Disclaimer: Don't sue me. It's not worth your time or money. Apart from the 7.50 I make an hour minus state taxes and such, a few books, cds, DVDs and movies you won't be able to squeeze much more out of me.
Summary: Basis storyline thus far: Christine goes on a crusade to discover Erik's past (it's a looooonggggg story!), meeting new and old acquaintances of Erik's. Some good and some bad. Some from my imagination, some from Leroux and some from Kay. Other than that it's all pretty choppy from there on out (meaning I haven't really thought it out beyond chapter 7 :P) Hope you all like it. I'm having fun with it!
Hugs and peaches,
Maya J
August 17, 1882
To say that the day started off well would be a complete lie. The dreary gray clouds that hung overhead, the fog that hugged the cobblestone street, the chill of the air and the ever present threat of a down pour of rain were enough to put anyone out of good spirits. Instead of going out in the abysmal weather I decided to stay at home, finish some work and read a book. Halfway into my novel the bell rang notifying me that I had a visitor. At the door stood a small boy, no older than ten years of age with a somewhat precariously placed letter bag wrapped around his small frame. He held a rather large envelope out to me and asked, "Are you Mademoiselle Daae?"
Nodding that I was he handed me the letter and waited to see if any response was needed. Seeing the redness in the boys cheeks and eyes, I invited him inside for a few moments, regardless of if I did have any reply to at least keep him from the cold for a few moments. Once inside, I broke the wax seal that held the piece of paper together only to have a small pile of papers fall onto the floor. As I bent down to retrieve them the young boy was at my side and helping me. Once all the papers were cleared away, he smiled at me briefly and handed me the small haphazard pile he held in his hands. "Here you go, mademoiselle."
Thanking him, I looked a the papers for a split moment, I noticed with a sort of detachment that they looked familiarly like legal documents. Placing them on my reading stand, I looked over the primary piece of paper and scanned it briefly. However, once I was done reading it I found myself having to read it again, just to assure myself that I wasn't imagining these words. However, the bold black handwritten words guaranteed me that I wasn't. Sitting down, I gestured for the little boy to sit down as well. I had just finished brewing some tea all but ten minutes prior to the boys coming and when I saw the child's hands shivering, told him that he was more than welcome to take a cup or two. Thanking me profusely, I allowed him to serve himself as I once again took in the contents of the letter. It read:
'Mademoiselle Daae:
It is with great misfortune that I must write to you to announce the passing of your aunt, Mademoiselle Kirsten Lamont. As her estate agent and lawyer in taking care of all of Mademoiselle Lamont's last financial settlements, it has come to my attention that you have been endowed with a certain amount of money and property at the total sum of 400,000 francs, not including the separate lands and crops on her estate in the Italy that has also been left in your name. Your presence is requested as soon as you are able to allow yourself to come to my office here in Brittany at the address enclosed with second copies of the documents your aunt entrusted to me when the writing of her will was commissioned.
Please accept my heartfelt sympathy for your loss.
Signed,
Eduard Charmaine'
400,000 francs? I didn't even know that the woman owned that much money! Then again there isn't a great deal that I know about her. All I knew was what I had gathered from my father and from meeting her after my parent's deaths. She had been very kind to me both times, especially since she was the one who had been there the day my father passed away.
Putting the letter down, I glanced at the little boy who was munching on a tea cookie I had placed on a plate. Not bothering to reprimand the rudeness of his assumption, I instead took a sheet of paper and wrote a short message to give to the boy to convey to whoever had asked him to deliver the message to me. Writing that I would come to Brittany immediately, I gave the boy some spare change I had and asked him to give this to whoever had asked him to give him the letter he delivered to me. Nodding enthusiastically and thanking me copiously, I saw him to the door and went back to the letter. Grabbing the documents from the letter, I peered over them for the better part of an hour. By the end of that hour I saw that I had inherited not only a great deal of money, but bonds and property. The bonds were now officially mine and the aforementioned property was a manor off the Western coast of Italy in a town named Terracina which lay halfway between Rome and Naples. The mansion, along with a dozen and half tenants, a small vineyard and apparently a fleet of awaiting servants were all at her disposal as of the moment I met with my aunt's lawyer. It was also mentioned that another estate that my aunt owned on the island of Sicily was entailed to a cousin of mine that I had never heard of by the name of Armand Lamont. Apparently my mother had a brother who married fairly well and produced a son out of that marriage. It truly is amazing what one learns in a day, especially about one's family!
