Chapter 2

A few weeks had passed since His first observation of Madame Duprey that one day. The young man he had seen on the stage giving instructions he now understood was her assistant. His name was Gautier, and he was very attentative in following her instructions. Sometimes she would give direction herself during their warm-up routine, other times Gautier would busily weave in and out of the cast singing out loud some of the scales to help them. Madame clearly used him to sing, though sometimes she would use the piano to demonstrate some of the melodies when they began to practice any actual songs.

The cast, though still inexperienced, was coming along quite well. In fact, several of them were beginning to be obvious selections for various leads in the upcoming production.

The most prominent of these potential singers was a rather young man by the name of Justine who had a very powerful, but controlled voice. He was also the most handsome of any of the men in the cast. With blonde hair, he was tall with broad shoulders. His chin was perfectly chiseled and his white smile was quick to catch the attention of the other women in the cast. In fact, he observed that the only problem with Justine was the obvious arrogance that he constantly displayed. But even this wasn't a complete flaw as Justine seemed to recognize this and had a way of almost making fun of him, a quality that offset some of his comments.

However, it was evident that Justine had absolute respect for Madame Duprey. Whenever she critiqued his acting or singing, Justine became very serious and worked hard to please her, something not very easy to do. Peering from behind the balcony curtain, He knew Justine had grown a great deal of confidence with his voice due to her. She was just as praising as she was challenging to the cast.

In the beginning days of rehearsal, Justine had his first encounter with Madame Duprey as he had made some sarcastic remarks about the scales that they continually practiced. Practicing scales was very boring to him and his frustration had been growing until finally he couldn't stand it.

"Perhaps Gautier, you will give us something even more thrilling than the last few scales to practice. Maybe we can even walk continuously in circles to see if we can start practicing our acting in the same boring way," Justine said mockingly.

Gautier wasn't quite sure how to react to this defiance of his instructions, and the rest of the cast watched anxiously to see what would happen. But Gautier didn't need to respond. Madame Duprey had heard Justine and came up right behind him. He nearly jumped out of his skin when she spoke as he obviously he didn't know she was standing there.

"Then perhaps, Justine," she said in a low tone, "you can demonstrate for the rest of the cast your talent with the upper range of the scale we just practiced. In fact, as you have obviously mastered that range, you can lead them in the rest of our warm up time," she said looking up at him. Madame Duprey's petite size did not appear to intimidate her standing before him as he towered over her.

Justine was obviously still flustered and somewhat embarrassed that he had been heard by her with his remarks to Gautier. He eyes looked down at the stage.

"Well?" Madame Duprey asked.

"I cannot," he said. "In fact, I admit that while I can hit the notes, they are so soft that the rest of the cast would not be able to hear me. Though they may see my big head quite clearly," he added jokingly.

Sitting and watching this exchange, he was taken aback that Justine had just admitted such a weakness despite his arrogant personality. But he had openly and willingly stated this before everyone. It was at that moment that he realized that Justine, despite his irritating behavior, knew when to acknowledge his mistakes. And learn. But at first, this didn't seem to be enough for Madame to demonstrate any forgiveness.

"If you can hit the notes, then you can sing them out loud," Madame Duprey said tilting her head slightly up at him.

"Now?" he asked.

"Or you can demonstrate your acting talent by walking in circles as you suggested. That is, if you want to remain in the cast," she said still looking at him.

Justine took a deep breath. She was serious. Realizing he had to face the task before him or walk in circles, he began to sing the scale slowly to the upper register. He was right, the higher his notes climbed, the less audible he was.

Madame Duprey walked directly behind him again and wrapped her arms around his stomach, her hands clasped together in a fist. This was obviously quite a shock to Justine as he stiffened and stopped singing. She tilted her head around and upward to Justine, so she could see him.

"Sing," she said.

Justine hesitated for a moment, his face looking bewildered, not sure how he should be reacting to her touch. He started to sing the scale again, but this time as his notes grew higher, it also became louder and he was able to hold each note longer. She was pressing on his stomach with her fist. Apparently it was rather hard as he even winced slightly. But it worked. The entire cast murmured as his singing had grown louder. He stopped singing and she released him, walking around in front of him.

"When I pressed in against you, you naturally pushed back harder, yes?"

He nodded.

If you breathe properly as we have been trying to practice, you will naturally develop those muscles. The harder you push with your muscles and not your vocal chords, you will master the notes more firmly, being able to hold them longer. You will find you can sing any note more loudly, but also with control," She looked at the rest of the chorus. "I expect all of you to practice this continually. Rehearsal does not end when you leave the theater," she said looking at all of them.

