Chapter 10

At the same time as Christine was at the police station, Annette was considering her own position. She was very upset, at her stepmother for 'ruining her own chance at happiness with her ancient feud with Bertie's father.' When the Phantom had been an abstraction, she had sympathized with her stepmother's position, that she had once been stalked by a hideous and murderous madman who had destroyed her love; but now that she had actually met this so called madman, he did not seem in the least bit mad or murderous at all. In fact he resembled her own beloved Bertie in so many ways. It was the Comte de Chagny who was repulsive to her. She had never understood her stepmother's former attraction to him, and was starting to wonder whether she had been drawn to something else like his title. He certainly lacked the intelligence and charisma of Bertie's father, so really what could it have had been? Whatever, she would not permit her stepmother to ruin her life as well, it wasn't fair. She would find a way to be with Bertie even if it meant betraying her stepmother. In her own opinion, her stepmother had stepped outside the bounds of what she should have done by swearing out a criminal complaint against Bertie's father. She would go to Bertie and offer herself to him as his bride to be. After all she was of the age of consent. Perhaps they could elope to Gretna Green in Scotland. She had read that English novel Pride and Prejudice and remembered that one of the character's, Lydia Bennett, had done so with Wickham. Perhaps she could talk Bertie into being her 'Wickham'. Certainly once both families realized that their desperate act was a fait accompli, they would accept the marriage between them, and learn to get along with Bertie's father just like Fitzwilliam Darcy had to with Wickham. It would be romantic and once everyone saw how happy that they were they would have to accept the marriage. They could have a large church wedding later.

With that in mind, for the only the second time in her life both in the same morning, Annette defied the wishes of her stepmother and left their hotel room. She left her stepmother a note with her intentions clearly stated:

Dear Maman:

This is to let you know that I intend on eloping with Bertie. Do not try to stop us, as by the time that you stop us it will be much too late and you will only compromise my reputation in attempting to do so. I suggest that you accept it and attempt to learn to live with my new relationship with the Montgomery family including my future father in law.

With Love, Your Daughter,

Annette

Once she finished her note, she packed a small carpetbag and then she left the suite and walked downstairs. She hailed a cab and directed it back towards the de Villiers residence intending to call upon Bertie and present him with her idea.

In the meantime Christine was forced to view an unmasked Erik in his cell, where he still paced agitatedly back and forth. For a moment she almost lost her resolve, but she knew that for the sake of the public and her own safety she was convinced that she was in the right. The blood left her face as she glanced at his deformity for the first time in all of those years. Although he was unaware that she was identifying him, she felt as if somehow he knew. For a moment as she saw it she was reminded of the first time when she had slipped off his mask, and he had given her her first taste of his terrible temper. She had not known what she had expected to find under his mask but it was not the horror that she had found. In hindsight, she had handled it badly, and admittedly, she had partially set the stage for the disasters to come, but he too had reacted with equal venom. It was that night, which led to this day, sharply and steadily. There was no other path that it could have taken. She could not help but to note how both of their lives had come full circle. The Phantom had finally been brought to justice after all these years. She felt a wave of satisfaction pass through her knowing that she had done the right thing at long last.

Annette arrived at the de Villier's residence to find it mobbed by the press. Apparently news of Erik's arrest had been leaked to the newspapers and commentary was already being solicited. Annette could not get to the front of the mob it was too difficult. One young man saw her despair and broke off from the group and offered:

"You don't seem part and parcel of this lion's den milady."

"I am not. I was looking for Mr. Montgomery." She told him. She felt an eerie feeling from this man.

"Albert Montgomery? I am afraid that he has left for the country, milady. He said something about getting away from all of this." The man offered.

"But that cannot be, I just saw him. He would never leave his father like that. He would never leave me. How do you know this?" She said.

"Ah but he did, he is much like his father, a criminal, fortunately I am here to get you away from him on time. It is fortunate that your stepmother sent me to keep an eye on you. She did not trust you not to try to go to him." He told her.

She eyed him suspiciously. "Why didn't she mention you to me before?"