Never before in my entire life have I felt as overwhelmed as I did in that one moment. I had never really had much money before and I've often found myself only one step away from homelessness. Ever since I left the opera….well, maybe I should put that another way; since I clearly was not wanted at the opera house, I've taken up some small forms of employment, namely as an independent seamstress. It paid the bolls well enough and yet now I find myself not needing to do it anymore. Feeling considerably mystified, I grabbed one of the nearby gowns I had been working on yesterday and started work on it. By the time I felt reasonably calm enough to think rationally, I was able to put down the gown and notice that I had just about stitched the gown hem to the waist. Throwing the elaborately beaded gown into the chair next to me with disgust, I thought and thought about what to do, who I could possibly turn to. Of course the most logical person would be Raoul. However, I had broken off our engagement a few weeks ago and I don't think he would be pleased to see me quite yet.
That was a rather interesting story in itself. We had been quiet serious about getting married and I was as happy as could be, but then something changed. It wasn't so much a feeling or inclination that changed my mind, but rather the very real possibility our of future unhappiness. We were at a party one night after the formal public announcement of our engagement when I overheard a married couple. They either knew I was nearby or they did not care and I heard them call me a barrage of names pertaining to my moral decency, my position and social status, as well as my dubious career as an opera singer. I had been hiding behind the white marble pillar in the foyer when I finally revealed myself. The woman, a Madame Lelone was holding a glass of bubbling pink champagne, laughing at her latest string of insults that no doubt included me. Her husband, a short, balding, overweight man by the name of Monsieur Jacques Lelone paled in embarrassment as his wife, who obviously hadn't taken notice of me added, "Considering Isabel Furnier has been saying that she's very taken with the Vicomte de Chagny and that she's three times prettier than that Daae woman, it seems that the boy is a fool. I mean, that girl is really not that beautiful, she doesn't seem very clever and she has no taste in fashion." Her husband grabbed his wife's elbow as the group all finally acknowledged my presence. Many women put their feather and lace fans up to cover their flushed cheeks while a scattered few men quickly finished off their drinks while the rest stood in a sort of shocked embarrassment. I took a few steps toward Madame Lelone and stared me down as she stuck out her jaw defiantly and looked down on me haughtily. Walking so that I was all but a few inches away from her face, I regarded her with just as much rebellion and instead of saying anything, I decided to be the bigger person. Walking around her, I went to the valet and asked for my cloak. Deciding to let Raoul find his own way back, I hurried out of the large mansion and went to the carriage.
When the carriage jerked forward and started to rock into motion, I sat in the back wrapping myself deeper and deeper into the coat. The woman was a vain and petty woman , but her words hurt. Maybe they were true after all. Maybe that Isabel girl was the best thing for him. She was a beautiful girl with long flaxen curls, blue eyes, a waist about as thick as the leg of a table, charming , generally a kind person and, if the rumors I had heard proved to be true, richer than Cereous. Me? I'm a girl with completely un-manageable brown curly hair, brown eyes, far too thin for my own good, dreary, often vindictive, I let my imagination run shamelessly wild and poorer than the day I came into this world. What did I have to offer Raoul? Not to mention the continuous fights he and his brother got into over our engagement. The more and more I thought about it, the more and more uncertain I became. Going home, I sent the carriage back to the party, feeling the beginning stages of guilt work their way into my mind for abandoning Raoul as I did at that party and went inside to think it over. Now since that single seed of doubt had been placed into my mind, it was growing and flourishing with each passing moment.
