Chapter Sixteen

The Angel of Music

Suzette was trembling with excitement as they sat in their box. She had never seen anything so magnificent in her life as the Paris Opera House. From every corner, something wonderful caught her eye. The beautiful people dressed in gowns and suites, the lights peeking out from every nook and cranny, the smell of wine and cologne, and the sound of music and laughter echoing in every space, all of which made her quite dizzy.

Some of the patrons stared at them as they made their way to their seats and whispered to each other behind their crystal wine glasses. This sent shivers up her spine and Erik draped his cape over her protectively until they reached the stairs. He directed her along the crowded promenade and Suzette heard the whispers turn into a slight uproar as they disappeared into box five. From the box they could see the grand sight of the hall, the glorious chandelier, and the stage men preparing for the performance.

"Are these our seats, Erik?" she asked in wonder.

"Of course, my darling."

"Don't they generally sell the boxes out to principal patrons?" she asked with a hint of disbelief. She had gotten a feeling that he had obtained these seats by some unethical method.

"All except this one. It is mine." Suzette intended to challenge this when they heard the sound of quick paced shoes on the other side of the curtain and suddenly the head of a concierge peeked in at them with an expression of horrified disbelief.

"Aha!" Erik exclaimed, "Here is our concierge, and what is your name mademoiselle?"

"Geraldine," the poor girl whispered. She appeared to Suzette to be quite ill and near fainting.

"Well, Geraldine, please tell my young lady which box you have tonight." The concierge turned to Suzette as if she had only just noticed her sitting there.

"Box five, mademoiselle."

"And whose box is that?" She looked back to Erik, still stupefied.

"Yours?"

"Very good. Now say you give my young lady a program?" The wretch looked down at her right arm and was surprised to find a stack of programs within. She took one and handed it to Suzette, who thanked her gently. Then to both their surprise, the girls let out a muffled shriek, dropped the stack of programs, and flew from box five, never to been heard from that night or any night again at the Paris Opera.

Suzette's amazement was rejuvenated once the performance began. The beauty of so many voices singing at once enthralled her and nearly brought her to tears. Erik sat beside her, enjoying himself immensely. He swayed gently in time with the music and looked toward Suzette lovingly from time to time. Suzette was distracted from the performance as she watched him in his happiness. She wondered why he hadn't brought her here before.

Suddenly, her attention was drawn sharply back to the stage, for the entire house seemed to draw its breath as the Viscountess made her entrance. She was magical in her movement and her beauty. Suzette was astounded that one person could be so enchanting just by walking into view and casting a warm smile. Then she began to sing and the entire house exhaled in delight. They all felt the same thing that Suzette did, a warmth filling up the inside of her heart. Now she understood why Erik had been so anxious to see her, she had the holy, healing power of the angel of music nestled within her white little throat. The sound of her voice erased every drop of pain in the world and bathed it in love. Suzette listened to her longingly and she wondered how any single person could be more wonderful. When the aria ended and her voice stopped, everyone in the house was different. The opera went on and Suzette looked up at Erik, expecting to see him reacting, and saw that he was frozen. His foot had ceased tapping and his eyes were set on the lovely primadonna. He seemed to be in some sort of a trance. Suzette reached out instinctively to try and wake him, but she withdrew slowly. He was in a perfect world and she had no cause to disturb him before it was time to go home. She leant back in her seat and looked all about herself smiling.

"What fun!" she thought, "This is a perfect place. And just look at my Erik. I do believe that he is a little in love with her."