Chapter 21- A Plan To Get Away
Emilie laid in the darkness when she heard something hit her balcony door. She walked to the door and pulled back the curtain allowing the moonlight shine through illuminating the room. Opening the door, she stepped out on the balcony and saw Jean-Claude standing on the beach below. She waved and put a finger up gesturing that she would be right back and headed back inside to get her robe. Climbing down the trellis she stood on the sand below and Jean-Claude took her hand. They began walking down the beach when he broke the silence and asked,
"Did you talk to your father?" She nodded.
"Well, what did he say?" He asked. She kept thinking about how his face really looked under that mask and lost in her thoughts she asked,
"What did he say about what?"
"About us! You and me!"
"Oh, that, well he just said that if being with you makes me happy that is fine but he wants you to come over and meet him more properly than just selling him hardware." Jean-Claude shivered at the thought and answered,
"All right, if that's what it takes then I will do that." Emilie looked out at the dark ocean.
"Are you all right?" He asked her. She looked at him and told him the entire story of what happened that day and what she heard that night. Jean-Claude stood in silence as she told him everything about what she figured out about her parents, leaving out what was underneath her father's mask.
"Something happened to them Jean-Claude, and I want to know what it was that made my parents act this way when I asked a simple question." She finished.
"How are you going to find out what did?" He asked.
"My mother said something about the Vicomte and I wonder if it has to do with Lord and Lady de Chagny in Paris."
"Your parents were involved with royal people?" Jean-Claude asked in shock. It still made him intimidated on how wealthy Emilie's father was compared to his own father.
"I don't know, I think so. From the sound of the conversation they knew de Chagny pretty well. I want to go to Paris and speak to him." Jean-Claude laughed and tried to stifle it, taking her hand he said,
"I don't think you are going to be able to just walk up to the front door and ask for Lord de Chagny." She laughed too and said,
"My mother has to have the address to where he lives, she was involved at some point in her life, I will find it and write, hoping that it gets to him."
"If you go to Paris, I am going with you. I don't want you going alone."
"How in the world are you going to get away without anyone suspecting anything? Do you know what my father will do to you if he knew that you and I spent the night together?"
"If it would make you feel any better, we will get separate rooms in the hotel. And anyways, how are you going to get away to Paris by yourself?" He asked knowing how protective her father was of her.
"I will tell him that I am going to the University to get more information." He smiled in the moonlight and said,
"I still think that he's not going to let you go. Come on Emilie, a young woman all alone in a big city?" She stood silent for a moment and thought about how she would convince her father and how terrifying it could be all alone.
"All right, if I can convince him, you come with me." His face softened and he replied,
"That makes me feel much better." She kissed him and smiled.
The next morning Erik woke up early and noticed that the other side of his bed was empty. He laid there for a moment realizing that it was before his clock would go off and tried to fall back asleep. A few moments of turning and trying to get comfortable, he realized that it was useless.
"This is what marriage this long does to someone; I can't even sleep without someone next to me now." He said out loud to himself. He heard a loud bang below his bedroom and got out of the bed to investigate.
Christine and Emilie sat at the table in the dining room sipping on their tea and eating some breakfast biscuits when Erik sauntered in.
"Good morning dear." Christine greeted him. He walked over and kissed her cheek before taking a seat at the table.
"Good morning." He responded back. Lucie brought him a cup with tea and a plate, taking a sip he asked,
"Why is everyone awake so early this morning?"
"I had trouble sleeping last night, therefore I was awake. I intercepted the morning mail and got a letter from the university in Paris. It says that if I am still interested in attending that I need to come up there for meetings with people who teach in the areas I am interested in studying." Erik raised his eyebrow that was visible,
"Is that the letter?" He asked pointing to an open envelope sitting next to her on the table.
"It is." He reached for it and opened it. He read over it and said,
"It says that they want you to come there by Thursday and it's only Tuesday!"