To take my one true friend away from his family, his friends and make him live a life of abject poverty, when he was obviously so familiar to a life of privilege and comfort made me feel like a self-centered woman. No, how could I do that to him? That night I made up my mind: I wouldn't marry Raoul. The next day, I went to his home and confronted him about it. At first he was too taken aback to respond, but once he had shaken off that feeling, he started to protest that he knew the risks involved in marrying me and he was willing to accept them, but, to give myself due credit, I stood firmly. I told him my thoughts, my idea of what our future would be, the culture shock that would be involved when he came into my world, as I clearly was not wanted in his. I decided it best to leave the goings-on of the previous night as he would want to confront Madame and Monsieur Lelone. As much as I care about Raoul, his attempts at chivalry never cease to amuse me. Always fighting for my honor, which he had yet to comprehend was a lost cause being that I was an actress and with that came certain assumptions.
He asked me a string of questions such as, "Why are you breaking off our engagement?", "Do you not love me?", "Have I done or said something wrong?", "Can I fix it?" and, "Will you please reconsider?" After I answered all of his questions, he was left with no other choice than to accept that I was refusing to marry him. When the conversation died away and silence prevailed, his voice, thick with emotion, asked, "What will you do?"
"Find work, I daresay."
"That will be hard for you," he commented. "May I help?"
Shaking my head, I sighed, "No, thank you, but no. I'm afraid that if you did help, it hurt more than it would help." If he had wanted to help me, it would look as though I had lost my reputation, doubtful as it was, and was being cared for as his mistress.
"Well, I suppose this is farewell," he commented shortly.
"Not farewell, I hope," I added while standing up while holding out my hand to shake his. He folded his arms against his chest and stared at my hand impassively.
"I believe that it would be best for the present time," he remarked coolly. It hadn't been my intention to hurt him. It truly hadn't, but when you're breaking off your engagement, I suppose there really is no other way to lessen the pain. Nodding, I grabbed my reticule from off of the chair I had thrown it onto and looking back at him, I muttered, "I truly am sorry, Raoul."
Shrugging carelessly, he turned his back on me. "Good bye, Raoul."
I left the house in a low mood, but with a lighter conscience. The news of our ended engagement spread like wildfire through out the better half of Paris and even made the 'Gossip' section of the L'epoque. More than one note had been slipped under my door in explicit language calling me oh-so creative and original names referring to me and places where I was going in my after life. Instead of taking them to heart, I tossed them into the fireplace where the fire consumed them greedily, leaving the ugly words a mere pile of gray ashes.
That was two months ago and I still hadn't the knowledge of whether Raoul would want to see me. At this moment, I could truly use his advice. He would one day be one of the richest men in France and he most likely know what to do. I contemplated my options for a few moments before finally deciding to chance it. Going to my writing desk, I pulled out a thick manila envelope and put the legal papers and the letter regarding my aunt's passing and went out to catch a cab. When I finally managed to hail one down, I climbed in and instructed the driver where to go. After a rather tedious ride out to Raoul's chateau, we at length arrived and after telling the coachman to wait for me and that I would not be long I took a few moments to gather my courage before climbing the stone stairs to the door. Grabbing the ring to the large door knocker, I lifted it and hit it against it's post twice. After a few short seconds, the door was answered by the familiar old face of Raoul's head butler , Joseph. His face didn't conceal his shock at my sudden reappearance, but he quickly put on his mask of carefully guarded indifference and said, "Good day, Mademoiselle. How may I help you?"
"Good day, Joseph. I was wondering if you could tell me if Monsieur Raoul is in?"
Nodding, he added, "He is in his study, mademoiselle."
"Would please tell him that I am here and wish to speak with him on a matter most important?"
"Of course." Motioning for me to wait in the foyer, he declared, "I will go up right now. Please wait there."
Looking down at the envelope in my hands, my heart started to pound so violently I was fairly certain that if it were to go any faster it would give out completely. I waited in anticipation for Joseph to come downstairs. I wouldn't have been surprised in the least if it were a refusal. Taking the envelope in both of my hands nervously, I watched as the dark clad, white haired butler came down the grand staircase, a look of apathy on his face. When he was on the last stair, he announced, "If you will follow me, mademoiselle."
