Cleaning. I’d never had so much enjoyment cleaning my home before. Under normal conditions, I kept my home relatively clean, but, with Christine on her way, I wanted it to sparkle. The biggest clutter I had to clean that particular day was the accumulation of liquor bottles and glasses that remained as testimony to my sad state just days before.
Once cleaned, I brought up the assortment of flowers from the docking room and put them around my parlor and dining room; a few of them I put in Christine’s room. When finished, I stood back and surveyed my home. It had the effect I wanted. It looked like a bright summer day in a park.
There was only one more important project I needed to do before I brought Christine into my home—put locks on the black boxes on the mantle. I wouldn’t want any curious fingers accidentally blowing up my home. Once the locks were in place, I put the keys in a small leather bag and then put the bag on a bookshelf in my music room.
Thanks to my nearly two weeks with the wine, I hadn’t gotten that extra bath built. Therefore, for a time anyway, I’d have to use my kitchen for some of my personal needs.
It was a little before six p.m. by the time I finished with my home and headed for my next project—César. With my bosal in hand, I entered the stable. Knowing I didn’t have time to wait for laudanum to take effect, I was hoping I wouldn’t have more than one groom to contend with, and I didn’t. Even in my crippled state, I was able to get behind him, and then, with the right pressure on his neck, he was soon unconscious on a pile of hay.
Since I would be sending César back to the stable alone, I wanted him to be without tack; therefore, my greatest challenge would be to mount him bareback with only one good leg. But, once that was done, we were down the corridor leading up to the dressing rooms.
My plan for that night was to leave him tied at one of the entrances to my passage that led to Christine’s dressing room. At the same time, I would lead her through it toward him. Then we would ride together down to the lake, all the while with my arms around her and my voice singing in her ear the romantic piece I’d written in Perros. Then, once at the lake, I would send César back up to the stable by himself.
I’d sent him up alone before and he’d made it just fine, so any concern I had wasn’t due to his losing his way. The only unknown factor was the unfamiliar territory I’d be asking him to maneuver in the near darkness. I’d ridden him many times from the stable down to the lake, and through the corridors leading to the loading dock, and through the passage to my secret outside entrance, but I’d never had him in the dressing room section of the opera house before.
Considering the precious cargo I’d be carrying, and the fact that I was without much strength in my left leg, I didn’t want anything to go wrong. That’s why I wanted to ride him several times over that area to make sure he was familiar with it.
For a stallion, he was gentle as long as he was inside the opera house. I saw a much different side of him when I rode him by the river, but, thankfully, he’d been trained well, and when inside he knew he was working so he behaved.
Once I felt comfortable with his performance, I took him down to the lake for a drink, and then we headed back toward the stable. But we didn’t quite make it there. We were almost to the well when a figure stepped right in front of us, catching us both off guard. César reared, and I nearly came off his back, while trying to calm him and examine our intruder at the same time.
Then, with an angered huff, I questioned, “What are you doing here, Oded?”
“I’ve missed you, Erik. It’s been a while since I’ve seen you,” he said while taking a few steps in my direction. “Have you been too busy to visit with your old friend?”
“Yes, much too busy,” I responded with my lack of patience showing. “I don’t have the time to banter with you, so, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to my business.”
True to form, he stepped in front of us again. “What is it, Erik? What are you so busy with?”
“Just stuff,” I grumbled while trying to continue on my way. “It’s nothing that would interest a Persian daroga. Now, please, if you don’t mind.”
“Erik, you’re hiding something important from me, and I can’t help but wonder why.”
“Why? Why are you so unrelenting when it comes to my business, Oded? I thought we were past that stage in our relationship. I thought we had a good understanding. I would see you on occasion, beat you in a game of chess often, listen to your chatter continually, and you would leave me alone—always.”
“Now I know you’re hiding something from me. You’re on the defensive and you never get on the defensive unless there’s something you want to keep secret. What’s going on here?”
He looked at César and then toward the stairs and then toward the lake and my boat. “Why are you always down here, Erik?”
“I could ask you the same question, Oded. I work here, remember? But you have no business here; other than to sit in the audience and enjoy the music. Look around you. Do you see an orchestra? No! So go back upstairs and wait for one.”
“Well, actually, Erik, that’s what brought me here. You see, I was in the audience enjoying the music the night of the gala, just as you said I should. Everyone was talking about the new singer, Christine Daaé, and her miraculous overnight success. There was much talk about a special and secret teacher. Do I need to tell you where my mind went at that time?
“I remember another young girl who was tutored by a truly special teacher. I heard in Mam’selle Daaé’s voice something similar to my own daughter’s. That certain great passion that no one knew existed in her until that night. Would you happen to know who that special teacher is?”
I slid off César and walked up to him, glaring right in his eyes. Then, in a low tone, I tried to warn him. “You tire me, Oded. You tire me with your continual interference in my private affairs. If you want to know who her voice teacher is, then I suggest you ask her and leave me out of it.”
