A/N: I just want to say thanks to Charity for being my first reviewer ever! I'm glad you liked the concept of Firmin and Andre becoming friends with Erik. And if you liked that...wait till you see who I bring up to make a guest appearance in this one!
And for Angel of Mystery, thanks for being my second reviewer. And i will keep writing as long as I get reviews. I was going to wait to put this second installment up until I got either five reviews for Ring of Fire, or if I finished it. Whichever came first. But when I realized Ring of Fire was getting pushed back to the thrid page of the category already, I figured I start submiting one chapter at a time to get some interest built up in my series.
So for all of you who are reading this without reading my first story yet, read the Phantom and the Secretary Mysteries #1 Ring of Fire! It will help explain the exposition for this story.
And as always, please review! Especially let me know if you like the romance btw Erik and Antoinette! I'd really like to know. And please stayed tuned for more adventures of the Phantom and the Secretary. I plan to send them to America, Asia, Persia (where I'll start mixing in some Laruex and Kay influences) And if anyone has any suggestions for a concept I could use, please review and tell me!
Now, on with the show!
Peace, love and Lipgloss,
Mlle. Fox
The Phantom and the Secretary Mysteries#2 The Corpse Who Came to Tea
While at a tea party, a homeless man stumbles in with a knife wound, killing him a few hours later. But the man was the long lost husband of a wealthy matron, not a vagabond. Now Erik and Antoinette are called on to assist Firmin and Andre discover why this man faked his death, who killed him, and the international conspiracy that threatens all of Europe!
DISCLAIMER: THE AUTHOR OF THIS STORY DOES NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS OF THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA CANON; JUST THE ORIGINAL CHARACTERS NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE ORIGINAL STORY. BASED ON ALW VERSION.
1875
The back gardens of Madame Jacquard were bright and fragrant with flowers and quests enjoying their afternoon tea. Even the roses were competing with the young debutants in their day dresses. Madame Jacquard was laughing with Madame Richard over something M. Pontiblu said.
"My oh my, I swear Darlings! I swear I said 'I want you to MISS me you silly thing!', Heavens!" Yes, it was indeed a pleasant, peaceful, beautiful day.
"Toni, sometimes I just loathe you!" said a young blond lady to Antoinette Carone's right. She was in a group of four of her female friends, sitting at a table with a centerpiece of sweets and breads. Antoinette sipped her tea and said with a smile dancing on her lips as she asked,
"Why Jezebel Lancer, whatever do you mean?" Jezebel looked deliberately across the gardens to a small grove of trees to where a certain tall, well-dressed young man with an eye patch sat alone on a bench in the shadows of the branches drinking his tea.
"You already have half the men of Paris charmed by your working class ways. Now you have a gorgeous man escort you to this party and you tell us he's living in the same house as you! You should be beheaded!" said Jezebel with teasing envy.
"Don't drop the blade just yet, Cherie. Not only do I swear we are taking our relationship slowly, shut up Marie!" Antoinette told a dark haired brunette to her left, who exchanged looks with a strawberry blond. She continued, "Even then we have a butler, a maid, a cook and two middle aged employers acting as chaperones. We haven't had a moment's privacy since that case in England a five weeks ago."
"What's his name, anyway?" asked the strawberry blond named Anne Railleur taking a bite out her strawberry tart.
"M. Erik DuL'Soir." answered Antoinette.
"Ah! Even his name is handsome!" said Marie.
"Well if you ask me..."said a raven-haired woman with icy blue eyes named Joan Age.
"No one did!" quipped Antoinette sending Jezebel into giggles.
"I consider it very rude for him to be off by himself not talking to anyone!" finished Joan. Antoinette looked at her and informed her,
"It is not rudeness, Mlle. Age. M. DuL'Soir suffers from an acute case of extreme shyness brought on by years of a neglectful childhood."
"Shyness?" asked Anne.
"He does resemble a little boy hiding behind his mother's skirts, doesn't he?" said Jezebel noting his careful watchful manner and avoiding eye contact with anyone who passed him.
"I've never met a man who is shy before." said Marie with curiosity.
