Chapter Twelve
Threats and Bargains
Erik let his guest sleep long enough to make sure she had rested properly. He pulled his pocket watch out to check the time. Four thirty in the a.m. He really should wake her so that she would not be late. He himself had not gone to bed at all.
He had things to think about. It had not been easy as he could not play his organ or his piano in fear of waking his guest. His temporary guest he steadfastly reminded himself.
He debated with himself whether or not he should expose his face, his true face to her. If she accepted his proposal there would come a time she might catch him unawares and see him without his mask. It was rare indeed for anyone to catch Erik by surprise but the laws of probability were not on his side to keep his secret from anyone who worked closely with him.
Cautiously he opened the door just a crack. She lay prone on the mattress with the covers pulled up to her chin. There was a certain innocent beauty to her as she lay there peacefully unaware of the cares of the world.
He simply must wake her. The tea would have gone cold by now and he'd have to make fresh.
Reaching out his hand Erik hesitated to touch her. He had carried her down here but that had been the only time he had touched her in any way. He would only call to her. Touching was something he had made forbidden to him during the night. To touch her would be his end he was sure.
"Mademoiselle you must wake. The morning will be upon us soon. Mademoiselle Anna please wake."
As if his soft command pushed some button that animated her Anna rolled to her back opening her eyes. She lie there a moment shocked, half believing he was part of some dream. Then her memory came flashing back. Could he be real? He had appeared out of the wall as if he were a part of it. Just as a ghost might enter a room.
To test his solidity Anna poked his leg with her finger.
Erik stepped back growling, "What the devil are you doing woman? Do not touch Erik. To touch Erik is to risk death."
"I…I just wanted to be certain you were real. You did appear out of a solid wall you know. With the mask and all it sort of frightened me. If that was your wish I congratulate you." Anna could not figure out why she was not screaming her head off. No one would hear but that was beside the point.
Anna quickly glanced around. She could see that indeed she had not woken up in her pallet of blankets but in a fine comfortable bed. She mentally checked to see if she felt anything different about her person. She felt the same as she had last night.
"Where am I and how did I get here and why am I here?" She asked the questions in quick succession not giving Erik time to reply.
"I can assure you I am as real as you are Mademoiselle. Now you must get out of bed so that you are not late. You are quite a bit further below than the third cellar.
As to your next questions the answers are simple. Expediency and thoughtfulness on my part." Erik bowed graciously peeking from behind his mask to see what affect his words had on her. He would rather ease into his proposal.
"What are you talking about? And take off that ridiculous mask. It is quite irritating to speak to someone I can't see. And please speak slowly my French is not as good as I would wish it to be.
In English Erik asked, "Then perhaps you would prefer to speak in English. I am quite proficient in many languages."
"Is their no end to your talent? You walk through walls, masquerade as a ghost, now you tell me you speak many languages."
Erik did not answer her questions as they seemed to be said rhetorically. He would address the issue of his mask.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself Mademoiselle. I am The Opera Ghost or if you prefer The Phantom of the Opera. You may call me Erik but I must confess that may or may not be my real name. I must keep my identity a secret you understand. The reasoning behind my discretion need not concern you."
"You…you are…you are pulling my leg aren't you?" Anna laughed halfheartedly. She swallowed her fear as she recalled all that Theresa had said and the dire warning that Madame Giry woman had given her.
"I assure you Mademoiselle I am not a jokester at any time. You may not know all about me but I am sure there were those who were all too eager to tell you about their resident Opera Ghost or Phantom. As to why I wear a mask I assure you it is an equal courtesy to both the onlooker and I that I keep my face covered. Women have been known to swoon on occasion and men who normally are brave of heart cower in fear of me. If you agree to what I suggest as the nature of our association I will show you what the mask hides as at some point you will no doubt get curious and want to know what I hide. It is human nature. Rather than have you come upon me unawares or sneak about trying to see my secret shame I will show you freely. First we must come to some sort of agreement."
"What…what sort…of agreement?" Anna had been slowly scooting away from the specter in front of her. She did not know if she believed him to be real or of the ghostly realm but it mattered not. He frightened her all the same.
Erik gestured toward his face with a flick of his long fingers as he said, "As you can imagine I have trouble going out among the public. I do manage to have a somewhat cordial liaison with the shopkeepers, for a price naturally. I wish not to have the bother of such mundane things as it takes me away from my music. If you will carry out these daily chores for me I will make ample compensation monetarily as well as conceding to allowing you to stay. All that will be required is that you do not alert anyone to my presence or tell them where they might find me. Although I daresay if you tried to find my home you might come to a rather nasty end."
Anna swallowed with difficulty as she recalled her near miss on the stairs. It would seem this apparition of a man had been the insane diabolical mind behind the trapdoor.
"I…I nearly fell down in one of your traps. The floor gave way on the landing. I could have been killed." Her voice had begun to sound accusing toward the end of her sentence. It occurred to her that where there was one trap there would most assuredly be more. If this fiend liked his privacy that badly, she could only imagine what other traps lay in wait for the unsuspecting trespasser.
"Well my dear Mademoiselle is not the purpose of a trap to disable, to deter someone in one way or another?" Erik's tone held no hint of regret or remorse for any poor soul who had come to a nasty end in the past. He still had a few deadly traps around the nearest perimeter of his home as well as the torture chamber.
