Paris, January 1881
"There's someone in Box Five!"
"Box Five? No, there's never been anyone in there before!"
"Look for yourself!"
The orchestra was abuzz as they gathered together near Reyer's podium in the orchestra stalls. Armel was the one who had initially made the discovery, his reed pursed between his lips as he anxiously chatted with others around him. Lisette sat at the organ, trying to ignore the bubbling in her stomach as she glanced at the box where Monsieurs Richard and Moncharmin sat. The two men seemed bothered at the sight of Box Five being occupied, waving and beaming to those in the orchestra seats below. It was quite a bold move on their second night as managers. She wondered what horrible tricks Erik would play on the poor occupants that evening.
No one seemed to notice Lisette quietly slip away from the orchestra stalls. She still had twenty minutes until the performance began. Perhaps it was enough time to prevent a mishap for everyone!
She had not dared to before, but she was comfortable enough with Erik that she used one of his secret passageways located underneath the stage to easily gain access to the promenade level. Spending the last few months with Erik had deterred her from being afraid in the dark, as she was used to running her hands along the brick walls as guidance.
When she entered the promenade level, she knocked on the door of Box Five as hard as she could, but took a step back when the door swung open. To her great surprise, Madame Giry stood in the doorway with three anxious occupants peering over her shoulder.
"Mademoiselle Geiger," Madame Giry said, looking her up and down. "What are you doing here?"
Lisette had been prepared to lie to the occupants of Box Five, but not to one of the opera house's employers! She swallowed the knot forming at the base of her throat, trying to ignore the occupants' stares at her face.
"I've been set to give notice that there has been a mistake with these patrons' seats," she said timidly, looking at Madame Giry's shoes.
"Madame Giry has already told us," a round, red-faced man in the box bellowed. "But we see no proof! Our admission tickets clearly state that we are to be seated in Box Five and Monsieurs Richard and Moncharmin we would receive the best box in the house!"
Madame Giry stared coldly at Lisette, almost making her feel guilty for intruding on the situation. "It seems that there is nothing else we can do," Madame Giry said through clenched teeth. "Now, Mademoiselle Geiger, I suggest that you return to the orchestra stalls. You have less than ten minutes until the performance begins."
Lisette glanced anxiously in the box once more, but hung her head in defeat and backed away, the door shutting swiftly in her face. She made her back to the passageway, a million thoughts racing through her mind as she felt her way along in the dark. What was Madame Giry doing warning those patrons against sitting in Box Five? Is she as superstitious as Monsieur Poligny was? Or does she know more about Erik than she's letting on?
She let out a cry when she felt something grab her arm, nearly knocking her over. She instinctively covered her face as she turned around, only to let out a sigh of relief when she made out the silhouette of a white mask in the darkness.
"Quite bold of you to be moving around down here by yourself," he said softly. "I have all kinds of traps set up for intruders, you know that!"
Lisette ignored his comments. "Please promise me you won't do anything rash tonight," she said. "Both myself and Madame Giry tried to move those attendees! Don't punish them for the new managers' foolishness."
She saw Erik's exposed eyebrow raise at the mention of Madame Giry. "This is the second time you've tried to prevent someone from sitting in my box," he replied, a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
Lisette sighed. "Did you hear anything I just said?"
"I'm allowed to have a bit of fun, aren't I? Someone needs to put the new managers in their place."
"Please," she said, trying to add desperation to her voice.
"I won't harm them, mademoiselle. Surely, you should know me better by now."
"Sometimes I truly don't know," she said. "I have to go, I'm going to miss the overture and all your grand plans will be ruined when I'm fired as the prima pianist!"
"As if they could dismiss you without my permission," Erik chortled. "And don't worry, Christine will be performing the role of Marguerite, as is proper for the prima donna. It will be an easy evening for you!"
Lisette was pleasantly surprised by this news, but it did nothing to appease her fears of what would happen to the occupants of Box Five.
