Ch. 6

Cora followed her father deeper into the Rochester Theatre, both dreading the idea of seeing Mr. Destler again and hopeful that the opera would take her mind off of things. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Destler was nowhere in sight for the entirety of the time spent conversing with others in the Grand Hall before they were notified that the performance would begin soon.

The Levours were priviledged enough to sit in a special box that afforded them a luxurious view of the stage. It was the second best seat in the house-the box to the right of them was the best, and reserved for Mr. Destler.

Cora watched her father on the stage, the large crimson velvet curtains closed behind him. He thanked everyone for coming, et cetera, and announced that the infamous composer was indeed watching the performance, thanking him for the material provided that night. She glanced at the box to see that Mr. Destler was still not there, wondering if he had left after the dance after all.

A few minutes later, her father had joined his two daughters and the curtains opened to begin. Cora smiled with excitement when she saw the lead, Ms. Blanche Thornfield, dressed extravagantly in diamonds and silk. It would be the first time in which she had heard the beautiful woman sing.

Cora's mood was abruptly dampened when she saw a dark shadow out of the corner of her eye. She watched, with dismay, as Mr. Destler took an empty seat beside her father in their private box, wondering why he was not sitting in his own.

Mr. Levour, being much shorter than the dark composer, afforded Erik a view of Cora, even from the opposite side of him. He looked at her with a smirk and Cora noticed that he had managed to change his attire and had replaced his large black velvet mask, probably to maintain his identity as the anonymous composer for the rest of the night.

She considered exchanging seats with her younger sister in order to sit further away from Mr. Destler and hide herself from his taunting smile, but she knew that she could not cause a disturbance during the performance. She would have to endure his stare.

Ms. Thornfield was neither lacking in beauty nor talent. Her confident and lovely voice melted with the lead male's harmoniously. The duo sang of growing love, pain, and loss. Ultimately, their story ended in death, as many operas do.

Cora found herself wiping tears from her eyes during the final scene. The melody contained overwhelming emotion, and she clapped enthusiastically when it had ended.

Erik watched with pride and felt relief when the entire audience stood, whistled, and shouted compliments at the performance. He could not help but to smile when he saw that everyone appreciated his talent-it was everything that he had dreamed of.

"Erik, you have done it!" Mr. Levour shouted above the applause.

Cora overheard the use of his first name and was surprised to learn of it. He was the only 'Erik' that she knew. What a shame that the name belonged to such an ill-tempered man, she thought. There was simply something about him that brought out the worst of her own temper, too.

And yet, his music contained such a passion that she had never heard before. He truly did have musical talent, and she was perplexed as to why he did not display, in his own life, the love and kindness that he wrote about. He was quite the opposite, really!

He was not only the most infuriating man of whom she had met, but also a deep enigma.

Mr. Levour left the box and returned to the stage to bow with the cast and conclude the evening. Erik turned to Cora, who was dreading the conversation that was to come.

"Ms. Levour, how did you enjoy tonight's performance?" he asked.

"Very much," Cora refused to make eye contact with him, instead pretending to scan the crowd of guests that had begun to leave for a familiar face. She was hoping that this would discourage him from carrying on the conversation.

"And was this your first opera?"

"Yes."

"Have you ever heard such music? I seem to recall that you look down upon suitors and the very idea of marriage. Perhaps you are not experienced in the ways of love," he smiled darkly, knowing that he was affecting her.

Cora bit her lip to prevent herself from imploding and took a deep breath before she continued, "It is a wonder that such passion and love can be spoken through music, when it is rarely experienced by anyone and displayed even less. In a world lacking in manners and kindness, I am surprised that it exists at all."

Erik caught her insult towards him and grew agitated.

"Yes, well, I should think that those who are not afraid to find such love can experience it. Others, who are less inclined to marry and end as old spinsters, would never know it," he retorted.

Cora could not help but to cast a deathly glare in his direction. Before she could make a reply, her sister-who had been unaware of their exchange of words-inserted herself into the conversation.

"Mr. Destler, your talent is truly magnificent! Why, I have never heard such beautiful notes played!"

"Thank you, Gisette," he replied warmly. He stood and dismissed himself with a bow.

Gisette leaned in towards Cora as they awaited their father's return. "Is he not the very essence of a well-bred gentleman? So handsome and romantic!"

Cora rolled her eyes. His music may be romantic, and he may be handsome, but he will never be a gentleman in my eyes!

—-

On the return home, Erik smiled to himself. Only once had he attended a ball, only to hide behind his mask and watch the woman whom he loved become engaged to another man. But tonight-tonight he had been introduced to many beautiful women who wanted to dance with him, wanted to speak with him, and even to know his name! He was no longer the Phantom of the Opera-he was a man, and Erik Destler was his name!

Not to mention that the last time in which his opera had been played, it had led to the most humiliating moment of his life and a broken heart. But tonight he had witnessed the pleasant astonishment and appreciation for his hard work.

His life had finally been given a moment of happiness, with opportunities for more, and he could not help but to think of how relieved he was that he had found Cora at the precise moment of her weakness that he had. Although terrible it may be to think such thoughts, he would still have been confined alone in the darkness of his days had it not been for discovering her secret.

No longer would he live in darkness.

—

Nearly one week had passed by before Cora had found herself staring at a letter that had been delivered to her on that Thursday morning.

After a day or two without hearing from Mr. Destler, she had begun to harbor the hope that he would not be needing her services often, and after a week she had even wondered if he had released her from her obligation, though she knew better.

And while the elegant writing of praise would appear as cordial, she knew otherwise; how his words threatened her and even the money included seemed to mock her. She had the feeling that her fate would forever be shackled to his, and the thought brought her great displeasure. After all, was it not bad enough that her parents wished for her life to be governed by a man, to be supressed as a woman, and here she was under the control of someone and not even married?

She broke open the scarlet wax seal with the least bit of enthusiasm and sighed in dejection once she had read its contents.

She was to go to him the following day-not much of an advance notice, she complained to herself. She crumpled up the letter, tossed it in her waste-basket, and propped her chin on the palm of her hand, her elbow digging unpleasantly into the hard surface of her writing table.

How was she ever to escape him?