I hope that the last chapter gave you more insight into the Comtesse's motives. I don't like to reveal everything about her all at once. She is fun to write. I enjoy bring out her psycotic side.

Chapter 29

Raoul's POV May 12, 1881, Six weeks after the events in Chapter 28

I saw my mother with a letter in hand. She gave me a very grave face and I knew that she was the bearer of some sort of bad news. Her blue-green eyes lingered on my face with concern. She looked at me as if she was deciding whether and what to tell me.

I looked at her and asked her gently. "You look troubled maman, what's wrong?"

My mother was, most of the time a very kind and gentle lady, with the exception of her views about Christine. The letter had the seal of the Comtesse de la Bois. I know that her 'cousin' sometimes possessed a power over her that was not always benign. My mother liked to accede to her 'requests' because the Comtesse was a formidable woman and made a powerful enemy to those who stood in her way. She boasted of her royal blood, as if she had been born a Princess, but in fact it had been generations since her family had been Royal. Her grandfather was a Marquis, and the title was extinguished with his death in Russia.

I had great reservations about sending Christine to live with her. She had lived on her own for many years and had never expressed any interest in obtaining a companion prior to wanting Christine. A part of me had wanted to keep Christine away from the old dragon. I was upset with Christine for turning her back on me, and I wanted her to be accessible so that I could renew our relationship, after she had time to settle down, and break the beast's hold upon her. I did not feel that it would hurt her to spend a few months under her thumb. Christine was as meek and subdued as my own mother and she would probably welcome a reprieve when I visited Alsace to see my 'cousin'. I could picture myself comforting Christine already. She would beg me to rescue her once again from the arrogant old woman. This time I could do so without earning either a rope around my neck or a mark upon my cheek. I smiled to myself as I pictured the joy on her lovely face. I would bring our old engagement ring just in case.

My mother looked at me and seemed to come to a decision. She handed me the letter and I read

Dear Aurore;

I write this letter with great concern. I believe that the girl that you sent to me, Raoul's ex fiancé, might be in grave danger from one of our neighbors. I did not think it important to tell you but my coach broke down on the way to Strasbourg, while I was on my way to retrieve Christine from the train station. I was rescued by a masked man, who identified himself as the Baron von Mulheim, one of our noble families in the area. I was not concerned because the von Mulheim's were known to be a family of honor, and he was very helpful to me. He offered to take me to his estate, and pick up Christine from Strasbourg. I gratefully accepted because, as you know my estate is a half days ride further from Strasbourg than his, and it was late in the day and Christine had been waiting for some time. He offered us the opportunity to spend the night there. I agreed. I knew the Baron's grandfather, great uncle and cousins so I was not suspicious in the least, and he seemed to be such a fine young gentleman.

Christine arrived and while at first the two did not cross paths, they eventually did and there was instant recognition from each. The Baron insisted on speaking with the girl alone and I could hear him screaming at her rather loudly and accusing her of all sorts of things including a plot against his life. He vowed to make her pay and soon he made her his prisoner. I believe that he will force her to marry him, and then dispose of her after he has used her in a horrible way. I now believe, to my mortification, that the man is a known murderer. I was made aware of the fact that he is none other than the infamous Phantom of the Opera. I know that Raoul is quite fond of the girl and would want to know what is going on, I am therefore imploring you to let him know, so he could come to the poor girl's rescue.

Your loving cousin,

Auguste Marie

I put down the letter and turned to my maman "I must leave right away. The beast has Christine in his clutches once again. There is no telling what he might do to her."

My maman glanced at me in concern. "Do you really want to face him alone? Perhaps you should notify the gendarmes and let them look into it. That is why I hesitated to tell you, I was afraid that you would be off like an errant knight trying to save her. Look at what he did to your face, last time that you faced that monster, do you want the same to happen or worse just for an ungrateful Swedish chit? She made her bed let her lie in it."

I looked at her, and I knew that she spoke the truth; but it could take some time to get the gendarmes to act, and by then the monster might have done unspeakable things to Christine. I could not leave her alone to such a fate, not my Lotte. No matter how she had behaved I still loved her and did not wish to see her come to harm. He once claimed to love her but the last time that he had spoken to Raoul, he sounded like he hated her. He blamed her for my attempt to kill him.

