Page 109 of Angel's Fall

“No, Monsieur le Vi-Monsieur le Comte. No one has heard from him or seen him for days.”

Raoul’s frown deepened. He would not put it past Antoine to run away in shame after being the one who let Erik go. Perhaps he had heard the grave news of Philippe and was hiding away with his guilt. Or he knew that, now that Philippe was gone, there was no place for him in this household.

“Please let the rest of the staff know that he is not to be admitted without my permission,” Raoul said, still finding his voice to be unsteady.

“Yes, Monsieur le Comte.” The valet nodded before disappearing down a hall as Raoul prepared to enter the kitchen.

The memory he had tried to return to before waking was still vivid in his mind: of the three remaining Chagnys together by the dying fire, stuffing their faces with dessert and laughing. He wished he could remember what Philippe had joked that had made Raoul nearly choke on a tart, but it was gone. It was all gone and it would only fade more.

He paused with his hand on the handle, pushing back the grief that hit him like a wave. He had to fight the undertow. He had to be strong. There was no one else left who could be. He straightened his spine and composed his face and pushed on.

Christine was seated by the kitchen fire reading when he opened the door, a book of prayer, if Raoul was not mistaken. She was in a plain, conservative brown dress with a high collar, and her hair was fixed nicely, though her cheeks were still pale.

Raoul began to think that she looked so different from how she had been in the house on the lake, but it occurred that he had only imagined her appearance. He had imagined her head thrown back in wanton pleasure just as he had imagined her pretty face stained with tears. But he could not imagine what she could have done to free them.

The last time he hadseenher had been before the final act ofFaust, when she had said she would rather die than live a lie married to Raoul. Her words of love had only been for the monster.

“Good morning,” Raoul said darkly, and Christine looked up. Her expression was one of sympathy and kindness, but also apprehension.

“You’re finally awake.” She rose, her head demurely inclined, and came to him. “I cannot say enough how sorry I am for your family’s loss.”

“We will speak of that later,” he grumbled. “Right now, I need to know how we are both alive.”

“I imagine you do,” Christine sighed. “Shall we walk outside while I tell you? It is not too cold, and I’ve always wanted to see your gardens.”

“As you wish.” Raoul followed Christine into the mild morning air. “I think you will like these gardens even better when they are in bloom,” he remarked as they strode quietly through the rows of pruned shrubs and roses.

“I think it’s beautiful now, for what it is, as well as what it will be when the sun returns,” Christine replied. “That is the great task of living in a land where winter always comes, isn’t it? To love it as much as the spring.”

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Raoul’s head was beginning to ache.

“It doesn’t matter. Before I tell you what transpired, I need you to promise to trust me and to not...” She swallowed as she stopped in her stride, emotion filling her face. “To not judge me too harshly.”

“What was the price of our freedom, Christine?”

“He wants me to live.” A single tear slipped from Christine’s eye. “There was no bargain, Raoul, no price to be paid. I spoke to him from my heart and begged him to change. To be a better man for the sake of our love.”

“And?” Raoul asked coldly, hating each word. “Perhaps you are innocent, my dear Christine, but many a man has promised to change to win a woman’s forgiveness or favor.”

“I told him I would be with him, live my life with him. I turned the scorpion and gave him my soul one last time, and he—” Christine choked back a sob, rushing to seat herself on a stone bench among the budding lilacs as she shook.

“What did he do?” Raoul asked, finally moved by her distress. “Did he abuse you once again?” Christine shook her head vehemently even as Raoul took her into his arms.

“He told me I deserved a life in the sun, with a good man by my side,” Christine cried against his shoulder. “He said I had to live it above, and that no phantom could share it with me.”

“What?” Raoul pulled back, examining her face for a lie.

“Don’t you understand? He let us go so we could live up here, alive and in peace, in the light of day,” Christine whimpered. “Where his shadow could not follow.”

“He wants us to be together?” Raoul asked in awe. “Do you? After all you said about this life being a lie? Would you still take me?”

“I don’t know.” Christine shook her head, holding her hand to her chest. It was only then that Raoul saw she was once again wearing Erik’s gold ring. “I have wanted and feared so many things, but I never—”

“If this is what he wanted, it will be for the best.” Raoul’s mind raced. Now that they knew where Erik was, it would be no hard thing to send in the gendarmes and have him arrested! “We have a chance at a new life. Perhaps we can find some joy in all of this. Some hope in all this despair.”

“Perhaps,” Christine breathed. “I couldn’t bear it, though, to be in Paris. Everything here reminds me of him and the Opera. How could I go about as your wife with the Palais Garnier right there in the center of town, mocking me with my failures and follies, and everyone gossiping behind my back?”

“Then we’ll leave!” Raoul exclaimed, grasping her hands, as she presented him with yet another solution. “We will go on a world tour. Newlyweds do that all the time, don’t they? We’ll start in Sweden, take you home for as long as you need, and then we can go wherever we want to!” Raoul was delighted by the idea and all its possibilities.

---