Walking up the divided staircase, I looked around myself as if I were a stranger in the house, noticing that nothing had changed, and oddly a little disconcerted that it hadn't. Joseph led me through the hallway of the larger East wing of the house and when we reached the study, opened the door and announced me. Raoul was standing with is back toward the door, looking out of the large paned window with his hands knotted together tightly behind his back. When Joseph left the room, I stood quietly while waiting for Raoul to turn around. When he did he averted my eyes and sat down in the rolling red leather back chair that was behind the large desk. Leaning back into it, he finally looked at me and offered me a seat in the chair on the other side of the desk. Sitting down while muttering a 'thank you', I put the envelope on my lap and waited until he spoke before I opened it to reveal it's contents.
After a few moments of silence, he asked, "You wished to speak with me?"
"Yes, I do. " Opening the envelope, I shifted through the stack of papers until I reached the letter I had received from Monsieur Charmaine, I found it and pushed it across the desk . "Would you be good enough to read that?"
He picked the piece of paper up and read it. The ticking of the desk clock and the shifting he made in his chair were the only sounds in the room as he scanned the contents of the letter. When he was finished, he folded it and after a few more moments, opened it and re-read it. When he finished reading it a second time, he put it on the desk carelessly and remarked, "Well…this is very exciting for you, I should imagine."
"Not exactly," I replied while I pulled out the entire pile of papers and pushed those in suit across the desk for him to examine. Taking the up, he flipped through them and when his examination was complete, he shook his head and said, "I'm entirely certain whether to congratulate you or give you my condolences."
"I know this is amazingly presumptuous of me to ask, but what do I do?"
"What do you do?" he echoed while putting the papers down and looking at me curiously.
"You will one day inherit a fortune just as large. No, I'm sorry, I stand corrected, yours is considerably larger and I want to know what I am to do know."
Thinking over the question, he finally suggested, "Accept it graciously and spend it recklessly?"
Smiling and letting out a small laugh, I shook my head and retorted, "Apart from that?"
Making a futile gesture with is hands, he explained, "I don't know if I'm the person to talk to about this. You forget that I was raised very differently than you and I…" Shutting his mouth quickly, he tried to excuse himself by saying, "Please excuse me, that extremely tactless."
"The truth isn't tactful," I countered back. "Please go on."
"I was raised in a certain lifestyle, personally and socially, and the family funds have always been in Phillipe's name so I'm not really quite certain of what you are to do."
Sighing loudly, I nodded sadly and leaned forward to leave. What other point was there in my staying when it was still tremendously awkward between us. It was my foolish going at all really. However, he leaned forward and gestured for me to stay put. "Maybe you should speak with Phillipe about this? He really would be the better of the two of us to ask," he proposed while standing up fully to go to the door. "Joseph!" he bellowed after he had opened the door. The elderly man appeared within mere moments and Raoul requested, "Go and fetch my brother."
Coming back to sit down, he asked to me to push my chair over while he put another one next to mine. I was surprised when he sat in the chair and not his previously occupied one, but then I remembered that Phillipe was the eldest of the two brothers and therefore had seniority. A few minutes he joined us and the look of absolute distain was not lost to me as he took his sear opposite me. "Well, hello again, mademoiselle and how may I be of service to you?"
Too curious to get his answer than bother with the monotonous formalities, I once again slid the papers across the desk and waited for him to take in their words before I spoke again. "I see…." he muttered while looking through the deed to the manor and after a few moments put it down and said, "Please accept my most humblest apologies for your loss, mademoiselle, but might I ask as to how I may be of any service to you now?"
He obviously thought that now that I had money that I was under then assumption that he would be more than delighted to see Raoul and I engaged once again, but I'm not as great a simpleton as he'd like to imagine. "I would like your advise on how I should take care of these affairs. I'm not used to dealing with financial matters of this magnitude and I was curious as to if you had any advise to offer on my situation? Whether I should hire a personal banker or if I should invest?"
