Chapter Summary: A dinner party at Madame Giry's. A waltz, a folk dance and a moonlit garden.
CHAPTER NINE
Dinner at Madame Giry's was less formal than the dinner that was held hundreds of miles south at Chagny but no less festive. Antoinette and her guests gathered about a round table, a small overhead gas chandelier casting light down upon a table set in shades of ivory china and rose linens. Simple crystal goblets waited for the deep burgundy that glowed from the matching decanter. A hand-crafted casserole sat in the midst of the table, rich, spicy odors wafting upwards when the lid was removed. Inside the colorful crockery Tallis and the cook who came in for special occasions had layered the meats, vegetables and spices that formed the dish Pot au Feu that traced its origins back the ancient Romans who had long ago invaded France.
"This is incredible!" Meg exclaimed as she speared another small carrot. "Where did you learn to cook like this?"
"My mother," Tallis replied simply. "She had to cook for my father, my three brothers, herself, my sister and me." She laughed softly. "My sister and I would not have stood a chance against our brothers if there had not been a large pot of food on the table."
"You learned your lessons well," Valery said. "I do not think we ever had this dish on our dining table." He smiled and shook his head. "Ah, what we were missing."
Antoinette looked at her daughter. "We had dishes similar to this at the opera house."
"Mmmm," Meg moaned and rolled her eyes. "But never this good!" She smiled at Tallis. "You must promise to teach this to our cook." She turned to her husband. "You make her promise."
Valery laid a hand on Meg's arm and turned to the woman sitting to his left. "You can teach this, yes?"
"Yes," Tallis said. "I would love to be able to pass the recipe on." She looked at Erik who was sitting silently across from her. "What do you think of my efforts?"
"I am too busy eating to make a comment," Erik said as another fork full of meat passed his lips.
"That was a comment," Tallis told him as she smiled sweetly. She took a sip of her wine, running the tip of her tongue lightly over her bottom lip.
Erik found he could not form two coherent words as he watched that tiny little pink tip trace its way over the soft fullness of that bottom lip.
"What's the matter?" Tallis asked with a perfectly straight face. "Cat got your tongue?"
Antoinette failed in her effort to choke back her laughter. Her hands held onto the edge of the table as she laughed out loud. She leaned back in her chair, one hand reaching for her stomach as her laughter slowly diminished into a silent, knowing smile.
Meg looked at her mother as if she had lost her mind and turned to her husband who was busy studying the food on his plate. She turned towards Erik and Tallis who were eating their meals, their eyes locked. Meg was utterly amazed at the turn of events. Even two years ago such a comment from any person - including a woman - would have earned a stern rebuke at the least and a rope around the neck at the worst. Meg thought she did not recognize the man seated next to her. This was not the Phantom who had struck such fear into the hearts of those who called the opera home. This was not the twisted, desperate man who had tormented her best friend. This was not the murdering shadow, the demon who rose from unknown depths.
This person now seated next to her was simply a man. He was a man trying to find his way in an unknown world, a world Meg had taken for granted from the moment she had been born. He was a man who would try and falter, falling, only to pick himself up to try once more. Meg also knew he was a man who only had so much trying within himself before he would fall, never to get up again; she could see it in the way he never strayed far from her mother - the one true friend he had in all his life. Her mother was his lifeline but Meg was perfectly aware that her mother's tolerance for foolish behavior extended only so far and Meg had to wonder when her mother would tire of his clinging, his neediness.
But there was a woman on the other side of the table that would be perfectly capable of curing all Erik's problems with one warm smile. Meg watched Tallis from beneath her lashes. Tallis was all innocence, enjoying her meal, acting as if nothing were out of the norm. Meg knew that Erik would want her if only for the reason that she was totally disinterested in him as anything but a friend. He may have been awkward and inexperienced around women but this girl who treated him as if he were a brother would definitely be a challenge. Erik would be like any other man who saw a girl with no romantic interest in him - he would fight until she saw him in a romantic light. Meg laughed silently to herself; it would be amusing and pleasant to watch Erik try to woo Tallis and to watch Tallis play the innocent object the whole time. Meg gave another glance at the woman across the table - there was something in Tallis' eyes when she looked at Erik that was anything but innocent and definitely made him the object in question.
