CH 4.
The sight of the young, disheveled Duke was almost too much to the two managers. Gustave and Dubon were completely dumbfounded at the sudden intrusion. Andrew Caldwell, Duck of Paris was a young handsome man on the verge of taking over his father's political status. It was well known to everyone at the theater that Andrew wanted to make Anna his bride, but it was also well known that Anna's feeling on the other hand were quite different.
"Where is she?" Andrew asked through gritted teeth. "How could you just send her off like that?" Andrew asked again his anger slowly rising. M. Dubon quickly rose to their defense.
"M. Duke please do not be alarmed. Her new employer has assured us she would be safe and very comfortable." He told the young Duke. "Andrew she will be fine."
Andrew walked over and grabbed Dubon's collar, bring his face up to his level. "You better hope on you life she comes back fine." Pushing Dubon into Gustav the Duke turned on his heels and stormed out of the office.
Gustav turned Dubon around and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "I believe he is serious."
Anna awoke to the sound of a faint melody. As she looked at her surroundings she realized she was back in her room. Anna smiled at the thought that Erik was the one who had carried her back to her bed. The next thought scared and confused Anna.
I wish he had stayed.
As the melody once more invaded her mind, she rose from the bed and began walking through the halls of Erik's home. The closer she was to reaching the music room, the less muffled the music was. Once she reached the doors to the music room, she stopped there and watched. Anna stood there and watched Erik in his glory.
He is beautiful. Anna told herself, and she knew he truly was. Even if the mask covered something horrific, she knew he would still be gorgeous in her eyes.
I do now wish to leave. Anna thought to herself. She wanted to stay here with Erik. Anna could not explain why she felt so safe with him, but she knew she did feel safe here. That was a feeling she was not willing to lose.
"Come sit." Erik spoke to her. Anna was completely speechless, how did he do that. She had been watching him the whole time and he had not once turned around to see if anyone was there. But Anna obeyed his command.
As she sat down she began speak but was quieted by Erik. "How…" Anna had said but the rise of Erik's hand had silenced her.
Anna could not possibly know what it was exactly that had caused her to feel what she was feeling for Erik, but she knew she had fallen in love with him. After spending one night with him, she knew in her heart that she did love him. As Erik's playing ceased he turned and looked at her face. It was filled with such deep thought. He knew that he no longer was in love with Christine. He loved Anna.
"Now you can speak." He told her as her attention reverted back to him.
"That was beautiful." Anna spoke sincerely as she avoided Erik's eyes.
"What is wrong?" Erik asked gently but his voice conved the sense that she was being forced to tell him the truth.
"I do not wish to leave today." She said as a tear rolled down her flawless cheek. Erik reached out and brought Anna closer. Trying desperately to console her.
"I too wish you did not have to leave today, but we both know you cannot stay here." Erik told her as he rubbed his hands through her waves. "You must return Anna; for you have a job that you truly love."
Anna looked up into his eyes. "When will I see you again?" Anna asked searching his face for an answer.
"Tonight." Erik told her. "You can come back or I can go and see you."
Anna's face beamed with the smile that Erik had helped put there. "You can come see me and when we are together, wound up in one another we will make beautiful music." Anna said bringing her face closer to his. "We can make sweet, loving music."
Erik could only smile at her. "I will play and you will sing." He told her finally capturing her lips once more.
This kiss was even better that their first. Maybe it was the fact that they both loved each other equally. Maybe that was what made the already passionate kiss so much more passionate.
Erik never broke the kiss until Anna pulled away for breath. He was about to speak but was quickly cut off by Anna's lips molding once again with his.
How could this possibly be happening, how could this beautiful woman who had the love of one of Paris' most sought after man be in his arms willingly? Erik could feel his body tingle under her touch. He cursed everything he could think of for he knew he could not go any further with Anna, at least not at this particular moment. If he wanted to keep her, he was going to have to wait to make her his.
"Anna we have to stop now." Erik told her as he pulled away from her. He hated seeing the look of rejection on her face. But she was quick to question him.
"What, why?" Those were the only words Anna could ask him. She had no clue why Erik was suddenly pushing her away.
Erik walked back over to her and cupped both of her cheeks in his hands. He needed to know if she loved him. Her eyes said it but he desperately needed to hear it. "Anna do you love me?"
"Yes." Anna said before thinking, but she knew what she spoke was the truth.
"Good because I love you too." He spoke a genuine smile forming on his face. She loved him. Maybe God was not such an evil being as Erik had made him to be.
"Well then what is the problem?" Anna asked pulling Erik closer to her. She really did not know why he was pulling away from her.
"Anna if we showed our love in such a way, you would be committing your self to me fore the rest of your life." Erik said seeing the realization form in her eyes. "My love you are not yet ready for that, trust me Anna, when I have you share my bed, which I really do want, I want to know that you will truly be mine and mine only. Just mine for the rest of our lives."
Anna did not know what it was about Erik, but his words and the commitment that lay behind them did not scare her. His words gave her something to look forward to. Anna knew if it had been Andrew that was speaking these words to her, she would have gone running the other direction. It seemed to her the closer Andrew tried to get, the farther away Anna tried to run. She knew what she was about to convey to Erik would break his heart.