Just because he had tired of death did not mean he would not send that specter to someone who would hunt him with malice in mind. There had been no bounty placed on Erik's head as no one really could describe any sort of visage the authorities could believe. His managers had decided it best not to attempt his capture but that did not keep fortune hunters from searching for his hidden wealth. Andre and Richard had been quite reckless when they had lodged their complaint some years ago about a ghostly figure that demanded 20,000 francs a month as a supposed salary when they knew of no one on the books who made that much. That amount could pay the salary of half the staff for a month but here was one entity demanding what amounted to a small fortune. They had equated him with a highwayman and a blackmailer and therefore refused to pay. Well the blackmail Erik had generously conceded to but the highwayman accusation he had objected to strongly. The dead rats in their desk drawers had done the trick. They no longer doubted him or his ability to know everything that went on concerning The Paris Opera House whether it be inside the opera walls or outside in the city.
Contrary to what everyone in the opera house thought he did get out in the city. He just made his excursions in the dark of night. Twilight hours leant the illusion of normalcy to him with his hat and fine cloak. If one were dressed well others paid you only a cursory glimpse unless you were of notable birth.
"Have I answered enough of your questions? Will you consent to enter into my employ?"
"You haven't really answered any questions. Before I enter into any sort of bargain we must set some boundaries and rules. First off I want to know where we are. How did you leave with me to come here without anyone seeing us?"
"My good woman where the blue blazes do you think you are? Do you not know you are still in the opera house? Can you not smell the lake that runs underneath the very foundation of the building? My home is located in the fifth cellar."
"The…the opera house? The fifth cellar? But…but how can that be? This looks far too grand to be any of the small apartments for the more important staff." Anna could not wrap her mind around the fact that there was judging by the standard of this room a home worthy of some nobleman or the nouveaurich.
Assessing the rich décor and the fine linen and silks about the room she had to guess this man had plenty of money. Why then live under the opera house?
"I assure you Mademoiselle…" Anna interrupted him to ask him to simply call her Anna and asked what name she could call him.
"You may call me the name I refer to as mine. Erik. I call myself Erik."
"Well is Erik your name or is it an alias?" She wondered if he was some sort of high class thief or burglar of the rich. That would explain the need for the mask. Well it would explain why he wore it in front of others but not when he was in his own home.
"Erik is all you need to know. Anything more could be dangerous for you." Erik did not like to think of his past and who he really was. He liked Erik better than his given name. Those who parented him did not want him as he had been and treated him as an outcast, a demon in their home. His father he had been told died before his birth. Ah but the truth had come to Erik when he had returned home after nearly a twenty year absence. The lie had been exposed. He had taken his mother's furnishings from her room and a few heirlooms but had left everything else in the house he had never felt had been his home not for one day. He had gathered all the papers from his mother's safe. Perhaps someday when he knew for sure he would be dead he would let his last living relatives know of his existence. For now he would remain Erik, Opera Ghost and Phantom.
As Anna moved her legs to the side to prepare to stand up Erik moved back in fear that her foot might brush against his leg. The splendid torture of that he would not allow. To touch her would lead only to wanting more, more that would never come only leaving him dissatisfied and frustrated. Best not to incur any of those feelings. He wished them long dead but alas he did not have the fortitude to take the step to guarantee his flaccid state continuously.
As she placed her feet on the floor she noticed her bare foot resting on a luxurious and exotically decorated carpet. The texture felt so wonderful she did not mind being barefooted. If stone lay underneath that carpet the thickness of the carpet must keep out the cold for she did not feel any coldness beneath her feet.
"So what do I have to do exactly? And if I agree there are some conditions of my own we need to discuss. First though do you…is there a…can I use…" Anna felt her face redden and heat with her embarrassment. Her tongue had begun to tie itself in knots.
"Well for heaven sakes woman spit it out. I shall be long dead and turned to dust at this rate."
Anna leaned toward him and whispered as if that made it less embarrassing, "I need to use the facilities."
Now Erik was the one who turned every shade of red under his mask. At least he would be spared that added humiliation for she could not see his discomfort. He could act as if it occurred on a daily basis for a woman or anyone for that matter to ask to use his facilities.
"Oh…oh of course. Right through that door. This room has it's own…bathroom."
Anna excused herself and opened the door to a beautifully appointed bathroom. It had obviously been decorated with a woman in mind.
Pale pink and vibrant red were the predominant colors. Roses appeared to be the favored motif. Anna temporarily forgot her need to use the facility in the wonder of all she saw. She picked up and smelled the little bars of soap. Picking up a bottle she smelled lavender bath salts. Turning around her eyes widened to see the marble tub. Turning around in a circle she marveled at the modern accoutrements situated around the room.
Spotting the toilet she lifted the lid. No chamber pot for the Phantom it would seem. She had to give him credit for his ingenuity. It must have been difficult to manage to get the toilet to flush. She reached up and pulled the chain. She surmised those pipes led to the underground sewage system. When she turned the taps on in the sink she felt cold from one and extremely hot water gush out of the other.
Anna decided she could be quite happy here. She just had to convince a nasty Phantom that having her near would be more convenient. She need not say it was for her convenience.
A/N: I took the liberty of using the name The Paris Opera House for the opera house as in all the different translations I have read online the opera house has different names. Different tales of this story even vary in names. I believe it was also The Paris Accademy of Music. If any purists are reading I hope you don't get riled by artistic license.
