Ch. 15 – God Opens a Window
Christine had left for the afternoon to do some shopping in the village market. Elsa was alone in the enormous house, a condition she regretted. In the pleasant peaceful days since Christine had returned, the house was always full of her life and laughter. Since her confession to Raoul, it was as if she had been freed from the demons that assailed her. Torn no longer between two men, and instead content to love one with all her heart despite the fact that he no longer lived, she was free at last. Her color had been renewed, and she had grown healthy and strong, both in mind and body. She had even taken to singing again, and the sound of her voice was a golden thread of joy, filling the house.
Though Elsa knew Christine needed to go out from time to time and be part of the world, she missed her terribly. It was strange that she had been alone so long before Christine had come and had never noticed. Now, an hour apart from her adopted daughter seemed an eternity.
Today, she sat idly with a book, reading in the sitting room and taking in the warm spring sunshine. It had been nearly a year since Christine had first arrived broken and bedraggled on her doorstep. Finally, the sun was shining again. There was only one sadness now that still twisted her heart. Christine would be turning eighteen in just a few days, and was happily in love with a man who was dead. There would be no future for her in that love. No husband, no children, and no one to care for her after Elsa was gone. This thought bothered her. She sighed, ignoring the faint pain in her side. She still had some time left, and who knew? Maybe now that Christine was free, she would find a new love - one without all the memories that had plagued her relationship with Raoul.
Her reverie was interrupted by a sharp knock on her door. Elsa laid her book aside and went to answer it, wondering who could be calling. She opened it to see the handsome face of the vicomte, standing before her. "Sir?" she inquired warily, glad suddenly that Christine was not here to receive him in case he had come to try and persuade her to change her mind. "Christine is out to the market, and won't be back for some time," she explained carefully. Raoul looked down at his hands. "It is actually you that I came to see, Madame. I have something that I wish to discuss with you. It is a matter of a somewhat delicate nature, and though it concerns Christine, I felt it best to discuss it with you first." He bowed slightly awaiting her answer.
She stood back, motioning him inside. After closing the door, she led him to the sitting room, and took a seat on the divan. He sat down opposite her and looked away as he began to speak. "Madame, after the night of the Opera fire, I thought it best to know at all times the whereabouts of Christine's 'Angel of Music' as she called him then. After the violence and destruction I had watched him commit, I felt it necessary to have him followed, for Christine's protection." He paused. "You should know that the men to whom I have entrusted this extraordinarily difficult task have brought me some disconcerting information as of late."
He stood as though he could not sit still with the knowledge weighing so heavily upon him. He turned to her and the pain in his eyes was evident. "He is alive, Madame. My men have seen him. He has been living in a manor outside of the city of Nice this past year, although he has traveled abroad recently. My men assure me that he will be returning soon." Elsa sat in stunned silence, listening to his confession. Pacing before the window, Raoul continued. "I did not know that he was alive when I brought Christine the newspaper article. My associates thought him dead as well, but upon further investigation, discovered he had merely relocated." His hand raked through his hair, as she waited in horror, knowing what he was about to admit, "But I did know he was alive when I asked Christine to marry me. God forgive me, I knew, and I watched her suffer, and still I did not tell her." His head bowed, he turned to her, brokenly. "I had hoped that if she thought him dead, she would be free to love me, as I did her. I truly believed that I could make her happy, far more so than she could ever have been with him."
He sank down beside her, tears in his eyes and shame coloring his aristocratic features. He handed Elsa a piece of paper listing an address in Nice. "I am leaving to fulfill my military assignment in the morning. If anything should happen to me, I entrust this information to your keeping." His voice broke, "You love Christine as much as I, and I know you will do what is best for her."
Elsa took the piece of paper, scarcely believing that the key to Christine's happiness now rested in her trembling hand. She broke from her astonishment, suddenly aware of what giving her this information had cost him. She reached her hand out to cover his, gratitude and sympathy shining in her warm, blue eyes. "No matter what has been done in the past, all has been made right. You must love Christine very much to make this sacrifice for her." Her eyes held his for a moment, and like a mother, she took him in her arms, her heart aching for him. After a moment, she released him and they walked together to the door. As he turned to leave, she said softly, "You have done the right thing, my dear Raoul. True love is not selfish. It holds on when it is necessary, and releases when it is right. God go with you, my young friend." She kissed him gently on both cheeks. He bowed to her, and with a sad smile turned to go.
After closing the door behind him, Elsa stood leaning against it for a moment, contemplating all that had transpired in the last few moments. Christine's Angel was alive! She could scarcely contain her excitement. When the time was right, she would reveal the blessed information to her. Smiling widely, she wondered how she would be able to hide her news from Christine for long. She determined that in the next few months, she would make the necessary preparations, and when she was certain that Christine was strong again, she would give her the information to do with it as she wished.
Her joy dimmed slightly, when she thought of Raoul's anguish as he handed his life over to her hand. Tomorrow, she would go to the cathedral and say two prayers - one for Raoul's safe return and future happiness, and one in thankfulness for God's mercy in granting Christine's prayer at last. The faint twinge in her side erupted into a hot stab of pain as she made her way back to the comfort of the sitting room. Perhaps I will say one more prayer, she thought wearily clutching the piece of paper with the address in her hand, a prayer that I will live long enough to see it all come to pass.