"It is awfully late notice. However, as you have read it says that Emilie will be staying in the student housing hall Thursday and Friday." Christine chimed in.
"I don't think you should be going alone." Erik said taking a bite out of his biscuit. Christine looked over at him and Emilie said,
"Father, if I am going to attend school there I have to live there. I think it would be a great experience for me to realize what it's really going to be like when I'm there." He glanced at her and then looked over at Christine.
"What do you think?"
"I was this age when I came to the opera house, and I lived there on my own." Standing up, he emptied his cup and sighed,
"You two plead a very convincing case and I think you are correct." Emilie jumped up and hugged him.
"Thank you Father!"
"Now listen, I am going to buy your train tickets today and I am going to give you a great deal of money for emergency purposes when you are there. If everything goes the way it should I want you to bring me half of the money I give you back. The other will be for cabs and maybe treat yourself to an enjoyable afternoon meal if you can get away." She listened nodding her head with excitement.
"All right then, it's settled." He said retreating back through the kitchen and up the stairs. Emilie watched him walk through and turned back towards her mother.
"I'm so nervous but excited Mother. This will be my first time as an adult." Christine smiled at Emilie,
"Just make sure you are very cautious and do not venture into the city after dark. Any woman, especially one in your class would be asking for a death wish."
Jean-Claude arrived at the shop early that morning. After writing that letter he was worried that Emilie's father would find out it was fraudulent. He cleaned the store and dusted everything trying to keep as busy as possible when the little bell above the door rang indicating someone had come in. He stood up and saw Emilie's father looking around and walking towards the check-out desk. His heart pounded in his chest and he slowly walked up to the desk.
"May I help you?" He asked trying to keep his nervousness hidden.
"You're Jean-Claude, correct?" Erik asked.
"I am." Jean-Claude answered.
"I understand that you are secretly courting my daughter. And before you get worried, it's all right with me except I don't want you to do it in secret anymore. Have you talked to Emilie today?" Jean-Claude almost fainted with relief and answered,
"I have not. She usually stops by in the afternoons."
"Well I would like you to come to dinner tonight at our house, I would like to speak to you and Emilie about something. Please take that worried look off of your face; you two are not in trouble or anything. I expect to see you at 6." Jean-Claude went from worried to puzzled as Erik tipped his hat and said while making his way out the door,
"I will see you tonight."
"Yes Monsieur, tonight." Jean-Claude stood there deep in thought thinking about what was going to happen that night. He should be overjoyed to be able to spend time with Emilie and her family. But her family was so aristocratic compared to his family.
The bell rang again and this time it was Emilie. She looked beautiful under her dark hat and smiled at him making her way over to the desk.
"I saw my father leave here just a moment ago." She said to Jean-Claude. Studying the puzzled look on his face, she asked worriedly,
"What did he want?" Jean-Claude didn't make eye contact with her and squeezed his eyebrows together,
"He invited me to dinner; he said there was something he wanted to speak to the two of us about." Now the puzzled look went from his face to hers and she asked,
"Why would he do that? He said yesterday that he wanted to invite you to dinner at some point to meet you properly, but I wasn't expecting it so soon." She said looking away.
"What did he say about the letter?" Jean-Claude asked eagerly. She looked back at him and replied,
"He believed it. He said he was worried about the notice, but he said I could go by myself there. Are you ready to leave with me on Friday?"
"Yes, we are going to go on Friday. I will be at the train station that morning; we will meet but not speak until we are on the train." He told her.
"My darling, if my father buys my ticket he will be sure to buy first class."
"If he does, we will meet when we get to Paris." She sighed and replied,
"All right, I'm going to go over to the opera house, he forgot his wallet this morning and maybe I can get some more information out of him about tonight."
"Come back here my love on your way home." She smiled at him making her way to the door.
"I will."
On the street, the sun had fully risen and Emilie could see the roof of the opera house peeking over the tops of the smaller structures. People had finally started their day and the main street was beginning to become crowded.
