A/N: I meant to mention before that in most of the chapters there will be a line inspired by or taken directly from POTO and LND. and will not lean as heavily on the actual songs like An English Rose.
And the tale continues...
New York
December, 1876
Freshly fallen snow sparkled in the sunlight. On the outer edge of New York City, a black carriage was alone in going through the snow, making the first tracks in the snow, though several people were walking on the sidewalks. Inside the carriage, under several blankets, two fashionable young ladies were looking out their respective windows at the slowly passing buildings.
"Are you absolutely sure this is where we should be?" the fair haired of the two asked, glancing over at her companion. "This seems to be a very people filled area for a wanted fugitive to be living."
"Jane Martin! Are you trying to infer that I could have possibly have guessed wrong in this?" the dark haired beauty asked in astonishment, turning to face her cousin. "We are going in exactly the direction we should be, if our driver is to be believed! Katherine would hardly become a hermit now, would she? In a place where there is enough privacy but still among people is exactly the kind of neighborhood I would expect to find her."
Shaking her head, Jane Martin looked back out the window. "We should have at least sent a message ahead," she said. "Katherine may know that your parents were bringing us with them to America, but after two years apart, simply dropping on top of her out of nowhere might not be the proper thing to do."
"Proper thing to do?" Michaela D'Arcy mocked with a laugh. "Who cares for proper? It will be like old times!"
Jane chuckled. "Old times, cousin?" she repeated. "How many times did we do this to Katherine in Paris? About twice, as far as I can remember."
"You see? It was practically a habit! And I'm sure it was a few more times than that."
Her eyes catching sight of a wall like row of trees, Jane leaned forward for a better look. "Oh, look," she said. "I think there's a house in there."
Quickly, Michaela leaned across Jane to see for herself. "Ha!" she cried in victory. "I told you we would find Rose Lodge! And just think, if we'd tried to send a message, it might never have gotten through this snow!"
Just barely keeping from rolling her eyes, Jane pushed her cousin away. The carriage rolled past a wrought iron gate, and then, as they drew closer, a large white house could be seen in more detail. It was surrounded by large oak trees, and thick bushes very nearly hide the windows.
"Its perfect!" Jane breathed, noting the black shutters that hung on every window and the intricate wood work that added that little note of interest to the house.
Two dark skinned servants were hard at work, clearing the snow from the walk and up to the stables. The carriage pulled right up to the front door, and Michaela pushed the door open, not waiting for the driver to do so. "Its beautiful!" she declared, stepping out to the ground. She stood in one spot, staring up at the house. "It fits Katherine exactly!"
"Michaela, I need to get out to," Jane reminded patiently. She prodded her cousin's shoulder with her finger. "Step ahead or to the side, please."
"Miss, is there something I can help you with?" one of the men working asked, his tone suspicious.
As she stepped ahead to let Jane out, Michaela smiled brightly at the man. "No, thank you," she said cheerfully. She realized then that both of the men had stopped working and were eyeing them with open suspicion. "We are precisely where we need to be."
Lifting the edge of her scarlet red dress, she hurried for the door with Jane on her heels. "I have the feeling that Katherine doesn't get many visitors here," the fair haired young lady commented in a low voice. "We should have sent a note, Michaela!"
"Nonsense!" Michaela responded with a wave of her hand. She gave the bell a strong tug and then rubbed her gloved hands together. "I wonder if its normally this cold here. Savannah was nothing like this!"
The front door was pulled open and the cousins were faced with a stern faced, dark skinned butler. "Yes? May I help you?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow. With an effort, Jane forced herself not to stare at his missing left arm.
"I am Miss Michaela D'Arcy, and this is my cousin Miss Jane Martin," Michaela responded, unfazed by the man's gruff demeanor. "We are here to see Mrs. Ombra."
At the name, the butler looked even more skeptical. But, before he could say a word, a voice called, "Abraham? Who is it?"