"Goodnight, Erik," she said, before turning on her heel and continuing down the passageway. By the time she made it back to the orchestra stalls, she did her best to ignore Reyer's furious glare as she sat down at the organ right before he gave the downbeat for the overture.
The orchestra spent the entire first act anxiously glancing at the occupants of Box Five. It was well known that the Opera Ghost would usually appear in the middle of the First Act. However, as the curtain drew at the end of the second act for intermission, she heard a collective sigh of relief from the orchestra as they observed the occupants still comfortably sitting in their seats, mindlessly sipping their champagne.
"So the Opera Ghost has disappeared along with Monsieurs Debienne and Poligny?" Armel said, coming over to the organ when it seemed most of the attendants had gone into the lobby for refreshments.
"Didn't you see him at the gala yesterday?" Lisette said, annoyed at his dullness.
"Oh, we all know that was a little hazing for the new managers!" he laughed. "You should have seen Richard's face! I thought for sure he was going to keel over!"
Lisette waved her hand to dismiss the thought from her mind. It might be better for Armel to not suspect the seriousness of the topic.
"How has the Conservatoire been? Have you heard anything yet?"
She smiled, delighted at the change of topic. She hadn't had a chance to tell Erik the good news and had been holding back the information she had just learned that morning. She almost felt guilty letting Armel be the first to know, but she was much too excited to wait any longer.
"They've accepted me!" she cried. "I'm not entirely sure what the job will entail or when I begin. I'm imagining just a handful of students, probably young girls aiming to be a student at the Conservatoire one day, but I'm grateful for any opportunity they'll give me!"
"Does that mean you're leaving us?" Armel asked.
As she looked at her friend, she could read genuine concern across his face. "Oh, no!" she exclaimed. "I told them my teaching schedule had to revolve around my obligations at the opera house. My position and salary here are much too good to give up for a part-time job at the Conservatoire!"
"Well, I'm relieved to hear you say it," Armel said, placing his hand on hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. She smiled at him warmly, before waving him away so they could begin the entr'acte. As they progressed through the last two acts, which went quite smoothly thanks to Christine's marvelous musicality, Lisette reflected on how this was the most relaxed she'd felt in any performance thus far. However, the sense of ease quickly dissipated as she heard Armel whisper, "Look, they're gone!"
It was far too early for the attendants of tonight's performance to be leaving, as the company was just beginning their bows. But Armel was right. Box Five sat empty and vacant, almost as if there had been no occupants at all! Lisette felt her stomach tie into knots as she caught Richard and Moncharmin's glances, both who seemed just as worried as the orchestra members.
As soon as most of the audience had left the performance hall, Lisette dashed back to the passageway she took earlier, not even bothering to collect her music on the organ. When she burst into Box Five, it sat still and empty, with no sign of the earlier attendees or Erik. She inspected each seat and curtain for anything out of place, but the box was the image of luxury and perfection. She was about to berate herself for jumping to rash conclusions, when she heard a commotion outside in the Grand Staircase.
Not bothering to close the door behind her, she raced out of Box Five and made her way to one of the many railings of the Grand Staircase, peering below to see what was going on. There was a large crowd of opera-goers hovering around the base of the staircase and she was shocked to see a doctor and a stretcher nearby. Glancing around, she was too nervous to ask what had happened to any of the attendants standing around her, so she backed up into the hallway once more and glanced around for an usher. However, Madame Giry emerged from Box Five, just as Lisette had done moments before. Lisette rushed to her side, ignoring the surprised and annoyed look the woman gave her.
"Madame, do you know what's going on?" she panted.
Madame Giry looked over both her shoulders, before grabbing Lisette's arm and taking her into Box Five. She shut the door behind them, leaning against it and eyeing Lisette suspiciously.
"Why were you here earlier?" she asked, her dominating tone causing Lisette to take a step back. "And why are you here now?"
Lisette did her best to muster what little courage she had to talk to this woman. "I might ask you the same question."