Arriving at the tall building, she pulled open the heavy door to reveal the cleaning crew mopping and dusting all of the statues. They bowed at her and she stopped an older woman,
"Where is my father?"
"My lady, he is working in the auditorium this morning. Stage rehearsals are underway this week." Emilie smiled and thanked her making her way under the staircases leading to the orchestra level of the auditorium. Opening the door she was bombarded with loud menacing music. Three men were on the stage rehearsing Don Giovanni's commendatore scene, while the rest of the cast was sitting in the chairs talking to one another silently.
The music picked up in tempo and male dancers came out singing and goosebumps appeared on Emilie's skin. She always became so moved by music and she shook her head to calm her pounding heart while looking around the room for her father. She finally caught sight of him standing on the outside of the orchestra pit looking over some papers until he finally shouted,
"No, no, no! When Mozart wrote this, he didn't want you to take the easy way out, he wanted you to challenge yourself and show the audience some real passion. When you take his hand act like it's so cold to touch that it's shocking. I need you to be more realistic. And you, whatever your name is, I need you to stay absolutely still while singing this. You are a dead man made of stone and you only move when you take his hand. Now let's try again." The music started again and she made her way down the aisle towards her father. He was holding the score and glancing at the actors over top of his glasses when she tapped him on the shoulder. Turning to see her, he smiled and put his finger to his lips. She remained quiet for the next few minutes as the three men sang out the rest of the scene.
"Samuel that was much better. I like the way you did it that time." Erik told the main character when the scene finished.
"Thank you Monsieur." The actor said from the stage.
"Let's take a break from this scene and I will be back in a few minutes and we will begin with the final scene." He put his hand on her back and led her out of the auditorium and down the hall to his office.
"What are you doing here dear?" He asked Emilie as he placed the score on his desk and poured himself another cup of tea.
"Mother sent me. You forgot your wallet today and she said you might need it." He smirked a little smile and replied,
"I doubt I will need it today, but all right. You walked all this way for that?"
"It gave me a reason to see Jean-Claude." She said shyly looking away from him.
"So there's the real reason. Have you seen him yet?" He asked her smiling.
"I have. He told me that you invited him to dinner tonight and that you had something you wanted to talk to the two of us about." He sat down at his desk and removed his glasses. They moved his mask a little bit and he adjusted it back saying,
"I do. Well more so him than you for I don't think that you will disagree with me on this. I am awfully worried about you going to Paris alone and I can't get away now with this opera going on the stage in ten days. I want him to go with you, however, there will not be any room sharing, I will get him his own hotel room close to the university. You will remain a lady and when I say a lady there will be nothing happening. You are a proper lady and I will not have you ruin our family's reputation and your reputation by doing things you shouldn't be doing."
"Father, now don't you think you are asking a little too much from him? After all, you haven't met him in a proper manner." He rolled his eyes and replied,
"I know, but for some strange reason I trust him. I never wanted you to be with a second class citizen, but he is better than nothing." She smiled at him and replied,
"I don't know how I got such an open minded father, but I'm glad you're my father." He laughed and said,
"I'm not usually open minded, just ask your mother and she will confirm that." She reached into her pocket and produced his wallet, handing it to him she said,
"Thank you Father and even though I don't feel I need a chaperone, thanks for letting me go and thank you for trying to get to know him." He gave her a weak smile and said,
"All right I have to get back. I will see you tonight." She walked out of his office and down the hall listening to all the singers on the distant stage talking and practicing. She couldn't wait until the world could hear the pieces she would compose. The feeling of excitement jumped up inside her, her father was allowing her to finally live the life of her dreams. Now if only she could find the information she would need to contact this Vicomte when she went to Paris to learn about her parents.
A/N: "Don Giovanni" is a very powerful opera written by Mozart and is one of his most different but famous pieces. I do not own any of it.