"Well, he's only shy around strangers. With his closest friends he's charming, funny and a wicked flirt!" said Antoinette taking a forkful of cake.
"And how many close friends does he have?" asked Joan knowingly.
"Counting M. Andre, M. Firmin and myself?...Three." admitted Antoinette sheepishly.
"I could never be with a man who is shy. I'd get too bored!" said Joan in a self-assured tone.
"Trust me my dears. Erik DuL'Soir is anything but boring! He's such a complex individual with so many different facets to his personality. He's intelligent, artistic, determined, and sensitive. I may work for a detective agency, but Erik is the greatest mystery I've ever encountered." said Antoinette smiling at the man across the way.
"Again, I say I just loathe you Toni!" said Jezebel dryly as her friends joined her in laughter. Erik looked up from his boots in the grass and watched Antoinette laughing with her companions. She didn't laugh in a soft, soundless and polite manner, but with a loud and joyful sound that came from the depths of her soul. She looked so beautiful when she laughed. He was so lost in his musings about her, he never noticed the pair of patent leather shoes carry a tall, thin red haired young man with a permanent impish grin on his face over to his side. Following Erik's line of vision, the young man said,
"Lovely view!" Erik stiffened and said clearing his throat,
"What is?" The man sat down beside him and pointed to the table,
"Why that group of the most beautiful girls in France. But then, I think every female I meet is beautiful in her own way, so I'm completely bias. Maurice Richard, pleasure to meet you!" Erik shook his extended hand and glanced into the newcomers brown eyes,
"Erik DuL'Soir." Maurice said taking back his own hand,
"Ah, so you're the lucky devil who's seen constantly on the arm of the famous Mlle. Toni Carone! My congratulations friend, every man in Paris wishes to be in your boots right now. Myself included."
"I beg your pardon?" asked Erik in confusion.
"Well, Mlle. Carone is one of the most desirable women around. But until you came along, she brushed off every males advances telling them she was waiting for something special to come along. I'm guessing that would be you, my friend!" Maurice told him.
"She said that?" asked Erik feeling a twinge of pride.
"She did you fortunate dog! I'm just curious as to why she's over there and you're over here by yourself!" said Maurice.
"I...had a very sheltered upbringing. This world of society is completely new and foreign to me. Before I met Mlle. Carone I never had to deal much with people." explained Erik.
"Well I sort of figured that when you told my mother she was old enough to know Cleopatra!" said Maurice. Realization dawned on Erik and he turned to his new acquaintance and said,
"I apologize, Mousier. Had I known she was your mother..."
"Ah forget it! You didn't know! And frankly, I'm glad you said it! I love my mother but she can be quite the overbearing witch sometimes. I constantly look for new ways to oppose her so I figured having a friend who gets her dander up shall be quite fun to watch!" said Maurice. Erik glanced to the ground,
"You shouldn't speak that way about you're mother M. Richard. You don't know how lucky you are to have one." Frowning at this depressing tone, Maurice said cheerfully,
"The old girl knows I never mean a word of what I say! Say listen, I get together with a few of my friends every Wednesday at my house to play poker and smoke cigars. Would you care to join us?" Erik looked up at him in disbelief,
"You...you really want to be my friend?"
"Certainly! I mean if the incomparable Toni Carone finds you a good time you must be alright. Besides you look as if you could stand some male companionship!" said Maurice with a chuckle.
"Certainly more than Andre and Firmin!" nodded Erik in agreement.
"Yes, where are those two old rakes anyway? Flirting with the chambermaids?" asked Maurice looking around the grounds.
"They're at home nursing hangovers. It was Firmin's wedding anniversary last night." Erik told him.
"Celebrating the beginning?" asked Maurice. Erik smirked devilishly,
"Toasting the end!" Maurice's loud laughter brought the attention of the ladies surrounding Antoinette again.
"Uh-oh. Toni you better get over there before your sweet, shy M. DuL'Soir makes friends with Paris' greatest womanizer Maurice Richard, and gets terribly influenced!" said Jezebel. Antoinette stood and took up her parasol,
"I should only hope!" As her friends gasped and giggled, Erik and Maurice stood at Antoinette's approach.
