Author's note: Once more I have to thank you for your kind and encouraging words. You have no idea how much more quickly they make me type.

Chapter Seventy

September 15th 1892: Christine

Despite the unusual mixture of participants, most people seemed to enjoy this impromptu tea party. While Larisse, the cook, fetched two plates and cups, positively beaming with delight about more guests, I threw some discreet glances at the other persons sitting around the table and encountered almost nothing but smiling faces. Antoinette was laughing openly. She loved having company and meeting new people. In fact, I often had the impression that she enjoyed it far more than her parents, which would be very useful in society one day.

Philippe's joy about Erik being here wasn't as apparent as his sister's, but I could easily interpret the sparkle in his eyes. He was proud that for once a visitor was a friend of his instead of someone Antoinette had brought with her. Erik had placed a hand on his shoulder, and sometimes the boy looked up at him, as if he had to reassure himself that his teacher was actually here.

Naturally Jacqueline couldn't be as happy as the children. After all, her two ´employers´ were sitting at the same table, and she had to be afraid that Erik or I could make a remark that would reveal that fact. I gave her a reassuring smile and shook my head slightly, telling her without words that she had nothing to fear. Now she seemed relieved.

The only face that was far from friendly belonged to my husband. Raoul appeared about as cheerful as on the social events he despised so much. No, it was worse, for he didn't even try to hide his disgust about being in the same room as Erik. Yet there was little I could do about it. I was glad that the children didn't seem to noticed the resentments of their father towards Philippe's teacher.

The first few minutes after we had sat down passed quickly. Raoul and I got our tea and biscuits, and for a while we were all busy praising the cook's baking skills. Even Erik had taken a few of the biscuits, although he rarely ate at this time of day, at least as far as I recalled. I thought it very friendly that he forced down a little of the food, just to please Larisse.

When the praised died down, it was hard to find a new topic of conversation, with all people so different from each other. Since I was rather anxious that someone could bring up the question why I had only come home in the morning, I cautiously steered the conversation in the direction of the opera, hoping that the cook wouldn't feel left out because she didn't have anything to say about that subject.

Yet to my relief it turned out that Larisse had a cousin working at the opera as a seamstress. She could tell the funniest anecdotes, making even Erik smile. I, however, grew a little suspicious. It was quite a strange coincidence that this woman had such an obvious connection to the opera. I glanced at my former teacher sternly, but he merely shrugged. At the moment he wasn't willing to reveal whether he had something to do with the cook applying for the job here, and I had to accept that.

Unsurprisingly Raoul was the only person who didn't laugh, smile or even say a word. He was stuffing biscuits into his mouth, drowning them with large gulps of tea and looking like a boy who had just been confronted with the fact that there would be no birthday presents for him this year. Any attempt to make him join the conversation failed. It was the only negative aspect about a group of people who got along very well.

Raoul

I didn't know how long I'd be able to stand this farce of cheerfulness. Sitting at the same table as that… man was simply terrible. It was good that the children and the two other women were there as well, for their presence kept him from boasting with his night with my wife. It didn't matter whether something had happened between them. Everyone knew that he was a master in the art of lying and would do anything he could to taunt me.

The other persons in the room were just as unhappy about him being there as I was. One just had to look at them to know that. Sure, the cook was smiling about the Phantom's well-chosen words of praise for her biscuits. She was a gullible person, and of course he had understood that right away and was telling her exactly what she wanted to hear.

On the first glance Antoinette seemed to enjoy herself as well. But wasn't she much too cheerful, laughed too loudly and too much? Surely it was her way of coping with fear. After all, the man who had done all those bad things at the opera last night was in this very room and could start with his evil tricks any moment. That had to be frightening for my little girl.

Jacqueline was among the few people who didn't hide their feelings. She was shifting in her chair uncomfortably, throwing anxious glances at the unexpected visitor. Ironically, she also was among those who had nothing to fear from him. On the contrary: If he had known that an embrace between her and me had led to a lot of trouble for Christine and me, he'd have probably bought the maid a present… and asked her to do it again soon. That was a thought I didn't like at all.

The most miserable person apart from myself doubtlessly was Philippe. It wouldn't have been nice for any pupil to drink tea with a teacher, but in his case it was much worse: It had to be especially embarrassing because the teacher he had to present to everyone was a lunatic and murderer, although the others didn't know that. I almost felt the weight of the Phantom's large hand on my boy's shoulder and wanted to slap it away. Unfortunately things were not that easy. I was aware of how quickly the hand could have wandered to the child's throat.

The only ones truly having a fantastic time were the Phantom himself and Christine. They were smiling at each other when they thought no one would notice, but of course I did notice it. They were even laughing together. I hadn't known he could laugh like that. It wasn't the still-too-familiar sound that made one's blood freeze, but a friendly one. I couldn't help shaking my head in disbelief. Friendly?

Yet even though most people wanted to have him out of the house, I couldn't just throw him out. He'd have never left out of his own free will, and I knew from experience that I couldn't win a fight against him. The last thing I wanted was for my children to see me dangle from the ceiling while he continued drinking his tea. Drinking his tea? That was the solution. When we had finished our tea, I could ask him to leave without problems. I could only hope his outward politeness included not overstaying his welcome.

So I started eating and drinking as quickly as possible, throwing Larisse a warning glance as she tried to fill my cup again. Looking around I noticed in delight that the tea had vanished from most other cups as well. I barely waited for my wife to take the last sip before I said:

"Well, it was very… erm, nice to have you here, M le Fantome. Thank you for your visit. Jacqueline, would you fetch his cloak, please?".

The maid stood up dutifully, but the Phantom didn't budge.

"Why so fast, Monsieur?" he asked with a self-satisfied smirk. "I don't have anywhere to be until the afternoon, and everyone here seems to enjoy my presence. So why shouldn't I stay for a little while?"

"You could eat lunch with us," the cook offered, smiling at the Phantom as if he suddenly were her favourite visitor . "I'm making duck in red wine sauce. And there'll be chocolate cake for dessert."

"That sounds lovely, Madame," he said, abruptly changing his role into the polite and charming guest again. "But it's not up to me whether I stay." Why did no one else see that this was a contradiction to what he had said a minute ago? All the others were eating out of the palm of his hand.

"Oh yes, you have to stay!" Antoinette exclaimed. "Then you can tell us something about the chorus girls. Where do they learn to dance like that?"

Philippe was smiling in approval, and Christine… yes, she agreed as well.

"Of course you can stay if you'd like to," she told him. Even Jacqueline sat down again.

That was the final straw. Was everyone against me now? Jumping up from the table I shouted:

"Fine! If he stays, then I can as well go! You don't need me anyway!".

Not waiting for a reaction from anyone I ran out of the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind me. I had had enough.