Oh well, I am a bit later than I thought, but better late than never. We are getting there, slowly, but steadily. The next chapter will contain cuteness and phluff galore, I promise. This one is more of a transition, but it features the return of Gertraud and her godmother.
I still don't own anything or anybody, just to make sure you know that. And if you enjoy this story, you might also want to check out my new one, "So Lost, So Helpless", the first two chapters of which are already up.
And last, but not least, thanks go to all my readers, and especially my reviewers and all those who put my stories on alert or favorite them. I love you all, your support means the world to me!
Chapter 29 – Wait
Erik sat down at his desk. "I will answer Antoinette's letter immediately," he announced. "I need to tell her to expect some financial support from me within the next few days, and that she and Meg should prepare themselves to move here with Christine and the children." He hesitated for a moment. "Do you think,…." he stammered, "I mean, would it be appropriate to write to Christine as well? Just a few lines… to tell her that I know about her husband's demise and am patiently waiting for the mourning period to end?"
Nadir thought about it for a moment. "It might be better to ask Mme. Giry to convey a message," he finally advised. "She can then pick the best moment to tell your Christine, choose a day when the young widow might be most receptive to your pleas."
Erik sighed. This was not exactly what he had hoped to hear, but he had to admit that Nadir did have a point. He understood that after all Christine had been through recently, she might need some time to get to terms with the Vicomte's death, her new financial situation, her daughters' pain at having lost their father and the de Chagnys' cruel attitude towards her and her children. Asking her to commit herself to him so soon might put her under even more stress. "I will wait," he finally promised, "till Antoinette tells me that Christine is over the worst. Until then, I will have to rely on Antoinette, ask her to mention me on occasion and remind Christine that I am waiting for her."
He suddenly remembered something. "Madame von Reifenstein," he muttered. "She is Christine's friend, she knows about our love and has shown us her support before. Maybe I can ask her for help as well. Surely, Christine will write to her regularly…"
Erik strode purposefully towards the hall. "Where are you going?" Nadir asked.
Erik smiled. "I need to talk to Johann and Dora," he explained. "I have to ask a favor of them."
Xxxx
Johann and Dora Lüders were a bit surprised when their butler announced that Monsieur Dumesnil wanted to talk to them. They were not expecting anybody and it was already a bit late for social calls. But they were delighted to see their friend.
"Erik," Johann jovially greeted his most lucrative client and good friend. "It's good to see you. What brings you here at such an unusual hour? Are those violin sonatas that you promised me finally ready for publication?"
Erik shook his head. "Not yet," he admitted sheepishly. He had completely forgotten about those. "I am here to ask you to do me a favor. Or rather you, Dora," he turned to his friend's wife. "I need to speak to your goddaughter, Madame von Reifenstein. Would it be possible to invite us both to tea one of the next days, just the two of us, nobody else?"
Dora Lüders groaned. What had she gotten herself into by allowing Gertraud to contact the composer through her?
Erik saw her hesitation, and knew that she had every right in the world to have misgivings about this continued secrecy between him and her goddaughter. He decided that it was time to let his two friends in on part of the story. If, as he hoped, Christine would return to Berlin next year as his wife, they would learn the truth anyway. It could not hurt to prepare them a bit for this development.
"This is about her friend," he admitted, "Madame de Chagny. Her husband died unexpectedly a short while ago. And…" Erik looked down. He knew it was wrong to think of the future so soon after the Vicomte's death, but…. "Of course she is in mourning," he stammered nervously, "and it is too soon. I cannot write to her yet, but…." His voice trailed and the left side of his face turned a deep shade of pink.
With a woman's sixth sense, Dora guessed the rest. "You want to propose to Madame de Chagny, once the period of mourning is over? I know she and Gertraud were your voice students once, but you barely know her, does she even know about…" She looked pointedly at Erik's almost indiscernible mask.
Erik shook his head. "On the contrary," he explained. "I know her fairly well. In fact, I have known Christine since she was seven years old. And she is not only aware of the fact that I am wearing a mask, she has seen me without it, repeatedly." He paused, before adding what both his friends had already begun to suspect. "She is the one. The nameless woman to whom my songs are dedicated. She who holds my heart. And… I have reason to hope …"
"Oh Erik, how wonderful!" Dora Lüders beamed and her husband squeezed Erik's shoulder in delight. "But where does our Gertraud come in?" the couple asked.
Erik looked down. "I cannot write to Christine yet. It is too soon. It would not be appropriate, and she is not ready yet. She needs to properly mourn her late husband, get over the feeling of betraying him by thinking of a new relationship. I know she does love me, but because of the circumstances she might be a bit reluctant to give in to her feelings." And he told them in a few words the same story Christine had presented to Gertraud.
