Sorry for the slight delay in posting this chapter. I had visitors from across the pond staying with me, and I spent the last few days showing them the area.

Chapter 19

Christine's POV, Six hours prior to the events in Chapter 18.

I woke up after that sleepless night ready to face my new life. The Comtesse had risen before me and was dressed and ready for breakfast. She gently rapped on my door and told me to come down with her.

"The Baron has graciously asked his cooks to prepare a meal for us and it is waiting. We would not want to be rude."

"I will be down in several minutes. Will it just be you and I, or will the Baron be joining us?" I replied through the door thinking that I would again look frightful.

"Do not dawdle my dear" she told me insistently. "A person of his station should not have to wait upon you. I told him that you could take a meal with the servants but he insisted that you come to breakfast with us." She sounded a little sour but what choice did I have but to go with her immediately.

I told her to wait a moment while I donned an old dress that did not require a corset. I looked in the mirror and I looked disheveled I was a little embarrassed but the Comtesse was very impatient. She banged her cane on the wooden floor signaling her impatience with me. A moment later I opened the door. She gave me a close examination but I seemed to have passed.

"Erik just left. He went to Strasbourg to pick up a new coach and some friends of his who are visiting. Like us, they are French. He told me that I was welcome to stay through lunch and meet them but I am not sure that I want to impose upon his hospitality much longer. Christian, his cousin has remained to sit with us through breakfast. I am sure that you will find him to be quite hospitable. He is a most handsome young gentleman as well." She told me, in a slightly more amiable manner.

"What is Erik like?" I asked curious about the mysterious Baron.

"He is quite a gentleman himself, just like his late grandfather. His French is excellent and completely unaccented unlike Christian's. Apparently he spent some time in Paris, during the occupation, and is fond of French culture. He was the one who helped me yesterday. He seems to be a kind man but very reserved. He is much more reserved than his cousin. It might be due to the fact that he has a war injury but I couldn't say for sure. I only met him yesterday."

"A war injury you say? I met Christian last night, and he mentioned that Erik wears a mask."

I could not help but to think of the many coincidences between the Baron and my old tutor. If I had truly mistaken him for the Phantom last night the resemblance was eerie. I wished that I knew my new employer better so that I might suggest that we opt for the invitation to lunch. I did so want to meet this mysterious Baron.

The Comtesse replied with a curt tone "'Christian?'You are on a first name basis? How very familiar of you. I hope that you do not think that you might take such liberties with other members of the nobility. While I shall permit you to attend certain functions at my side, I will insist that you behave using the rules of propriety. I am sure that in Paris it was not a terrible thing to be so familiar with your social betters but here it is more structured and you might find that some would hold you in low regard. I do not tell you this to upbraid you Christine, but as a favor to you. I do not want to see you held in low regard. It would be a reflection upon me as your employer."

I hoped that the Comtesse would soften a bit as I got to know her. She did not appear to be a particularly mean woman but she appeared to be quite conscious of the boundaries that propriety imposed upon us. I sincerely hoped that I could break down some of the barriers separating us or I would be quite lonely once more.

We made our way to a massive dining room with the longest table that I had ever seen. I could imagine noblemen and their ladies dining there during the Middle Ages throwing their chicken bones to the hounds who were waiting under the table. It was set for breakfast and my new acquaintance Christian was seated there. He stood up to greet us looking even more handsome than he had in the middle of the night. He looked at me in amusement.

"I trust that you slept well Christine? I told you that you will have a big day today." He asked me.

"Yes, thank you. I was less restless after I went back to sleep." I answered.

The Comtesse looked at both of us probably wondering what we meant. Christian turned to her and explained "Mademoiselle Daae and I are now well acquainted. She was a restless sleeper and was awakened by some noise. I reassured her that all of the resident spirits are very friendly. I escorted her back to her room. You will have a most charming companion Comtesse. We must endeavor to meet again soon."

The Comtesse smiled "I would like to host a ball in the Baron's honor to thank him for his service to me yesterday. I think that it would do him well to be better acquainted with the important families of the area. Don't you agree? Until recently your family has been the backbone of society in this region. I would like to see you and your cousin resume your places. In a way, I owe it to both of you to do so, given my past association with your family. It would show everyone that past hurts have been finally healed. It was I that started the rift within your family and between both of your grandfather's and my late husband."

I looked at them both, in puzzlement. I could see that they were sharing a private understanding. As the Comtesse had pointed out previously, I was only an employee of the Comtesse and barely knew either of them. I did not have the standing to ask what they meant but then Christian gave me a peculiar look and turned to the Comtesse.

"We are being quite rude to Mademoiselle Daae." He told her suddenly formally. "We should inform her about what we are speaking of so that she might feel less awkward. Would you like us to tell you Mademoiselle?" he asked me pointedly.

