Hi everybody, I am back. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, alerting and adding to your favorites. I am glad that you all like Gertraud. And yes, her assessment of Raoul was a bit unusual, but not too far off, wouldn't you agree?

Anyway, next chapter ahead, and our dream couple meets again. I don't own anything or anybody. Wait, that's wrong. Gertraud is mine! ;-)

Chapter 11 – Music lesson

When Christine arrived at Gertraud's residence at 3:30 the first Thursday of January, she was surprised to find her friend alone in the parlor. "Am I early?" she asked nervously. "Where are the other ladies?"

Gertraud hugged her and laughed. "I have to confess something," she told Christine. "There is no committee meeting for the bazaar today. I made that up so that your husband would allow you to come. I still hope you will help us with the bazaar, but we'll start work on that only in a few weeks. If your husband asks what we did today, say you are not supposed to tell, since the bazaar should be a surprise."

Christine was confused. "But why did you tell Raoul about the bazaar? Surely he would not have minded if you had just invited me to come see you."

Gertraud smiled. "I could not well tell your husband that we are going to have a singing lesson," she said. "I know you'd like to sing again, but are a bit rusty, and I have never had proper lessons, but would love to learn things like sight-reading music, so I thought we could do it together. That way your husband won't have to know about it, until you are perfect again and can surprise him."

Christine nodded. She did want to take up singing again, but she was not interested in having just anybody teach her. She wanted her angel. How was she going to tell Gertraud that she appreciated her effort but would prefer to make her own arrangements?

"But the best part of my surprise is yet to come," Gertraud continued. "Guess who is going to teach us? You'll never guess! Erik Dumesnil himself!"

Christine's eyes widened. Her angel! She was to see him again. He would be here in a few minutes and he would teach her again. But how had he been able to organize this so quickly? And why had he not told her himself about this arrangement? She glanced at Gertraud. How well did she know her an.. – Dumesnil? Was she doing this as a favor to him? How much did she know about her own relationship with the famous musician?

"I was not aware Monsieur Dumesnil is teaching," Christine finally stammered. "I mean, he seemed so reserved to me the other day, a very private person…"

"I didn't know either," Gertraud admitted. "It was such a coincidence. My mother and I went to see Dora Lüders and wish her and her family a merry Christmas. You know she is my mother's best friend and my godmother. And while we were having tea with Dora and her husband, Dumesnil shows up. I guess he also just wanted to wish them all the best for the holidays, since Lüders is his publisher and they are friends. Well, I thanked him once again for coming to my afternoon tea the other day and I told him that I wanted to take singing lessons so I could sing his songs and my friend who needs to brush up on her singing could join me, and I mentioned how impressed I was with your ability to sight-read music and everything, and then he said he used to teach singing. So I asked and he agreed. But we must keep it a secret, otherwise he would be flooded with requests for private lessons. I assured him we would not mention it to anybody, I was certain you would not tell your husband, since he does not want you to sing…"

Christine smiled. If what Gertraud had told her was the truth, then this arrangement had really come about as a coincidence. If not… she did not want to dwell on the possibility that her angel and Gertraud knew each other better than they wanted to admit, that maybe her angel now had other friends, that maybe she now only was one among many, when a few years ago she had been the only one for him. Why did that thought cause her pain? Christine did not quite understand that nagging feeling, but she knew she wanted her angel to herself. She did not want to share him with others.

"So this was just a lucky coincidence?" Christine asked. "You do not really know Dumesnil?" Her voice sounded a bit uncertain.

Gertraud looked at her quizzically. "I have of course been to his concerts," she said. "But other than that, I have only seen him twice. At my afternoon tea in December, and at the Lüders' place a few days later. Why do you ask?"

Christine shook her head to clear her thoughts. "No particular reason," she finally mumbled. "I just thought… how strange a coincidence this is. We want to sing and he offers to teach us…"

Gertraud nodded. "Yes, I know. I could not believe my luck myself. But maybe he just enjoys teaching and therefore…"

She was interrupted when her butler showed Erik in. She went to greet her guest. "Oh, Monsieur Dumesnil," she said, "my friend and I are so thrilled that you are willing to help us with our singing. You remember Christine de Chagny?" She said by way of introducing Christine.

Erik took Gertraud's outstretched hand and kissed it gingerly, then bowed formally in front of Christine. "Madame von Reifenstein, Madame de Chagny," he greeted the ladies. "Shall we begin the lesson?"

Gertraud eagerly moved towards the piano, where she had piled up a few songbooks, Erik's own one on top. "I have prepared some music," she explained. "Of course I have no idea what kind of song would be suitable for lessons, but I hope some of those may work."

Erik sat down in front of the piano. "I do not think we will need sheet music right away," he informed Gertraud. "I would like to begin with some basics, like correct posture and breathing technique. I understand that you had singing lessons at one point?" he asked Christine, once again looking through her, the way he had done at that afternoon tea.