"Of course my… sister is keeping me informed on Christine's emotional status," he ended, "but she is like a mother to her. With her friend Christine may be a bit more open. I therefore hope that Madame von Reifenstein might be better able to dispel Christine's doubts and help me convince her that she does not have to feel guilt for following her heart now and accepting my proposal."
Dora grinned. She understood now. "The song at the bazaar," she murmured. "That's why the Vicomtesse gave such a soulful rendition of your composition – and why we could not auction off the original manuscript."
Erik nodded. "I wanted Christine to keep the copy in my handwriting. And… I did not want something in my handwriting publicly displayed at the charity event. You see, the Vicomte had no idea that I am now living in Berlin, but he would have known immediately, the moment he recognized my scribbles. He is…. was very jealous, and if he had learned about my presence here, he might have made a scene. I swear to you both that nothing untoward happened between me and Christine last year, but I doubt he would have believed her…"
"Don't worry," Johann Lüders reassured Erik. "We know you. And the young Vicomtesse was very well liked in society. Nobody will doubt that you both behaved appropriately and honored her marriage."
Dora smiled at Erik. "I'll arrange a meeting with you and Gertraud. I know she is close friends with your Christine and she is down to earth and hopefully able to talk sense into that woman. Which day would work for you? Thursday? That's when you used to do the singing lessons, right? And Gertraud's husband works late, so she is bored at home. So, unless you hear from me otherwise, come for tea next Thursday!"
Xxx
Gertraud von Reifenstein stared at the letter she had received from her friend Christine de Chagny. The former Vicomtesse seemed to be under incredible emotional stress. The ink was smeared with tears in places and the whole letter sounded depressed and hopeless. Christine wrote about her husband's funeral, about the way she and her daughters had been treated by the de Chagny family, and once again about the fact that she felt indirectly responsible for her husband's death because she had secretly wanted to get out of this marriage.
"She should be glad she is free now," Gertraud thought. "I bet that man knew pretty well that she loved Dumesnil, long before she realized it herself, and somehow manipulated her into marrying him. Despite the age difference Dumesnil is a much better fit for her, what with their shared interest in music and all that. If she does not marry the love of her life now, …"
Her thoughts were interrupted by the butler handing her an elegant envelope. "This was just delivered by the servant of Mister Lüders," he announced. "Supposedly it is an invitation."
Gertraud took the envelope and thanked her butler, dismissing him. She curiously opened the letter. She was not aware of any events that the Lüders' might be planning for the near future and therefore did not expect an invitation. Once she had read the short message, she gasped.
"Come and have tea with us next Thursday," her godmother had written. A good friend of ours is concerned about his – hopefully – bride-to-be and wants to enlist your help."
Gertraud grinned. "Dumesnil has doubts too, that she will be easily convinced to accept his proposal, out of a misplaced feeling of guilt," she thought. "But we won't allow her to do that. We won't rest until we've forced her to accept her good fortune and turned her into a happily married woman."
Xxx
The following Thursday, Gertraud and Erik met at the Lüders' place for tea. Neither of them was particularly hungry or thirsty. Dora Lüders finally took the initiative. "I know that you are both worried about Madame de Chagny," she began. "I guess you want to compare notes? Do you want me to leave you alone?"
Erik shook his head. "No, Dora, you already know about as much as Madame von Reifenstein about my previous relationship with Christine. We do not plan on discussing any secrets, and maybe a fresh perspective will help."
Gertraud wholeheartedly agreed with him. She was glad that she finally could share the whole problem with her godmother.
Erik then told the two ladies about his recent trip to Paris and about the letter he had received from Mme. Giry. "Of course, Christine is under stress right now," he admitted. "The sudden, unexpected death of her husband must have been a shock, and I can understand that a sensitive person like her would feel guilt, considering that she had wanted out of that marriage. She may also think that she has somehow failed him while he was alive and therefore owes him fidelity beyond the grave..."
"That's utter nonsense!" Gertraud exclaimed. "Yes, you are right, she does seem to feel that way, she has alluded to such concerns in her letter to me as well. But in my opinion she owes him nothing. She stayed with him, even when she realized what a terrible mistake she had made in marrying him, and she kept up the illusion of a perfect marriage for his sake." She looked apologetically at Erik, whose eyes took on a haunted look at the thought of Christine being happily married to that... boy.
"It was only an illusion, Monsieur," Gertraud tried to make him relax again. "She was not happy with him. Not truly. She did care for him in a way, she loved him like a brother or cousin, but he never was her soul-mate. He never understood her, or he would never have forbidden her to sing. And..," she hesitated for a moment, then added resolutely, "I think he knew. He must have known that it was you she loved, long before she herself realized it. I am fairly certain that he somehow tricked her into marrying him, maligned you in some way, or something. That's why he forbade her to sing. He feared music might remind her of you and make her realize who she truly loved.."