Taking a few more papers up, namely the copies of the bonds, he suggested, "Mademoiselle, never employ a personal banker. It is my experience that they are all dishonest men and seek nothing more than to play their employers. I would also be very wary of investing if I were you. Frankly, were I in your position, I would simply take this manor, the money, the bonds and go whatever you wish with them. Sell the manor if you wish, but advise the spending of your money. Perhaps…." He trailed off and then lacing his fingers together into a fist, brought it up to his mouth in a thoughtful manner and suggested, "If you will trust me, I would willingly take on your financial problems."
Smiling at him gratefully, I knew that while he and I disliked each other on the grounds of our completely different social backgrounds, I knew he wouldn't steal from me. He was unlikable, yes, but he was no thief. Plus, he was savvy enough with his family's affairs that I had no doubt that he would manage mine well enough. "Thank you, Monsieur le Comte. I would be most grateful."
"Very well," he nodded with a brief, business-like smile. Picking up a pen, he pulled out a sheet of paper and said, "Let's discuss your assets first. "
"Well, there is the manor, as well as the vineyard which I believe produces a rather fashionable local wine and from what the details on the property says there are sixteen tenants my aunt was responsible for."
Nodding while he wrote this down, he added, "Then you are aware that you will have a somewhat steady, if slightly humble income from the wine and tenants."
Assuring him that I was aware, for the better part of the next three hours we talked, while poor suffering Raoul sat in silence. By the end of this time we decided that within the next five years I will have accumulated 406,123 francs. When that was completed, Phillipe instructed, "Go and see Monsieur Charmaine as soon as you can so that we can get an exact estimate before you decide to do anything." Looking at me while stopping his organization of the papers he had written out, he asked, "Was there anything in particular you were planning to do with the money?"
Shaking my head, I added, "I hadn't given it a great deal of thought. I don't know."
"Well, if you do decide to do anything, do let me know so that I can figure it into the income," he requested while recommencing his task of putting the papers together. When he was finished, I announced that I must be leaving as it was growing late and my carriage had no doubt left. Raoul leapt up as if he had touched a live wire and received a great shock and said, "I will see you home." Feeling rather than seeing Phillipe's reproachful stare, I quickly refused, "Oh no, please don't put yourself out. I can manage my quite well. I like walking and it will very nice for me to gather my thoughts. It has been a rather trying day and I would like the opportunity. Thank you for your thoughtfulness though."
"Please, I insist," he persisted, but I once again thanked him, but assured him that I needed the time to think. "Besides, it really isn't that far of a walk."
"Raoul, leave the lady be!" Phillipe added peevishly, but not without a twinge of humor. The really humorous part of the comment was that he had called me a 'lady.' He had never acknowledged me as such before and now that I had inherited a fortune, I was miraculously a lady, regardless of my past career.
"Thank you both for all of your help and have a lovely night. Good night." I bowed and turned to leave the room.
"At least allow me to walk you to the door?"
Grabbing the envelope full of the papers, I nodded and said, "Thank you." Turning, I held out my hand and shook Phillipe's. "Thank you again, Monsieur. Until we meet again."
"Until then."
Taking my hand back, I walked out the door with Raoul following me. When I was at the door, he took the handle and opened the door while standing next to it in a fashion similar to that of Joseph and I smiled at him. "Thank you for all of your help, Raoul."
Shrugging, he added, "I just wish I could have been more helpful."
Assuring him that he had been, I walked to the threshold of the door and prepared to go home however when my hand went to the marble hand railing, Raoul grabbed my elbow gently and halted my progress. Looking at him curiously, hoping he wasn't thinking what his brother was fearing, he instead asked, "Are you all right? You just lost your aunt and….well, is there anything I can do for you?"
Covering the hand that had moved to my shoulder, I shook my head and assured him, "That's very kind of you, but I'll be fine. I just need a few days to think over everything. Although your brother has tried to convince me that everything will be well, I still can't help but feel uneasy."
"That's understandable," he agreed, shaking his head in accordance. Taking a step forward and dropping my hand from his, he inquired, "Christine, this woman obviously loved you dearly to live such a hefty sum as your inheritance, but why have I never heard you speak of her?"