I felt terribly guilty. I should have killed him before he fled. I should not have let Christine out of my sight. I vowed that I would find him and finish the job, even if it resulted in my death. I owed that much to Christine for failing to help her, for sending her into the lion's den. I found my pistols and other weaponry, and packed a bag. I had a servant drive me first to the gendarmerie and then to the train station where I bought a ticket to Haguenau. I had one advantage; he would not know that I was coming. He would not be prepared for my strike this time. When I cut the creature down, I would stand over his wretched body and make sure that I did not leave until he was truly dead. Then I would take Christine into my arms, where she would welcome me once more, and I would marry her.

Christian's POV

It was official; I was as in love with Meg, as Erik was with Christine. She and I had spent much time together over the past six weeks and my official feeling of love only grew stronger. She was the most amazing girl that I had ever laid eyes upon and so sweet and kind and loving that I wanted to spend every moment together. At first, I was almost speechless when I was around her. I was so stricken by both her beauty and her amazing eyes and her infectious laughter. She laughed at my silence and tried to draw me out. Erik was flabbergasted at my silence. He could not believe that I had been made to be so quiet. He laughed at me and told me that someone had clearly cast a spell upon me to render me so mute. I told him that he was right. Not even Ingrid had so enchanted me. It was true what they said about the French they were very proficient in the art of love.

A few short weeks ago, I was comforting Erik and trying to bring him out of his shell, but ironically our roles had reversed and he was bringing me out of mine. His happiness at being with his soprano at last, and the knowledge that she truly wanted him, had wrought a huge transformation in him. I could see the man that he could be and I was truly happy for him. He would tell me that I needed to cosset Meg, and to bring her flowers from the rose garden and make all of the 'proper moves'.

He looked at me and told me "You Germans are much too proper. If I had your good looks cousin, I would have been married long ago; the women would have been flocking to me instead of running away in terror."

I smiled back at him and retorted "Christine does not seem terrified of you at all, cousin. I have never seen a fiancé look at her intended with as much love as she looks at you. How did you ever doubt her love for you? It is so perfectly clear.'

He looked at me with a smile and said. "We have come a long way in our relationship. Christine has finally lost all of her fear of me and has learned to accept even my most repugnant parts including my face and my temper. She is trying to convince me not to wear my mask and wig around the Schloss, but I am not yet ready to let everyone be subjected to my face."

"I have been urging you to do the same since the moment that I met you. You told me that my suggestion to get out in the sun, to get rid of your pale complexion, helped to make her less repulsed by your looks." I reminded him.

"Yes, you were right and Christine agrees." He acknowledged, graciously "Apparently she has other ideas for my 'makeover' as well. She thinks that I should adopt less somber colors than black for my attire, at least in the spring and summer. She believes that blues and greens would bring out the color of my eyes. She also feels that I should don a smaller mask and then cover some of my less repulsive areas with greasepaint. She told me that if I covered just my temple and a small part of my cheek that I would be less forbidding." He laughed "She believes that if I do as she says that I would appear to many, to be quite handsome, and that few would even turn their eyes to gaze at me with anything but admiration. She is also helping me decide how to decorate this Schloss. She believes that I should send for some of my furniture in Paris. Many are antique pieces in the baroque style. She feels that they would be more beautiful than the current heavy Victorian fashions. I told her that it might offend you and your Teutonic sensibilities but she just laughed at me."

I smiled "I am beginning to develop a taste for all things French. When I was in Paris in '71, I was a young officer in a Prussian uniform and the French there all looked at me in hatred; as if I were singlehandedly responsible for the war. Some even spat at me on the streets. For that reason I developed an aversion to the French; but between you and the Girys I have changed my mind; there is not a better, more amiable, people on the planet than the French. I raised a cup of our wine to my cousin and poured him a glass, he took it graciously and we toasted "Vive la France!"

He laughed at me and insisted that we make a toast for Germany as well. We drank a little more. I poured a little more wine and toasted 'Zum Wohl' which was a desire for him to have good health, and I did fervently desire that it would remain true. I had spent some time trying to make the Gräfin believe that I was still on her side. I wanted to find out what she had planned so I could thwart whatever she planned. I could no longer allow her to harm Erik, no matter what vows I had made as a young man. I would have warned Erik, but still did not know how to get past what I had done to his grandfather, and what my father had done to his. His life might have been so much better if his father had lived or if he had the chance to meet his own grandfather, who would have cherished him despite his deformity. I'd had the power to change his life for the better, years ago, and I did not do so. I wanted desperately to beg his forgiveness. I was afraid that I would lose both his trust, and Meg's love. Could she love a murderer who was the son of a murderer? Someone who killed his own family? Erik might have had a deformity that people could see; but my mark was darker and truly demonic. I bore the sin of Cain. I had killed my own great uncle, a man who had taken me in as his heir. Erik was quite generous with me as well, still insisting that I take half of the estate as my patrimony.

