The Phantomess: Pt. 1, Ch. 5

The Phantomess

Pt. 1
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Chapter 5

The months passed by, and the cycle began once more in the biological sense. Christine grew a little bigger over time, and soon that swell was between us whenever we sat together or lay in bed. It seemed surprisingly larger than when Christine had Angelique. My anxiety began to take hold again, but Christine was unexpectedly calm. She would have her nervous moments, understandably, and the sickness that came with every pregnancy. This time, however, her mood swings were not as dramatic, and there were no moments of intense fear or apprehension. My only explanation for this was that after having a child once, she knew what to anticipate the second time.

I thanked God that I did not have to be as concerned about Christine as before, for I had another issue to confront at the same time.

Angelique grew more and more bold in her behavior as well as, paradoxically, more secretive. She began to roam randomly both indoors and outdoors without informing anyone where she was going or what she planned to do. There would be times when she completely disappeared for hours on end. At first this did not worry me, for I often preferred not having her interfere with my daily duties. It gave me a little bit of peace. Then Christine would begin to ask for her. "Where is Angelique? I haven't seen her all day."

So I would begin to ask the servants if anyone had seen her. Most of them would say they had not for quite sometime. A few would say they had seen her at one point, but it would have been at least an hour ago. Angelique rarely stayed in one place on such occasions unless she found something that firmly held her attention.

After some inquiries, I would run into Christine and tell her that I could not find her, and no one I spoke to had any idea of where she was. Christine would become very anxious and beg me to look some more. So I would. I would spend hours looking for her, calling her name, and cursing the fact that we owned such a large house. Some servants would begin searching the grounds in case she decided to venture outside. This was especially nerve-racking if we were looking for her at a late hour. Someone usually found her at last in some quiet, hidden away place, like an old spare room, a stable, or on the steps to the attic. There was one occasion on which after an especially long search, the nurse found her in the garden, "studying the plants" as she put it. She promptly brought the child in, and I gave her a stern lecture.

"You must put a stop to this, Angelique. We cannot have you wandering around without anyone knowing where you are, and having us send out search parties for you. You are going to drive everyone mad!"

The girl pressed her lips tightly together for a moment, her eyes directed to the floor and her hands clasped behind her back. Then she released her hands and looked at me.

"I wanted to be alone. Every minute someone is trying to hold my hand. Why can I not do things by myself?"

"Because I said so," I declared without a moment's hesitation. I did not take the time to let her questions sink into my mind. She was only a child – there was nothing profound in her reasoning to make it deserve consideration. She had to know who held the position of authority.

"But why do you say so?" she asked, almost on the verge of shouting this time.

"I am your father! I tell you what to do because I know what is best for you."

"No, you don't!"

With that, she took off down the hall making an awful sobbing sound, the sort that twists your heart and agitates your nerves. Some sobs sound worthy of sympathy. Her sobbing was pathetic, like the kind that people merely make to gain pity. I shortly afterward found Christine and told her what had occurred as well as my opinion of the girl's actions. When I told her about the sobbing, she said, "Raoul, you cannot be so hard on her. You were just upset at her and thought that her sobbing was not genuine. She is only a little girl, dearest, and you cannot judge her in such a way. She doesn't know about manipulation or using guilt as an implement to gain her way."

Had I not been so furious, I might have laughed incredulously. "Children do those sort of things all too frequently. I remember when I was a child and the times I had to win my parents over with a few tears to avoid harsh recrimination."

Christine shook her head. "That is not Angelique. She is innocent and honest, and she only desires to be as she is. Maybe that is why she wants to be alone on occasion. She feels that everyone else wants her to be a certain way."

"She is a Chagny, above all other things," I replied. "She is supposed to be taught how to behave correctly. She needs discipline and education in order to become a proper lady. We cannot just let her run wild! There are boundaries that must be drawn. And if we cannot agree on this Christine, well . . . I don't know what we shall do."

I released a heavy sigh. I did not want to give Christine an ultimatum, but I was beginning to see things head in that direction. Any diversion from it was welcomed, but I could not see one in sight for my part. I had to be firm.

