The de Chagny manor, I hated to admit, was quite impressive. It was a grand house with sweeping lawns; bright green grass and large, square flower gardens bursting with bright buds of many colors.
Bernadette's jaw hung open; there were no places like this in the city.
"This place is amazing," she whispered,
"I thought anyone who lived in the country was a backward hick," I said wryly; Bernadette had often said she did not understand why anyone would not want to live in the city. This was partially because she had never seen some of the poverty and rotten conditions in Paris. After Bernadette had turned four; CJ and I realized that we had enough money saved to move into a better house in a better part of Paris.
CJ had published several more books under her pen name of Christopher Johnson Eriksson and she had received considerable pay for them. I had decided to submit a piece of work to the Paris Opera; and to my delight it had been accepted and performed to much acclaim. These additionally funds; along with pay from the police station, had allowed up to purchase a modest house in a respectable area.
The piano from our old house had been nearly impossible to move; I had been forced to take it apart and then reconstruct it again in the new house; a task CJ had been particularly proud of me for.
Marie stayed with us; Meg was deeply involved in England and hardly ever visited and Marie was glad to have some type of family. Even now, when Bernadette clearly did not need a nurse, Marie still lived with us. She no longer took pay; she was sort of a grandmother to Bernadette and a mother to both CJ and me.
Currently, Marie was staying alone in the house while we were on our little trip. It had been hell trying to get the time off from work, but even Dumas had had to admit we had it coming; we hardly ever missed a day of work. I had also been promoted to Lieutenant Phann; CJ could not technically move up any farther in the station because she was a woman and it was not seemly according to Dumas; however he did increase her pay anyway and she was still my partner.
The car sputtered to a stop in front of the house. I opened the door and stepped out; allowing CJ and then Bernadette to come out after me. Our driver bustled about with our luggage and we walked up toward the front door.
I felt an odd churning in my stomach; up to that point I had been thinking only about convincing Bernadette it would not be so bad and convincing CJ we were not allowing the de Chagny's to use our daughter that I had not thought about actually seeing Christine and Raoul de Chagny.
It had been some time since I had been around either of them; years and years since the opera. It seemed like a lifetime ago. As I stood before the large front door of their mansion I realized just how awkward this was going to be, and just how desperate they must have been to call upon my for help with their son, and the fact that their son could very well be an annoying boy like his father and I was forcing my daughter to socialize with him.
I was ready to turn and get back into the car when the door opened.
"Ah, Monsieur and Madame Phann, and Mademoiselle, we have been expecting you; please come in," A fat, short butler had come to the door and now he beckoned for the three of us to follow him.
We walked into the grand foyer; I did not want to be impressed with this place, but it was very impressive. There were high ceiling and I noted the sparkling chandelier over our heads and allowed an ironic smile to cross my face,
"I will inform the Vicomte and Vicomtess that you have arrived, wait here please," The butler bowed and walked off into the house.
"This place is amazing," Bernadette said, looking wide eyed around the room, "Look at that chandelier! It looks like it belongs in an opera house or a theater!"
"Maybe your father can take it down for you and we can move it into an opera house," CJ muttered beside me with a smile, and I shifter uncomfortably. CJ and I had agreed that Bernadette never needed to know anything about my past in the opera house, but I imagined that the situation was too ironic for CJ not to comment.
"What?" Bernadette asked, turning to her mother, "I did not hear you,"
"I was simply agreeing with you; the chandelier is quite impressive," CJ said smoothly, and Bernadette nodded and walked toward the side of the room, examining a tapestry hanging on the wall,
"Thank you, for that comment," I muttered to CJ, wrapping my arm around her waist and pressing my lips to her ear,
CJ laughed, "I am sorry, but you stood under that one," I shook my head and pressed my hand harder into her stomach,
CJ turned in my embrace and faced me, "Are you sure we should really be here?" she looked up into my eyes searchingly,
She looked quite beautiful at that moment; her green eyes glittering in the sun which was pouring into the foyer and her perfect lips drawn slightly in concern. I cupped her face in my hand and stroked her jaw with my thumb. She wrapped her arms around my waist,
"I don't know," I said honestly, "I thought we should try to help; if this boy really is locking himself away in his room…" I trailed off but I knew CJ knew what I meant; she understood that I saw part of my own situation in this boy; I had tried to cut myself off from society as well, and it had made me miserable.
CJ nodded, "It won't be that bad anyway; look at this house, it can be like the honeymoon we never had," She smiled up at me and I appreciated her ability to see the good in a situation,
"Now that is an idea I like," I murmured in CJ's ear and I wrapped my arm around her again and pulled her closer to me. She emitted a small, very girlish laugh and let her head fall onto my chest,
It was quite a pleasant moment; which inevitably meant that it was at this moment that Raoul and Christine de Chagny came down from the top of the staircase. They both looked exactly as I remembered them; Christine still looked as beautiful as ever, however her brown eyes lacked that sparkle CJ had.
My eyes left Christine, paused for only a second on Raoul, before they darted to the boy who was standing meekly behind his father. He looked exactly like Raoul except for his brown eyes which belonged to Christine.