"I happen to also be the boxkeeper," Madame Giry said with an air of importance. "It is my job to inspect each box before each performance. What excuse do you have?"
For a quick moment, Lisette glanced out of the corner of her eye to the dark, secluded area where she knew Erik normally sat or used to hide to overhear conversations. However, this moment gave her away, for Madame Giry pulled Lisette close to her, emerging them both in the shadows she had been staring at only seconds before.
"What do you know about the Opera Ghost, girl?" Madame Giry asked. "Tell me, or we'll both be in deep trouble."
"I know that this is his box," she said, careful with her wording. She was unsure of how much Madame Giry was in on this secret, if she was in on it at all. "And I know that we are stupid to suspect ourselves of superstitions with this man."
"This man?" Madame Giry said accusingly. "So you're saying he's not a ghost?"
"I am saying nothing at all, madame, now please tell me what has happened."
Madame Giry continued to stare at her suspiciously but eventually let out a sigh, allowing them to back up so they were in the light once more.
"A Monsieur and Madame Maniera were in this box along with a Monsieur Saack, some acquaintances of Monsieurs Richard and Moncharmin from their previous business. Apparently, Monsieur Maniera heard someone whisper to look at his wife at Monsieur Saack. Now, I am not sure what was going on between the two, but it caused Monsieur Maniera to become quite upset. He all but threw Monsieur Saack from the box and the poor man was in such a hurry to leave, that he tripped over his own two feet descending the staircase and broke his leg!"
Lisette stared at her wide-eyed, relieved to know that Erik had not done any malice after all, but was surprised at the seriousness of what had happened.
"I'm sure we will not see them in attendance in this box again," Madame Giry said curtly. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to see the new managers as they handle this… difficult situation."
Madame Giry left so quickly that for a moment, Lisette almost wondered if she was truly the Opera Ghost. However, she saw Erik's mask in the corner just as this thought crossed her mind and she drew herself into the shadows.
"Erik," she said softly. "You weren't any part of this, were you?"
He remained silent.
"Erik," she said, her voice catching. "Please don't tell me—"
"I didn't break the man's leg," Erik said. "That was his own damn fault."
"But why the commotion?"
Erik's lips turned up, for a split second, into a grin before going back to their cool, unmoving status. However, it was enough for Lisette to confirm what she had dreaded. She knew Erik was a gifted ventriloquist, as he'd used this talent with hers many times before.
"How cruel of you," Lisette said, turning away from him.
"You could say I helped him out," Erik said, not bothering to hide the amusement in his voice. "All I did was alert him to the unfaithfulness of his wife! I can't control what actions he decided to use beyond that."
She buried her forehead in her hand, weighing through the many thoughts and emotions they were going through her mind. Normally, she would be quite upset at Erik for this type of prank, but the more she thought about it, the more she began to smile, until a laugh finally broke through.
"I've never thought of you much as a comedian," she said, turning to face him once more. "Perhaps you should give up composing!"
She saw a blush rise on his exposed cheek, which made her laugh even harder.
"What does Madame Giry know?" she asked after a moment. "She seemed to be accusing me that I was up to no good!"
"You're always up to no good," Erik said. "You're taking much too many liberties, sneaking into my home, going through my passageways, editing my scores…"
"Erik, please," Lisette said. "What does she know?"
As the performance hall was quite abandoned, as the lights were slowly beginning to be dimmed, Erik sat down in one of the nearby chairs. "Everything."
"Everything?"
Erik nodded. "She's the reason I'm here. However, that's a story for another time. All I will say is they she is not an enemy. She is fiercely loyal, and will do anything to protect me."
"Then you better let her know that we are all on the same team," Lisette responded. "To be honest, Erik, I'm much more frightened of Madame Giry than I ever will be of the Opera Ghost."
She excused herself, fighting back a smile as she saw Erik's shock as her comment had begun to sink in.