Christine stared at me for a moment. I could see her surprise at my stubbornness. Yet I knew she would not turn away from me merely because of that. I was no more stubborn now than during that time at the Palais Garnier. I made my feelings and prospects clearly known, and she chose me in the end. She left with me, as any sensible person would do. I had confidence in her love for me. However, staring into those eyes that looked at me with doubt and uncertainty, I could not help feeling uneasy.

The moment passed, though. When it did, I saw that Christine could see my point, despite the fact that she did not wholly concede to it. "I understand, Raoul," she said quietly. "Let's . . . let's just give it some time. It is better not to place too much pressure on her now. And remember, we also have a new baby on our hands. There will be time to school both of them. Just be patient, my dear."

She took my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. The idea of patience did not completely comfort me, for I could imagine Christine trying to put off the children's schooling for as long as possible. I, on the other hand, knew that it needed to be dealt with early on. Still, Christine had a point as well. Compromising can be difficult sometimes, especially when one prefers to convince someone else that he is right. By compromising, one partly gives into the fact that he is not right. I despised the feeling, but pride had to be set aside for my darling Christine and for the children we were having together. I gently pulled her into my arms and kissed her on the forehead.

"I will try, my dear. I promise."

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"Is this the residence of le vicomte de Chagny?"

"Yes, M. Garron, come in!" I called from the nearby parlor as the maid admitted an elderly gentleman dressed in a neat grey suit. "My wife and I have been expecting you."

Christine and I sat on the sofa when the piano tutor entered the room. "Ah, monsieur le vicomte," said the man, courteously removing his bowler and giving a slight bow to the both of us. "I have, at your request, come to instruct your daughter on the pianoforte."

"Yes, we cannot thank you enough," said Christine. "This means so much to all of us, especially Angelique. Angelique! Come down to meet your new teacher!"

The girl did not need to be summoned a second time. She came prancing down the stairs and practically skidded into the room. She managed to stop short before running into the gentleman, and gave him a hurried curtsey. Then she rushed to her mother's side of the sofa and knelt by her knee.

"Angelique," said Christine, gently taking the girl's hand in hers, "this is M. Garron, the gentleman who will be teaching you how to play that marvelous instrument of ours."

I watched Angelique as she observed the stranger, and I wondered how she would react to him. I hoped that she would take to him quickly since it had taken us several weeks to find and contact him. He had traveled all the way from Prague to tutor Angelique for six months, as a start. If he believed she had enough talent and ambition, he would be willing to continue his lessons for another whole year. If he was successful then, he would continue for another three years, and so forth. If Angelique ruined it the first few months, then a lot of money and time would have been wasted. It made me sweat just thinking about it.

As she stared at him, he stared back at her very carefully. Then he said, "Hmm, I thought she would be a bit older. She cannot be more than three."

"She is exactly so," said Christine. "Her birthday was three months ago."

"Students usually do not start until they are at least four."

"She is a very precocious child." I could just barely catch the defensive tone in Christine's voice.

Suddenly, Angelique blurted out, "You must be really old to have played piano for so long. Your fingers are so knobby."

Both my and Christine's eyes widened in surprise. I knew it was all over, right then and there.

There was a dreadful silence for a few seconds. I couldn't even look at the man. My embarrassment began to fuel my anger. That ungrateful little imp! After all I had done for her, she goes and insults the man who is supposed to be her teacher!

Then, suddenly, I heard a low, rough sound coming from M. Garron's throat. It took me a few seconds to release he was laughing. It grew and grew until the sound filled the room. He held his stomach as he tried to control himself.  

"Well, I'll be! She certainly is precocious, and observant! You will make a very interesting student, Mlle. de Chagny!"

"I'm sure she will," I muttered, relieved but still annoyed.

"Come this way, and we will become better acquainted."

Angelique wanted to waste no time, for she immediately ran up, grabbed his hand, and led him upstairs to the music room. I leaned back and sighed heavily. Christine gave a humored smile.

"So far so good, wouldn't you say?"

I looked at her doubtfully. "How long do you think it will last?"

"We must have faith in M. Garron, and in Angelique. At least she can now begin using the piano without the fear of breaking the rule that you set."

I opened my mouth to object to her last statement, but I decided it was better to be silent. Angelique had her tutor. She had her lessons. Now we had only to pray that everything would go smoothly. Christine's time was drawing close and we did not need any aggravation to upset what little balance could be maintained.

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