Henri de Chagny had all the appearance of a normal young man; he was tall and fair faced as his father had been, but his manner suggested what Christine had written about; he was shy and secluded, he dropped his eyes when he saw us and he looked as though he wanted to turn and run rather than face meeting new people. I knew the feeling…
"How delightful to see you all!" Christine exclaimed in the trained aristocratic voice woman of her status must adapt and use when ever they welcome anyone into their home, "How was the trip from Paris?" she came down the stairs and extended her hand to me,
I took in and lightly brushed her knuckles with my lips, "It was tolerable," I said stiffly, and I felt the definite awkwardness of the situation,
CJ laughed beside me, "Listen to him! You would think he had to walk all the way here carrying his house on his back!" CJ embraced Christine, "The trip here was wonderful; it has been some time since I saw this much of the countryside,"
I threw a thankful look at CJ; she was very talented when it came to defusing an awkward situation. Raoul de Chagny was coming down the stairs now, practically pulling his son behind him.
It was at this moment that Bernadette, who had been looking into another room, came up and stood beside me. I happened to be watching the faces of Raoul and Henri de Chagny as Bernadette appeared;
Raoul de Chagny stared at her as though he was shocked to see her for a moment, and then his face cleared and he smiled,
"You must be Bernadette Phann," he took her hand and kissed it lightly, "I remember when you were just a little girl,"
I saw Bernadette bite her lip and I knew exactly what she wanted to say; something to the affect of 'I was going to say the same thing about you,' and I hoped she would refrain because if she did say that, I would most certainly dissolve into a pool of laughter,
"Pleased to meet you, Monsieur," was what Bernadette said, and I breathed a sigh of relief,
"What a well mannered girl," Raoul de Chagny smiled at her and I felt the urge to slap that charming grin off of his foppish face, "But you must call me Raoul!"
"Oh, no, I could not," Bernadette said, looking side long at me and raising her eyebrows,
"You must! You are my guests here, and I will not have this formality!" Raoul de Chagny continued smiling, "Now for introductions; I believe the four of us know each other," he indicated myself and CJ and himself and Christine, "Bernadette, this is my wife Christine," she and Christine exchanged a quick embrace, "And this is my son, Henri," Raoul put his hands on his son's shoulders and pushed him forward,
"Henri, this is Erik and CJ Phann, and this is their daughter Bernadette,"
Bernadette extended a hand to the now trembling boy who looked at her as though she were out of her mind,
"Say how do you do, Henri," I heard Raoul hiss into Henri's ear,
Henri reached out and brought Bernadette's hand to his lips. I do not think that he had even touched her had before he let go and promptly turned and hurried back up the stairs, tripping slightly in his hurry to retreat.
"That damn boy," Raoul de Chagny muttered,
"Don't be too hard on him darling," Christine said in a soothing tone, "He did much better than I thought he would, and he improved since the last time he met someone,"
"What did he do the last time he met someone?" CJ asked curiously,
Christine sighed, "He vomited all over her,"
I shook my head; you had to be very nervous to vomit on someone; I knew this because I remembered the extreme nausea I had felt when I was forced to meet people before I met CJ,
"I want to think you all for coming," Christine said, desperately trying to be the proper hostess despite her stress concerning her son, "The butler will take you to your rooms; if you wish to freshen up before dinner," and with a gracious smile she motioned to the butler, who had returned and was standing by the grand staircase.
CJ, Bernadette, and I followed him up the stairs,
"This will be your room, Mademoiselle," the butler said to Bernadette and he opened a door on the right side of the hallway; Bernadette entered,
"This room is gigantic!" she exclaimed, "And it is beautiful!" I peered into the room she was standing in and saw a grad four poster bed with white linins and an oak chest, a full mirror, a vanity, and an adjoining bathroom. She turned around and stared at me, grinning widely,
"I apologize for any complaint I may have made about coming here; and if I get puked on, at least I can wash off in this lavish bathroom," she laughed,
"Apology accepted," I smiled back at her, "We will see you at dinner,"
The butler led us further down the hall,
"This will be your room Monsieur," and he opened the door to reveal another four poster bed made of dark wood with green linins,
"And Madame your room will be right over here," the butler spoke to CJ and began to open a door across the hallway. I then remembered that it was customary for aristocrat couples to sleep in separate rooms,
CJ did not move, "I am going to be staying in the same room as my husband," she explained,
"In the same room?" the butler said, sounding scandalized,
CJ rolled her eyes, "We have a daughter for Christ's sake! We have slept together every night for the past nineteen years!" the butler looked shocked at her,
"Madame it would not be proper…"
"You do not tell me what is proper," CJ said shortly, "I will be staying with my husband, and I will be making mad, passionate love to him every night; now go and do whatever you butler's do,"
I thought this would be a good end to the conversation and I scooped CJ up in my arms and carried her into the room; kicking the door shut and no doubt leaving the butler offended in the hall,
I lay CJ down on the bed, then I lay beside her. For a few moments all we could do was laugh, then I managed to ask,
"So…every night?" I grinned wickedly,
"Twice every night," CJ said back to me, "It has been so long since we have had time like this," She rolled onto her side and threw her arm over my chest,
"I could live with that," I said, pulling her closer to me,
"I wish we could just stay here," CJ said, her face against my chest,
"I know," I sighed; it was a very comfortable bed and I could have lay there with CJ in my arms all night, "So what do you think of Henri de Chagny?" I asked curiously,
"He is a handsome young man," CJ said, "It is a shame he is so shy; Christine said he has been this way ever since the kidnapping?"
"Yes," I kissed the top of CJ's head, "The trauma of the kidnapping; and then the way they let him just be alone, he is to used to it, and he had not developed his social skills…I remember wanting to vomit when I met people…before…"
"Before you and I were together?" CJ asked,
"Yes,"
"Hmmm…" CJ moved closer to me, pushing her head into my chest; "I think we had better just go to dinner now…because I am going to fall asleep if we stay like this,"
I grunted in agreement and we left our room.