"I've only met her twice before. I met her after my mother died, but I was only four then and I met her after my father died when I was almost seventeen and my aunt really didn't have the temperament, mind or time to take in a child. I was already so close with the Valerius' family that when they offered to take me in, I couldn't see any other reason not to stay with them."
"You weren't close with her, you say? You don't think that…."
The sentence was never completed, but I didn't need him to finish it to catch it's implications.
"You think that because she didn't take me in that she left me this money as a way to assuage her guilt?"
"No, I didn't mean it that way!" he quickly defended himself. "I didn't mean to imply that at all! I was going to say you don't think that your aunt knew that you were in need of the money, do you?"
I still couldn't quite let my frown to transform into a smile, but I can denied that I tried. Instead I took a few more steps towards the stairway and rejoined, "Perhaps, but we didn't keep a great deal of contact during the last five years. She may have been in better contact with my cousin, but I don't really know. I've never met my cousin, you see and when I go to the estate, I'll meet him there no doubt. I think my aunt left me this inheritance because she didn't have an heir and I suppose my cousin and I were the next logical choice. It's so sad though…." Raoul had been listening inventively with a look of pity on his features. He shook his head sympathetically and put a hand on my shoulder in a gesture of compassion. I managed to force a smile on my lips, but it felt forced and no doubt looked as it was. "My aunt must have spent a good deal of her life working for what she accumulated over the years and all in a moment, she was gone and all of her labor was for nothing. I don't deserve this. I've done nothing to merit it!"
Raoul shook his head vehemently and insisted, "No, that isn't true one bit! You deserve this inheritance more than anyone I've ever known in my life. You have had so much sadness and unjust events occur in your life that even though it is said that money can't buy happiness, you'll be able to do a good many things that you've wanted to do. You've always said how much you'd like to go back to Sweden and now you have the opportunity. You have a vineyard and manor in Italy if I remember correctly and may I say from my own experience that Italy is not a place to miss. I believe you would be very happy there or do you plan on keeping the land?"
I could only nod that I didn't mean to sell. "I would like to inspect the estate before I make any decisions pertaining to it's sale. I would also like to meet the tenants and see how depended they are on a master, or in this instance a mistress. There are others to consider other than myself. There is also my cousin to take into account. It may also be vastly possible that my cousin and I will have joint supervision of the estates. Apparently my cousin is inheriting an olive plantation in Messina on the island of Sicily. The production of the olives and the vineyard I own could make us a good candidates for partnership. The olive oil and wine industry are particularly successful in Italy and with the right amount of business savvy I wouldn't doubt if it became lucrative in given time."
"You are rather ambitious, aren't you?" Raoul answered back with a laugh that made me smile. As much as I adored Raoul he did have the most ridiculous laugh! It was like a giggle and a guffaw, often inane and they were all combined into one laugh that was uniquely his. I shrugged at his comment and countered, "I should have mentioned my cousin to your brother though. The idea of merging businesses with my cousin didn't occur to me until a few moments ago."
"Not only are you ambitious, but it would appear that you're impulsive as well!" he added while folding his arms. He seemed to ponder my statement before he remarked, "The last time I went to Italy, and please don't mark my words too seriously, I remember the constant use of olive oil and so your cousins industry would do rather well, but the Italian wine commerce is in constant competition with the French. After all we French are well known for our wines, as is Italy I will grant you, but I want you to be prepared for the rivalry that it comes involved with."
I thanked him heartily for his warning and guaranteed him that I was well aware of the time, money and emotional strain it would tax me with. I took a glance upwardly at the sky and saw that the bright orange of sunset was slowly dissolving into the inky blackness of night. " Oh my, it's growing dark and I'd like to get home before the streets of Paris aren't as safe as they could be."
Taking my hand in his again, he pressed the top of it to his lips and whispered, "I am sorry for your aunt's passing."
