Paris, March 1881
"The Comte de Chagny?" Lisette said, trying to hide the rise in her voice from fear. Erik, ever attentive, glanced at her and instinctively rested two of his fingertips on her arm for reassurance. Nadir raised his eyebrows in surprise.
"Yes, mademoiselle," Nadir said, turning to face Erik. "And I believe Erik may have only made matters worse last night."
Lisette turned to Erik, waiting for an explanation. Erik stared darkly at Nadir.
"I went to his home last night," Erik said at last.
Lisette's eyes widened. "What? Why?"
"With the trouble the house de Chagny has been bringing to my opera house, they needed to be put in their place," Erik spat. "My tactics within the opera house have clearly not been enough. I wanted them to be aware of who they were dealing with."
Lisette felt her hands begin to shake and gripped her soup bowl tightly, praying neither of the men would notice.
"I haven't seen the comte in the opera house since—" Erik glanced at Lisette, not needing to finish his sentence. Nadir bowed his head and Lisette guessed Erik had already told him what had happened.
"I decided to pray on the vicomte," Erik said, clearing his throat, "To try and deter him from coming to the opera house. I thought if the comte knew I was preying on his brother as well as him, that might convince him to leave Paris altogether."
Erik glanced at his wound, placing his hand overtop. "I never would've thought the boy slept with a pistol. I'm thankful he's a lousy shot."
"Thankful indeed," Lisette muttered. Erik ignored her comment.
"You're lucky the comte thought his brother shot a cat," Nadir said. "Otherwise, if she had known it was you, he would've certainly killed you himself."
"How did you get away so badly injured?" Lisette asked. "They live on the opposite side of Paris!"
"I admit I've been using Cesar to help me run errands now that I'm beginning to venture outside the opera house," Erik said. "Unfortunately, I didn't think how I would reach this place when we reached the water's edge."
"I don't know if you were thinking at all!" Nadir criticized. "What were you going to do when you reached this place? Bleed to death?"
"Nonsense," Erik said, flashing Nadir an amused smile. "Lisette was home composing and I knew you'd been following me all day. I'm just surprised you held poor Lisette hostage to gain access to my home."
Lisette blushed, still embarrassed she'd led Nadir to the one place Erik truly felt hidden from the world. She was just thankful this man had turned out to be an ally.
"Has Nadir been following you all this time?" Lisette asked.
Erik shook his head, instantly knowing what Lisette was referring to. "No, he's only been in Paris for a few days and the chandelier incident was weeks ago. Alas, my follower is still a mystery."
"Don't you believe it could be the Comte de Chagny?" Lisette pressed. "After you attacked him—"
"That was nearly two weeks after the incident," Erik said. "Even if he is out to get me now because of what happened with you, what would have been his motive to drop the chandelier? No one could ever guess our connection to one another."
"I did," Nadir interjected.
Erik glanced at him, clearly annoyed. "Yes, but you are one of the few people who is aware that the Opera Ghost is truly a man—"
The two men immediately began bickering in a language Lisette couldn't understand. French seemed to be the common language between the three as Nadir did not speak German. Whatever language they were speaking in must be his native language.
As the men talked, she cleaned the kitchen and dishes, feeling the exhaustion from the previous night beginning to overwhelm her. When she returned to Erik's bedroom, the men were still talking in Nadir's native tongue, but they both seemed more relaxed. Behind her back, clutched in her hands, was the bundle of manuscript papers she had put together earlier.
"Nadir," Lisette said. "You've barely slept. Why don't you rest? I can watch over Erik."
"I am not a child in need of watching over," Erik grumbled.
"Yes, but you are a grown man who managed to get shot in the side while seeking petty revenge," Nadir said. He stood and bowed in Lisette's direction. "Thank you, Mademoiselle Geiger. If you need me, I shall be in the sitting room."
As soon as Nadir had left, Lisette immediately went to Erik's side, careful to keep the bundle behind her while she rested the back of her hand on the exposed side of his forehead. He quickly swatted her hand away.
"I'm fine," he said.
"Don't play that game with me," Lisette snapped. "You can do that to Nadir, Christine, and Madame Giry but not me. I deserve more respect from you."