I did want to know. I gratefully replied "Yes, I would love to know.'

The Comtesse looked at me. "Very well, Christian, I will tell her although it is ancient history." She turned to me and smiled "You are still very young child, and probably have known little of life outside of the Opera House where you were brought up. My cousin Aurore de Chagny tells me that you are a very innocent young lady despite your choice of career. I was once as young and as innocent as you. I was thought to be very beautiful. I was raised in Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne in a very old and distinguished family. We survived the Revolution because at the time, our family was in Geneva. We had been secret Protestants for two hundred years and my grandfather decided that it would be safer if he would move to Switzerland where there was toleration for us. After the Bourbon's were overthrown, and Napoleon took control, he moved back to France and distinguished himself in battle. He died in Russia when Napoleon was defeated and forced to march back to France in defeat. He and my father fought together and both are buried in an unmarked mass grave somewhere outside of Smolensk.

When I was eighteen, in 1822, my maman decided to move to Strasbourg because my maman was a passionate Lutheran, and therefore eligible men were rare in Auvergne, which was in the heart of Catholic France. Strasbourg was attractive because, at the time, it was still part of France. Many Lutherans were there because it was on the border with Germany and was largely German speaking. My mother decided to bring me here and introduce me to the local society. Given our noble credentials we were welcomed into society here. Soon after we arrived I was invited to a fete at a prominent Lutheran family's estate. There I met three young men, two brothers and a third was their close friend. The brothers were only a year apart in age and were as close as twins. They were the most handsome men that I had ever laid eyes upon. They were from a distinguished Protestant family of ancient lineage. The family had lived in the area of Strasbourg forever. They were the grandfathers of Christian and Erik.

Both men came up to me at the exact same time and asked me to dance. I could not choose which one to dance with so I settled for dancing with both, one after the other. As the night went on they became rivals for my attention. At first they decided to divide their time with me between them. I of course did not know about this arrangement. If I had, perhaps the bad blood that arose between them might never have occurred; but that was how they decided to deal with their mutual attraction to me. They both figured that I would choose only one of them, and that the other would then back away before either of them could get hurt. They thought that it was the most equitable solution, but as it turned out it was not. You see they were so similar that I liked both of them just the same and I did not know which one to choose at all. I was immature and was blissfully unaware of the tension that I was causing.

The two brothers began to see me behind one another's back. They thought that they could get the edge on the other. The more that I saw each, the more confused that I was. They were both so handsome and charming and I couldn't decide which one that I liked better. I started to talk to Jules, my future husband, and their best friend, about my dilemma and he and I became confidantes. Soon it was a mess and I was caught up in the middle. Finally one day Erik's grandfather, who was also named Erik, caught his brother Georges with me and it looked very compromising. He threatened to kill his brother for his betrayal, but Jules convinced them to let me choose. I could not decide which one that I liked better but still they pressed me.

Finally I decided that I would not choose either and married Jules instead. He and I had grown quite close while discussing my situation. The irony was that his family was very Catholic. My mother was most displeased, but since Jules was a Comte from a very distinguished family she had some difficulty objecting. Sadly she had a bad accident and died and we were then married. In the meantime neither brother ever forgave the other, even though they both married other women and had reputably good marriages. They would not forgive Jules or I either. We had all been so close and were turned into enemies. Georges had studied architecture at the University and became a professor there. He met a German girl who was the daughter of another professor and married against his father's wishes. Erik married the daughter of another local family of good lineage and inherited the estate. The brothers never again spoke to one another."

She turned to me. I don't think that she noticed my discomfort while she was telling me her story, I was grateful for that. Her story reminded me of my own recent dilemma. I too was forced to choose between two men and ended up with neither.

"Were you ultimately happy with Jules? Or did you still love the brothers?" I asked her.

She sighed "Jules was not as handsome as the brothers; in fact many perceived him as being homely. We were never blessed with children, because we were sterile. Sadly he was the last of his line and had no heirs. When I die, the de la Bois line will be extinct. Most of the family lost their lives in the Revolution. Only his parents survived and he was their sole surviving child."

"That seems so sad." I told her.

"Yes." She admitted "You will find that my home has many ghosts. It is a huge empty place, almost as large as this estate but I am its only resident save for a handful of servants. I hope that you will be happy there with me, an old lady with no one around but ghosts from the past."

I smiled "I am used to living with ghosts Comtesse. I have spent my entire life around them." I told her.

"It might get very lonely for you. Most girls your age want to be around people and parties and such." She told me "I warned my dear cousin Aurore, the Comtesse de Chagny, about that when she wrote me about you; but she told me that her son owed you a favor, and that you wanted to leave France and return to Sweden eventually."

