Chapter 29

"It is so good to see you again Erik!" exclaimed Christine as she gave him a warm hug. She and Raoul had stopped for a visit in which she had agreed to sing soprano for one of the shows. Erik and Laurette decided that it would in fact be great publicity for them. The audience would be gossiping for months with Laurette directing the very woman who had out sung her. Yet it was almost amusing to Erik that he and Raoul barely shook hands while Christine gave Laurette a very quick embrace. Some things did not change.

"We have some news," said Raoul with a smile as he sat down for tea in the library where Maria was serving them.

"We are the owners of the new Opera House that has been built!" said Christine excitedly.

"Really?" asked Erik. He had seen the reports of another theater being built far away but no one had said who the owner was. While the theater would provide some competition for the Opera Populaire, he and Laurette were not too concerned as it was still far enough away from Paris. And Paris always drew a crowd of tourists.

"Yes, I am afraid it is true," said Raoul. "I hope you are not offended. We did not want to take away from the publicity of the Opera Populaire just yet. And of course we will not announce it until Christine has sung at your next performance."

"I see," said Erik narrowing his eyes slightly at Raoul. "And yet when she has completed her performance, you will take advantage and make the announcement to gain even more publicity."

Christine gave a slight smile. "Well Erik, it is not as if we have not helped both of you in some way."

"You have helped a great deal," Erik agreed. "We can do no other than endorse your own Opera House."

"Thank you Erik. I was hoping you would feel this way," replied Christine. "And so perhaps you will let Laurette do a very public visit to assist us."

"Assist you?" asked Erik growing uneasy.

"Well yes," said Raoul. "We may be the new owners but we know nothing of selecting the right Company or director. She could help us a great deal."

"Including the publicity you would receive," Erik could not help mutter. He was happy for Christine but any further use of Laurette was questionable.

"And wait until you hear the acoustics!" said Christine to Laurette. "It is positively amazing! It is so incredible with how far designing a new Opera House has come. You can hear the voices from the stage so clearly. We do not have to worry near as much about where to specifically place the cast for certain parts during a song."

"Really?" asked Laurette now clearly interested.

"We could publicize your visit in assisting us with our selection of the Company," continued Raoul. "And then hold a concert style of artists to give an early preview. I'd ask you to sing but…," he hesitated as Erik glared at him. "I do not think that would be wise in regards to your health. We are more than content for you to visit and watch the performance…with Erik of course."

"It sounds exciting," said Laurette with her eyes shining. "Tell me about-,"

"Just how far of a journey is this Opera House?" interrupted Erik.

"Well it is in fact a little over a day journey by carriage," said Raoul.

"And you are worried about my wife singing? How can you expect her to travel so far with her health?" demanded Erik.

"Erik-," Laurette said.

"No Laurette," said Erik. "Doctor Charette would not approve."

"And when has that stopped me before?" retorted Laurette.

"It will not only be him this time. I forbid you to do this."

"You forbid me. Forbid me?" asked Laurette incredulously.

Christine and Raoul shifted uncomfortably. "Perhaps you can get back to us on your answer," said Raoul awkwardly.

Erik was seething. Raoul had no right to even give Laurette the impression that there would be such consideration. But he drew a calming breath as Christine gently reached out and placed her hand on top of his.

"It is alright Erik," she said quietly. "I am just happy to be back here. I feel that this is the only true Opera House I could ever love."

But as Laurette gave Erik a quick glare, he knew this argument was far from over. He sighed. "We will discuss this later. Why don't we gather in the theater for rehearsal?"

Christine nodded and Raoul walked her out the door towards the theater.

"You did not need to be like that," Laurette practically hissed at Erik.

"When it comes to your health I can behave however I choose."

"Oh honestly! You are so stubborn Erik!"

"Excuse me? Who are we talking about?"

His question broke the tension and Laurette broke down and laughed. "Stop it. I am trying to be angry," she said trying to cover her smile with her hand.

Erik took her hand away from her face and kissed it. "You must admit that we both have very…strong minds. And you are such a talented woman."

"Now you are just trying to get out of the argument by flattery."

"Yes I am. Is it working?" he asked as he began to kiss the inside of her wrist.

"Obviously I am interrupting something," said Justine suddenly appearing in the doorway.

Erik pulled away from Laurette and frowned at him. "We are coming. Go on Justine." He smirked in reaction and left. With a sigh, Erik cradled Laurette's arm around his and together they walked to the theater.

But later in the week, Erik was greatly agitated that Laurette was still insistent on her demands to visit Raoul and Christine's new opera house. When the night of Christine's performance came, Erik was still sulking and excused himself from the ball afterwards. He could have easily attended as Monsieur Rosseau since the ball was once again a masquerade. But his spirits were dampened with the thought of Laurette placing too much strain on her. She tried to assure him, but he was still not being persuaded enough to give up his mood.

He was trying to relax and sit in the library reading. He wanted to wait up for Laurette and make sure she was put to bed immediately. But he was surprised when he found Maurice standing in the doorway.

"Um, Maestro. I-I am afraid the authorities are here."