Christine bit her lip. She was not sure what she had expected. Of course he could not admit that they knew each other. They had to pretend to be perfect strangers. This was going to be difficult, but at least she could see him on a regular basis now and he would teach her again. Maybe, with time, they could develop this into a new friendship, into something as meaningful as what they had had all those years ago at the Opéra Populaire.

"Yes, I used to sing," she calmly replied. "But when I got married, I stopped. My husband is not too fond of music, and when I had my two daughters…" Christine blushed. Talking about pregnancy was not exactly considered appropriate, especially not in front of a man, and somehow it felt extremely awkward to mention such things to her angel. Her eyes were drawn to his long, slender fingers, and for a moment she remembered the feeling of these fingers on her neck, caressing her gently, lovingly during the performance of his opera, only moments before she had ripped off his mask…

Erik did not seem to notice her unease. "Then you should remember about proper posture and breathing," he commented. "Would you please tell us what you remember and show us what you think is the best posture for singing. I will then tell you, if you remember correctly, and then both, you and Madame von Reifenstein, can work on it."

Christine nodded, and began to list the elements of proper posture that her angel had told her so many years ago. When she was finished, she tried to assume the position she had described, expectantly looking at Erik to see if she had gotten it right.

Erik looked her over critically. Oh, the effort it cost him to concentrate on the lesson at hand and not to let his eyes linger on her sweet face, her swelling bosom and narrow waist. "Very good," he finally said dryly. "You got it almost right. Just try to relax a bit more and hold your head up a bit straighter, like that…" He gently pulled Christine's head in the correct position. His fingers were cold as they had always been, and yet… a wave of warmth shot through Christine at his touch and she blushed deeply.

"That's better," Erik announced. "Now, Madame von Reifenstein, can you match Madame de Chagny's posture?"

Gertraud tried, and after some giggling and some correction by Erik, she was as close to perfect as she would ever get. Erik explained proper breathing next. Gertraud was very surprised. She had had vague ideas that one used the diaphragm for breathing while singing, but she had never known how to properly do that. Christine had known at one point, but her long break in singing and her pregnancies had caused her muscles to weaken.

Erik frowned. He was not happy with either of his pupils right now and for a moment he even forgot his love and desire for Christine over the shock how poorly her breathing was at the moment.

"No, no, no, Mesdames," he said frustrated. "That is not at all how it is done. Madame de Chagny, I thought you had had lessons before. Did your previous teacher not tell you how to breath?"

Christine blushed. She was embarrassed. What must her angel think of her? He had worked so hard to turn her into a prima donna and she had forgotten so much. "I am sorry," she whispered and tried her best to satisfy her teacher.

"Better," Erik commented dryly. "Now to you, Madame von Reifenstein. Did you listen to what I said? You must breath from here." He pointed to his own diaphragm. "Like this," and he demonstrated once again, how Gertraud should breath. Gertraud was beginning to get annoyed. She had expected to be singing with Christine, and all they had done for the past half hour was practice posture and breathing? But a quick glance at Christine told her that her friend was thrilled. She therefore sighed and decided to go along with this for Christine's sake. She made another effort to breath from her diaphragm. "Better?" she asked hesitantly.

Erik sighed. "A bit," he grumbled. It was getting painfully obvious that Madame von Reifenstein was hopeless. She lacked not only the proper talent, but also the patience and ambition necessary to succeed in this endeavor. He began to understand, though, that he needed to keep her interested, if he wanted to be able to teach Christine regularly. She definitely needed some coaching and practice before her voice could reach its former level of excellence again.

"I guess that is the best the two of you can muster right now," Erik said sourly. "Try to practice before our next lesson. Breathing and posture are of the utmost importance for a singer. Now let's do some warm-up. I assume you remember your scales, Madame de Chagny?" As Christine nodded, Erik continued. "Good. Let's start at middle c. You first, then Madame von Reifenstein, then we go up a half-tone and then we'll see how far up we get."

Christine concentrated hard, and to her relief Erik had nothing to correct about her first few scales, while Gertraud was forcing the higher notes a bit too much for Erik's taste and was corrected. After a few scales, though, once Christine was touching the higher register, Erik winced. She was so completely out of practice that the high notes sounded flat.

Gertraud was shocked. In her opinion Christine had been simply perfect. She had reached higher notes than Gertraud could ever dream of reaching and Dumesnil was not impressed? He even scolded Christine, accusing her of shaming her former teacher by having forgotten so much. Christine did not seem to mind, though. She was rather apologetic, assuring Dumesnil over and over again that she would work hard to learn to do it right again.

After an hour all three were exhausted, though for different reasons. Gertraud was relieved that the lesson was over. Singing was considerably more tiring than she had thought. Christine was torn between shame over how much she had forgotten and excitement of being taught by her angel again, while Erik was exasperated about what little success his teaching had had with both his pupils.

"May I suggest we take some tea?" Gertraud politely offered, remembering her duties as a hostess.