Erik narrowed his gaze, but allowed her to place her hand on his forehead once more. "Your fever's gone," Lisette said with a sigh of relief.
Erik glanced down at his exposed chest, suddenly aware that he had been shirtless this entire time.
"There's no need to be embarrassed," Lisette said. "I had brothers growing up, you know." And with that, she held the bundle of manuscripts out to Erik. He didn't say a word as he carefully placed the bundle in his lap, slowly untying the twine that held it together. He shifted through the pages of familiar script in Act I and II, but paused when he reached the end of Act III. It was clear where his writing ended and hers began. His writing was flawless, not a single staff line that wasn't straight or a note crossed out. Lisette worked diligently last night to make sure no errors were made, as she knew there would be no time for Erik to recopy his opera. But she could see his eyebrows raise as he saw the smooth writing of her pen turn to smudged lead. When he reached Act IV, he thrust the pages back at her.
"Play it," he commanded, nodding to the spinet in the corner.
She obliged, flexing her fingers as she dove into the music. The notes under her fingers came so organically. There were no mistakes, no floundering fingers, and no need to practice difficult passages for hours because this was her music. She must have played for over forty-five minutes, at last reaching the final chord, letting it ring triumphantly around the room. She turned on the piano bench to Erik, who was now sitting up in his bed.
"It will sound better on the organ," she said meekly. "Let me know which parts you disliked and I can edit them right away—"
Erik held up a hand, cutting her off. "My opera is finished." A smile crossed his lips. "Thanks to you."
Lisette's eyes widened in surprise. "Are you sure?"
Erik nodded. "You know I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it."
Lisette smiled as well, collecting the pages of Act IV and rejoining them with the rest of the score. "What shall you do now?"
Erik took the papers from her, neatly tying them together once again. "I'll have to get it published. And then I'll need to convince, or blackmail, Richard and Moncharmin into premiering it here at the Palais Garnier."
Lisette settled in front of the fire, deep in thought. Erik watched her intently, as if trying to guess what was on her mind.
"The Conservatoire works closely with several publishers in Paris," she said at last. "If you would let me bring it to the Conservatoire, I could possibly present it to my colleagues."
Erik raised an eyebrow.
"If your opera receives patronage from the Conservatoire, Richard and Moncharmin would be fools to reject its premier at the opera house!" she said.
Another smile broke across Erik's face. "Brilliant! Just brilliant, Lisette."
She took a nearby pen and ink pot and started to write, but paused. "I'm afraid I can't present this to the professors under the name 'Opera Ghost,'" she said with a weak smile. "Perhaps a pseudonym."
Erik sat thoughtfully for a moment before turning to her and saying, "Erik Giovanni." She recognized the name from the architecture plans she'd found in this very bedroom a few weeks earlier. She wrote the name gently across the top of the page and smiled when she had finished.
"Don't forget to write your name as well," he said.
Lisette's head snapped up, fully aware that her mouth was hanging open. "Erik, this is your work!"
He made a move to get up, but Lisette went to his side with the manuscript to prevent any further movement. He took the pen and manuscript from her and carefully wrote "Lisette Geiger" underneath his name.
"You have edited and composed nearly half of this opera," he said, giving the manuscript back to her. "I will not take full credit for this. Besides, the Conservatoire is much more likely to publish this piece if there's a familiar name. I guarantee you no one in Paris has heard of 'Erik Giovanni.'"
Lisette smiled, taking the manuscript and putting it aside. Sitting so close to Erik realized she could see all the outlines of the muscles on his chest and began to fear she might act on her uncontrollable emotions. Turning to the table near Erik's bed, she gently picked up the small roll of architectural plans. She unrolled it and pointed to the neatly written name in the bottom corner.
"Who is Giovanni?" Lisette asked. "And all of this…" She gestured around the room. "I want to know what all this is, how you met Nadir, how you ended up here…"
Erik sighed heavily. "I knew this would come eventually. But for once, I actually feel prepared to tell you. I hope you're in for a long night, because it certainly is a long story."
Leaning back against one of the plush pillows on the floor, Lisette smiled. "Well then, we better get started."