A/N: Decided to merge chapters 6 and 7 together. Same content but longer and with spelling revisions. And for some reason, I can't find Phantom and the Secretary 2 on the Phantom page. But you all found it because I got hundreds of hits! But is anyone else having this problem? Maybe this merger will fix it.
Anyway, please read and review!
peace, love and lipgloss,
Mlle. Fox
As everyone applauded, Antoinette looked around at her companions. Firmin promptly spit out his champagne, Andre looked totally abashed, and Erik stood frozen, his lips to the edge of his glass and his eyes wide with panic. Their backs were away from the crowd that gathered around the Italian beauty, and to Antoinette's indignation, she and La Carlotta were wearing the same dress. Only to her chagrin, the tall redhead filled it out better. Slowly, Erik and the partners regained their composure, but they kept their backs to the loud chattering diva smiling at the shower of praise she was receiving. Erik lowered his glass and tapped nervously against the side with his finger while Firmin told him,
"We'll distract them. You and Mlle. Carone get out of here!" Erik nodded and took Antoinette by the arm making for the exit at the opposite end of the room. Andre muttered to Firmin,
"Here we go again!"
"Just smile and asked like you've missed her!" Firmin mumbled to him. They turned, plastering on their faces their most convincing smiles and came though the crowd, Andre saying warmly,
"Princepesa; Bella Diva!"
"Goddess of Song!" said Firmin as Carlotta furrowed her brow in confusion at the two men.
"What are you two doin' here, huh?" she asked suspiciously with a thick Italian laced accent.
"We've recently come into an acquaintance with Col. Brottlemeijer and he was gracious enough to invite us tonight! And we are most grateful he did, aren't we M. Andre?" Firmin asked.
"For now we have the pleasure of hearing your magnificent voice again!" said Andre. She raised a skeptically eyebrow,
"Magnificent, huh?"
"Perfection! Of course, what is one to expect when it comes from such a perfect beauty!" said Firmin as a satisfied grin grew on Carlotta's face. Meanwhile, Antoinette said to Erik as he pulled her along,
"I don't completely understand why we can't let this Carlotta person see you..."
"She's seen my face! If she recognizes me, it will be the end of us all! Now hurry! This..." But Erik was cut off mid-sentence when the Colonel blocked his path and said with a rakish grin.
"Where ever are you going M. DuL'Soir? La Carlotta is that way!" Erik smiled his most convincing smile,
"Of course she is Mousier! But Mlle. Carone and I just wish to speak privately for a moment..."
"Nonsense! Whatever it is, it can wait until Madame Gurtecelli has finished. Come and join us!" said the Colonel in a cheerful tone, with a shrewd look that dared Erik not to. Erik was running out of ideas, when Antoinette whispered in his ear,
"I'll distract him, you get out of here! Meet me outside in fifteen minutes by our carriage!" Then she stepped forward to the Colonel and smiled her most flirtatious smile,
"Heir Colonel? Could you possibly introduce me to La Carlotta? I'm such a fan, and I'd feel less nervous with such an intelligent and powerful specimen on my arm like you." Flattered at her batting eyelashes, he took her by the arm and escorted her back to the other side of the room saying to Erik,
"If you will excuse us, Mousier!" Erik clenched his hands fighting off the rush of jealousy for a moment, before realizing he had to get out of there. He walked pass the gathering crowds and came into an office by the looks of it. He was about to make for the window, when a feminine voice said behind him,
"Aren't you going to join us Mousier?" He spun around to see Lily, but the look in her eyes shown not a simple nature but a clever one. He gulped and said,
"Actually, Mam'selle. I'd rather stay in here. You see...I get claustrophobic."
"Claustro-what?" she asked confused.
"It means I'm not good in rooms with a great deal of people. I feel restricted and tense." he told her, praying to God she would buy it. Instead, she came closer and said with a seductive whisper as she stroked his forearm,
"Perhaps I might help...relax you?" Erik was stunned. Another beautiful woman had willingly made open advances towards him. But this time, all Erik could think about was Antoinette. This creature before him would make men kill themselves for her, but he felt nothing. He was numb at the thought of her. At the thought of Antoinette however, he felt a raging fire in the inner most core of his soul. He feigned a look of disgust, and said,
"Actually I get quite nauseous as well..." She turned up her nosed and said,
"Well...you are free to go into the library, but I must ask you leave the study."
"Certainly...but why?" asked Erik innocently though his suspicions were aroused.
