Meg takes a chance
Meg moved quietly on her way up to the Aerie. She was not sure what would happen if she was detected, so she kept in the shadows and looked around her. She had not been here in Mr Y's private domains for a long time, and when she had, it was always together with her mother. She made her way to his study, and she knew his bedroom was just behind it.
"He", the Phantom, Erik – the man whom she and her mother had rescued from the mob and from the police in Paris and smuggled to America, the man who now was highly esteemed as a manager within show business. His success had made him forget his rescuers..
Meg had tried to get his attention, in vain. The more successful he became the more elegant he became too. He fascinated her and attracted her, she had seen his deformity and it didn't scare her. She wanted him to see her, perhaps even court her. To touch her.. When other men touched her, sometimes, a thing she didn't like but suffered for the sake of earning money for the business, she always imagined it was him touching her.
She knew he dreamed about Christine and that he had a manikin of her in his room, and she knew he composed songs for her. And now Christine was here, with her husband and son. Mr Y wanted her to sing his song, of course, and Raoul did not want it. Meg knew they all had met during the day. If she herself would stand a chance she had to act now, before it was too late. No more hesitation! She had to fight.
She managed to sneak into the study, where the door to the balcony was slightly open to the night air. The door to the bedroom was partly open too. There was a faint light in the room, and she could hear music. It was he, Erik, who sang for himself. She looked into the room.
At the foot end of the bed stood the manikin. In the semidarkness you could almost take it for a real woman. Erik stood at its side, caressing its arm. Then he pressed himself against it, touching the dress and singing into its ear. He was dressed in a grey shirt with an open collar, a black waistcoat and black trousers. He almost seemed attracted to the manikin and Meg wondered if he was going to make love to it.
Meg was dressed in one of the dresses from her bathing beauty show, décolleté and leaving her shoulders bare. The skirt was rather long. Her long blond hair lay over her shoulders, and she knew she looked good. She moved slowly, and he noticed he was not alone.
"Isn't it better to love a real woman than a doll?" she said in a low voice. He took a step back, taken by surprise. Suddenly she feared that he would have a rage, and said hastily "Please don't be ashamed. I know all about unhappy love. I know all about longing." She had to take advantage of the situation. She could see from his body that he was still aroused. With a few steps she went up to him and laid her hand against his body. "Please let me have you" she whispered. "I am a warm, living woman."
He drew away from her. "How dare you touch me!" he hissed. She followed, took his hands and laid them against her breasts. "I'm desperate" she said. "This is my last chance, then you will not see me at all." He did not remove his hands and she felt them slightly touch her. Then his expression changed.
"If you promise me never to use this against me, never say that I promised you anything, you can have your way, once. Then I will use you as you use me. You will experience my mercilessness." He laid his hand against her throat. She removed his mask, then she caressed the deformed part of his face. They kissed fervently.
He thought he was violent, but she was as eager as he was, and their meeting was intense. He was desperate, not having made love for ten years, and she experienced him with all her body, knowing this was probably the only time. They were both exhausted afterwards.
"You could love me, couldn't you?" she asked. He hid his face in his hands. "No" he said. "I have betrayed the woman I love." – "But your love is only platonic, is it not? You have the music together. She is married and loves Raoul."- "No, she loves me. And I betrayed her." – "You just make love to her manikin." He smiled. "No, we have loved once. In Paris, ten years ago. It was marvelous. I can only dream that it will happen again."
He seemed lost in memories. She looked at him with tenderness. Then he looked at her. "Now you must go. Be sure nobody will see you leave. This will not happen again." He rose from the bed. She did the same, slowly, then put on her dress and her shoes. Then she looked at him, almost shyly. "I'm grateful" she said. "I will tell no-one, but I will remember. Whatever you say, this must have meant something to you. I will come back, in some way."