Meg suddenly burst into laughter, startling the now quiet room.
"What is so amusing?" Valery asked as he looked at his wife.
Meg raised her eyes, catching her mother's knowing look and blushing. "I am just being a silly girl who has let her wine go to her head."
"Then, perhaps, it is time to dance it off," Valery suggested and turned his attention to Erik. "You will still play for us, yes?"
"It will be my pleasure," Erik replied as he took his napkin from his lap, dabbed at his lips and placed it on the table. He looked at Tallis. "I believe you have promised to show us what Antoinette has been teaching you."
"I have," she replied. "I am eager to show just how excellent a teacher I have had."
"And the eager and excellent student you have been," Antoinette replied.
Meg was amazed. "A compliment from my mother? You must be an excellent student!"
Valery and Erik stood, pulling out the chairs for their dining companions.
Antoinette frowned playfully at her daughter. "I was always complimentary to my good students."
Meg pouted and her mother and husband laughed at her.
Erik pulled out Tallis' chair and gave her his hand as she stood. "I am expecting to be surprised," he whispered to her.
"I will rise to even your expectations," Tallis whispered back.
"Do you think they are that low?" Erik wondered.
"If they were," Tallis replied with a sweet smile, "I should have already exceeded them by the mere fact that I can walk upright on two feet." She batted her eyes at him. "And all on my own."
Erik sighed and shook his head and led Tallis into the library where the piano awaited them.
Meg was already seated with her mother on a loveseat near to the fireplace. A small fire was burning gently within, just enough to keep the chill from the springevening out of the room. Valery stood behind his wife, his hands gently kneading her shoulders. Erik left Tallis and walked to the piano, sitting on the matching bench. He raised the lid over the keys and gently ran his elegant fingers over the ivory and ebony keys. Erik was transported by the coolness of the keys beneath his skin, the look on his face growing distant and loving; any instrument of music would always take him beyond the cruelty of the real world and into the magic of a world where only beauty existed.
Antoinette watched Erik as he sat at the piano and began caressing the keys. She knew the set of those shoulders and could envision the look on his face within her mind's eye. Music had always been his saving grace, the one thing that could draw out the best in him - the best that she had been privileged to know. Antoinette waited patiently while Erik warmed up, running scales up and down the keyboard; the notes played by a master filling the room with their simplistic beauty. Antoinette looked over her shoulder at her son-in-law and nodded.
Valery leaned over and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek before straightening and extending his hand to Tallis. He smiled at the daughter of his trusted retainer, watching her lower her eyes and blush. "It is all quite proper," he assured Tallis as he led her to the center of the room.
Erik turned partway on the piano bench. "What should you prefer?"
"A waltz, I believe," Antoinette said before anyone else could state their preference.
Erik nodded. "A waltz it shall be." He turned his attention to the couple standing in the middle of the room. "Are you ready?"
Valery had his hands behind his back; he smiled down at Tallis. "Are we ready?" he asked.
Tallis suddenly found she could not trust her voice and nodded.
Valery looked over his shoulder at Erik. "I think we are ready."
"Very well," Erik replied, turning back to the piano. He knew just the piece and his eyes closed as his fingers found their place on the keys.
"Mademoiselle?" Valery asked as he opened his arms.
Meg giggled with happiness as she watched her husband and reached for her mother's hand. She looked at her mother and shook her head. Meg knew that apprising look on her mother's face; Antoinette was watching for any lack of bearing, any falter in step that her student might make.
"This is a waltz," Antoinette reminded Tallis. "You must maintain the shape of a box between you and your gentleman partner."
"Yes, Madame," Tallis nodded as she took the arms that Valery extended. She felt the strong grip of Valery's hand in her own and the warmth of his other hand on her back. Tallis heaved a great sigh and straightened her posture, holding her head high. She looked into the warm brown eyes of the man who employed her father and while she felt a bit strange in his arms, Tallis could also feel her uncertainties melting away. She had been taught well and all she had to do was follow this man's lead.