"Willy is expecting...visitors...and I wouldn't want to get this place messy...if you know what I mean..." she said.
"Of course. Lead the way, Mam'selle!" he said in a friendly tone. she lead him out, showing him the door to the library, which Erik noticed was in plain sight of the parlor. He opened the door, watching the Colonel watch him. As he stepped inside, Carlotta said by her place next to the piano, looking to the study,
"Who iz that man?"
"What man?" asked Firmin looking nervously to his partner.
"That man who juzt ztepped into the library...he lookz familiar..." she said in wonder.
"Who cares! Carlotta, please! Won't you give us your presentation of 'Think of Me'? We never got to hear it sung in completion!" begged Andre with adoration. Carlotta smiled,
"If my managerz command!"
"But we do!" said Firmin kissing the back of her hand. The accompanist began to play the familiar chords and Carlotta began to sing in a fair voice that turned sour once she hit a high note,
"Think of me...think of me fond-ly, when we zaid GOOD-byeee!" As Andre winced and Firmin sighed, Antoinette saw Lily walk up to the Colonel's right side. Unfortunately, they spoke in German.
"(What's he up to?)" asked the Colonel.
"(Nothing. The pansy felt ill. I sent him to the library.)" answered Lily.
"(Well, if he comes out...we shall know it.)" said the Colonel. Inside the library, Erik noticed no other doors, then groaned as if in pain when he heard one of Carlotta's sour notes.
"I knew I should have sent fire to her when she first came into the Populaire..." he said to himself with dark humor. He went over to the window and opened it, looking out to the dark streets below, lit only by the lamplights on the coaches of the guests inside. The ledge was small, but nothing Erik could handle. He climbed out, careful to shut the window behind him, and slowly crept along the five inches on concrete molding. But his purpose was not escape, but to go around to the study window. Once he got there, he saw nothing through the crack in the curtains at first, but a careful push of the hand on the window revealed it was opened. He waited, hearing with melancholy that straining on the hearing that was Carlotta's voice, when suddenly the door creaked opened, and a group of footfalls entered. Erik heard Col. Brottlemeijer say,
"Gentlemen! So good of you to come! I hope you can stay for Madame Gurtecelli's performance and a glass of champagne!"
"Drop the chivalry Brottlemeijer! We came to get business over and done with!" said a gruff commanding voice.
"Sgt. Letrec, it was merely my intention to be hospitable! Isn't that a Fruit of the Spirit, Father Tomas?" asked the Colonel as Erik lifted his brow in surprise. Two of the three members of the Commune Treasury Committee were here. Now only if the third...
"Heir Colonel. You forget an man must receive the spirit before he receives the fruits." said a third voice.
"But of course Dr. Christi." Erik's face grew into a half grin,
"Checkmate!"
"Why did you ask us here Colonel?" asked the priest.
"Simply to ask you all this question one time. Where is the collection I sold you? You never sold it and made a profit. My men across Europe have seen to that." demanded the Colonel, his voice rising to something near a growl.
"Don't look at us! We're in the dark!" said Christi.
"Liar!" yelled Brottlemeijer.
"Brottlemeijer, when the Commune was disbanded, Richard hid the collection without telling us where!" answered Letrec.
"We know as much as you!" said Christi.
"And you Father? Did Richard never tell you where the fortune lay hidden?" asked Brottlemeijer briskly.
"No. But even if he did I wouldn't tell you. For I want no part in any of this! I only joined the Commune for the same reason other Parisian churches did. Because that was where God's people were! Now I bid you all good night!" said Father Tomas. After his footsteps stomped away, and a door slammed, Brottlemeijer sighed,
"I'll deal with him later...Now Gentleman, you are to find the fortune before twenty-four hours or I shall have to show how serious I am. You do remember our contract don't you?"
"Contract? What contract?" asked Letrec.
"This one." he said with a rustle of papers from his deck. "The contract your Late M. Richard signed guaranteeing my low finder's fee in exchange for an extended pardon for all past, present and future black market dealings on my part."
"You dastard!" shouted Christi standing and tipping over his chair with a thud.
"You can't make that stick! Not without exposing yourself!" said Letrec.