A chill went through Erik and he had the urge to immediately vault from the room to his secret mirror. "What did you say?" he asked trying to keep himself calm.

"The authorities. Police. They want to speak with Monsieur Rosseau thinking he would be here tonight at the ball with Madame Duprey."

Erik shrank back in his chair. "What do they want?"

"I do not know but I do not think it has anything to do with something he…err…you did. I mean, they are not looking to arrest Monsieur Rosseau. They seem to want him as a witness."

How the hell could they want him as a witness when no one ever saw the man? Erik stood up. "And they think I am here."

"Well…yes. I tried to at least say that I did not know where you were but they would not believe me. They were threatening to go right into the ballroom which would not bring the type of publicity we need of course. Could you at least see what they want?"

Erik frowned. He certainly did not want them talking with Laurette. He left the room briefly and returned with a colored mask as to appear he was in fact attending the ball. Maurice led the way to a distant sitting room he had left them in. When Erik entered, he found two policemen that stood up from their chairs as soon as they saw him. And in between them was…Charles.

What the Hell?

"Monsieur Rosseau?" asked the policeman on the left.

Erik gave a simple nod.

"We are so very sorry to inconvenience you this evening. And we apologize that this matter could not wait."

Erik actually relaxed slightly. They were treating him as one of the upper class in which this was considered an insult for taking him away from such a public event.

"However, we needed to know. We…well…we understand that you are sometimes with Madame Duprey here at the Opera House." The policeman coughed slightly, trying to cover his directness. "That is to say, even late into the evening. Or…so we have heard."

Erik's eyes narrowed. He did not need Laurette's reputation ruined further. "She is my wife," he said suddenly before thinking.

Both of the men looked surprised. "Oh…yes, that would explain how you have said to be here. Although we had not heard of any such wedding."

"My affairs as you know are quite private," said Erik thinking quickly. "I am not one to be on a…social basis."

They nodded. "Yes of course Monsieur. We have heard that for years you have kept to yourself." The one officer then grinned. "Of course we completely understand how an intriguing woman such as Madame Duprey would change some of that."

Erik was annoyed but gave a slight nod. "Yes. Now, if you would please tell me the purpose of your visit?"

The two men straightened immediately. "Do you know this man?" one of them asked gesturing toward Charles in between them.

Erik looked at Charles who was staring at the floor. He was not even dressed in his usual butler attire. Something was very wrong. "Yes," said Erik quietly. "He serves with me and Madame Duprey of course."

They looked somewhat relieved in response. "And…he was with you last night?"

Puzzled, Erik narrowed his eyes slightly at Charles who continued to look at the floor. The truth was that he had no idea where Charles was the evening before. "Yes. In fact I had him perform a number of duties to get ready for the ball this evening."

"Yes, yes, that makes sense of course. Forgive us then Monsieur. We have the wrong man. Ah yes…," said the policeman as suddenly another uniformed man walked into the room. He was dragging a small woman with him who appeared to be dressed as a maid. Tears streaked her young face as she sobbed. "You may take her back to Monsieur Leduc now. This is not the man that helped her leave his household."

Erik was shocked but remained silent.

"Again, we are sorry for the confusion. Thank you Monsieur." The policemen bowed politely and left, pushing the girl out the door.

Charles remained silent in front of Erik.

"I do not suppose you would like to tell my why I just lied to the authorities," he said in a low voice.

There was no response.

"Very well," said Erik gruffly. "But let me make it very clear to you that if I find out you are hurting Maria in any way, I will show you the true feeling of pain." He turned and began to walk out of the room.

"The girl is pregnant," Charles suddenly blurted out.

Erik stopped and stiffened. He slowly turned back to Charles. "The child is yours?"

Charles recoiled immediately. "Oh no…Monsieur…I would never…please...no, you do not understand…but I am unable to…tell you everything. I was only trying to help the girl."

"She is not your lover then?"

"Oh God, no Monsieur," said Charles now with a look of panic.

"Then why?"

"I…it is difficult for me to say."

Erik thought for a moment. "Difficult because you are unable to speak of your prior master?" he asked.

"Y-yes. Monsieur Leduc was my former employer I am afraid."

"I see."

The silence stretched out between them for a few moments and then Erik drew a breath. "Charles, do you trust me?"

"Oh yes Monsieur."

"Even though you have not known me for long?"

Charles raised his head. "You have treated my wife with nothing more than kindness. That alone gives you my trust."

"Then you must tell me what is going on."

Charles hung his head but then spoke hard and fast. "Monsieur Leduc has a habit of hiring very young girls as servants. It is not uncommon for him to have them serve him in…a variety of ways even against their wishes."

"Are you saying he has raped innocent girls?"

"Y-yes, Monsieur. For years I told myself that it was my duty not to say anything. But I finally resigned when I could no longer…," Charles paused. "When I could no longer bear to see a young girl die because of him."

Erik narrowed his eyes. "He murders them?"

"When one of the girls he has taken is found to be with child, he has Doctor Fornier visit so that…an abortion can be performed. Some do not survive as a result of infection or excessive bleeding."

