Les belles-de-nuit; ou, les anges de la famille. tome 5

In a smoky Parisian salon of the Hôtel des Quatre Parties du Monde, four companions—Robert, Bibandier, Blaise and Lola—reconvene after a night of bitter accusations. The baron and the count sit listlessly by the fire while the Marquise d’Urgel stares at the floor, clutching a vial of salts. Their conversations crackle with guilt, jealousy and the lingering echo of a recent tragedy that has left everyone on edge.

At the centre of the turmoil is Bibandier, a nervous man whose confession about a drunken night on the Saint‑Louis river awakens old legends of the Belles‑de‑Nuit, ghostly women said to haunt the cemeteries. He speaks of two young girls, Diane and Cyprienne, who vanished under mysterious circumstances, and of a haunting “Femme‑Blanche” that seems to call them back. The atmosphere grows colder as the group wonders whether the supernatural or human treachery will decide their fate.