Chapter 51

The happy couple returned to the house. Both Madeline and Severine were both at home and seated in the sitting room. They could see that both Erik and Christine were in excellent spirits and their mood was contagious.

Severine was the first to speak to them. "You seem particularly pleased; would you care to fill us in on what is going on, or do we have to use our powers of divination to guess?"

Erik laughed "No special powers are needed dear sister. It probably will come as no shock to you but Christine and I have set a wedding date and location."

Severine and Madeline's faces both lit up. "Where and when will this happy event be?"

Erik answered "Tomorrow afternoon late in the afternoon. I made the arrangements this morning before my meeting with the Comtesse."

Christine looked at him and laughed "You already made them before I agreed to the location and time?"

Erik gave her a guilty expression "Mademoiselle, after your scandalous behavior last night I could hardly wait any longer. I did not want to ruin your sterling reputation." He joked. He continued "Besides I am a very selfish man, I did not want to spend another night without you by my side."

Christine asked "What about tonight?"

Erik smiled at her "Your last chance to flee from this monster. You still have the ability to free yourself from me. I severed your chains a long time ago."

She replied "But I put them back on you."

Madeline looked at her daughter in law and smiled "May I give you a hug and a kiss and welcome you to our family. We have not known one another for very long but I hope that we can be great friends."

Christine and Madeline hugged and Severine joined in as well. Erik stood back and surveyed them. They looked at him with an invitation to join. Erik shook his head no. He still had trouble with receiving that sort of affection. It was one thing to hug and kiss Christine, and even Severine was alright, on her own. But his mother was a different story and the whole group hug and kiss experience was as alien to him as a trip to Mars.

He slowly retreated from the room, as he could hear their gleeful discussions of the whole event. He could overhear Severine tell Christine "What of your wedding dress and flowers and bridesmaid dresses too? What about the celebratory feast? My brother obviously has not thought about these things."

Christine giggled "I am sure that Erik has thought about it, but he wants it to be a simple affair, with a reception at a later time for our friends who could not make it."

Erik smiled and looked at his watch, any moment there was going to be a knock at the door and the wedding dress that he ordered from Paris would come. It was similar but even more extravagant then the dress that Erik forced her to wear on the night that they fled Paris. He also had several other gowns delivered directly from the last train from Paris. When someone has a lot of money, it is amazing how easily you can make things happen. He only smiled and wondered what Christine's reaction would be when she realizes who the morning train from Paris would bring. Erik was able to rent a whole train car and a chef and supplies from one of the best restaurants in Paris and the maid of honor, Meg Giry, and her mother would be on that train as well, as well as Nadir.

Erik knew that Christine would be saddened by the fact that her best friend would not be there to share her happiness, and so he made sure that the ever dedicated and efficient Daroga would escort the two ladies to Normandy. The only important friend of Christine's who could not be invited was Raoul; the danger of him tipping off his brother to his continued presence in the area was too great. Erik was, in a way, relieved. He did not think that it was a great idea to have his rival at the wedding. It would be both hurtful to the Vicomte to rub his final victory over him, and a little disconcerting, especially since not so long before, Erik was trying to force her to marry him against her will. He did not want too many subtle reminders of that day. He did tell the Comtesse about the proposed wedding and invited her to come if she could slip by the notice of her son and stepson. She promised to try but she could not guarantee her attendance.

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door and several men entered carrying a trousseau for the bridal party. Christine glanced at Erik, who flashed her a wicked grin, as if he had been caught doing something naughty.

He smirked "I hope that you like what has been chosen for you my love, I saw this dress in Paris sometime back and thought that it would be perfect on you."

Christine knew, from experience, that Erik usually had impeccable taste in clothing. He had stocked an entire wardrobe for Christine in his lair. She rarely disagreed with his taste. Her future mother in law and sister in law pulled out several dresses from the pile of clothing. Each one was more beautiful than the next with the finest fabrics available. Madeline had not worn such finery since her days as a young debutante in Rouen. She realized that for her son to effortlessly afford such extravagance that he had to be very well off. Erik smiled at his sister and mother and told them to choose any dress that pleased them. He had purchased dresses of various styles and sizes not knowing which would suit who. The ladies hunted for the bridal gown, which they found in its own bag. They pulled it out and found a gorgeous satin and silk lace crème dress with mother of pearl and crystal sewn in. Christine looked in wonderment at the dress. She and Meg had once seen the very same dress in a store on the Rue de la Paix.

Christine exclaimed gleefully. "The dress is exquisite, Erik, Meg and I saw it some time back and both imagined us in it. How did you know?"

Erik admitted "I didn't but when I saw it I knew that it would look beautiful on you. I saw the other gown before this one, and had already purchased it for you. When the other one met its unfortunate demise I decided to buy this one instead."

Severine asked curiously "What other dress?"

Erik shot Christine a Phantom like look, forcing her silence on what had become an embarrassment for him. Christine did not dare rile him.

Christine laughed. "It is a long and boring story, nothing that you would find very interesting."

Severine did not want to let it go "Let me be the judge of that?"

Christine told her "Some stories are better left unsaid."

