I woke to the feeling
of Jaclyn shaking me gently awake. I opened my eyelids slowly to see
her face bent over mine, her ringlets falling into my face. She said
softly,
"Christine, Time to wake up!"
Then I sat up
and said,
"What time is it, Jaclyn?"
"7:00,"
she told me brisquely as she hurried into my closet and came out with
a sky blue everyday dress. It was embroidered on all the hems in a
darker blue in patterns so beautiful that I could not describe them.
She slipped a light corset over my head and laced it up after she
helped me out of my nightdress. I slipped the rich venitian silk
dress over my head and knew It must have cost a fortune. Naiomi then
came in and did my hair up so that It flowed down my back like a
waterfall, but so the front was pinned back by blue jeweled clips.
Then after this was all done, Jaclyn said,
"You have a half
an hour before breakfast. You can do anything you want till then.
Call us if you need anything," and after that, they left without
another word. I knew what I wanted to do. I sat at the desk and
started writing.
'Dear Erik,
I made the wrong choice. I want
to be with you. On the way to his house, in his carriage, he hit me,
and now my head and shoulder have sustained injuries. He has also
forbidden me to sing or mention you or else he will beat me. I am
afraid. Please, You are my angel, and I want to be back with you.
Please, can you help me out of this predicament?
Yours
Forever,
Christine'
I read over the letter and then folded
it and put it into an envelope, and sealed it. Then I wrote on the
front, 'Erik'. Then I called Jaclyn up to me and asked her,
"Can
you please take this to the opera house and give it to madame Giry,
the ballet mistress? She will know what to do with it," Jaclyn
nodded and rushed out, the envelope in her pocket. I still had 10
minutes before breakfast, so I sat, deep in thought. 'what if Erik
rejects my plea? What if he just says, "You had your chance, and
you picked wrong. Now you must live with it"? No. Erik still
loves me. I'm sure.' Then the clock struck 9:00. Time to go
downstairs for breakfast. I wondered if Jaclyn got out ok. I hoped
so.