It was one of many lessons she would teach them in the coming weeks. It was apparent that their respect for her was growing. They worked hard, most even showing up quite early before rehearsal started so they could spend individual time with her to improve.

They were beginning to work on a number of songs in the production. As He suspected, Madame Duprey did in fact select Justine for the lead. Despite this, not many of the other men were jealous of Madame's selection. They observed quite often that she was harder on him more than anyone else. But he always took it in stride, never letting his spirits dampen. In addition to his smiling, Justine liked to laugh and make others laugh as well. He seemed well aware of his good looks that caught the attention of the women. However, Justine quickly gained the respect of his fellow male peers as he always took a step back when any woman would approach to talk when he was with another man or in a group. He always let the others take more of a lead, giving them the opportunity for the increased attention. But it was also clear that he could have any woman he wanted.

From behind the curtain in Box 5, He turned his attention to the other man standing near Gautier. If Justine was the lead male star in the cast, the next would be Andre. In fact, if Justine was not around, it was clear that Andre would be the choice for any leading role. While his voice was as not as strong in tone as Justine, Andre had quite a bit of natural talent. He could read music and enjoyed helping others practice, even during breaks. He was also fairly good looking, in fact similar to Justine but with dark hair and not as tall. He displayed a subdued confidence that carried him and quite easily gave the appearance of strength.

Over the past few weeks Andre and Justine became fast friends. The two of them were quite the pair together, displaying quite a bit of teasing to fellow cast members, even playing a number of jokes on the unsuspecting. Only when Madame Duprey approached, would they quickly become more serious, especially during the rehearsal of the songs they were learning. Despite their humorous nature, both were quite dedicated and truly enjoyed music. The more time spent with Madame Duprey, the more passionate they became during their singing and acting of the scenes.

Not that Madame Duprey minded their antics all the time. Despite her constant portrayal of professionalism, there were times He caught her smiling and shaking her head upon hearing various bantering between the two. They gave each other a jokingly harder time than anyone else, and she seemed quite amused at times when she heard them as she approached or walked away. Eventually they began to even do this directly in front of her, though she would only tolerate the commotion to a certain extent. Still, despite her seriousness, it appeared that Justine and Andre had unveiled a softer side to her personality, something that still seemed quite private.

They were taking a break in the rehearsal at the moment, and he observed three other men join Andre and Justine. One went by the name of Dion who was rather soft spoken and almost always gentleman-like. He was always extremely polite and rather shy, typically hesitant to be in any spotlight. Dion was rather ordinary looking and had nothing striking that would set him apart. But he was obviously there as he enjoyed music. In fact Dion often observed the orchestra intently as they practiced, sometimes even shutting his eyes during particular parts of the music.

The second man, named Armond, was learning against a wall chatting continuously. He was a shorter man, robust in size with a rather deep voice that Madame Duprey sought out many times when the chorus sang. His voice, when used properly, brought balance to many of the songs.

The third man, who was called Maurice, seemed to always follow along with the others. Like Dion, he was also fairly quiet, but when asked to give his opinion, he did not hesitate. He seemed fairly creative in his thinking, often thinking of new ideas to add to the production that sometimes Madame Duprey would use. Sometimes it was the placement of props or even finding the right look for the scene.

There were various other men aside from those in the chorus that were backstage workers, often assisting in the mechanics of the sets and other necessities. But there was one very short, small man that stood out. His name was Philippe, who was actually Maurice's younger brother. One may even think he was a midget with his size, yet he had the normal body proportions for his physique. Of all the people in the Company, he was indeed the most withdrawn.

Phillip's creative work was introduced to Madame Duprey one day after rehearsal had ended. She was having particular problems with the right look and feel of the sets. Monsieur Garier, of course, did not feel it was necessary to hire an artist when the Opera House had numerous backgrounds and structures such as backdrops, small houses, walls, and such that could be used. However many of these had not been used for some time and were old and faded. Despite the work the backstage assistants were providing to revitalize these items, it was still one of the largest concerns for Madame Duprey.

Maurice, who had tried to help with a number of ideas, approached her after a rehearsal, almost reluctantly which was not in his nature when it came to giving his opinion so freely. He observed Maurice giving Madame a fairly large book, then realized it was various sketches and other art. She looked fairly impressed, and He thought that perhaps Maurice was showing her some of his personal artistic work.