The music began slowly as it did with most waltzes, allowing the couples to move onto the dance floor, acknowledging their partner and taking their places. The beat began to pick up as Erik's fingers began to move faster over the keys, drawing out the richness of the chords he was playing. Slowly Valery began to move to the music, following the pattern of dance he had been taught since childhood, guiding his partner onto the dance floor and into the crowd. The floor where they danced was, of course, much smaller and there was no crowd but the movements and the emotions were the same. The forming of a box with a turn to the beat of the music. The wistful romance of the music whose beat matched that of the heart.
"So beautiful," Meg leaned over and whispered to her mother. "I wonder if that is how Valery and I look when we dance."
Antoinette, who had seen her daughter dance with her husband, smiled at the child sitting next to her. "My dear, you and Valery appear to float on the clouds when you dance."
Meg gave her mother a quick kiss on the cheek and rested her head on Antoinette's shoulder. "Thank you," she whispered softly, unwilling to break the spell that was being woven.
Erik knew the music he played by heart and hazarded a glance over his shoulder at the couple who easily moved about the center of the room. A familiar pang of jealousy tugged at his heart and he was amazed by it for there was nothing for which he had to feel jealous. Tallis was his friend - she had made that perfectly clear. Even more importantly she was dancing in the arms of a happily married man. Erik drew a breath and turned back to the piano and the music, allowing himself to again be drawn into the spell it wove. He closed his eyes and felt the music move through his blood, coursing through his body but it could not chase away the image in his mind of being the man guiding Tallis through the romantic motions of the waltz.
Tallis had begun the dance, trying desperately to remember all the lessons she had learned under Madame's patient tutelage. She remembered to hold the shape of the box, her back straight, her head held high. She remembered to allow Valery to guide her, following his movements. Tallis had hazarded a glance over to her teacher and felt a swell of pride as Madame had nodded and smiled approval at her. Tallis turned back to her partner, smiling lightly under his pleased gaze. She had seen Erik turn to look at them and she had resisted the urge to wink at him when she had seen the look in his eyes. Tallis had taken pity upon the man for she had learned much of his history from Madame and to see him look at her with such amazement and warmth of feeling was something Tallis had not wished to take from him.
The music began to move faster as it moved to its final crescendo. Erik's fingers danced over the keys and Valery whirled Tallis around the room, his laughter skipping along with the music, the back of her skirt whooshing through the air, fanning the room. Erik gracefully ended the music and Valery bowed to a flushed Tallis who dropped him a gracious curtsey. They all turned towards Antoinette, seeking her approval.
"Brava!" Antoinette said as she took her hand back from her daughter and clapped enthusiastically. "Brava!" she repeated.
Meg jumped to her feet, crossing the room to gently squeeze Tallis' arms, smile at Erik and fling herself into her husband's arms. "You were so brilliant!" she exclaimed.
Tallis walked over to Erik. "Thank you for the incredible music," she said. "Did I meet your expectations?"
"You were adequate," he replied.
Tallis stared at him, her mouth agape. "Adequate?" she repeated.
"What else would you call it when expectations are met?" Erik told her with a smile.
Tallis leaned close so that she could whisper in his ear. "You are deplorable," she said.
"You also remember new words," Erik whispered back.
Antoinette watched the two heads leaning close, knowing they were still acting like small children. She mentally shook herself, willing her senses to stay out of their constant bickering until she was needed. Antoinette knew the two of them would find their own way through this new friendship that was slowly developing. She also knew she would recognize the moment when the friendship broke through the barriers both had built around their hearts. That would be the moment when she would be needed the most. But until that moment, there was still tea and dessert to be had; Antoinette rang the bell on the table next to her.
The cook brought forth plates of apple cake kept warm in the oven and a silver service holding perfectly brewed tea, cream and sugar. She and her guests sat around the library, partaking of the moist, spicy cake and comforting tea. They spoke of the music played and the dance that had been whirled about the floor. They laughed at the joy it had brought forth in all of them. They searched for something to critique about themselves and could find nothing. Conversation slowly drifted to the hour that the mantle clock chimed out, Meg's mouth once again forming a small pout.
"I am afraid it is time to go," Valery said, recognizing the look on his wife's face.
Meg placed her cup and saucer on the tray that held the remnants of the apple cake. "I know you are right," she sighed. "Oh, but it has been such a lovely evening!" She smiled at Tallis. "And that dress is just perfect for you!"