"Erik there is something I have not told you." Anna said the uneasiness apparent in her voice.
All the happiness Erik was feeling had drained in that very instant. He just hoped what Anna was about to tell him would not be too horrible. "What is it?"
Anna took in a deep breath before she began to speak. "Well it is not official but I suppose you could say… well I am sort of engaged to Andrew Caldwell." Anna felt her knees go weak as she backed away from him.
Erik stopped breathing; he saw from the look on her face that he had heard her right. "You're engaged to a Duke." He said, his eyes conveying all the hurt he was feeling.
"You know him?" Anna asked her voice barely above a whisper.
"No Anna I do not know him, I know of him." Erik said turning from her, deciding once again that God was the devil himself. Not again Erik kept thinking. "I also know of the young mademoiselle he is to marry, people say that she has the face of an angel."
The silence felt like knives stabbing at Anna, she knew she was in reality betraying Andrew but in her heart she felt as if she was somehow betraying Erik.
"You've heard of our relationship?" Anna asked upset that she was hurting Erik, it was the last thing she wanted to do.
"I knew he was to be engaged to a young woman so beautiful that it made the Heavens sing." Erik said turning to face her. His gazed piercing through her once more. "I just had no idea that it was you."
"What are we to do Erik?" Anna asked him sitting back down on the piano bench. Hoping so much he would have the answer.
Erik looked down at her, she looked so helpless but at the same time he knew she was not that helpless. She would figure out what she wanted. Christine may have been naïve, but he knew Anna was not.
"Only you can figure out what you are to do." Erik told her as he sat down next to her, taking her hand in his. "I can not tell you what your heart truly desires. Only you can know who you can love completely and who you can love for the rest of your life."
Inside Erik pleaded to God that she would want him. But he was right only she could decide.
"Well then I suppose there is no need to think this over." Anna told him her face completely devoid of emotion.
Erik's heart started to beat faster and faster.
"I have made my decision." Still her face showed nothing.
And still Erik's heart continued to beat harder and harder.
He wondered if she could hear it. He was about to give up the thought that she could have possibly picked him until at that exact moment Anna's lips came to Erik's, crushing all the doubt in his mind.
He had never known what it had felt like, being picked to be loved by a woman. Christine had chosen him in an attempt to save Raoul. But Anna was picking him out of love
Finally the disfigured musical genus was being chosen over the handsome aristocrat.
A woman had chosen to love him. Anna had chosen to love him.
Before he was done thinking Erik felt Anna break the kiss.
"Erik is this absurd?" Anna asked the confusion plastered all over her face. "I know that I do love you but it has all happened so fast and I have never felt this way and I just do not know if maybe my mind is telling something and that maybe my heart is saying something entirely different."
Erik looked down at his rambling beauty; she was defiantly a rare diamond. One that many man, more than likely, prayed to find. Her excessive talking made Erik smile.
"Erik I have only been here one night, I have only known you one night." Anna kept on. "What if it does not work out what if things go wrong with us what will happen then?" Anna kept on before Erik kissed her again.
In that instant all the doubts Anna had just spoke of disappeared. She understood that nothing would harm her while she was with Erik. Anna knew nothing could harm her if she was with Erik. Anna stopped thinking and lost herself in that kiss. As both pulled away, neither of them could believe what had happened.
Erik placed a kiss on Anna's forehead, that kiss promised her the future. "Anna I don't know what lay ahead of us, but I love you and I know nothing is ever going to take you away from me." He said holding on to her tight. "I will make sure nothing takes you away from me."
Anna had returned to the Theater Magnifique later on that morning. When she arrived to her dressing room, it looked exactly like she had left it. As she looked at her vanity there laid a single red rose with a black satin ribbon tied around the stem. She smiled at the thought that the rose may have possibly been from Erik. Anna wondered if maybe he would be at the show tonight. That was when she remembered that she needed to get to rehearsals.
5 Minuets later
As Anna approached the backstage area she could hear Kathy Degas yelling from the stage. She was obviously filling on for Anna since Anna had been late. She could sense the tension, which was written all over M. Cann's features. Madam Degas had more than likely been at it for the last few hours.
"Richard what is going on here?" Anna asked him as she approached him from behind.
"Anna thank God you are finally here." M. Cann said thankfully as he hugged her tightly. "The witch is saying the ballet girls are playing tricks on her."
Anna loved all the girls in the ballet company that the theater managed and she knew they were very serious while they were rehearsing, well most of them were. Although Anna never knew why the theater managed the ballet company, considering that they were a theater not an opera house. But there were times when the ballet company would put on shows and such. But they never performed in the same shows, but they did practice all at once. But Madam Degas was always blaming them for something. Like all her fits, they got old quite fast.
"I'll take care of this." Anna said walking over to where Madam Degas stood. Her back was facing Anna, so she was completely unaware of Anna's presence. Anna tapped Kathy on the shoulder, her attention turning to Anna now.
"Oh hell what do you want?" Madam Degas said her snarl as ugly as the look on her face. She really did not like Anna, mainly because she had the fame and glory that she so longed to have.