I turned back toward César and started to lead him away, but Oded again stepped in front of us. “Well, I did, as a matter of fact. Her only response was that it was someone her father once knew and had sent to her. But, you see, I know her father has been dead for ten years, so he couldn’t have recently sent him. On top of that, it was the way she said it and the look she had in her eyes when she said it. I’ve seen that look before in my own daughter when she was captivated by her teacher.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What are you accusing me of this time, Oded? And what difference does it make who her teacher is? And why are you making this your business? I don’t understand your unnatural need to always know everything about everybody.”
He walked in a circle around us and then looked back at me. “You know I care about you, Erik. I care for your welfare and your life, and I have from our first meeting. When I hear about strange things happening in your sphere,” he said as he circled his hands around the area, “I become concerned.
“As you know, I always find you here, and yet it’s strange that no one around here has ever seen you. You’re rather distinctive in your appearance, and you really stand out in a crowd, and yet no one remembers seeing anyone who fits your description. I find that rather peculiar—don’t you? I know how you feel about music, and yet I never see you at any of the performances—not at the grand opening and not at the gala. You’re never seen and you’re never heard. I find that difficult to understand.”
I snarled. “I really don’t get your point. So we’ve missed each other, and so no one sees me. You know how I feel about being seen in public. So I choose not to be seen in large crowds. I don’t think that’s really newsworthy, and it’s surely a waste of your time to investigate it.
“You know what, Oded? I think you need to take a job with the Paris police department. That’s where you need to be so you can do real investigating; such as robberies and murders. You don’t need to follow me around trying to understand why I’d rather spend my time down here with César and not up there with
the snobbish upper class. That really shouldn’t be hard for you to understand. You’ve known me long enough to know I prefer the company of horses over people.”
“Erik, why are you lying to me? What is so secret that you have to lie to me—your supposed friend?”
He’d pushed me far enough, and I lost it, so I turned on him with raised voice and arms. “What is it you expect from me, Oded?”
César spooked and I almost lost him, stumbling over myself trying to calm him. In the process, I also calmed. So, in a softer tone, I asked in all sincerity, “What do you want, Oded? Please stop beating around the bush and just say it outright. What is it you want to know?”
So he did just that; he said it outright. “Are you Christine’s teacher? Are you watching the operas, say from Box Five that belongs to the mysterious Opera Ghost? Are you the Opera Ghost? Did you have anything to do with the sudden illness of Carlotta and Mam’selle Daaé’s appearance? Did you have anything to do with the unusual demise of Joseph Buquet?”
I stood there with my arms spread. I’d asked him, and he’d replied completely. Now, was I prepared to answer him? Do I answer him honestly?
I turned and faced César, stroking his jaw. “We’re friends, right, Oded? You know I visit with César and that he’s never been hurt. No one has been hurt by what I’ve done with him—right?”
“Yes, Erik, and I’ve kept that little secret of yours.”
Continuing to run my hands over César’s nose, I went on. “I would never hurt anyone intentionally. Do you believe me when I say that?”
“Yes, I do, Erik.”
“If I tell you the truth, will you believe me and keep my secret and stop asking me questions?” He was silent, so I turned back and looked at him. “Will you, my friend?” He nodded. “Then, yes, I’m Christine’s teacher and I mean her no harm. I’ve only wanted to help her reach her potential the same way I did with Vashti. And, as you can see, it’s been working.”
“Yes, it surely has. But what about the look I saw in her eyes, Erik. Are the two of you in love?”
I swallowed hard. “Oded, she doesn’t even know me, and she’s never seen me. She only hears my voice as I instruct her. I’ve never touched her or done anything to seduce her, so she’s safe from harm.”
He looked at me strangely. “That’s a peculiar type of relationship, even for you, Erik.”
Softly, I replied, “Yes, you could say that, but it’s working for us both.”
There was a moment of silence as I again turned toward César. “And as far as Joseph Buquet goes, that was truly an unfortunate accident.” I turned my head and looked at him again. “Do you believe me?”
“Are you telling me the truth, Erik?”
“Yes, Oded. It was an accident.”
He nodded and sighed. “And what about this Opera Ghost, do you have anything to do with it?”
I looked back in the direction of the lake. “I’ve worked on this structure for nearly twenty years, and a big part of the time I wasn’t being paid a franc. I did it because I wanted to see it finished and in good repair. I currently still work on sections of it, and I’m still not being paid for my work. I’ve maneuvered events at times so that certain ones have been assigned the proper place in the casting, which has greatly improved the productions and therefore increased revenue for the Opera Populaire. Again, I’m not compensated for my work. I think requesting a box to sit in is not much to ask for, considering what I’ve contributed to this place.”
I turned my head again and looked back at him. “Is that so much to ask—that I be able to watch something that I’ve been responsible for making come to life?”