Oh God, thought Erik. "And the young woman you were with last night. She is one of the servants you were helping?"

"Y-yes. I promised her that I would come back for her before Doctor Fornier's visit."

Erik frowned. "And what did you plan to do next? Save each girl one by one? Why do I think there is more to this?"

Charles said nothing and bit his lip confirming Erik's thoughts.

"You no doubt know who I really am," said Erik calmly. "And just as you trust me, I am placing my faith in you to keep my identity quiet. But as a known murderer myself, I am not naïve enough to believe that you would just resign from Monsieur Leduc and leave it at that."

"He rides every Sunday evening…late…after dark. His colleagues for years tell him it is a dangerous habit as horses can…frighten easily."

Erik understood immediately. Charles would hide along the trail to cause some type of surprise in hopes that the horse would throw Monsieur Leduc. He studied Charles for a few more moments. "I will ensure that you have…an errand to run for me on Sunday evening."

Charles eyes widened in response but before he could say anything, Erik left the room.

The next morning Charles remained quieter than usual, not even scolding his wife if she fussed over Erik and Laurette. While Erik enjoyed the normalcy of Maria's attention, it made Laurette uneasy.

"He is oddly not bossing Maria around," said Laurette that evening as she scribbled notes on the music sheet in front of her. They were sitting in the library where they were sitting close together on a couch. A fire was blazing in front of them in the fireplace setting Erik at ease with the warmth in the room.

"There is nothing to be concerned about. Besides," he said suddenly thinking this was Sunday evening. "I gave him a few errands to do around town. He will not even be around this evening."

Laurette finally stopped asking questions about Charles and went back to discussing music with him. Erik was grateful that Maurice had kept his silence about the authorities. He had told Maurice it was better not to worry Laurette.

And then out of the corner of his eye, Erik saw Charles throwing on his coat and hurrying past the library down the hall. Erik sat trying to listen to Laurette as she chattered away about something he should be interested in. However his mind was on Charles. He cursed silently in his mind. Why the hell should he care anyway?

Because he is Maria's husband you idiot and you do not want his lack of experience in murder to have him get caught.

Erik's thoughts were interrupted by banging on the door to the suite. Maria hurried to the door and he could hear some commotion. She came into the library with a worried look on her face.

"What is it?" asked Laurette.

"The authorities were looking for Monsieur Leduc, to see if he had visited here. Apparently one of his maids had tried to sneak out of his home the other night with someone. After strongly talking to the girl last night she admitted that someone might be out to strike against Monsieur Leduc."

Erik immediately stiffened. "Are they still here?"

"The authorities? Oh no, Monsieur. I sent them away letting them know that Madame was resting."

"Erik, where are you going?" asked Laurette as he suddenly stood up.

"I need some fresh air. It is very hot in here with the fire."

"Oh Monsieur, I am so sorry. I know you are used to colder temperatures when you used to live…," Maria paused awkwardly.

"It is fine." He bent down and kissed Laurette. "I will not be long. Just a quick walk."

"Please be careful," said Laurette with concern.

He touched her cheek in reassurance and then quickly grabbed his cloak as he walked out of the suite and then left the Opera House. The night air was cool and crisp. Already dark, Erik easily slipped into the night without being seen. He caught up with the policeman to overhear their discussion.

"I hear he goes riding by the woods late at night. We should make our way to his normal trail just to see if everything is alright."

Erik followed them. When they came to the edge of town, it was eerily silent, the woods making sound only from the swaying trees in the wind. Thankfully the two men moved back towards town. He continued to listen as their voices were carried away to the distance.

And then Erik heard a set of hooves galloping quickly towards him in the darkness. But before the horse could reach him, a tree began to fall directly onto the path. In a panic, the horse reared up, throwing its rider. The tree landed with a crack and the horse cried out as the log rolled. The horse tried to instinctively jump over the tree but one of the loose reins had dropped onto the ground, now caught by the tree. As a result the horse's head was jerked back and it struggled to break free. Charles emerged from the woods, racing over to the fallen man while Erik silently moved just as fast.

"You!" gasped Monsieur Leduc who was now bleeding from his head. Charles, who most likely thought the man was dead, stopped in shock.

Erik quickly took his knife and cut one of the reins from the horse, which then immediately bolted. In a flash, Erik took the rein and strangled the neck of Monsieur Leduc, who thrashed his body in reaction. And then in one swift movement, Erik broke the man's neck.

"Oh…God," whispered Charles as he was kneeling beside them now. He looked at Erik with terrified eyes.

"I knew you would not have finished it," said Erik in a low tone as he stripped the rein away from Monsieur Leduc's neck. "It is not uncommon for a man who is thrown from his horse to be found with a broken neck." He stood up satisfied that the man was dead. He had thought of Julia for a moment and felt relieved that this man would never have his hands on her.

Charles stood up slowly. "I…I am in your debt Monsieur," he said with a shaking voice.

Erik nodded. "You owe me for this night." And then he disappeared into the darkness.