"I just thought that I would inform you myself that your presence is no longer needed here." Anna spoke hoping that she would leave without a struggle. "Let the real actors get back to work."
"You whore, I am an actress and I am I good one too." Kathy yelled at Anna, her face blazed with embarrassment.
"You may be an actress, and you may be good, but the fact still remains that you are never going to be as good as me." Anna said showing the finality of their conversation. She watched Madam Degas walk off stage in a huff.
The rest of the company walked off stage, signaling that they were in desperate need for a break. Richard was quickly by her side, it was obvious he was curious about something.
"Well aren't we late today." He told her, mockingly. "Word has it that your mother and the Duke were very upset over your departure." He said suddenly turning serious.
"Oh that reminds me." Anna said as it dawned on her that she had not even spoken to her mother before leaving. "I never told maman I was leaving." Anna started to giggle at the thought of her mother giving the managers a piece of her mind. "I bet she gave them an earful."
"So where were you?" Richard asked as he tucked a curl behind her ear.
"Gustav and Dubon received a letter from some Vicomte requesting my services to sing for him." Anna said as she remembered singing as Erik had sat next to her and played. She missed him already.
"You sing?" Richard questioned her showing he had no idea she could carry a tune.
"Yes I can, I thought I had kept it a well kept secret but this man seems to know everything." Anna said smiling.
As Richard heard her talk he could sense something different in Anna. But he could not exactly sense what it was. "Well then how did it all go, was he nice?"
"I had such a wonderful time; he was very sweet and charming." Anna spoke so loving of him. "He is quite the gentleman."
Richard could sense that Anna had feelings for this man but he did not know enough information to know how deep her feelings were for this man. Richard suddenly felt very sorry for the Duke. "What do you think Andrew will say about you staying at this Vicomte's home?" Richard asked before they heard a shout from the back of the theater.
"Anna Peré." Someone shouted at her. As the music ceased playing and the auditorium lights went on, Anna got a better look at who had yelled at her. Inside the handsome Duke, lay raging fire, fire that was obvious in his eyes. Fire she had caused for leaving unannounced.
Richard leaned into Anna's ear before speaking. "I guess he is not too happy with you." Anna looked back at Richard, fear in her eyes. He only gave her a look of encouragement.
Anna looked frightened as she approached Andrew. But he was past caring, he was so angry with her for not letting him know of her absence. The look in his eyes showed he was very disappointed in her. Anna could not even imagine what was going through his head.
"Andrew." Anna said angrily, trying very hard to hide the stint of fear in her. "How could you just burst in here and make such a commotion… have you no respect?" She asked him showing she was not afraid of him.
"Have you no respect Anna?" He shot back, with the same angry tone.
"Andrew what are you talking about?" Anna asked completely thrown off by his question. What the hell was he talking about, Anna wondered.
"You leave off to some strangers home and you don't even give notice to your mother I me." He said as he grabbed her shoulders.
"Andrew stop it you are hurting me." Anna said as she pushed him back. "Please forgive me Andrew, I only had an hour to prepare and I had not enough time to let anyone know, besides I am back and I am perfectly fine." She said starting to yell at him.
Andrew instantly regretted grabbing her so tightly. How he wished he had kept his composure. He could not believe he had cause so much fear in her. He had never done that before. "I am deeply sorry my love, can you ever forgive me?" Andrew asked as he hugged her tightly.
Anna winced as he called her "My Love", Erik had called her that. Anna did not know when she was going to leave Andrew but she knew she was going to do it eventually. In time she would because if she did not she would break Erik's heart. But for right now she had to keep playing along.
"I forgive you Andrew and I suppose you are right, I should have consulted with you or my mother." Anna said as she returned his hug. "I am also sorry."
"It is fine and I am willing to forgive you, so long as you accompany me to dinner tonight." He told her finally smiling at her. He was indeed very handsome, but she wished it was Erik that was holding her.
Oh wait. She was scheduled to see Erik tonight.
What am I to do? Anna asked herself.
But Anna knew if she did not accompany Andrew tonight, she would be in even deeper trouble with him. Anna could not have that right now. She smiled back as she spoke words she knew she did not mean.
"Of course my dear, I could not possibly think of anything else to keep me away." Inside Anna was breaking, what was Erik going to think of her?
Andrew smiled back at her; he looked so excited to be spending time with her. He loved her so much and that too broke her heart. "Wonderful, I will be here promptly at seven so please do not keep me waiting." He said as he placed a passionate kiss on her lips.
"Goodbye my dear." With that Andrew walked out of the theater.
As Andrew kissed her, Anna had gone numb. Maybe her body knew that she was betraying Erik, so instead of having to feel her betrayal, she just became numb to it. Anna sat down in one of the many seats that stood beside her. She had only hoped that Erik would never have to see the affection Andrew showed Anna. She knew he would get hurt by it and she did not wish to hurt him. The events this morning were enough to deal with.
But from somewhere in the theater Anna had been proved wrong, Erik had seen the affection Andrew displayed toward Anna, and his heart did, indeed break.