Squeezing his hand, I muttered my thanks for his condolences and said my good-byes once again. This time he didn't attempt to detain me and I took my leave of the manor with a slow leisurely pace. To speak truth, the dangerous streets of Paris didn't frighten me. I had grown up in areas of Paris that were worse when I was with my father. I felt confident that I would be able to care for myself should worse come to pass. There were times when I had been accosted by men who were a little worse for wear from a night of heavy drinking and had been approached by more than my share of those drunken men who thought it was great fun to whistle and basically make fools over themselves for a girl. The walk from Raoul's home to my flat wasn't a short one and I knew that I would be home within an hour, give or take a few minutes. By the time I was on the outskirts of my neighborhood, I took notice of an open bookstore. I had a few francs on my person and all of a sudden a smile lit up my face. I had always been excessively careful on how I used my finances and I hadn't been allowed to spend very much money on luxuries such as books. This wasn't the case now though. I had some extra finances that were going to allow me to buy a few books.
I went to the door and pushed it open. The bookstore smelled of ink and paper and I adored the smell! Ever since I was a child, I always loved the smell of books. No matter how poor we were, my father always kept his books readily accessible and read to me constantly. I had read all of Aesop's fables, the Hans Christian Anderson and Grimm Brother fairy tales, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Just So stories. As I grew older I read the works of Bronte, Austen, Moliere, Shakespeare and just recently, the works of play-write Henrik Ibsen. However, there were a world of books that I had yet to read and I wanted to read them. The elderly bookstore owner looked at me as I entered the store and smiled at me briefly before returning to the papers he had been pouring over before I came in. I walked along the wood shelves that were lined with hundreds and hundreds of books. They were all there….. Shelley, Bronte, Austen, Hardy, Dostoevsky, Hawthorne and all the newest plays. I snatched up copies of "Far from the Madding Crowd", "Persuasion", and "Wuthering Heights". Nothing else took hold of my attention enough to consider purchasing it and I went to the man to buy my books. When I paid for the books, I felt a certain degree of freedom run through me. This sort of financial liberty was refreshing in a way. Not to say that I wanted to spend my entire inheritance on nonsensical things, not that books were nonsense, but now I didn't need to feel guilty when I indulged myself. Besides, there were only so many times one could read Shakespeare's works without eventually wanting to toss all the books on the fire.
The shop owner took the money and handed me my books with a look of pure boredom on his face and wished me a good night. Thanking him, I left the store as quickly as possible to escape the surly man behind the counter, as he obviously wished not to be disturbed and he didn't look like a person that you would want to annoy. When I arrived home a half hour later, I put the books down on my reading table next to my battered hard back copy of 'Much Ado About Nothing.' Sitting down, I looked at the small desk clock I had on the bookshelf to my right side and saw that it was 9:00 p.m. I was always a bit of a nocturnal creature, never getting to sleep before midnight and, even though the walk from the de Chagny manor was a long one, I wasn't tired in the least. Looking on the table where I had earlier allowed the message boy to drink the pot of tea I had made, I noted that the teapot was still relatively full of cold chamomile tea. Taking it over to the sink I emptied the auburn liquid out and put the empty pot in the sink once the liquid had drained completely. Grabbing the saucer that the boy had drunk from, I put that in suit after the pot and contemplated washing them. Deciding against it, I went over to my books and grabbed one, not really caring which on I chose. Glancing down at the hard green leather bound book, I noticed that I had grabbed "Far From The Madding Crowd." Opening it up to the first page, I started reading. "When Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun. His Christian name was Gabriel…" As I continued reading on, I frowned.
The character of Gabriel reminded me of…. oh no! I nearly dropped the book at the thought. How could I have put off such an important date at that one? What sort of fool am I? Erik…I had promised him a hand delivered wedding invitation. That had been nearly six months ago! How could I possibly go back now to a man who could quite possibly be very ill or dead and give him an invitation to a wedding that had been called off? That would be immensely difficult if he had in fact passed away. Grabbing the small tower of recently purchased books, I put them on the bookshelf for safe keeping. It was at that moment that I regretted above anything else in my life that I had thrown away all of my wedding invitations in a moment of self pity.
What am I to do? I promised and so did Raoul. How he must hate me! What am I to do?
To Be Continued…..