"She only employed me to keep an eye out for you after you began to act erratically this morning. You will accompany me back to the hotel peacefully. Your stepmother will be most anxious to have you back." He told her.

"I don't believe you. Albert is not a criminal, and my mother did not employ you to do anything. If you do not leave me alone immediately I shall scream." Annette told him.

Just then a bulge appeared and it pressed against her side and the man spoke to her in fluent French and another man appeared as well and she was surrounded "I would not advise that." She looked at the new man who had joined them in disgust for she had seen him more than once. She recognized the balding head, paunch, stale breath, and dissolute form of the Comte de Chagny.

"This is an outrage." She spat. "You will let me go at once."

The Comte smiled at her showing her his cigarette stained yellowed teeth "I am afraid that at the current time that I have some use for you. He grabbed one of her breasts and caressed it and then dropped it as if it were a piece of merchandise. You will make a fine instrument of vengeance against your mother, and it would appear most unexpectedly that her monster still lives yet as well. That will make an interesting twist, to have him die at last. Your fondness for his son might create whole war and I can sell arms to both sides."

"Why?" Annette asked.

The Comte shrugged "Because she and her monster once took advantage of me, and my kind nature. I must now return the favor. I have offered her a less drastic way to have her show me her regard and yet she has chosen to ignore my requests over the past year since the death of your father. It is now time for her to repay my past kindnesses to her; you will not be harmed if she chooses to cooperate. I am in need of some cash and your father left you with a sizeable dowry. I shall become your father in law and your mother my mistress."

"You are despicable. I do not see how my mother once loved you." Annette spat.

"I do not care what you think." The Comte replied. "Your opinion does not matter. You are merely a means to an end, although a very pretty one." he leered at her. "You will follow us at once. I have secured a rather comfortable temporary living arrangement for you. You have made my job easier by so publically coming here. Your mother and her monster will remain at one another's throat even longer, each accusing the other of your continued absence. It shall play right into my hands."

"You are too stupid and cowardly to get away with whatever plot that you are hatching." Annette spat.

"We will see." He smiled.

Christine returned to the hotel suite to find Annette gone, and immediately called for a cab to take her to the de Villiers townhouse. She was determined to try to catch Annette before she took off with Albert. She somehow knew that the Phantom must have orchestrated it from the jail cell and she was going to end it here and now. The girl was far too naïve and love smitten to understand how truly evil the creature truly was. She was going to get to the bottom of this and make sure that her daughter was not used as she had been. She was not the young and innocent girl that she had been long ago and she would not let her daughter be used in some misguided vendetta.

When she arrived at the townhouse she completely ignored the large crowd of reporters that had assembled front of the house and marched straight up to the front door. They took her photograph as she pounded on the front door. After a while a butler answered the door, and hurriedly closed it behind her. He gave her a puzzled look. "I demand to see be taken to my daughter Mademoiselle de Bourges immediately." She told him.

He gave her a blank look. "I am sorry Madam but I do not know what you mean Miss de Bourges did call upon Master Montgomery this morning but he returned her to you shortly afterwards. She has not been here since."

"You lie. You are covering up your Master's tracks." Christine accused him shrilly. "The boy and his father are clearly cut from same cloth. Do I need to involve the police in this matter?"

The servant gave her what passed for an angry glare, in the English manner "I believe that you already have Madam. Given the crowds that your previous actions have already drawn I am sure that Lady de Villiers, Master Montgomery and Miss Montgomery would much appreciate it if you would state your concerns in a much more restrained manner where perhaps they might address them with more discretion. The Earl and Countess of Mercia are visiting as well, perhaps if you give me your calling card, like a civilized caller I might be persuaded to ask them whether they are available to receive you so they might better address your inquiries. Although given your behavior towards Sir Erik Montgomery I cannot guarantee a positive reception at this time."

She reached into her purse and did withdraw a calling card "Very well, give them my card and tell them that my step daughter is missing and that she left me a note claiming that she was on her way here."

The servant took the proffered card with a flourish "Very well Madam." He gave her one last cold glance and left her standing there awkwardly.