I noticed that Christian was paying close attention to us suddenly he asked "What made you want to leave Paris and go back to Sweden? Your French sounds like a native you must have lived there for a long time."

I looked at him and told him the truth "I have lived there since I was five years old, and spent most of my time studying to be a ballerina and then a Prima Donna."

He lifted a finely sculpted eyebrow and questioned "And you were unsuccessful?"

"On the contrary." I admitted "I was very successful. I had a great teacher who took a great interest in advancing my career."

The both looked at me curiously. I could sense that Christian in particular seemed to take special interest in my situation.

Christian continued to question me "Then why did you leave to come here? If you were successful, you could certainly gain more wealth and fame as a Prima Donna, why become a paid companion for the Comtesse here in Alsace?"

I was not sure what I should tell them. Perhaps they would eventually find out so I decided to be honest.

"My teacher fell in love with me, and then Raoul, the Vicomte de Chagny did as well. Raoul was a childhood friend." I told them. "Raoul wanted to marry me and I accepted his proposal. We were engaged to be married."

Christian looked at me with sympathy "So then, why did you not marry the Vicomte? It seems like a most splendid match for a Prima Donna?"

I felt a little defensive at his very probing question, I wanted to tell him to mind his business but he was my social superior and my host. "I did not love him." I admitted.

"And yet you accepted his proposal previously? That must have been quite a blow to him." He added. "And what of this teacher who also loved you?"

"Well you see that was the most difficult part of it. I misjudged both my teacher, and my feelings towards him. He had a deformity which I found to be repulsive, and I thought that he was a murderer. I was afraid of him. I thought that he would hurt me and those around me. But then Raoul tried to kill him, and he thought that I was involved too. I later found out that he was innocent of the murder that I attributed to him." I felt as if I were rambling on to perfect strangers. It was difficult for me to tell them what had happened.

"Were you involved in the plot to kill him?" Christian asked gently. "Last night you told me that you had betrayed someone more than once."

"Of course not, never. It looked like I did, and my best friend saw what she thought was me helping Raoul do it. Now Erik loves her and not me. He would not even see me to let me explain that I am innocent."

I could feel the tears washing down my face.

My pent up pain came pouring out in tears which fell like raindrops.

She told me "My poor dear girl, you have been through a lot. It is hard to be young and beautiful and yet not yet know what you want. I remember."

"What would you do if you were to find this teacher of yours? Erik I believe that you called him. If he has moved on, would you welcome him? Would you still find him repulsive?" Christian asked me.

I did not know why it was so important to him that I reply, but I told him "I would try to explain and ask for his forgiveness."

"Would you accept his love now if it were still offered to you; or do you just want his forgiveness?" he asked me.

"I don't know." I admitted. "I think that I do love him, but a lot has happened to us and between us that would have to be resolved before I would know the answer."

"I see." Christian said. "Well of course the chances of you encountering him must be quite slim, since he is in Paris and you are here." He added.

"He is not in Paris. He has left. I think that he went to America. He is still wanted for murder in France." I told him.

"I thought that you said that he is innocent?" Christian asked me.

"He is, he was protecting a friend of his and took the blame. I found this out after I betrayed him." I told him.

"Why would he do such noble a thing? It is a capital offense?" He asked.

"He did not mind. I think that he wanted people to think that he had done it. He pretended to be a ghost for many years so that he would be left alone. Most people believed him to be so, and it worked for a long time. Everything changed after the murder took place and then he started threatening the managers. We all became very afraid of him especially me. He started to become obsessed with me. Raoul helped to guard me from him." I told him.

"He doesn't sound like the sort of person to protect a friend. He sounds like a loner. Perhaps you are better off away from him if he behaves in such away. " Christian observed.

I felt the anger rise in me from Christian's presumptive observations. I felt a need to defend Erik "You don't know anything about him, that you can say that. He is a loner but I don't think that in his heart he wants to be. I think that he was obsessed with me because he was very lonely. Not many people treated him well because of his deformity, not even his mother. He was always protective of me. He would watch over me when I was a child and befriended me when I was lonely. He had a few other people who he also watched over, my foster mom and my friend Meg. He taught me music, and encouraged me to learn about history and culture behind that music. He made my voice take wing, and I could feel my spirit soar when we sang together.

He listened to me and then acted quite strangely. He then abruptly asked me to step out of the room, and wait for him. I was not sure why he did that so suddenly. I was afraid that he had taken an instant dislike to me. Perhaps he found me to be shallow. I knew that German's did have the reputation of being abrupt and honest and perhaps I was just being paranoid but it was unsettling to be dismissed in that way.