CHAPTER EIGHT

The Secret Engagement

Since Christine's first disappearance, Raoul had spent every day at the Opera House looking for her. A few days after the night of the masquerade ball, he saw her. She looked better than she had that night, but there was a sadness and desperation in her eyes. Raoul saw that she wore a plain gold ring on her left hand.

"Who gave her the ring?—it must have been him," thought Raoul.

Raoul was so relieved to see Christine was safe that he hurried over to talk to her. Christine was very polite to him.

"How are you, Monsieur Chagny?" she asked.

"I'm fine," he said. "I may be leaving Paris in a few weeks. At most, I will be here a month."

"Where are you going?" Christine asked. She looked happy to hear this news, Raoul thought.

"I'm going on a trip to the North Pole. It will be very dangerous," he said.

"Why, you must be excited, Raoul! This is a great adventure. It is the first step to becoming famous," she cried.

Raoul felt as though his heart would break. "Fame is nothing without love, Christine," he said sadly.

Christine looked down at the ground and said nothing. Suddenly Raoul cried, "Christine, how can you be so happy? I may never see you again. This trip will be very dangerous! I might die."

"Or I might die," she replied quietly.

She became very serious. She stared up at him, and her eyes burned with emotion. Raoul did not know what she was thinking. Then suddenly the look on her face changed and her eyes danced.

"I have an idea!" she said. "You tell me that after one month, I may never see you again."

"Yes, that's true," Raoul cried unhappily.

"We will have to say goodbye forever ... "

"Unless we are married, Christine," Raoul interrupted.

Christine put her hand over Raoul's mouth. "Never say that. We will never be married," she whispered sadly. "But, we can be engaged. For one month. It will be a secret engagement that no one else can know about. We will be so happy. Oh, Raoul, please say yes!"

Raoul liked this idea. So every day, they pretended to be engaged. Each afternoon they would meet in Christine's dressing room. There, they would eat biscuits and drink delicious wine. They would give each other poems and letters about their love.

About a week into their game, Christine disappeared for two days. She did not call Raoul into her dressing room. Raoul was terribly worried. On the third day, Christine came back. She had decided to sing in the opera again.

After Carlotta's horrible experience she was afraid to sing again. Some days earlier, Carlotta had left Paris in misery. The Opera House badly needed a lead singer. After hearing her sing they immediately gave her the job.

This time Christine was performing in the opera "Juive". Her voice was like an angel's, and the audience loved her. Raoul watched the performance and thought about how proud he was of Christine. After she finished singing, he ran backstage to see her. Christine was looking for him too. She took him into her dressing room and they fell into each other's arms. She apologized for disappearing and he forgave her.

(end of section)