"Katherine!" Michaela exclaimed, recognizing the voice of her dear friend.
Abraham stepped back and to the side, allowing the cousins to step into the foyer. Standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs, Katherine Ombra, nee Hemway, began to laugh. She hurried forward, her dark blue gown sweeping across the floor. "Michaela! Jane! Can it really be you?" she said, holding her hands out. "What on earth are you doing here?"
Laughing, Michaela bounced forward. She clasped Katherine's hands in hers. "Its been nearly two years, you silly thing!" she announced. She threw her arms around the other woman. "Letters only do so much, you know."
"That's because you never write back consistently," Katherine responded, closing her eyes as she returned the embrace. "I can't believe you are here!"
"What Michaela really means to say is that she was been insufferably bored, and her parents couldn't stand her any longer," Jane clarified with a smile. In a rare display of impulsiveness, the blonde put her arms around both her cousin and her friend. "We've missed you so much, Katherine! Paris is not the same without you."
They stood like that for nearly a minute, each one ignoring the fact that they were all tearing up. The moment was interrupted by a woman clearing her throat. "May I take your hats and coats?" the familiar maid asked, a calm smile on her face.
"Anne!" Michaela exclaimed. "Did Katherine drag you across the ocean too?"
"Drag?" Katherine repeated, brushing at her eyes. "I will have you know that I did not drag anyone, Michaela D'Arcy! And if those are going to be the kinds of stories you'll be telling, you can just get back in your carriage and go back where you came from!"
The maid failed to hide her smile at that. "I'll have tea brought to your sitting room, ma'am," Abraham announced, his tone dignified as Anne helped the two visitors out of their warm clothing.
"Thank you, Abraham," Katherine said with a smile. "Michaela, Jane. Follow me."
Up the stairs and along a well lit hallway, Katherine led her friends to a very charming sitting room. It was a light yellow in color, with white curtains at the window. A fire blazed in the fireplace, and Katherine took a seat in one of the chairs in front of the warmth. She gestured for her friends to do the same.
"You both look exactly as I remembered," Katherine said, smiling at her friends. "But...what are you doing in America?"
"Surely you must have gotten one of my letters,"Jane exclaimed in astonishment. "I've sent several letters, telling you that we would be coming to your new country soon. Michaela's father had business in Savannah and New York City that he needed to attend to, and he agreed to let us come along. Well, it took Michaela months of begging to wear him down."
Michaela made a face. "She exaggerates," she said, her tone teasing. "And, as we would be in the same country, of course we had to come see you! I tried to convince your father that he needed to join our expedition, but he felt that there would be too much danger in doing so. But, we can take him back news of you, so that will be good."
Katherine frowned. "I haven't had a letter from either of you in several months."
The light tone of the conversation vanished. "Months?" Jane repeated. "I've sent at least half a dozen of them in that time! Why, Michaela even put pen to paper once or twice!"
"How many of my letters have you received?"
The cousins exchanged looks. "In the past six months?" Michaela said slowly. "None."
Her face going pale, Katherine took a deep breath. Her right hand moved to cover the gold ring that was on her left hand. "You mustn't worry!" Jane said swiftly. "You know how unreliable the mail is between countries!"
"Yes, of course," Katherine responded, forcing a smile. "I've complained to Erik about it all the time."
"It is because of the unreliability of the mail this past year that your father charged us to bring you a message," Jane informed her. "He's coming to see you. He'll arrive the end of March. And he'll be leaving your mother in Paris."
Astonished, Katherine stared at her. "Papa is coming?" she breathed, her tone wistful. A smile curved her lips. "Oh, I've missed him so."
"I expected to be hearing music in your home, Katherine!" Michaela commented, tilting her head. "Why have a musical genius for a husband, and a young prodigy as a son, if you are not always entertained?"
Her smile fading slightly, Katherine nodded. "You would think that would be the case, but Erik made sure that his music room was completely soundproofed," she answered. "It was the only way I could get him to keep from putting his organ in the cellar."