After what seemed like a long period the servant returned and motioned to her to follow. "The family will see you in the drawing room." She could sense his clear disapproval of the decision and he walked in front of her barely allowing her a chance to keep up. He showed her into the drawing room where the family was gathered around the fireplace in one group. Not one face allowed her the least bit of an opening in their collective armor with the exception of a very slight hesitation emanating from Bertie who was clearly the only person who had allowed her an audience with the group at all. Even he looked at her with his arms crossed defensively as if to ward her away. The Earl took the initiative for all of them and addressed her coldly:

"To what do we owe the honor of your visit Comtesse? We understand that you had a matter that you wished to discuss with us." He told her coldly but politely. He clearly gave Christine the impression that he felt that there was no matter that he deemed necessary to discuss with her.

She removed Annette's note from her bag and handed it to the Earl "My daughter left me this note, which I found upon my return from the jail this afternoon."

The Earl looked at the note dispassionately and handed it back to her "Well as you can see, our grandson is not with your daughter, so this note has nothing to do with us. Perhaps if you spent more time keeping track of your child and less time engaging in frivolous criminal prosecutions against our innocent son in law you would not have to come around here in fruitless pursuits looking for her. No doubt by now she has returned to your suite from wherever she went to cool off. Clearly she is not here."

Bertie looked over to Christine less hostilely than the others and asked, "May I see her note?"

Christine nodded "I don't see why not although your grandfather seems to think that I have just wasted my time coming here."

Bertie looked at the Earl "But I do care about Annette Grandpa, despite everything, I do care. It is not her fault, what has happened between Father and the Comtesse, we may not agree with what she has done but if it is just the same I would like to make sure that Annette is back at the Savoy and safe."

Livy piped up "Here we go again Bertie, first this woman tried to ruin my coming out last night, then she had Father arrested, now our house is surrounded by the press. Annette seems like a nice girl but really she is not your problem, she has brought all of us nothing but woe, especially Father and I. Really if you go with this woman she is liable to have you arrested next and strung up together with father. I wouldn't put it past her."

Christine looked at her and hissed, "How dare you. You know nothing about what your Father put me through."

"No, I know nothing about what he put you through but I hope that it was hell. I know everything about what you put him through, and you couldn't have suffered the half of it you cold hearted b…." Livy replied with equal disdain.

The Earl cut in "Enough Olivia. It is not your place to speak to the Comtesse in such a manner she is your elder and it is your duty to show her some respect. You are a lady and you do not speak in such a manner even with cause. I shall speak to your father young lady about this complete lapse in propriety."

She gave her grandfather a stricken look "I will never show her respect. How can I show such a shallow and heartless…"

"Livy…" The Earl interrupted "I have told you to be quiet. This is not your battle to fight. The past belongs to your father and to him alone. The wrongs that were done to him by this woman were done to him alone, not to you, or to me, just to him."

"But she is still hurting him even now. She has had him thrown into jail like a common criminal." Livy reminded him.

The Earl smiled. "He will be home soon."

Christine smiled smugly. "Not if I have anything to do with it, I have pressed charges."

The Earl rolled his eyes "The word of a hysterical woman against one of the most distinguished baronets in all of Great Britain, a friend of King himself. You will be laughed out of court."

"Until they find out who he really was, the infamous Phantom of the Opera. I am sure that he never told you his former identity. Perhaps you should thank me for protecting your family." Christine told him.

The Earl just looked at her and gave her an even smugger smile "I know everything about my son-in-law's background Comtesse, far more than you do. You knew absolutely nothing back then Comtesse, you still don't. Erik is one of the finest human beings that I have ever had the privilege of knowing. I daresay that within the next few hours you will likely have a complete change of heart once you are apprised of who and what Erik really is. I hope to God that he will be willing to help you considering the ill that you have done to him over the years on account of your shallow and heartless nature but fortunately for you he has seldom taken his own feelings of ill use out against the innocent. "

"I don't understand." Christine replied.