"Mlle. Carone! I was just telling M. DuL'Soir he's the most envied man at the party." said Maurice. Antoinette winked aside at Erik,
"Oh really, M. Richard?"
"Well, he did arrive with one of the most lovely of ladies!" said Maurice kissing the back of Antoinette's gloved hand. Erik found himself in a conflict. He liked Maurice Richard and hoped to be his friend, but he couldn't help feel a rush of jealousy and the panic of loss when Maurice flirted with Antoinette. But his fears subsided as Antoinette wrapped her hand around Erik's elbow and told Maurice,
"And he shall be the one to leave with her as well! If you will excuse us?" Maurice bowed and walked off,
"Certainly! Erik, see you at my house at eight on Wednesday!" Erik waved to him as Antoinette looked up at him slyly. He became confused at her expression and asked,
"What?"
"Did you just make friends with Maurice Richard?" she asked.
"Yes. Is that a problem?" he asked leading her down the path to walk the gardens.
"Not until his mother finds out. I remember what you said to her!" she said with a grin.
"Apparently that's why he sought me out. He wants a friend his mother disapproves of." said Erik with a furrowed brow. Antoinette faced him and said tucking some loose strands of hair from his black wig behind his ear,
"Well just be careful around him. Maurice Richard is a notorious skirt chaser with a crude sense of humor. And I fancy you just as you are, thank you!" Erik smiled,
"Yet why do I get the feeling you won't mind me picking up a few things from him like say...how to 'make sandwiches'?" She grinned at the old implication that had become a common code word between them. She stroked his lips with her finger and said,
"Well I don't mind you using his influence with just me. With someone else, is an entirely different affair!" Erik, feeling a little braver than usual, bent over to touch his lips with hers, when out from the bushes behind them, a dirty figure fell out and pushed, causing them to fall to the ground. They watched the unshaven, smelly, bearded, old vagabond with brown clothes stumble into the yard as Antoinette sighed in frustration,
"Why does something ALWAYS interrupt us when we are about to kiss?" Erik helped Antoinette up as the old man cried out in a haggard voice,
"JOSEPHINE! JOSEPHINE!" Everyone in attendance at the party grew silent and watched the old beggar stumble across the yard. Madame Richard in particular grew wide-eyed and slowly stood to her feet.
"JOSEPHINE!" called the stranger again.
"Roland!" whispered Madame Richard as pale as a ghost.
"Your husband?" asked Madame Jacquard. Pontiblu muttered to her,
"Isn't he dead?" Madame Richard broke into a run across the green grass shouting,
"NO! No, that's my husband! That's my Roland! Roland!"
"Father?" called Maurice falling in step behind his mother at recognition of the old man's voice.
"Josep..." he said cutting off mid-sentence as he collapsed to the ground. She reached her husband and gathered him into her arms shouting,
"ROLAND! ROLAND!" Erik and Antoinette were now running towards them, as Maurice gathered his mother up and allowed her to cry on his shoulder. Erik kneeled over the old man and turned him over to which Maurice said in shock,
"My god...it really is Father!" Antoinette looked between the two and definitely saw a family resemblance. A crowd had begun to gather around them in wonder, as Erik checked the man's pulse.
"His heartbeat is faint..." Erik told Antoinette who told one of the servants,
"Fetch a doctor!" But when Erik placed a hand to the man's chest to see how he was breathing, he felt something wet and sticky. He pulled back and looked at his hand. It was covered in fresh, red blood. As he checked and found a knife wound in the side, Madame Richard took one look at the blood and fainted in Maurice's arms. Some ladies gasped in horror as Antoinette yelled to the servants,
"Get him inside now!"
Two hours later, M. Michael Firmin stepped down from the carriage, raising a hand to shield his eyes that were burning in pain and causing his head to pound with every bright golden ray of sunshine. His partner, M. Giles Andre followed suit in the same manner before the butler that met them at the door rushed the gentlemen inside the home of Madame Jacquard. Much to the dismay of their hangovers, Erik yelled to them coming down the stairs in the grand foyer,
"Where have you two been? You should have been here an hour ago when I sent for you!"