But the next day during one of the breaks, Maurice approached her with Philippe. She seemed to be expecting a meeting with someone, though was a bit surprised when introduced to Philippe most likely from his peculiar mannerisms. Philippe was so painfully shy that he constantly had his head down, rarely making eye contact with anyone, especially Madame Duprey. He always appeared quite nervous, glancing around him constantly and moving away when anyone approached. But Maurice that day was practically pushing him in front of Madame Duprey who was watching him with some interest.

Philippe had another large leather bound book in his hands, but when she asked to see it, he didn't respond. Maurice rolled his eyes and grabbed it from him, then gave it to her. She looked hesitantly at Maurice, but opened the book.

Now, it was already said that Madame Duprey would occasionally smile or carry a certain look of amusement on her face at times such as with Andre and Justine's antics. But for the first time, he saw her face light up with a particular happy smile that day as she looked closely at the various papers inside the book. She obviously liked what she saw and looked at Philippe.

"You did all this last night? All these sketches of the various sets?"

He nodded, not looking at her.

"And you think you can transform these into the backdrops we need in time?"

Again, he nodded, looking at the floor.

"You can speak freely to me," she said tilting her head while looking at him. "Your opinion would be much appreciated. In fact, I am very impressed with your artistic ability and would like to know some of your thoughts." She was always encouraging opinions it seemed from the cast. Perhaps because given so little time with the preparation of the upcoming production, Madame Duprey truly appreciated any help she could receive, even if she disagreed.

But Philippe just stood there, still looking at the floor.

"I apologize," Maurice said. "He is….," his voice trailed off for a moment and now it was him that looked around briefly to see if anyone was listening, "He is a mute," Maurice said, his eyes also looking at the floor now.

Apparently there were in fact some of the other cast members watching this exchange and heard this. Some were already whispering to each other, no doubt commenting on Phillip's appearance. One of those who heard was Justine, who suddenly stepped forward.

"Now how is he going to help us in creating the sets when he can't speak? He has to work in communicating with a number of people. In fact, do you need to watch over him continually?"

Maurice looked up at Justine. "He is fairly good at doing a number of things himself without help." Clearly he had defended his brother before with comments such as this.

"Fairly good? How much help does he need?" asked Justine eyeing Philippe who was clearly uncomfortable now with this discussion. He was shifting his weight from side to side, his eyes now glancing around even more.

Ever so the pair, Andre joined in. "We really do not have a lot of time to be helping with a…..um, well, someone who needs help," he finished reluctantly.

Madame Duprey's smile had disappeared now, the serious look on face had returned. Her gaze turned to Justine and Andre.

"Just because he is mute, does not mean he is unable do the job. If I were to judge anyone by strictly their external looks or first impression, you can be sure both of you would have had to work much harder in convincing me that either of you were at all serious about even being here."

Now Andre and Justine both looked at the floor at the same time.

Madame Duprey returned her gaze at Philippe who had very briefly glanced up at her for the first time when he heard her criticize Justine and Andre's comments.

"You only have six weeks," she said. "I expect to see your progress at the end of each day. So you will need to see me after each rehearsal. Understood?"

He nodded.

"Good. Then let us get back to rehearsal. We do not have much time." She strode off toward the conductor who was just returning.

This exchange he had witnessed was oddly intriguing to him. He had started coming to rehearsals more each day, watching their progress, but not really getting to know anything about Madame Duprey other than her style of direction. And what a different style it was. She was very straight forward in her thoughts and critique. The cast never needed to guess what she was thinking. She told them, openly and honestly. And she expected the same in return from them if they did not like something in particular or were feeling uncomfortable in a particular song or acting. Though he recognized again that she was a mature woman, he was impressed with the fact that she was still fairly young in her age to know so much about directing a production.

But after a few weeks of observing Madame Duprey, he still knew very little about her. She rarely seemed to have discussions or be seen with anyone outside the Company, other than Monsieur Garier, in which she always became deeply silent. In fact, she appeared actually very submissive when around him.

She rarely left the Opera House, being given the suite housed within to stay. Though this was purely out of a cost savings to Monsieur Garier, it was very convenient to her as she spent most of her time in the theater or the Music Room. In fact, He had observed that she usually worked well into the night.

Not that he had been watching her all the time. But he had become used to roaming the Opera House freely when he wanted to at night up until now. Like her, he didn't sleep very much and was often up late. But now with her staying in the Opera House, he rarely took the chance to go beyond the secret passageways. He sometimes would check to make sure she was in the Music Room if he needed for any reason to go outside his realm into the open. But he made sure his visits to any of the rooms were brief, wary of the possibility of her leaving the Music Room and seeing him.

