登陆注册
15312000000040

第40章 Apollo's Lyre (4)

I sprang to my feet.I was in the middle of a drawing-room that seemed to me to be decorated, adorned and furnished with nothing but flowers, flowers both magnificent and stupid, because of the silk ribbons that tied them to baskets, like those which they sell in the shops on the boulevards.They were much too civilized flowers, like those which I used to find in my dressing-room after a first night.And, in the midst of all these flowers, stood the black shape of the man in the mask, with arms crossed, and he said, `Don't be afraid, Christine; you are in no danger.'

IT WAS THE VOICE!

"My anger equaled my amazement.I rushed at the mask and tried to snatch it away, so as to see the face of the voice.The man said, `You are in no danger, so long as you do not touch the mask.'

And, taking me gently by the wrists, he forced me into a chair and then went down on his knees before me and said nothing more!

His humility gave me back some of my courage; and the light restored me to the realties of life.However extraordinary the adventure might be, I was now surrounded by mortal, visible, tangible things.

The furniture, the hangings, the candles, the vases and the very flowers in their baskets, of which I could almost have told whence they came and what they cost, were bound to confine my imagination to the limits of a drawing-room quite as commonplace as any that, at least, had the excuse of not being in the cellars of the Opera.

I had, no doubt, to do with a terrible, eccentric person, who, in some mysterious fashion, had succeeded in taking up his abode there, under the Opera house, five stories below the level of the ground.

And the voice, the voice which I had recognized under the mask, was on its knees before me, WAS A MAN! And I began to cry....

The man, still kneeling, must have understood the cause of my tears, for he said, `It is true, Christine!...I am not an Angel, nor a genius, nor a ghost...I am Erik!'"Christine's narrative was again interrupted.An echo behind them seemed to repeat the word after her.

"Erik!"

What echo?...They both turned round and saw that night had fallen.

Raoul made a movement as though to rise, but Christine kept him beside her.

"Don't go," she said."I want you to know everything HERE!""But why here, Christine? I am afraid of your catching cold.""We have nothing to fear except the trap-doors, dear, and here we are miles away from the trap-doors...and I am not allowed to see you outside the theater.This is not the time to annoy him.

We must not arouse his suspicion."

"Christine! Christine! Something tells me that we are wrong to wait till to-morrow evening and that we ought to fly at once.""I tell you that, if he does not hear me sing tomorrow, it will cause him infinite pain.""It is difficult not to cause him pain and yet to escape from him for good.""You are right in that, Raoul, for certainly he will die of my flight."And she added in a dull voice, "But then it counts both ways...

for we risk his killing us."

"Does he love you so much?"

"He would commit murder for me."

"But one can find out where he lives.One can go in search of him.

Now that we know that Erik is not a ghost, one can speak to him and force him to answer!"Christine shook her head.

"No, no! There is nothing to be done with Erik except to run away!""Then why, when you were able to run away, did you go back to him?""Because I had to.And you will understand that when I tell you how I left him.""Oh, I hate him!" cried Raoul."And you, Christine, tell me, do you hate him too?""No," said Christine simply.

"No, of course not....Why, you love him! Your fear, your terror, all of that is just love and love of the most exquisite kind, the kind which people do not admit even to themselves," said Raoul bitterly.

"The kind that gives you a thrill, when you think of it.

...Picture it: a man who lives in a palace underground!"And he gave a leer.

"Then you want me to go back there?" said the young girl cruelly.

"Take care, Raoul; I have told you: I should never return!"There was an appalling silence between the three of them:

the two who spoke and the shadow that listened, behind them.

"Before answering that," said Raoul, at last, speaking very slowly, "I should like to know with what feeling he inspires you, since you do not hate him.""With horror!" she said."That is the terrible thing about it.

He fills me with horror and I do not hate him.How can Ihate him, Raoul? Think of Erik at my feet, in the house on the lake, underground.He accuses himself, he curses himself, he implores my forgiveness!...He confesses his cheat.

He loves me! He lays at my feet an immense and tragic love.

...He has carried me off for love!...He has imprisoned me with him, underground, for love!...But he respects me: he crawls, he moans, he weeps!...And, when I stood up, Raoul, and told him that I could only despise him if he did not, then and there, give me my liberty...he offered it...he offered to show me the mysterious road...Only...only he rose too...and Iwas made to remember that, though he was not an angel, nor a ghost, nor a genius, he remained the voice...for he sang.And I listened...and stayed!...That night, we did not exchange another word.

He sang me to sleep.

"When I woke up, I was alone, lying on a sofa in a simply furnished little bedroom, with an ordinary mahogany bedstead, lit by a lamp standing on the marble top of an old Louis-Philippe chest of drawers.

I soon discovered that I was a prisoner and that the only outlet from my room led to a very comfortable bath-room.On returning to the bedroom, I saw on the chest of drawers a note, in red ink, which said, `My dear Christine, you need have no concern as to your fate.

You have no better nor more respectful friend in the world than myself.

You are alone, at present, in this home which is yours.I am going out shopping to fetch you all the things that you can need.'