"No, and it is not my place to explain." The Earl told her. He looked over to his grandson. "Take her back to the hotel and see if her granddaughter has returned, if not then call back over and we will go from there. By then Judge Hays shall have signed the order and we should have your father back home and he can take charge. He is better at these sorts of matters than me given his ties and talents." He looked back at Christine "If your granddaughter is not at the hotel, I strongly suggest that you will drop these ridiculous charges against my son in law and then apologize to him. There is no stronger ally than him to have in these sorts of circumstances. With his background he should be able to find her and safely restore her to you as he has ties to all of the major European security bureaus and some noneuropean ones as well."

Christine rolled her eyes "If he were not in jail he would be the first person I would suspect to be holding her captive."

Livy sneered, "My father has no interest in either you or your stupid daughter. I really do not know what Father ever did see in you Comtesse you really are not a bright woman."

Bertie looked at his sister and hissed, "Quiet Livy, Annette is not stupid and neither is the Comtesse. She is merely misinformed. Bertie took Christine's arm gently "Comtesse, come with me. Let's see if we cannot find Annette." He looked back. "I will call you all from the Savoy and report back. Ask father to employ his vast array of contacts and find the girl."

The Silver Ghost was brought around once again and both Christine and Bertie got in. They sat across from one another. For a moment neither Christine nor Bertie spoke finally Christine's curiosity got the best of her. She looked into Bertie's eyes, which were so like his father's, she wondered how she had never noticed before.

"Did your mother love your father Bertie or was she afraid of him, as I was?" Christine asked.

Bertie shot her a surprised glance "Are you mad? Of course she was not afraid of him? My mother adored my father with every fibre of her being, as did my entire family. My parents literally saved one another's lives, and from that point on were utterly devoted to one another."

Christine suppressed a jolt of envy, even the Phantom had found love but she had not. "How did they do that?" she asked.

"I believe that it was after you had rejected him, he had meant to die, but my aunt Claudia was standing outside the theatre crying. She was only six years old, and she had gotten out, but my grandparents, Uncle David, and mother were still trapped inside and not one person would stop to even listen to poor Claudia. She saw my father emerge seemingly from out of nowhere, looking all wild-eyed and formidable. She tugged on his robe and he looked down on her, unmasked, but she was unafraid, she had already seen him, and thought that he was part of the show.

"Please Mister my family are trapped. Please save them." She begged. For a moment he just stood there and looked down on her blankly. But then he seemed to wake up as if from a stupor and asked "Where? Still inside?"

My aunt replied, "Yes sir in there. Please sir will you help them? No one will listen to me." She pointed to the theatre, which by then was a wall of flames. By all rights it was suicide for anyone to go back inside but father was feeling both responsible and suicidal he didn't care if he died. Father looked at the building and looked back at my aunt and remarked, "My God, what have I done. This is my fault. I will get them for you"

With that my father came alive and made his decision he bolted into the burning theatre and went in and out for the next half hour pulling out as many trapped people as he could find including my mother, grandparents and uncle, he saved nineteen souls in total. My father was awarded the Legion d'honneur that night by the French government, but he refused the honor. He said that because he been derelict in his other duties that evening those people had been endangered to begin with."

Christine looked at him "What are you talking about what other duties?"

"Why naturally my father was helping the Surete. He had been involved with them them long before the fire."

Christine's jaw dropped "The Surete? I did not know?"

"No, you did not know. Anyone who he remotely cared about had to be kept in the dark lest his cover be blown.

"He had been involved with them for months, secretly. While wandering in his tunnels he had found a large cache of gunpowder, enough to blow up half of Paris. As the Phantom of the Opera, he was the only person at the Opera House with the ability to infiltrate the entire structure without raising suspicion because he was an everyday part of the building and yet an outsider at the same time. Given my father's previous training with the Imperial Persian Secret Police it was only natural that he offer his services to his own country.