"You'd be surprised who else I have found favor with in Paris Mousiers. My man shall show you out. Bon Soir, Gentlemen!" said Brottlemeijer dryly as he dismissed them. When they were gone, Erik pushed the window open a bit more, seeing Brottlemeijer stick the contract inside his desk and locking the drawer with a key he placed in his pocket. The Colonel made for the door, when he felt a presence nearby. As if someone was watching him. Then he shook it off and left. Erik quickly stepped down from the window and over to the desk. Seeing the locked right drawer was right next to a long unlocked middle drawer, Erik quietly slipped the middle drawer out and then reached his hand inside and over the narrow space to the right. His fingers strained and stretched for the papers for several moment before he caught a corner and lifted them out. He smiled in triumph and then replaced the middle drawer. He tucked the contract inside his jacket pocket and exited out the window once more.
Meanwhile, Antoinette was slowly edging her way to the door, when she bumped into Col. Brottlemeijer.
"Leaving so soon my dear?" he asked cheerfully. She smiled,
"Suddenly, I've developed a..." A loud sour note sounded from the parlor, "...headache!" she continued shutting her eyes in pain. He stepped forward and took her hand in his,
"Why don't you stay? I've got just the remedy for..."He kissed her hand, "...headaches!" Even thought she wore gloves and a smile, Antoinette felt as if slime had just devoured her hand. She said,
"I really must be going...thank you!" Then she made for the door, grabbing her cape from the butler on the way out. She didn't dare look back for she knew his hungry eyes were watching her. She stepped into the cool night air and sighed in content. She went down the steps and over to the carriage they came in, but when the coachman opened the door, no one was inside.
"Has M. DuL'Soir shown up yet?" she asked.
"Not yet Mam'selle!" said the driver. She got in and sighed, worried about Erik. What if something terrible happened to him? She was so lost in her fears, she jumped with a start as a loud thud came on the roof, something heavy weighing down the top of the carriage. The driver shouted an obscenity in surprise, to which Erik's voice calmly replied,
"Quiet! Take us to Third and Bareshere!" Suddenly, his feet slid through the window, followed by his thin frame.
"Erik! What on earth...?" she started.
"No time to explain. But I believe we are going to be followed!" said Erik. Antoinette looked out the rear window, and sure enough, there was a following hansom. She looked to him and said dryly,
"You're always' right, aren't you?"
The carriage quietly rolled along the city streets as Erik kept glancing out the back window and sighed in frustration. Noting his tense manner, Antoinette asked cautiously,
"So...I take it we are trying to shake them since Third and Bareshere is nowhere near our home?" He grunted and nodded in response, to which she asked,
"And you found something interesting yes?" This time, Erik responded by pulling out the contract and placing them in her lap as he turned to look behind them once more and said,
"Extremely interesting! Something that I believe will help us solve the case!" Antoinette read over the contents, her face drawing up into a frown.
"Erik...did you actually read this?" He looked down from the window and to her and said,
"No...why?"
"While this states the terms of a finder's fee for Brottlemeijer, it makes no mention of the Commune, the treasury or anything illegal! All it does is connect a 'respectable' antiques dealer with a dead man." she told him as he read the contents. He shut his eyes and then hit the side of the carriage in anger, slumping in his seat,
"Idiot! Of course, Brottlemeijer would cover his tracks! Stupid!" Antoinette smiled at his brooding, and then called out to the driver,
"Stop here please!"
"Oui Mam'selle!" said the coachman as Erik looked to her confused,
"Toni, what are you doing?" She took his hand and said pulling him from the carriage once they stopped,
"Mousier, you need some cool night air to extinguish that hot head of yours!" She told the driver to go on and then she dragged him over to a small park lined with cypress tress and rose bushes. Erik looked back to the hansom that had been following them and told her as they stopped,
"But the carriage! They'll..."
"They'll go away once they get bored looking at two lovebirds making out in the park!" she told him.
"What?" he asked turning his head back to her. To his surprise, she pulled his head down by the neck and began to kiss him, long and passionately. He closed his eyes and turned his head to deepen the kiss, placing his hands on her hips, a small groan of pleasure escaping his throat. When she heard the tell tale signs of a horse taking a wheeled carriage away, she pulled away and asked with her eyes still closed,
"Are they gone?"
"Who cares!" he said bringing his mouth down on hers again. A smile crept into her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. When they finally pulled apart to gasp for air, she purred with a giggle running his finger along his lower lips,
"Feeling better?" He shut his eyes again and leaned his forehead against hers, sighing,
"Where were you ten years ago when I needed you?"
"Living in Louisiana and still too much of a Tomboy to think about boys." she replied. He chuckled looking into her eyes with amusement,
"Somehow, I can't just picture you as a Tomboy!"