When he did observe her, she was always working on transposing music or re-writing some of the scenes. Given the limitations she had to work with, she often re-created and changed difficult areas that an inexperienced cast could not master. Yet she still managed to keep to the overall feel of the production. She even actually enhanced parts of it in his opinion.

However, she was beginning to show signs of fatigue, sometimes rubbing her eyes quite often he observed. She also often rubbed her neck that most likely was sore from her standing all day, then sitting writing at the piano at night. He also suspected that she couldn't help herself and was even working in her suite when she should be sleeping, though he did not venture to find out. He had the means to actually observe Madame Duprey in her suite through another large mirror. But he refrained from doing so despite his arising curiosity about her. While it was true that his past was sinister, he was still a gentleman in the respect of privacy for someone, especially her. She was someone he was starting to recognize and appreciate in her directing skills as time went by.

But as for any other personal feelings or thoughts, he still did not know her very well. He had overheard various conversations from the rest of the cast about their families or other about their past experiences in life. But with Madame Duprey, there were no clues to her history or personal life experiences.

The conversation with Philippe was perhaps the first real insight she had given to her personal feelings about someone who was not accepted in the eyes of society. Perhaps this was because she too, was somewhat of a fascination for people. Already he had caught a glimpse of a newspaper that was reporting something on the restoration of the Opera House and making special mention of the fact that Monsieur Garier had hired a female director. The reporter strongly relayed facts that only males were worthy of such a position and Monsieur Garier was reckless in his selection. It was the reaction Monsieur Garier exactly needed for such publicity in the re-opening of the Opera House.

Turning his attention back to the current rehearsal, he glanced at the women scattered around the stage. Most were in deep conversation. With the exception of Madame Duprey, if there was one thing he had quickly learned about women, it was that their conversation was almost always about the latest rumor or gossip being heard. They were quick to give their personal opinions on any such issues, but they especially seemed to frequently discuss any recent development with relationships from prominent society members outside the Company. But he rarely listened to such conversations as most of their chattering rather annoyed him. Perhaps it was because it was obvious that none of them knew the truth. So why bother discussing it?

As far as soloists from the women, there were only a few. Most were made more for chorus singing. However one girl generally sang most of the leading female parts. Her name was Julia. She had blonde hair that was always put up neatly, and her face was young with rosy cheeks. It was clear that she came from most likely an upper class family based on her dress and neatness of appearance. Julia was quite inexperienced in the Opera world however, and generally looked to Madame Duprey for guidance. Her voice was fair and pleasant in tone, though it lacked the intensity of a more mature voice as she was extremely young. She also could not yet fully reach some of the upper registers and Madame had rewritten some of the songs to accommodate this fact. Julia had much still to learn and improve.

He criticized himself as he should give any such young singer a chance at stardom. Certainly not long ago he had done the same for a peasant girl who knew nothing about the world of Opera. But unfortunately, he knew none would ever compare.

Aside from Julia there were a variety of other girls, many also with blonde hair. Though fortunately most of them seem to be able to carry a tune, it was obvious why they had been selected. In addition there was a small group of ballet dancers among them that were also part of the chorus. Again, Monsieur Garier must have figured this was more cost efficient than paying for an entire separate group of dancers only to be in a few scenes.

Still, he continued to be impressed with how Madame Duprey worked with what she had. When they came upon the creation of one of the ballet scenes, she once again used her creativity to work with so little.

"Did you used to be a dancer or an instructor?" he heard one of the girls ask Madame as they stood in a small line on the stage as she had instructed.

Madame Duprey smiled at her. "Most definitely not," came her reply.

"But how are we to choreograph the scene?" asked another.

"With music of course," Madame Duprey replied.

"What?"

"With the feel of the music," Madame Duprey said, looking determined to remain patient.

The girls looked at each other. Then Madame Duprey instructed the conductor to begin playing the music to the scene. She returned to the line of girls and told them they needed to continue with their warm up exercises with the music playing.

Although this seemed like a strange request, the dancers carried out her request on the stage. Before long, many of them were performing moves in time with the music. Madame Duprey stood with Gautier intensely watching all the girls, whispering to him and pointing out particular girls in certain moments of the song. She made the dancers and the orchestra repeat this exercise several more times.