I felt sure that I had fallen into the hands of a madman.

同类推荐
热门推荐
  • 劫运难逃,撩的就是你

    劫运难逃,撩的就是你

    听说,你的总裁大叔身边又缠上了一个三流小明星。管家忐忑上报。去查,查这渣女的三围和喜好。小姐,为毛要查三围?笨呀,我好知道偶滴大叔是喜欢小笼包还是大馒头啊!说着,某人垂眸瞥了一眼还未发育好的一马平川。听说,昨晚总裁大叔留宿深市第一名媛家里。为毛昨夜不告诉我!某女勃然大怒,质问她大叔:“你闹绯闻我可以放你一马,你睡名媛,我忍了,也可以放你一马,你不爱我?我还可以放你一马吗?……大叔我警告你,我是有脾气的,不是放马的!
  • 末世之堕落国度

    末世之堕落国度

    一名宅男,每天无所事事,可是有一天,一切都变了......外面的世界都已堕落,丧尸魔物称霸地球,这名宅男如何打破世间规则?如何带领人类在堕落的星球里建造自己的逆天国度?命运的齿轮转动的是否顺畅?那就看看这名宅男如何崛起吧!!
  • 邪王独宠:庶女要翻天

    邪王独宠:庶女要翻天

    她本是将军府的三小姐,代表着将军府的荣耀,后来被认为是废材,被本家驱逐,下放至瑶城,差点被远亲害死,后来失踪整整十年,十年之后,庶女出,势必要夺回所有,欺我者,杀,逆我者,杀,不服来战!霸道邪王誓要追她到手,美人如花妖娆多娇,哪有不采的道理?来来来,快让本王收了你。
  • 星蕴大陆之人族崛起

    星蕴大陆之人族崛起

    一剑可灭天,一笑可震世,一人可战帝!自创世以来,天地三界太平许久。斗转星移,日月交替,异象而生。三界于神历1234年5月5日,重创于异象之变,之后异象便化为无数流星陨落至人间。自古以来便有传言:吸收天地之气后,便可得星蕴之力,可操纵星空之力,凝聚星魂。这一能力威胁到了天界,于是天帝创定法则,阻碍人族发展,从此人族地位一再衰败。一少年横空出世,斩巨龙,破法则,灭天帝!
  • 女总裁的护花未婚夫

    女总裁的护花未婚夫

    一次偶然的相遇,让二人命运交织,离别之后的是再次的相遇。且看男主用他的热血与霸气,女主用她的温柔与机智,一起打下一片天地......到最后的永恒的爱情。注:这是包含了都市生活及爱情,异术超能的类似写古武的小说,当然,其中肯定不少男主与女主的打情骂俏。
  • LUCILE

    LUCILE

    本书为公版书,为不受著作权法限制的作家、艺术家及其它人士发布的作品,供广大读者阅读交流。
  • 大航海世纪

    大航海世纪

    大航海时代,是一部经典的游戏。可是,当他实实在在发生了,却会擦出什么样的火花呢?赵羽,一个现代的特战大队大队长,在一个完全陌生的时代中怎样生存。在遇到形形色色的故事里,将会擦出怎么的火花。这里面有爱情,亲情和友情,当然也少不了阴谋和背叛......
  • 鸳鸯瓦

    鸳鸯瓦

    问世间情为何物,直叫人以身相许。年轻潇洒的王厂长喜爱气质高雅漂亮的女会计秋香,买房金屋藏娇,一个人周旋在两个女人中间。不料英年早逝,留下来千疮百孔的两个家。王厂长的二女儿花季豆菀少女王璐云走不出父母辈感情的迷局,放弃高考辍学想自力更生,走出别样的人生。在厂子里遇上了英俊的石鹏,两个人随着一年时间的流逝,从相识到相知,由相知到相爱。以为美好生活的曙光就在前面招手。厂子变故,石鹏要到新疆淘金,天长地久有时尽,石鹏走了,他们的爱情海会是什么,风雨未知。
  • 第一军阀盛宠千金

    第一军阀盛宠千金

    【已完结】本是盛宠千金,却一朝沦为阶下囚。迈出监狱大门的那一刻,她暗自发誓,此仇不报非女子!制造留言,挑拨离间,她步步为营,却上错花轿嫁对郎。他是一方军阀,也是多情才子,万花丛中过,却单单对她情有独钟。她说,“你是一个意外。”他不以为然,“我会让这个意外变成永恒。”他化身双面伊人,人前是贤良淑德的妻子,人后是煽动大战的幕后推手。真相大白,几番辗转。她误落贼网,怎料他冲冠一怒为红颜。她不禁动容,“我欠你太多。”他邪魅一笑,“何止这些,你还欠我一个洞房花烛。”
  • 再见,那个无知的少年

    再见,那个无知的少年

    故事讲述的是在一片荒区一个女校长建立了一个学校。那是第三校区,有人说这里曾经有个女教师她每天下班都会去接她的女儿,忽然有一天他的女儿不见了,于是这个女教师就跳楼自杀了。自从这个事情过后。第三校区接连发生诡异事件..................