11) This growing need to be beside her

The rest of the afternoon was uneventful… almost uneventful, that is. The stage had been cleaned of blood and rat droppings and was just as spotless as before. So the rehearsal could take place at last. The new steps were difficult, but Meg was glad about it. As long as her mind was focused on moving her arms and legs at the right moment her thoughts couldn´t wander to the blocked mirror and what might happen behind it.

Yet the other girls didn´t make it easier to concentrate either. Every time one of them spotted a strange shadow or heard a sound she would stop dead and squeal at once. This would cause several others to squeal as well, and before long Meg was the only calm girl. She exchanged a glance of deep understanding with her mother, and they both sighed, wishing the rehearsal would have been postponed to the next day.

Suddenly there was a terrible noise. It sounded like breaking glass and wood. Then a dark figure came limping onto the stage. The girls´ nervousness turned into hysteria. Their screaming was much louder than the sounds before. The whole place was full of girls running around pointlessly, yelling things like: "He´s here! The ghost! He´s here!".

"What do you think you´re doing here?", Mme.Giry asked in a piercing voice that could even be heard with all the shouting. The figure bowed politely. "I´m sorry, madame.", he said. "I knocked over the table with the refreshments for the chorus. I must have tripped over something." By now Meg, who was neither screaming nor running around, had recognised the man. It was the rat catcher.

He gave the still completely confused girls what he probably considered an innocent smile. But it didn´t look very sincere. "I apologise for having disturbed you.", he called, shaking his head. "I don´t even know why I´m here. I wanted to go home, and suddenly something made me enter the stage." He bowed again and left. Mme.Giry glared at him. She didn´t believe a word of what he had said. Sometimes she had the impression that this man enjoyed a commotion as much as the animals he was supposed to catch. Then she pulled herself together. "What are you waiting for, mesdemoiselles? We´ll start from the fifth bar."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………...

Two hours later Meg was at home again. Just as she had predicted she hadn´t had enough time to slip into Christine´s dressing room again. The incident involving the rat catcher had even increased the amount of gossip. Most girls were convinced that his mind had been controlled by the Opera Ghost to produce more mayhem. Meg didn´t think so, but her explanations that he had only tried to find an excuse for his own clumsiness had fallen on deaf ears. Talking it over and over again had cost a lot of time.

Now she stood in front of a mirror, yet not the one she´d have preferred. It was the much smaller mirror in her room, in which she had a close look at the clothes for the evening. She had followed her mother´s suggestion and wore the black skirt, together with a plain white blouse. She didn´t care that M.Devoiraux had seen her wear a similar piece of clothing yesterday. Maybe he´d understand at last how little he meant to her. Both Mme.Giry and Erik had been strict about this point: If he decided to stop meeting her, it would be all right, but she wasn´t allowed to speed up things.

If only he´d find someone else! But then, this wouldn´t change a thing. She´d have to start seeing other men. How she wished she could end all this and only be with the man she loved! She made a face and turned away from the mirror. It was pointless to think about it now. Hearing an impatient knock at the door she grabbed her handbag from a chair and put out the light.

She went down the stairs quickly and opened the door. Pierre Devoiraux leaned against the doorframe, giving her his most brilliant smile. She couldn´t help noticing that he was quite attractive in his black suit with dark green tie, his blond hair shining. If she had been more shallow, more interested in appearances, she could have even found him handsome. But under the given circumstances she´d have preferred ten hours of talking to Ariane about the Opera Ghost.

"Meg, my dear, how are you?", Pierre exclaimed in a booming voice, grasping her hand and placing a soft kiss on it. The girl´s first impulse was to wipe it on her skirt, but as he hadn´t let go of her this was impossible. She managed a faint smile and said: "I´m fine. Thank you for asking.". Smiling even wider he led her to his coach and made her sit down.

To her horror he took the seat next to her. On their previous encounters Mme.Giry had insisted on sitting next to her daughter, but now she wasn´t there. Pierre seemed to have had the same thought for he said: "It´s lovely to be here all alone, isn´t it?". Not knowing the true reason for her angry look he added: "Don´t misunderstand me. Your mother is a fine woman. There are just some things we couldn´t do in front of her.".

With these words his hand landed on her knee. Meg´s cheeks flushed. How could she stop him without being impolite? She couldn´t think of a solution, except closing her eyes and hoping they´d arrive at the restaurant soon. So she did exactly that. It only took moments till his mouth met hers. Meg pressed her lips tightly together. The mere idea of feeling his tongue made her sick. However, she could do nothing against his hand wandering further upwards… and further… and further-

Abruptly the coach came to a halt. Irritated Pierre pulled back his hand. "We´re there.", the coachman called, opening the door. Meg could have kissed him. She left the coach hastily before her companion could take her hand again. He went after her, shaking his head slightly. What a whirlwind! Maybe she was simply very hungry. He caught up with her as she entered the restaurant. He leaned closer to whisper into her ear: "I hope we´ll find a nice table, just for the two of-". "Christine! Raoul!", Meg exclaimed, seeing her friends sitting in a corner. Perhaps the evening would turn out to be better than expected.