| Raoul's Revelation ~ Chapter 3 |
| When I awoke, I was in a hospital bed. Sunlight beamed through a nearby window, and I had no idea how much time has passed. "Christine," I called out weakly. I tried to sit up, but the pain in my head drove me back to the pillow. I sighed in weary frustration. "Ah, you've awaken," a gentle voice said to me. I looked up and saw a pretty nurse bending over me. Unbidden, the tears began to slide down my cheeks. Where was Christine? "There, there," the nurse said, patting my hand. "A young lady is here to see you." I looked to the doorway, anticipating the figure of my bride-to-be. Alas, the young Meg Giry stood at the door. "Vicomte," she said, bobbing a curtsey. "What are you doing here?" I asked irritably. She made her way to my bedside and sat beside me. "I am here at the request of Christine Daae," she replied. Anguish and frustration tore at me. "Where is she?" "I don't know," Meg answered matter-of-factly. "I do know that the night you followed Christine and the Phantom, we all thought you had surely met your death." "I almost did," I grimaced in pain. "I know!" she remarked. "You do?" I asked suspiciously. "How do you know?" She tried to look away, as if ashamed of her admission. Then she stood up and walked to the window, gathering her thoughts. When she turned back to me, she looked quite serious. "After the gendarmes ransacked the Phantom's palace, I stayed behind," she explained. "I was completely enchanted with his little manor, so I dawdled about, looking over his remaining treasures, hoping to preserve something of his majesty. You can imagine my surprise when he returned to claim those treasures! Oh, I was quite terrified of him, but he did not seek to harm me. Instead, he spoke to me with great kindness, and I was instantly mesmerized by the beauty of his voice. He led me to Christine's room, and I was amazed at the exquisite riches her had acquired for her. He asked me to pack her trunks while he gathered his music. Then we left his little abode. "When we saw you rowing Christine away from the place, the Phantom was overcome with despair. He trembled visibly, and I was afraid of what he might do. But he seemed to gather his strength, and he commanded me to follow him. We moved through various dark tunnels - his knowledge of the underground maze was astounding! - and soon we were at the Opera House dock, waiting for you and Christine. I did not know what he had in store for either of you, but I was too terrified to speak for fear of what he might do to me! The Phantom, however, continued to treat me with the utmost care and gently hid me behind a pillar. Though I trembled at his chilling touch, I did not sense any malice in his demeanor, so I stayed in my hiding place. We both watched and waited...." "And you saw all that transpired?" I asked. "Yes," she admitted. "I saw and heard everything." I blushed furiously and sought to control my temper, but she did not seem to note my discomfort. "I saw you drag the Phantom into the lake," she continued, "but he was the only one to emerge from the black depths. When you did not come to the surface, Christine became hysterical and begged the Opera Ghost to dive back into the water to find you. It was then that I revealed myself, and I hurried over to Christine and tried to calm her. She was shocked to find me hiding with the Phantom, but I explained to her that he was a friend of the family, so to speak." At this, Mademoiselle Giry blushed, and I knew she was referring to her mother's strange acquaintance with the Opera Ghost. "Anyway," she continued, "Christine was crying out for you and for Erik, which she said was the Phantom's name. Then Erik finally came back up for air, and you were in his arms. How he had managed to find you, I'll never know. But he had recovered you, and Christine was most grateful. She held you in her arms until we could safely carry you to the hospital." I turned my head away as the tears began to slide down my cheeks. I struggled to catch my breath. "She really does care for you," Meg said. "But her love for the Phantom, for Erik, is undeniably strong. She had to go with him, you see." "No, I don't see!" I cried angrily. I wanted to tear the hospital apart in my grief, but I was too weak. I felt like a gentleman who had lost a duel. I had been shot through the heart and wondered if I would ever recover. "She gave me a letter to give to you," Meg said softly, as she set an envelope on the nightstand by my bed. "I didn't read it." I looked at her carefully, noticing for the first time that she looked more like a young woman than the girlish ballerina I had first met at the Opera not so long ago. "I'm sorry you had to be involved in this," I said somberly. "Oh, don't be!" she said with a smile. "I am an artist, and there is nothing more exciting to us artists than a bit of mystery and romance." "Well, I don't find it romantic at all!" I cried. "If anything, it has been more like a tragedy! I am the one who has lost my bride!" "Oh, monsieur le Vicomte," Meg sighed, sitting beside me once again. "Anyone could see that Christine was not the girl for you." "Indeed!?!" I snapped. "I'm sorry," she said, "but it's true. Besides, why would you want a woman whose affections were divided?" I looked at her, shocked at her words. "Perhaps I've had enough of Opera folk!" I glowered. "Hmmm," she mused. "Well, then perhaps I should send Lisette away. She's been waiting to see you." "Lisette?" I asked, vaguely recalling the little ballerina who had been so kind to me. "Yes, she's been terribly worried about you," Meg said. "When she heard you were in the hospital, she asked to accompany me, so that she might look in on you." "Is that so?" I remarked. "Perhaps you ought to warn her of my hideous past!" "Oh, your secret is safe with me, Vicomte," Meg whispered conspiratorially. "This story is too bittersweet to waste on idle gossip. Besides, I promise I'll never tell a soul! Except for perhaps the man I marry. And that will be a long time in coming, I assure you!" She laughed, and I felt my spirits lighten up a bit. "They say that laughter is the best medicine," a voice came from the doorway, and there stood Lisette, looking breathtakingly lovely. "At last!" Meg said, moving from her seat to make room for Lisette. "I was just telling the Vicomte about the way you dance!" "And that's why you were laughing?" Lisette inquired. "Well..." Meg began, and she burst into giggles once again. * * * * * * Lisette and I married a year later. She graciously gave me time to heal my heart and mind, and I took great comfort in her company. I told her a little of Christine, but if she had heard of Christine's involvement with the Phantom of the Opera, she wisely kept it to herself. Lisette's sole focus seemed to be on me, which I relished, and she readily left her short-lived career as a ballerina to become my wife. We left the wilds of Paris for the sweet comfort of the French countryside. We did not return to the Opera for quite some time, preferring to keep our adventures close to home. I heard that Christine had gone to America with a mysterious gentleman, but I felt no desire to pursue her or her phantom lover. I was eager to leave the past behind and start a family with the new woman in my life. As for Meg Giry, I heard that she did not marry for quite a few years. She preferred to indulge in her role as the prima ballerina of the Paris Opera House. When she finally did retire, I received word from her that she had married a journalist, a man by the name of Leroux. She confessed that she had told him of what she had witnessed at the Opera during her time there. As that had been so many years ago, I thought nothing of it. The strange affair of the Phantom of the Opera was but a distant memory to me. The End Back to the Ghost's Story |
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