Erik, pulled out a pouch that was in the same bag as his clothing and extracted a case from a jewelry store in Paris. He presented it to Christine, who opened it. It contained a diamond and sapphire necklace and matching earrings. The sapphires resembled Christine's eye color.

Christine turned to Erik "Your generosity is overwhelming. At this pace, we will soon be in the poorhouse."

He smiled at her, raising a sardonic brow "Hardly my dear, is it so terrible to spoil your bride on her wedding day? I wanted to make it special for you."

Christine laughed "I would have been content wearing bearskins and bone necklaces, as long as I am marrying you."

Erik pulled her towards him and told her "Just because you are marrying a man who looks like a Neanderthal doesn't mean that you need to dress like one on your wedding day."

The women each sat through dinner talking about the upcoming wedding. Erik was secretly pleased with himself for not giving them any warning. He could only imagine how bored he would be if they were gushing over it for the next week. He congratulated himself on his own genius at doing it this way. Perhaps he really was a bright man.

After dinner, he retired to the guestroom (more like retreated) so that he could get a good night's sleep. As he removed his mask and looked into the mirror and saw his own hideous reflection, he wondered what madness that he had passed on to Christine that allowed her to ever think of attaching herself to him. He wondered if perhaps she had inhaled too much smoke in the labyrinth on the way out. He was truly a beast not worthy of such an exquisite bride or indeed any willing bride. He remembered the feeling of sorrow that came over him when the young girl that the Khanum had chosen for him as a bride decided that death was preferable to a lifetime with him. He let his darker thoughts pass through his mind, and then comforted himself with the fact that this time, she really was willing to pledge her life to him. He would never have to be alone and unloved again. It is why he had gone to so much trouble to make her wedding day so special, without her love his life would have continued to be empty and lonely, no matter how many riches he could acquire.

The night fled quickly into the next day. In the late morning there was a visitor. They were expecting none until the afternoon. Erik and Christine fled to the unseen portions of the house and Severine answered the door. The visitor was the Vicomte. She needed to get rid of him before he noticed anything unusual. She looked at him in a panic, sounding more irate towards him than she actually was.

"What are you doing here Raoul?" she asked.

"I came to apologize to you, I should not have said the things that I did about Erik, but I have to admit I am jealous of him." He looked at her very remorsefully. "I did not behave as a gentleman should have."

Severine looked at him and was touched by his gesture. "Apology accepted." she told him, shortly. She was very dismissive of him and he misunderstood and thought that she was still angry at him.

"Mademoiselle Barye, I would think that you would have the grace to accept my apology." He said, sharply.

She realized that she had hurt him. "I meant nothing by it Monsieur le Vicomte; it is just a busy day for me. I am sorry."

He was still hurt by her apparent indifference. "I understand, I had thought that perhaps before we had words together that we were enjoying one another's company. I was hoping to reestablish our rapport, but I guess that I was mistaken." He turned to go.

She stopped him "Wait Raoul, please come back tomorrow, truly it is just a very busy day. My sister in law is quite ill and needs me to come and help watch her children." I am always lying to this poor boy she thought to herself.

He looked at her and saw her distress and relaxed. His good humor was restored. "I will come for you tomorrow morning; perhaps we can take another walk. The weather has been so nice."

She smiled at him and told him "Thank you for being so understanding Raoul. I will see you tomorrow."

With that she closed the door in his face. Christine was standing near the door and she had heard the whole conversation.

"Poor Raoul." She told her sympathetically. "He is such a nice boy. I am sorry that you have to lie to him for us. Hopefully we can come back out in the open soon."

Severine looked at her in distress. "I seem to be always lying to him. Most boys have accused me of being too honest. Raoul never seems to hear an honest word from my lips anymore."

"You are a great girl, Severine, he will see that."

She perked up "Do you think so?" she questioned searching Christine's face.

"I know so." She said.

Two hours passed and Christine was getting nervous. The wedding was going to be in only a few more hours. Erik was following tradition and would not see her.

She heard a knock on the door, and familiar voices, very familiar voices. Oh my God, she thought to herself. That sounds like Madame Giry, and Meg. She immediately knew Erik.

That man has thought of everything and in such a short time. He knew that I would feel bad not having Meg and Madame Giry with me, they are the closest thing that I have to a mother or sister. How did he do it?

She came out and sure enough they were there standing just inside the doorway talking to Madeline and Severine. Nadir was there too and making the introductions. Meg saw her first and squealed in delight. They ran over to one another and hugged and kissed each other, as if it had been years since they last met.

Meg turned to her "I got your note. I can't believe that you are getting married, and to the Phantom of all people. He is truly not forcing you is he?"

Christine shot a quick glance towards Madeline and Severine hoping that they did not hear that. Erik would be so hurt.

She smiled at her friend "No silly, we were so wrong about Erik, he is the most wonderful man, he thinks of everything. He even brought you here because he knew that I would want you. I can't wait until I have time to fill you in on everything but I am more than willing. I think that I would die of a broken heart if I couldn't marry him."

Like the Opera Ghost, that he once was, Erik listened to their conversation and was very happy. She really did want him. She would never deceive Meg. He prayed to the God that he always thought had hated him, and hoped that their love would endure and never die.