Erik stared at her. Whatever his opinion of that boy, he had never considered the possibility that the Vicomte might have been the only one of the three of them to truly understand Christine's heart all those years ago, at the Opéra Populaire. "You think," he rasped, "he deliberately kept us apart, knowing that in doing so he might greatly hurt Christine?"
Gertraud nodded. "I think he acted very selfishly, but of course I have no proof."
Erik sighed. "He might even have done so, thinking that he was saving her from a fate worse than death, from life with a monster," he thought. Even with proof it might be difficult to convince Christine of the fact that her late husband had not acted in her best interest by binding her to him.
"That suspicion of yours won't help us," he finally explained to Gertraud. "Especially without proof. She might not believe us even if we could prove our theory."
"We need to find out first, if there is any other problem that might prevent her from accepting your proposal next year," Dora reminded them. "Maybe she is so reluctant, because she fears losing her children if she remarries?"
Erik shook his head. "Her husband's family has very little interest in the girls. It would be different if she had a son. Then he would be the heir and the family would try to supervise his education and influence him. They certainly would object to Christine taking him here with her. But the two little girls, no, I don't think they care one way or another. I bet they'd be glad to be rid of the obligation towards these poor relatives if I adopted them."
Dora nodded. "That's what I thought," she agreed with Erik. "What else might make her reluctant to follow her heart now? Do you think she fears her children might not accept you?" She did not mention the mask, but Erik understood her nevertheless. "That they might not want a replacement for their beloved father?" She added as an explanation for Gertraud's benefit.
"I don't think so," Erik replied. "I was a bit concerned about that point as well, but, ..." He shook his head. "No. Antoinette – my … foster sister – says that Christine has already told the children about me and they want to meet me. In fact, I have already met one of them..." and he told the surprised ladies how he had found little Amélie sobbing in the shack.
"Then that's not a problem either," Dora commented. "That leaves the possibility that she might face some financial loss by remarrying, but from what the two of you have told me, that family grants her such a small widow's pension that she would actually be better off if she married you, Erik. So I guess you are right, and the only problem you might have to face would be her exaggerated conception of loyalty towards her deceased husband. Of course it is possible that we are worrying about nothing. It has only been a few weeks since her husband died. The pain and the loss are still fresh. Her perspective may change after a while. We will just have to wait and see. I am sure that your sister will do her best to influence her charge in your favor and Gertraud will remind her every now and then that she has it in her hands to make you the happiest man alive."
Gertraud blushed. "I know that many people think I am a scatterbrain," she admitted, "but I can be quite tactful, when necessary. This certainly is such a case. I will do my best to make Christine realize where her future lies." She grinned. "I want her to come back to Berlin," she added. "Therefore I'd better be extra careful."
The conspirators then discussed the best way of action. They would meet regularly at the Lüders-home to share information and decide how to react to whatever news Erik would get from Antoinette or Gertraud would receive from Christine directly. Gertraud and Antoinette would correspond as well, but through Erik, to avoid that Christine might find out about their conspiracy.
Xxxx
A few days later, Mme. Giry received a long letter from Erik, informing her to expect financial support from him for her three boarding guests, that he was working on plans for a house large enough to hold them all, and that he was putting her in touch with Madame von Reifenstein, so that the two of them could also plot to help Christine make the right decision.
The first monthly rent arrived within the week, and Mme. Giry was delighted that she could now spoil Christine and the girls a bit more. A piece of chocolate, some ice-cream, a new ribbon for Amélie's unruly curls, a new dress for Isabelle's favorite doll, all of these things were now affordable.
As soon as she caught Meg alone, Mme. Giry informed her daughter of Erik's offer to come to Berlin and live with him and Christine once they would be married. Meg liked the idea. She was particularly happy to hear that the ballet at the opera in Berlin had very high standards and was always looking for new talent. With Erik's connections to the music and theater scene there it would be easy for her to get an audition. "And we will be able to stay together. We won't have to lose Christine and the girls again!"
Mme. Giry therefore wrote back to Erik, thanking him for his generous financial support and informing him that she and Meg were looking forward to moving to Berlin with Christine and the children.
Xxx
In the meantime, Erik had bought a huge lot of land in the prestigious Wannsee district and was busily working on designing the new home for his extended family. Since he had used Nadir, who was unfamiliar to members of the Berlin society, as his agent for all transactions regarding the purchase of the land and the actual building of the villa, the owner of the magnificent villa remained a mystery for the time being. The construction of the house was finished by the time the first fall rains hit the city, and once the snow began to melt it was fully furbished and waiting for its new inhabitants. Everything was ready for the future lady of the house and her lovely daughters to take possession of their new home.