"Oh please! I ripped many a dress just to climb the tallest oak trees right alongside the boys! I've given many males black eyes too, so watch yourself!" she told him mockingly punching his jaw.
"So when did you stop being a Tomboy?" he asked. She shrugged,
"Once a Tomboy always a Tomboy! Though I did grow interested in dresses and gentlemen callers, I've maintained a reckless nature and an independent streak."
"No! Really?" he said with mock disbelief. She laughed,
"Well, admitingly, it has caused some heartache as well. Being a Tomboy allowed me to know what I wanted in a man...and that has lead to a lot of lonely nights. For the life of me, I couldn't find that man..."
"And now?" he asked fearing the answer. She stroked his cheek,
"The nights are a little less lonely..." He took her hand and pulled her along asking,
"Can I show you something?"
"Show me what?" she asked as Erik led her over to a corner of a building. Immediately, he found footholds in the masonry and began to climb up a bit. He looked back down to her and held out a hand,
"My world." For the first time in his relationship with the woman, he noticed Antoinette suddenly became timid as she took his hand. He pulled her up and told her,
"Put your arms around my neck!"
"Gladly!" she muttered into his shoulder. He resumed climbing up the building, careful to hide them both in the shadows until they finally reached the roof of the building. Once they were on solid footing, Erik said to Antoinette who was still hanging on to his neck and shutting her eyes tight,
"You can let go now!" With her eyes still shut, she said,
"Uh...did I fail to mention I never climbed an oak tree branch that was further than ten feet off the ground?" He pried her arms off his neck, chuckling,
"You're afraid of heights?"
"When the heights are further than ten feet, yes!" she said with her eyes shut. He stood behind her and wrapped his arms around her, edging her to the edge.
"Come on! You'll miss something." he told her.
"Like what?" she asked. He whispered in her ear, his warm breath and soothing voice sending shivers down her spine,
"The view." Suddenly feeling braver, she opened her eyes and gasped. Paris was before her feet, with a few hundred oil lamps glowing brightly, making the skyline look like the night sky. The majestic buildings of old, the cathedrals all stood at attention for the lady present.
"Oh Erik! It's beautiful!" she said her face wide with glee.
"Want to see more?" he asked.
"Oh yes!" she said. Then Erik scooped her up into his arms and he gave her a playful wink before running across the roof and jumping to the next building.
"ERRIIIKKKK!" Antoinette screamed as they landed. For several moments, Erik just grinned wickedly at Antoinette who had shut her eyes once more before she said,
"I hate you...so much right now!"
Meanwhile, Andre and Firmin were grabbing their hats and capes trying to hasten their exit, when they stopped dead in their tracks at hearing,
"Zenorz!" Praying for mercy, Firmin turned and smiled,
"Yes Madame Gurtecelli?" The redhead sashayed up to them and said,
"I hear...you two are detectivez now, yez?"
"That is correct, Madame!" said Andre.
"Well, I've got zomething to tell you that might be a mystery, no? You zee..." she started. Firmin stopped her,
"Senora! We would be happy to hear it, but tomorrow, in our office!" Andre whispered aside to him,
"Our office? Are you mad?"
"Since when does La Carlotta go out of her way to meet someone at their office?" asked Firmin sure of himself. Carlotta asked,
"Where iza your office, Zenor?"
"Right on Main Street! Big white building can't miss it! Until then, Senora!" said Firmin gallantly kissing her hand. She smiled and said,
"Ciao! Bright and early!"
"Bright and early!" repeated Andre as they made good their exit. They sighed in relief once outside and Andre told his partner as they hailed a cab,
"Good work my dear Firmin!"
"It was nothing Andre!" said Firmin as they got in the cab.
An hour later, and a few years older in Antoinette's opinion, she and Erik walked up the drive to the house when Antoinette stopped Erik and said with concern,
"Why is the door open?" He shushed her and pulled her along behind him, stepping cautiously through the front door. What he saw, was an absolute mess. Tables and chairs were knocked over, carpet thrown about, vases destroyed, pictures laying flat on the floor. They found the parlor in the chaos and saw Jean Claude, Mrs. Ravons and Janet sitting on the floor, tied up with the curtain cord and gagged with handkerchiefs.
"Are you all alright?" gasped Antoinette as she and Erik rushed forward to untie them. Jean Claude nodded,
"We're fine, but we've been robbed Miss!"