranger than most,” Madeleine said.
Before anyone could answer, someone knocked on Madeleine’s office door for the second time since they had gathered there.
“Henri again?” Jon asked, speaking for the first time since Madeleine had told them how frequently the Pauses occurred.
“I do not think so,” Madeleine replied.
“Then who?” Karyn asked.
“I know of one way to find out,” Madeleine told them.
“You had better answer it,” Jon said.
Madeleine turned towards the door. “Oui, entrez” (Yes, enter.)
The door opened, and Yvette Laurent stepped cautiously into the office.
“Ah, Madame, je suis désolée de vous déranger, mais… “ (Ah, Madam, I am sorry to disturb you, but…) she began quietly.
“Oui, qu’y a-t-il ? Je suis occupée à m’assurer que cette jeune femme sera suffisamment remise pour rentrer chez elle ce soir.” (Yes, what is it? I am busy making sure this young lady is well enough to travel home this evening.)
Madeleine turned and indicated Karyn, who was sitting behind her.
Karyn wondered why Madeleine had deliberately drawn attention to her. Then she remembered that everyone else somehow saw her as one of their own, and that Madeleine had used her supposed injuries as the reason for excusing her from her duties that evening.
Injuries, Karyn thought. Yeah, because a bruise on my backside really needed that much looking after, didn’t it?
“Pardonnez-moi, Madame, mais M. Beaumont a dit que Karyn ne reprendrait pas sa place pour le reste de la représentation de ce soir. Je voulais savoir qui devait la remplacer pendant le finale.” (Pardon me, Madam, but Mr Beaumont said that Karyn would not be returning for the rest of this evening’s performance. I wanted to know who should take her place during the finale.) Yvette’s nervousness was obvious despite her careful formality.
“Je suppose qu’Henri ne peut pas prendre cette décision lui-même, n’est-ce pas ?” (I suppose Henri cannot make the decision himself, can he?) Madeleine said with a faint smile.
“Je ne sais pas, Madame. Je fais seulement ce que l’on me demande.” (I do not know, Madam. I only do as I am asked.) Yvette returned the older woman’s smile.
“Demandez à Geneviève de la remplacer. Elle connaît suffisamment bien les pas. Y a-t-il autre chose ?” (Get Geneviève to do it. She knows the steps well enough. Is there anything else?)
“Non, Madame, c’est tout. J’espère que vous vous sentirez bientôt mieux, Karyn.” (No, Madam, that is all. I hope you feel better soon, Karyn.) Yvette turned and looked directly at Karyn.
Karyn could think of nothing else to do but smile and nod politely at the French woman.
“Je veillerai à ce qu’elle aille mieux. Maintenant, retournez au travail, Yvette.” (I will see that she does. Now, back to work, Yvette.) Madeleine closed the door after her.
“Did she say my name? It sounded like she said my name. I thought I heard people saying it earlier, but how would they know it?” Karyn asked, sounding far more panicked than she had only a few minutes before.
“Yes, she did. I think it must ’ave something to do with what ’appened between you and Simone earlier,” Madeleine replied.
“But how?” Jon asked.
“I am not certain, but I would like to test something, if you do not mind.”
“I’m up for anything that sorts out this mess,” Karyn told her.
She steadied herself, expecting some kind of medical examination.
Madeleine waited until the office had fallen completely silent before reaching into the inside pocket of her jacket.
Jon watched her hand disappear into the dark fabric.
When it emerged, a gold chain slipped gently over her fingers.
It was the necklace that had somehow brought them there.
But how did Madeleine get hold of it? Jon wondered.
It rested in her palms, its polished links catching the warm glow of the desk lamp. At its centre sat the familiar deep-red stone, modest in size and almost disappointingly ordinary.
Jon’s voice was barely more than a whisper. “Where did you find it?”
“Find what?” Karyn asked.
Madeleine looked at Jon.