"Please, Mousier. A little more softly!" groaned Andre shutting his eyes in pain. Firmin began to rub him temples,
"When you sent for us, we were still not dressed, for we had NO intentions of going out today! However, the important thing is we are here now. So what's the urgency?" asked Firmin following him back upstairs.
"Remember Madame Richard?" asked Erik. Firmin grabbed his arm and stopped him saying with desperation,
"Please, Erik. Say that aggravating woman is dead or else so help me God..." Erik released Firmin's surprisingly iron grip from his dark mustard coat sleeve and said,
"Not her...but her husband might soon shall be!" Firmin became sober for but an instant as he said in shock,
"What?" Andre asked, still clutching his head,
"Isn't he already dead?" Erik sighed and gestured them to follow him,
"Apparently not!" He led them down the second floor hallway, to a room on the east wing where Antoinette waited with Madame Leslie Jacquard, a tall, distinguished looking woman of strong, focused hazel eyes and salt and pepper hair outside a guest room door. The ladies stood from a group of chairs set out along the wall as Madame Jacquard said,
"M. Andre! M. Firmin! I am so glad you could come on such short notice! After your recent success in England I am more than confidant your expert opinions shall be put to good use in this matter!" Andre and Firmin glanced aside at Erik before saying,
"We'll do what we can!"
"Lord in heaven, if that's not the truth!" thought Antoinette. Just then the doctor came out with his black leather medical kit shaking his head.
"Well Doctor?" asked Erik. The old man sighed,
"He should have gotten help sooner. There's too much blood lost, and he has some internal bleeding. I'm afraid he'll be dead by morning." The men became solemn, Antoinette covered her open mouth with her hand and Madame Jacquard said looking to the marble floor,
"Poor Josephine! If losing him the first time didn't break her heart, losing him the second shall shatter it to pieces!"
"I gave him some morphine to ease his pain, but I'm afraid there is nothing left to do." said the Doctor.
"May we go in and have a word, Doctor?" asked Andre.
"Yes, but only for a moment. He is conscious but I believe he won't be for long." said the Doctor. Madame Jacquard took him by the arm and said,
"Come Sir. I'll have the cook fix you a plate in the kitchen. I think it'd be best if you wait."
"Certainly, Certainly!" said the Doctor as they started to take their leave. Erik grabbed him by the arm and asked,
"Doctor, when you examined him, did his injuries happen to explain what he has been up to recently?"
"Yes. Whoever stabbed him beat him to a pulp first. I also noticed some scarring around his wrists. As if his hands were bound and rubbed raw. And some welts on his back. Does that help you any Mousier?" But Erik never heard the Doctor. He was seeing a flashback of the gypsy camp before his eyes. Their laughter, their cruelty, their whips.
"Erik?" asked Antoinette snapping him out of it.
"Yes! Yes it helps a great deal Mousier!" said Erik to the Doctor as Madame Jacquard led him to the kitchens. Firmin straightened his spine and said,
"Come on then! Let's get this over with!" He led them all inside where they found Maurice Richard standing over his mother who sat beside the bed where the now identified M. Roland Richard lay weak and propped up by pillows, his hand holding on to Josephine's for deal life.
"Roland, please! Tell me, where did you go?" she asked with a weak voice and tearful eyes.
"Not until those detectives of yours arrive, Pet." he said.
"Then wait no more Mousier! I am Michael Firmin, my partner Giles Andre!" said Firmin stepping towards the bed. Josephine glared at them while Roland said barely turning his head to them,
"An honor sirs."
"M. Firmin your presence here is NOT welcome!" snapped Josephine.
"Mother..." started Maurice.
"I told you I saw Roland but you refused to believe me! You treated me like a crazy old fool! And then that...that so called assistant of yours insulted me right to my face! Now my husband lays TRULY dying when he just returned to me!" she yelled at him her tears flowing down.
"That's enough, Josephine! M. Firmin had every right to not believe you, for I didn't WANT to be found. As to his assistant insulting you...he'll have to deal with me!" said Roland giving Erik an amused look out of the corner of his eye.
"Mousier, we are listening now! Tell us, why did you fake your own death?" asked Andre. Without being told, Antoinette took a seat and began her shorthand with her pocket notebook while Roland sighed and looked to the ceiling,
"Where to begin? I'm sure you gentlemen recall the Commune?"