He lowered his head and then looked back at me. “I guess not, not when you put it that way. But why don’t you do it openly? You’re a talented man in many ways, and they would have to see that. So why don’t you do what you do like a normal person and without all this cloak and dagger secrecy?”
“Oh, Oded,” I laughed sarcastically. “You know what happens when I try to associate with anyone on a regular basis. It would only be a matter of time before I’d be run out of here, just as I was run out of Persia. It’s always the same and it will continue to be the same. I’m not a normal person; I never have been, and I never will be. No, I gave up on that idea a long time ago. You, of all people, should know I’m not allowed to live a normal life, even when I try.”
I looked at the lake, then at César, and then back at Oded. “This is the only way I can exist anywhere close to a normal life, here as a shadow where no one gets hurt, not those around me and not me. Is that so wrong?”
He nodded in compliance. “Then you are living here?”
“Oded, you said that if I answered your questions you would stop asking them. Well, I answered all of them, and I really didn’t need to. I could have simply left you standing here all alone in the dark with your questions unanswered, but I didn’t, because you’re my friend and you have been there for me when no one else was. But now your questions are answered, and I don’t want to answer any more. Can you allow me to maintain some of my privacy, without continual harassment from my friend?”
“Yes,” he replied, with that look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t quite finished with me. “I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you really want. But there’s only one more thing, and I won’t put it in the form of a question. I can’t help but notice that you’re favoring your left leg. I hope you’re taking proper care of whatever happened to it.”
I assured him I was. Then I watched him walk away while thinking about our friendship and hoping he would be at peace with my explanations.
I stood there a minute more, looking at the lake and thinking about the one project left for me to do. It would be the high point in my career as overseer of my opera house. It would also be the statement that would leave no doubt in my manager’s minds that I was not one to be toyed with. But it was also the most physically demanding part of my plans, and, since the burn in my leg was increasing, I took César back and went home for another injection.
I was sweaty and out of breath by the time I climbed not only the five flights to the main floor but also several flights more until I reached the ballet studio above the auditorium and chandelier. Then huffing, I climbed another flight to the chandelier’s rigging room where its chains and gears were maintained.
Once there, I sat on a crate and stretched my leg out, trying to relax and catch my breath. I laid my head back against a post and looked up at the rigging that was used to raise and lower the chandelier for cleaning. It was then that I started my calculations, calculations that would make my managers stand up and listen to any future demands from their Opera Ghost.
My plan was to let the chandelier fall to within seven feet of the seats below it and then stop. The new box keeper would be sitting right under the chandelier, so my intention was to frighten her and my managers. That act alone should make all of them realize that the one they were dealing with was serious about leaving his box empty for him.
I was also going to write them another note with regard to Madame Giry and her position. I wasn’t certain exactly what I would tell them, but, after the near destruction of their chandelier, I didn’t think it would take special words to make them reconsider their decision about the box keeper position. That is if after the evening was finished Armand’s friend hadn’t already packed her bags and left.
My mind was fuzzy, either from the climb or perhaps the morphine, so I gave myself plenty of time to do the calculation properly. Weight times velocity, tensile strength, distance, age and wear, velocity, weight, strength. I went over all the calculations many times. I checked and double-checked my timing while waiting for the overture to begin. I couldn’t start working with the lumber and chains until there was enough noise from the orchestra to conceal the noise I would make.
Then I heard it, and my heart began to race. I waited a few moments more, taking several deep breaths before getting to my feet. Before I started, I we
nt to the observation window and looked down over the audience, and what I saw was enough to fuel me on. The unbelieving Richard and Moncharmin were in my box, and I glared at them.
“They’ll be wishing I was relaxing in my box during this particular performance of Faust instead of doing what I’m about to do,” I muttered to myself.
I went to work attaching the extra chains and sheering up the beams and counterbalances to handle the extra weight of the falling 200,000 kilo chandelier. I didn’t work fast, not because of my leg and lack of strength, but because I didn’t want to make a mistake. I made certain all my connections were secure and the release wheel was ready for its part in my performance.
I’d never done anything so drastic to make a point since the near destruction of the palace in Persia. By the time I was finished with all the double checks, I had to smile. This was going to make a much bigger statement than a note written in red ink or my laughter filling the opera house. This, and my special surprise for Carlotta, would not only disturb the performance but would also bring it to a climatic halt. Nothing like it had ever been seen at an opera, and I was sure it would be talked about for years, if not decades or even centuries, to come.
It was the beginning of the second act and everything was set. The chandelier was poised and waiting for its cue—and so was I.
Twenty-One
I looked toward the stairway and took a deep breath, knowing I had to travel it again. With my walking stick in hand, I went all the way down to my home. Once there, I quickly cleaned up, dressed in my finest, lit all the candles, started a fire, and turned on all the lights. Then I turned off the lake’s sensor alarm. With Christine in my home, it needed to be turned off before I left by way of the lake; otherwise, it could frighten her terribly.
Through Phantom Eyes: Volume Five - Christine Page 28