Erik excused himself. He needed to be alone and to think about the impact this first lesson with Christine had had on him. He hoped neither of the ladies had noticed, how many times he had wanted to touch her, to correct her posture, to make her feel her diaphragm, … to take her into his arms and kiss those rosy lips. He was almost glad that her voice had deteriorated so much, for this would give him an excuse to see her more often and teach her…

"May I ask when it would be convenient for the ladies to schedule the next lesson?" Erik asked formally, before he left. Gertraud hesitantly looked at Christine. She herself was not too interested in another lesson, but Christine seemed to have enjoyed it. For her friend's sake she could endure another one of these boring lessons.

"Didn't you say Thursdays work best for you, since that's the day when your husband comes home late?" Gertraud asked Christine. Christine nodded and Gertraud continued, smiling at Erik, "would next Thursday work for you as well, Monsieur Dumesnil?"

Erik gave her a brief nod. "Same time, then?" he asked curtly. Gertraud assured him that that would be perfect, and Erik bowed and took his leave of them.

Gertraud let herself fall into a seat quite unceremoniously. "Pooh," she sighed. "That was exhausting! And who would have thought that the romantic Monsieur Dumesnil can be so strict!"

Christine laughed. That comment proved to her without the slightest doubt that Gertraud did not know Erik at all. She did not know why, but this knowledge made her somehow incredibly happy. "He has to be, in order to teach us properly," she retorted. "If he does not correct us, we cannot make any progress."

Gertraud thought about it for a few moments then turned to Christine again. "So you think Dumesnil is a good teacher?" she asked, her doubt very clearly noticeable.

Christine nodded, glowing with enthusiasm. "He is a wonderful teacher," she said dreamily, remembering all those times when her angel's voice had comforted her as a child. It was so good to have him back in her life, even though they had not been able to talk to each other in private with Gertraud around. But she would see him again next Thursday, and… Christine felt all warm and fuzzy inside. Life was good after all.

Gertraud observed her curiously. Christine seemed inexplicably happy, she was almost glowing with contentment. "Is music that important to you?" she finally asked. "Did you miss it so much? You almost seem like another person now that you have reconnected with music…"

Christine looked up. "Am I different?" she asked. If Gertraud had noticed something, so would Raoul. She had to be more careful. "I was not aware… and yes, I did miss music terribly." And my angel, Christine thought to herself. "But I did not really know how much until today." That was certainly true, not just about music, but about Erik as well. Her face fell. "But I have forgotten so much. Monsieur Dumesnil must be so disappointed. He probably expected somebody quite advanced and I made so many beginner's mistakes…"

Gertraud patted Christine's hand. "You were fabulous," she comforted her friend. "I will never be able to sing anywhere near as well as you, you sound good enough for the opera. Monsieur Dumesnil should not have been so harsh with you."

Christine smiled. "I was terrible today," she confessed. "I could hear it myself that my voice sounded strained in the upper register, and I know that my breathing is subpar at the moment. I need to work hard to get my muscles back into shape. Monsieur Dumesnil was actually quite helpful in pointing out what I was doing wrong. He definitely knows what he is doing."

Gertraud was not quite convinced. "It would have been so much more fun if we could have sung one of his songs," she sulked. "Let's try now. I am sure you will sound glorious!"

Christine shook her head. "Not now," she said. "I will eventually sing those songs, but once I do so, I will be able to do them justice. Right now, I wouldn't. I have much to learn – to re-learn – before I can tackle those."

Gertraud pouted. "You sound like Dumesnil," she complained. "You are just as much a perfectionist as he is."

Christine laughed. She liked the thought that she and her angel had something in common. "Everybody who takes music seriously is a perfectionist," she told Gertraud. "But I promise you, once I will feel up to the challenge of singing these songs, you will be the first to hear me sing them."

Xxxx

Erik went home, deep in thought. Seeing Christine again and having to be so formal around her had taken a larger toll on him than he had expected. As much as he tried to fight it, the old love had taken possession of his heart again, filling him with longing and desire. That she had neglected her voice so badly, hurt him deeply, but it also was a blessing. Her poor singing gave him a reason to see her more often, to teach her, to guide her once more. He had noticed how embarrassed she had been about the many mistakes she had made, and he knew that she would want to improve as much as he would want her to excel. What he was not too sure about were her intentions towards him. She had made it clear once that she feared him, loathed his ugly face that now was so skillfully hidden underneath an almost natural-looking mask. Why did she so obviously want him back in her life? Once or twice he had caught her looking at him as if… as if she cared. As if she were happy to have met him again. As if she had missed him. Was it wise to continue seeing her? Nadir was probably right with his warnings. There were only two possibilities: either Christine only wanted him as a friend, then seeing her often would ultimately lead to heartbreak for himself. Or Christine had deeper feelings for him, feelings that she herself was not aware of… which also could only lead to disaster. He refused to consider a third possibility, namely that Christine was toying with him, deliberately playing with fire. No, Erik decided. His Christine was not capable of such deception. If there was danger involved in seeing her it had nothing to do with her trying to hurt him. She definitely did enjoy seeing him again, and as long as she wanted to meet him, who was he to deny her that innocent pleasure?