Tallis stood as Meg and Valery rose to their feet. "Thank you," she replied, smoothing out wrinkles in the green satin. "I am very fond of it."
Antoinette and Erik also stood as Valery took Meg's arm.
"Thank you for most delightful evening," Valery said as he kissed Antoinette on the cheek before turning to Tallis. "And thank you for the lovely dance." He turned his attention to Erik. "Which would not have been possible without your incredible music. We must find the time to speak about my commissioning you to compose a piece of music for me."
"For what reason?" Meg wondered.
Valery smiled at his wife. "That, my love, shall remain a secret for the moment." He returned his attention to Erik. "You can do such a thing?"
Erik bowed slightly. "You shall find me at my garret."
"Well done then," Valery replied.
"I shall walk you out," Antoinette told them. She smiled at Erik and Tallis before leaving the room with Meg and Valery.
Erik and Tallis stared at each other for a long moment. Erik finally breaking the silence. "Do you know any other dances? Perhaps one you would be willing to share with me?"
Tallis squirmed slightly under his gaze before regaining her composure. "There is a dance from my childhood," she began and shook her head, "but it is a folk dance and not as formal as the waltz."
Erik held out his hand. "Teach it to me." He watched as the emotions raced behind those calm grey eyes and heaved a silent sigh of relief as Tallis held out her hand.
"This is called a Hanter Dro and it is three steps forward and one back," Tallis began. "It is usually done in a line and during festival times." She bit her bottom lip.
"What is wrong?" Erik wondered.
Tallis looked at him. "The dance is from Brittany."
Christine, the memory flashed through Erik's mind. He was surprised at how quickly it fled under the gaze of the woman who so lightly held his hand. "I am sure Brittany has many lovely dances," he said with a smile. "I should like to learn my first one."
Tallis' smile broadened. "Follow me, please." She slightly lifted up her skirt to reveal her feet so that Erik could follow them but he hesitated and Tallis raised worried eyes to his face. "What is wrong?"
"If I am dancing with you," he began, "who shall create the music?"
"Allow me to return the favor," Tallis said and cleared her throat. She began to sing the song of her youth, her voice low and warm.
When I was young, eighteen years old,
I was handsome and gallant, oh.
The love-sick women wanted to see me
at night in my room, oh.
Tallis blushed under Erik's amazed look and continued to lead him through the dance steps, their little line inching closer and closer to the doors that led outside.
The youngest woman
brought me an orange, oh.
The orange fell on my foot.
It broke my leg, oh.
Erik found himself laughing at the image of an orange that could actually break a leg. He no longer needed to look at the movement of his companion's feet, the simple repetition easy enough to remember, easy enough to merge into the song coming from Tallis' throat. Erik opened the doors to the garden, never missing a beat.
They sent for a doctor
from Paris or from Nantes, oh.
The doctor who treated me
wanted to cut off my leg, oh.
Tallis found herself dancing in a moonlit garden with a man who was often rude and impossible. A man who reminded her of her older brothers in the way he treated her. She closed her eyes, allowing herself to drift back to the festivals of her youth when she would dance with those brothers; it was a time when they treated her with the love and respect she knew they always felt for her.
No my leg will not be cut off
because I live on my private income, oh.
Erik heard Tallis voice drift off into the slightly chill night. They had stopped dancing and as Erik turned his head, he saw Tallis looking at him in expectation. "Thank you," he said softly, raising her hand to his lips. "That was incredibly enlightening." He smiled at the frown that passed her face. "It was delightful."
"Oh," Tallis replied and brightened. "I am glad you liked it."
"But I should like this even more," Erik said as he drew Tallis into his arms and held her much the same way as Valery had done.
"What are you doing?" Tallis wanted to know.
"Listen to the music," Erik said as he began to hum the waltz he had played earlier. He watched as Tallis closed her eyes, implicitly trusting him. Trusting that he would not hurt her, that he was perfectly capable of guiding her through the steps and into the spell woven by the hummed music. It was a new and wondrous feeling for Erik and he, too, closed his eyes, giving up his own control to the music.
That was how Antoinette found them when she returned from seeing Meg and Valery off, dancing to a silent music in a moonlit garden, wrapped in each other's arms. Antoinette stood watching them for a few moments before quietly closing the door to the garden and walking out of the room.