Destiny Takes Time

Chapter 11 – An Evil Plan

Raoul and Christine still talked to each other often. He was the patron, and it was natural that he should spend a good deal of time at the opera house. However, she had no idea that he had seen her with Erik. Raoul did a fine job of acting as though he knew nothing, always paying her compliments and talking to her as if he would someday have a chance to be more than just her friend. He was never pushy, though, and Christine saw no point in telling him that she already had a suitor. To do so could only lead to questions, which she would not be able to answer. As far as she knew, no one was aware of her relationship with the Phantom. Neither she nor Erik said a word to anyone, not even Madame Giry. Whether she was aware of Christine’s strange comings and goings, neither of them could be certain. Nevertheless, if she suspected anything, she certainly never mentioned it.

Raoul sat talking to Christine in her dressing room before the performance when something on the table behind her caught his eye – it was definitely a piece of paper, probably a note of some kind. One man was well known for leaving notes. It hadn’t taken much for Raoul to begin to put the pieces of the puzzle together ever since he had seen Christine kissing the masked man in that very room. Whoever he was, he’d left through the mirror and was not accustomed to letting himself be seen. There was no doubt in Raoul’s mind that none other than the dreaded Phantom of the opera himself was stealing his sweet childhood friend from him.

“Thank you for the chocolates, Raoul. They’re my favorites.”

“My pleasure,” he answered, looking at his pocket watch. “Oh, look at the time. They will be calling for you any minute now.”

She stood and smoothed her dress. “I’d best be going then.”

“Yes, can’t keep everyone waiting,” he said with a smile.

He walked with her to the door and took a few steps in the opposite direction that she’d headed before turning to make sure she’d gone. No sooner had she rounded the corner than he doubled back, entered the room, and closed the door softly behind him.

“So…what do we have here?” he sneered to himself as he lifted the neat little envelope from the vanity table.

Her name was on the front, and he turned it over to find that the seal, a lovely red rose, had already been broken away from the paper. The note inside was short, but its meaning was unmistakable.

Dear Christine,

I hope to see you tomorrow. This evening is the opening night of the new opera, and I know you will be expected to mingle with the guests. For now, I wish you the best of luck. I have no doubt that you will stun everyone in the audience.

Erik

That was all the proof he needed. The writing was the same as in the note he had received some time ago from the Opera Ghost. Now Raoul had a name for him – Erik. He hastily slipped the note back in its envelope with the rose seal and tucked it into his coat pocket. He had been waiting for something that he could use to separate them, and an idea was already coming to him. He left the dressing room walking with his head held a little higher.