"What a pity! I imagined he would create tunnels and secret entrance ways, just like at the opera Populaire, and I would be able to explore them."
"You know those were not of Erik's construction. And, in any event, we had some emergency tunnels built in, just in case. Eric and I felt easier with that knowledge," Katherine explained. A young maid hurried in with a full tea tray. "Thank you, Katie," the mistress of the house said, looking relieved at the interruption. She gestured for the tray to be set by her. "And thank Cook for me, too."
"Is there anything else, ma'am?" the maid asked with a slight curtsy. There was a scar on her left cheek that extended from the corner of her eye to her chin.
At Katherine's refusal, the maid hurried out. Jane frowned after the girl. "I honestly wasn't expecting quite this many servants, Katherine," she admitted. "Aren't you afraid they will betray you?"
The look Katherine cast at her was serious. "Absolutely not," she answered. "Aside from Anne, everyone who works here at Rose Lodge was once a slave in the Southern states. They have known suffering as much as Erik has. We treat them as human beings, and we have their loyalty in return. They would never betray us."
"Why must everything become so serious among us?" Michaela asked striving for a light tone. "We are together again, and isn't life a splendid thing?"
"Why must you always treat things lightly?" Jane responded, shaking her head. "Katherine, Michaela just doesn't want you to know about the plantation owner in Savannah who was trying to offer for her the entire time we were there."
"I thought we agreed we weren't going to talk about that!"
Katherine laughed as she poured the tea. "I have missed you both," she said. "And you are in time for the New Year's celebration in two evenings!"
"Celebration?" Michaela repeated, her tone intrigued. "I love a good party!"
"You go to parties alone?" Jane asked with a frown.
Shaking her head, Katherine smiled. "Certainly not! Erik escorts me," she explained simply. She laughed at their stares. "It is a masquerade, and we always leave before the unveiling at midnight. We've done it before. Last year, it went quite well. I think there are one or two people Erik would not object to speak to again."
"The phantom of the opera has friends?" Jane teased. "Who would have ever thought?"
"Certainly not you, Jane, you didn't want anything to do with him!" Michaela responded with a grin. Jane glared at her. "You must take us to his music room, Katherine! I cannot wait to hear what he has composed! I still have the music from the soiree that he and Pip wrote. Where is that little scamp anyway?"
"Pip? Oh, he's out playing in the snow somewhere," Katherine answered vaguely. "Its nearly impossible to keep him in one place these days."
Jane nodded in understanding, but Michaela had a mock glare on her face. "Don't try to ignore me, Katherine," she said sharply. "We have to say hello to Erik."
Flinching, Katherine shook her head. "It would not be wise to disturb him right now," she said. "How was my mother when you last saw her?" She smiled at her friends' shocked expressions. "I may not have been her favorite, but she is my mother. I would like to know how she is."
"Well, we haven't seen her very often," Jane admitted. "But there was a ball in September."
Several hours passed before Michaela and Jane rose to return to the city. Katherine promised she would come into the city to see them on the following day. Her arms wrapped around herself, the mistress of the house stepped out onto the porch to wave her friends on their way.
"She looks well," Jane commented as the carriage turned onto the street.
Michaela shook her head. "There's something bothering her. She wasn't herself," she declared. "Its a good thing we came, otherwise she would have no one to help her!"
"We haven't seen her in two years, cousin dear," Jane pointed out. "Why must you automatically think that she isn't herself when we don't even know what 'herself' is anymore."
"She didn't seem happy."
Jane sighed. "I know. I saw it too," she admitted. "I was hoping I was just imagining the worst."
The cousins exchanged looks and nodded. "Then its settled," Michaela said with a determined smile. "When Katherine comes to the hotel tomorrow, she'll simply have to tell us everything! Or we will not allow her leave!"
"We still have to tell her about her brother."
"I'd rather put that off as long as possible," Michaela said emphatically.