"Traditional German law demands that an estate be divided among all of the heirs, Christian. If your grandfather had stayed you would have inherited his share upon your own father's death. I could not do less for you than that. You have been taking care of it for a long time. You are more worthy to inherit it than I am. I ignored my inheritance for many years and made no attempt to claim it." He told me

"You are as worthy as I, if not more, Erik. You believed that our family had rejected you, and your pride kept you from your patrimony. You believed that I would reject you as well if I knew the truth about you. If your mother had not lied to your grandfather, you would have had a home here. You never would have known anything different." I replied just as stubbornly.

"Then I wouldn't have met Christine." He reminded me "Nor you Meg. I would gladly have suffered all of the torment that I endured knowingly; if I knew at the end that my reward would be Christine. She is my soul mate."

I could see the look of adoration in my cousin's eyes and I understood it completely. I felt the same way about Meg.

Erik looked at me and could see my expression, my whole face lit up.

"You do have it badly. There is only one cure for what troubles you. You must ask Meg to marry you and we will share our wedding day when Christine and I choose one. Meg and Christine were best friends and I feel a very strong sense of kinship towards you." he offered.

"Are you sure that Christine wouldn't mind? She and Meg are still somewhat awkward together. I know that Meg still does not completely trust Christine even if you have decreed to both her and her mother that they should." I told him.

He sighed "Yes, I see it as well, which is one reason that I think that it is a good idea to get married jointly. It will give them something else in common to straighten their friendship. They have known one another since childhood and shared many experiences. Christine is still wary of her as well. If we are to be married to them we need for them to completely forgive one another. Otherwise this Schloss will remain very tense."

"Agreed." I told him. I joked "Who would have guessed that the infamous Phantom of the Opera would be so wise when it comes to women and their relationships." I joked.

"It comes from years of observing them interacting from the fringes. The ballerinas provided me with much entertainment. They were constantly falling in love with one handsome suitor or another." He told me lightly.

"Hmm being a ghost does have its benefits. You were never tempted to find them in flagrantre delicato?"

"God no." Erik replied "I may be hideous, but I am not a pervert. There were certain boundaries that I did not dare cross. I would not have been able to forgive myself if I had done so."

"But you are a man with natural urges. You must have been tortured by your self imposed limits." I observed sympathetically. "All of those years surrounded by beautiful women and not tasting any."

"It was worse than you think. When I was in Persia, I was surrounded by the Shah's harem. I did not partake of it there either, even when it was offered to me." Erik admitted.

"It was offered and you still turned it down." I asked him incredulously.

"I wanted it to be voluntary on the part of the woman. I would not settle for it any other way. How could I enjoy something, when my partner would find it repulsive?" he asked.

"You are made of sterner stuff then most men, cousin. Most men wouldn't care about such a thing, particularly if it were offered to them." I told him.

"Well, I did care, Christian I am not 'most men'. Most women would not mind someone, such as you, to warm their bed. Me, I look like something from their worst nightmare. It would be impossible to find comfort in someone's arms when they are screaming and trying to get away from you." He added bitterly.

"I am sorry Erik." I mumbled. I wondered what additional horrors that my cousin had endured.

He smiled at me softly "It no longer matters cousin. Now I have the most beautiful woman of all in my arms and she no longer is repulsed by me. She told me that I looked quite handsome the other night and I wasn't even wearing my mask. I suggested that she might be in need of some spectacles and she just smiled and told me that she could see me very clearly. She told me that she could observe me better than ever before and that I was handsome in every sense of the word." He smiled in wonderment at the memory.

"She is very sweet Erik. No wonder you are crazy about her. I can see now why you would want to keep such a girl at all costs." I told him.

"I do cousin, but I will not rush her to marry me until I am completely certain that she will not regret it. I have waited a long time and suffered greatly to win her love. I would not see it sullied by my own impatience to have her."

"You are a good person cousin, to put Christine's needs above your own." I told him sincerely. I was truly impressed with his patience. "I have come to view you as both a friend, and a brother." I told him, and I meant it strongly. For the last six weeks I had wavered back and forth between what actions that I should take. I had been twisted in so many ways. Finally I decided that I would side with my cousin and stop the Gräfin at all costs; even if it meant that Erik would find out how badly I had betrayed him. I just needed to figure out how to tell him the truth without destroying all of the bonds between us.