When Madame Duprey finally said they were finished, the dancers seem relieved, as their feet were already feeling quite sore. Many of them were murmuring to each other in worry if this was the warm-up, how exhausting would the real dancing be?

But Madame Duprey was quite done with the dancers for now, and she told them they would work again on the dance number tomorrow. While they looked confused, the girls were happy enough that they could return to singing in the chorus giving their feet a rest.

The following day Madame Duprey had a list of particular ballet moves she gave the dancers. It was interesting to him that she knew such ballet terminology for someone who was not a dancer or an instructor. And it worked. Before long, the dancers had put in order the moves she had given. When they practiced with music, the movements seem to fit quite well. While the dance scene was in no way complicated, he was impressed. The dancers truly felt the music with what Madame Duprey had put together from her observations of their movements the day before.

Weeks passed, and the time of the debut was drawing near. The Company had come quite far in this short amount of time. While some scenes still needed more work, they had managed to make it through the entire show quite well. Justine's voice was continually improving now even more dramatically to the point he would definitely be seen as the star of the show, more so than Julia when it was more the norm for a woman to lead with the recognition of an audience. Although Julia could still hold her own as she had improved a great deal and was even beginning to sound a bit more confident in her singing.

Perhaps the most intriguing part of the production was the vivid sets that had been put together. Philippe had created some beautiful backdrops and had used his innovative mind to come up with interesting ways to make sets look very realistic. One of the scenes changed from night to early morning. Philippe had done an excellent job of figuring out a way to add lights for the stars and slowly fading them into the background with stage lighting transforming into a beautiful backdrop of the early morning with colors that were breathtaking. He had managed to pull all of this off in an enormously quick amount of time, often staying throughout the night working.

Those who worked with Phillipe had figured out various ways to communicate with him including signs and writing down conversations. While he still was extremely timid and kept to himself, the Company had come to have a great deal of respect for his talent.

Madame Duprey was working harder than ever before. With little time left, she made good use of every hour she could. He often wondered when she even ever ate or slept, rarely seeing her take any break from the stage and still working late into the night within the Music Room.

Monsieur Garier had only visited a few times since she started to direct. His main concern was, as always, the "look" of things. If there was one thing he did spend money on, it was the glamour and appearance of anything he could find that would draw attention. At least the costumes were something Madame Duprey did not have to worry much about as he had hired a costume designing staff that ensured only the best materials were used.

Today, however, Monsieur Garier was visiting the Opera House and observing the dress rehearsal Madame Duprey was working on. He seemed quite satisfied, especially upon seeing some of the eye catching special effects of the sets Philippe had created. He had beckoned her to follow him back to the Music Room.

Hiding in the balcony, he simply could not help himself and had to follow so he could listen to the conversation. He was truly intrigued with every aspect of the production now. Monsieur Garier was probably the only major challenge that faced Madame Duprey. She always changed in her demeanor around him, continuing to remain very silent and answering any questions quickly, giving no opinion, something not like her in nature. Although she did not let it show on her face, he took this change as meaning that Monsieur Garier was in fact someone who intimidated her. If so, he was certainly the only one that seemed to have this affect upon her.

She had no patience even for any of Monsieur Garier's staff that continually followed him everywhere on his visits. She was particularly annoyed when any of the staff would tell her what to do, such as requesting her to put on a different dress before he came to visit. If there was one thing he had learned about Madame Duprey, she had no interest in appearances other than the production itself. In fact, she generally paid little attention to her own appearance other than to make sure her hair was always part way up to stay out of her face. Now that he observed her for more then a few weeks, he in fact found that she never put her hair all the way up. And she always wore fairly plain dresses, although the colors she chose seemed to always be pretty, never in darker colors.

He was now in the secret corridor standing behind one of the mirrors in the Music Room. He watched as Monsieur Garier strode into the room. Behind him was Madame Duprey, slowly following him with her arms behind her back, looking down as usual.

"Things seem to be going well," Monsieur said looking at her.

She nodded, saying nothing.

"You will be ready in time for the performance Friday evening then?" he asked frowning at her lack of response.

Again, she nodded adding no comments.

Monsieur Garier began to circle around her, a continued habit he did with her on his visits that quite annoyed him as he watched from behind the mirror. Hadn't he observed enough of her physical appearance? Did he have to examine her in such detail each visit?

"There will of course be many prominent guests at the performance Opening Night. I expect things to go well." He stopped in front of Madame Duprey after he had completed his full examination from walking around her.