"He was accepted but advised not to reveal his ties to the Surete to anyone. He was advised to be even more involved in the workings of the theatre so that the saboteurs would see his lack of interest in their project, that is until he discovered a stagehand, M Buquet, to be one of the plotters. Buquet saw him and started chasing him so he was forced to kill him in self-defense. Father never found the others. He suspected the Young Vicomte de Chagny but he could never prove it due to his involvement with the same soprano as him, you. Unfortunately for him the soprano did not share his affections and was convinced by one of the suspects that he himself was a murderer. My father's own temper did little to allay her concern and he could hardly give away his role with the Surete lest he compromise the investigation. As time went on to his dismay he lost his emotional detachment in the case, culminating in the final night. We are not sure how the fire started but it is believed that one of the confederates of whoever stored the gunpowder there must likely lit the fuse fortunately my fathers quick actions saved nineteen souls."

"Raoul? A suspect? I didn't know. You must think me a complete fool." Christine mused.

"No ma'am that honor rests with my sister. I just think that you gave your heart to the wrong man, at the time my father had to suspect everyone. My father caught one of the men but the other was never caught. My father, to his eternal shame, had grown too distracted by his obsession with you. He had begun to believe that it had to be the Vicomte, simply because he had wanted it to be so badly. Yet in the end he realized that it was all in his own mind, even his belief that you could ever possibly care for him."

"Well he wasn't all wrong back then." Christine admitted. "I did like him as a friend and a teacher, until I learned that he had deceived me. He and I started out as friends Bertie. He was very good to me when I was a child."

"Do you think that you could forgive him?" Bertie asked hopefully. " I mean I really do love Annette. I would treat her like a Queen. You must see that I would. You and my father were friends once couldn't you try again for our sake?" It would mean a lot for both of us."

Christine sighed "My daughter has always has been an excellent judge of character. She thinks very highly of you, and I do not want to push her away. I would try for her sake alone but if what you say is the truth then I have done worse than misjudge your father in the past. I fear that I have earned every scrap of his present hatred of me, and then some, Bertie. From what I remember your father is a very proud man and I unwittingly did everything that I could to break him. Were I to live another 100 years, I doubt that I could ever get him to make himself that vulnerable to me again."

"How did you do it last time?" Bertie asked.

Christine laughed, "I was a seven year old child."

Bertie laughed, "Perhaps we can reproduce the conditions."

Christine replied "Hardly."

She closed her eyes to that long ago day

She had been weeping, "Father, you have been gone six months and you promised me that I would be visited by the angel of music and yet he has not yet come. I am still alone, always alone. The other girls are making fun of me they claim that I am a fool to believe in such fairy tales. They call me stupid. They say that I cannot even speak French like a normal girl. One girl, Amelie even pushed me during choir practice and Madame blamed me. I am so unhappy why does everyone hate me?

Erik had been listening and felt sorry for the child. He had been back from Persia for the past few months and noticed the small lonely Swedish girl. She looked so frail that he was afraid that she would waste away. He had spoken to Antoinette because he was the only one who understood her depressing words. "You need to take the child under your wing, she is having a hard time."

Antoinette looked at him unsympathetically "Erik do you know how many children that I have to look after? Almost thirty. She is the least of my worries at the moment. I speak not a word of her language and she only knows a little bit of French if you are so worried about her why don't you take her under your wing and teach her to speak some French and be her Angel of Music so she won't run around underfoot whining for her father all of the time. She is really rather cloying."

Erik looked at his friend "You know that I cannot do that."

"Why not? You are suggesting to me that I should all of the time." Antoinette told him.

"Because I am a man, and a hideous one at that. I cannot teach a little girl, she would run from me in terror, the moment that she laid eyes on me." He told her.

"So be her angel of music. Teach her through walls, you already are a Phantom for everyone else so be her Angel. I don't see a distinction do you? Become her secret friend and when she is past the point where she would be afraid of you reveal yourself and explain to her why you had to hide. By then she will have been your friend and undoubtedly she will accept your explanation for secrecy. It is not as if you couldn't use a friend either Erik. Accept her friendship as the gift that it is, a lonely soul for a lonely soul."

From that day forward the two were friends… until the time that Erik did reveal himself and it did not go as Antoinette had planned for Christine had fallen in love with Raoul and Erik had fallen in love with Christine… In the end everything burned.