"How could we forget! There was such tension in the air we left Paris for Venice for two months until the Third Republic took over!" said Firmin. As the partners recalled what they heard in Venice; Erik, leaning over her shoulder, his hand on the chair for support, whispered to Antoinette,
"What are they talking about?"
"Don't tell me you heard nothing of the France-Prussian war that ended in '71?" whispered back Antoinette in disbelief.
"I was preoccupied with losing the theater and Christine that year! What happened?" asked Erik.
"Well, France declared war on the Prussians after a prince of theirs was nominated for the throne of Spain. France didn't want too much German influence in Europe you know. So we fought them for a year in the North, eventually losing with Prussia occupying Paris in a peaceful siege for a while. Well, the middle and lower classes were so outraged at the government refusing to take the defensive they formed an army and drove the government to Versailles. Meanwhile, the National Army elected a council to replace the government of Paris. I was in America as you know, but I had a reporter friend write me and keep me up to speed on the matter. The Commune ruled Paris for two months and in my opinion did some good. They lowered rent, abolished night work in the bakeries and the guillotine. They granted pensions, returned tools to craftsmen that had pawned them during the war and postponed debts and gave employees the right to run a business if the owner fled." Antoinette told him.
"If they did such good, why were they only in power two months?" asked Erik.
"The government reformed the French army and got permission from Germany to cross the borders to get into the city. The National Army didn't have a chance. That's when the Third Republic came into power. Erik stood straight and muttered,
"How very typical of the upper classes!" He returned to listen to the Senior M. Richard say,
"Gentlemen, gentlemen! As fascinating as your time in Venice was, I must ask you listen until I finish, please."
"Of course. Do go on Mousier!" said Andre.
"Well Mousiers, the Communards were a ragtag bunch who wasted time on elections to get things done. But they did accomplish one thing. They formed a small treasury committee." said Roland.
"You mean you...?" asked Firmin.
"Yes, I supported the cause of the National Guard." said Roland as Josephine gasped,
"Roland!" He continued,
"With three other individuals, I was told to find a way to fund the new government. For the Commune didn't want to touch the bank of Paris for fear of alienating foreign countries that had accounts there. I don't need to tell you Gentlemen this act led to the Bank funding the French army, but I can tell you my colleges and I found a way to collect the needed capital." His breath became short then, and Maurice told him,
"Father, you need to rest. You can finish your story later."
"But there might not be a later!" groaned Josephine.
"No, no. Maurice is right Pet. Mousiers, forgive me. But...but I need to not talk for a while." said Roland his voice barely above a whisper. Firmin nodded,
"We understand Mousier. We'll wait in the hall until you're ready." He led the group out, but Erik looked back to the family before him. He could see the love they held in their eyes for each other. Josephine whispered to Roland,
"Why did you leave me?"
"You know after the war anyone associated with the Commune was guilty of treason. I didn't want that dark shadow on you two. I'm going to shut my eyes now, but don't fear. I am only gathering strength...I never stopped loving you Josephine." said Roland. Josephine trembled,
"I love you too!" Erik shut the door behind him and sighed. He never had that experience of a father and mother who cared for him and each other. Why did he get the life of pain given to him?
The group waited in the chairs in the hallway, later to be rejoined by Madame Jacquard. An hour pasted, then two, then another two. They watched the sunlight cast a warm glow through the hall's gothic windows until a rosy shade of pink and purple filled the space. The butler came through to light the candles, to which Madame Jacquard thanked him. It wasn't until the Grandfather clock on the other end announced half past the first hour after midnight when Maurice Richard came out of the guestroom, his eyes red, and his red locks limp. Firmin nudged a dozing Andre who took the newspaper off his face, and Erik woke Antoinette who was using his shoulder for a pillow. They all stood and waited for him to speak. When he did, their faces fell.
"Father is dead." When a moment of silence came, Erik stepped forward and asked,
"Maurice, if there is anything I can do..." With determination in his usually joking eyes, Maurice looked up and said.
"There is. Find those responsible for my Father's murder!"