"You know there will also be a ball afterwards of course. I expect you to attend and be available as needed for introductions." Monsieur Garier suddenly frowned again. "And just exactly what are you going to wear?" he asked while looking at her intently.

Madame Duprey's looked up, her young face looking nervously at him before glancing back down.

"Good God, you have not even thought about it have you?" he asked. His voice was much louder and condescending. He apparently could not even comprehend why she would have forgotten such a thing.

"I have not had the time," she said, still looking down but now slightly frowning giving a hint of the first irritation she had ever shown to him.

"Bernadette!" Monsieur Garier shouted.

A rather older, large woman came rushing into the room. He had observed her on many occasions when Monsieur Garier came to visit and she seemed to be in charge of any other servants that attended to him.

"Yes?" she asked most eagerly.

"You will find a dress for Madame Duprey to wear for Opening Night," he said, while his eyes once again roamed over Madame Duprey disapprovingly.

"Of course Monsieur," said Bernadette in just as condescending tone with a smirk on her face while she looked at Madame Duprey.

"Make sure it fits well. A lower cut neckline or off the shoulders preferably."

"Yes," said Bernadette. "I will visit the shops tomorrow first thing in the morning."

"Make sure you buy two dresses. There is of course a show Saturday evening as well." Monsieur Garier continued to gaze at Madame Duprey before again looking at Bernadette. "And make sure you do something with that hair," he said harshly. Monsieur Garier turned and walked out of the room, with Bernadette quickly following after him.

As soon as they left, Madame Duprey let out a heavy sigh and closed her eyes for a moment. He thought she was most likely trying to control her patience under the circumstances. Of course she did not have the least bit of time to think about shopping for a dress.

This was once again a rare private moment he was witnessing with her, and he hesitated at his unknown presence. He should leave.

But before he could, she opened her eyes and slowly looked up toward the mirror he was standing behind. She began to walk towards him, her hands still behind her back. He knew she could not possibly see him, but he became quite concerned as she approached so directly in front of him. He held his breath for a moment.

However, Madame Duprey turned slightly and walked up to the mirror on her left. He watched as she suddenly raised her hands to her hair. Gathering it firmly, she rolled it up and held it above her head in a similar style most of the women wore. She looked quite different this way. She still looked pretty of course, but this style of hair did not seem to somehow fit with her appearance, or at least in his opinion.

She turned her head slowly, looking at herself in the mirror. But then she frowned and released her hair, letting it tumble back down below her shoulders. She looked down, her hands playing with the ends of her curls.

Was she suddenly thinking that perhaps Monsieur was right in his words? She was suddenly taking an interest in her appearance, though obviously not liking what she was seeing.

He backed away from the mirror, wanting to leave quietly. But while stepping backwards, one of his feet hit a floorboard that made a noise. He winced, closing his eyes for a quick moment. Of all moments, this was not an opportune time to be heard.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Madame Duprey had turned her head sharply toward his mirror at the sound, dropping her hands from her hair. She took a step toward the mirror hesitantly. The sound had clearly made her a bit nervous. Perhaps for the first time she realized that the Opera House had an eerie silence, and this sound was not usual. It seemed to scare her and she glanced questioningly up and down the mirror. But after a few moments she turned and walked away, once again sitting at the piano with her hands resting on the keys.

He was quite relieved at this, though he knew most likely she wouldn't find out about him. The mirror only opened in a secret way he knew and it was not likely she or anyone would figure that out. But he also truly did not want to make her feel frightened. He now wanted her to continue working and living there. He had not only come to enjoy the rehearsals as part of his daily routine, but almost found her constant presence in the Opera House somewhat of a comfort. This was strange, he thought to himself. While he had been content with being alone, he now found himself rather liking her around, knowing she was always there.

Ridiculous, he thought to himself. It wasn't as if she was talking to him or even staying there for his companionship. He turned very carefully this time, and walked silently down the corridor.

Then he heard the piano. She was playing a quiet, pleasant song that he sometimes heard during her late nights. It was soothing music, actually having a calming affect on him when he heard it. He suspected it relaxed her as well.

He sighed heavily, wondering why he was once again being caught up in the world of a woman, though he did not feel the same way about her as he had with Christine. His heart would never be the same after what had happened, although at least he had seemed to come to terms and acceptance with Christine's choice.

Still, Madame Duprey continued to intrigue him, and he found himself thinking about her more often than ever before, always curious as to what she would do next with the production. He never seemed to be able to predict anything about her.

He continued down the steps to the depths below, back into the seclusion of the darkness.