“You recognise it?” she asked, her French accent still audible in the careful English words.
“Recognise what?” Karyn demanded.
For a moment, she wondered whether the two people in front of her—the only two people who offered any hope of getting her and Jon home—were playing some kind of sick joke on her.
“It’s the Necklace of Infinite Possibilities. At least, that’s what the man in the shop called it,” Jon told Madeleine.
He decided that the time for secrets between them had passed. If they were going to work together to return everyone to where they belonged, Madeleine needed to know everything.
“What? I haven’t seen that thing since we arrived here,” Karyn said, staring at Madeleine’s hands.
Without warning, Madeleine placed the necklace into Jon's hands.
The chain slid gently into his palms, and he felt the cool metal against his skin as his fingers instinctively closed around it.
Across the room, Karyn watched the exchange with growing uncertainty.
“What is it?” Jon asked when he noticed the troubled expression on her face.
“Open your hands,” Karyn said, her voice carrying an urgency Jon could not remember ever hearing before.
“Okay.” He slowly opened his hands exactly as she had asked.
“Jon... your hands are empty. There’s nothing there.” Her voice trembled.
“Stop joking, Karyn. I’m holding it. The necklace—the one we got from that little shop in the shopping centre just before all of this started.”
“No…” Karyn slowly shook her head.
She looked genuinely frightened.
Jon turned towards Madeleine. “Why can't she see it?” he asked.
Madeleine remained remarkably calm, clearly trying not to distress Karyn any further.
“Tell me exactly what you can see,” she asked.
“His empty hands,” Karyn answered immediately. “That's all. There's nothing else.”
“Ah…” The single quiet word seemed to carry the weight of a thousand others.
“What is going on?” Jon asked, feeling a cold knot tighten in his stomach.
“I was told zat ze necklace is somehow connected to ze Door, and zat those who cannot see ze Door also cannot see ze necklace,” Madeleine explained carefully.
“I don't understand,” Karyn replied, frowning. “I could see the Door. That's how I got here in the first place.”
“Yes, you could. But when you arrived, you were not paused, were you?”
“I already told you I wasn't.” Karyn struggled to keep her temper under control. “I don't see what that has to do with this necklace thing—or why I can't see it now when I could before.”
“It has everyzing to do wiz it,” Madeleine replied gently.
She paused, obviously searching for a way to explain something that, to her, seemed almost self-evident.
Sensing the beginning of an argument between the two women, Jon stepped in before either could continue.
“Could you please explain what's happening, Madeleine?”
Madeleine gave him a grateful smile before beginning again.
“All I know is zis.
Those who pause cannot see ze Door because zey are paused when it arrives. And those who pause also cannot see ze necklace.
Zat is why I was able to pick it up from where it had fallen after you collided wiz Simone.”
She stopped speaking and looked towards Karyn.
For several long moments, Karyn remained completely silent. She felt a heavy sinking sensation growing in the pit of her stomach. Slowly, she nodded for Madeleine to continue.
“I think whatever is behind all of zis is trying to…” Madeleine paused, searching briefly for the correct English word. “réparer.” (repair) “…what it believes is wrong.”
She paused again before continuing. “Yes... ...and I do not believe it thinks you are wrong any longer.” Madeleine looked directly at Karyn for the first time since she had returned from the dressing room.
“What?” It was Jon who spoke first, almost leaping from his chair.
“It is only a…” Madeleine hesitated once more. “théorie.” (theory.) “…at ze moment.”
“But it fits the facts.” Silence filled the office. Karyn stared blankly at the floor for several seconds before quietly speaking.
“So... whatever—or whoever—is behind all this…” She swallowed. “…thinks that I really am a French burlesque performer from 1956.” Her voice had become little more than a whisper.
Jon had known Karyn for years.
He had seen her angry.
He had seen her embarrassed.
He had seen her upset.
He had even seen her frightened.
But he had never heard her sound so utterly defeated.
