The Beauty Underneath

Chapter 2

On a bright sunny day in Rouen, Madame Giry was walking towards a nearby church when she heard her name being called. She turned and she saw a young girl from the Inn where she and Meg were staying.

"Forgive me Madame, but there is a young man at the Inn requesting to see you," she said.

Madame Giry's brow furrowed. "Did he tell you his name?" she asked.

"No, Madame," the girl said. "Only that he has been trying to find you for several days."

Madame Giry followed the girl back to the Inn, wondering who the young man was and how he knew her.

Upon entering the main room of the Inn, Madame Giry noticed a figure sitting hunched in the far corner, where there was little light. The man coughed loudly, a deep and terrible sound.

"You wished to see me, Monsieur?" she asked as she approached him. She saw that the man's clothes were filthy and the smell emanating from him told her that he had not bathed in several days. A grimy hat was pulled low over his eyes, and he did not stir when she spoke to him.

"Monsieur?" she asked again.

The man slowly reached up and pulled the hat off his head.

Madame Giry stared unbelieving at the face that was revealed to her. "Oh my god…. Christine… what has happened to you?"

Christine bit her lip as her eyes filled with tears. "Raoul's brother Phillipe threw me from the house. I had to cut my hair as to not be attacked on the road. I came to Rouen….. I had nowhere else to go."

"On the road?" Madame Giry asked. "Christine, have you walked here?"

"Yes."

"It is over eighty miles from Paris!" Madame Giry said, bewildered. "And your face, Christine.."

"Phillipe struck me."

"When did you arrive?"

"Two days ago."

"How long since you've eaten?"

"Four days."

"Oh my dear girl." Madame Giry pulled Christine into her arms. She held her tightly as she cried. "I will have the innkeeper's wife bring you food and arrange a hot bath," she said, assisting Christine to her feet. "I will send Meg for the doctor. He is at the corner Inn, with Erik."

Christine flinched and pulled away from her . "Erik… he… he is here?"

"The letter we received was from him, asking us to come to Rouen," Madame Giry confessed. "I told you it was from a distant relative because I did not wish for you to become more distraught."

Christine's mind was swirling. "The fire… I thought he was dead."

"He is very ill from the smoke in his lungs and afraid he will never sing again, but he is alive." Madame Giry said. "Come, we must get you something to eat, and while you are bathing I will send for the Doctor."

Christine nodded and allowed herself to be led to the dining area of the Inn. Erik, my angel of music….

After Christine had enjoyed a refreshing bath and had dressed in clean clothes, she emerged from her room to find Madame Giry and Meg standing next to a tall, regal looking man. Meg rushed to greet her.

"Oh Christine! Mother told me everything that has happened," she said, holding Christine tightly.

"Christine, this is Dr. Jekyll," Madame Giry said.

Dr. Jekyll smiled and motioned for Christine to sit in a nearby chair, then sat next to her. He lifted her chin and examined the bruising, probing it gently with his fingers. "I have a poultice for the swelling, and the bruising will fade soon enough." He put a stethoscope on her back and listened as she breathed. "The same poultice you can place on your chest and may be used for your cough." Christine removed her shoes and allowed Dr. Jekyll to examine her blistered and bleeding feet. "I have a salve for these sores, but you will need to keep them wrapped until they heal." As he stood, he gave her a kind smile. "As for the emotional scars, they will pass in time."

Christine frowned, remembering Madame Giry's words: "Some scars never heal."

Dr. Jekyll rose and removed the medicines from his bag. Christine noticed that his face was suddenly dripping with sweat. He gave the women a weak smile and said, "I am sorry, but I must leave at once. Other patients are waiting for me. Good day." He rushed from the room.

Madame Giry furrowed her eyebrows at his sudden departure, then motioned for Meg to start making the poultice. She sat at Christine's side. "Erik wants us to leave for Calais early tomorrow morning. It is still dangerous for him here."

Christine nodded, then softly asked, "Will he allow me see him?"

Madame Giry shook her head firmly. "He is very angry. He did not expect to see you again."

Christine awoke early the next morning to angry voices outside her window. Rising from her bed, she walked to the window and peered through a small slit in the curtains. Two men wearing traveling cloaks stood by an awaiting carriage, their backs to her. Christine jumped slightly as one of them spoke curtly to the other.

"We cannot keep this pace, Erik!" a heavily accented voice said angrily. "It is completely unreasonable!"

"I cannot risk another day here, Nadir!"

Christine's heart leapt as she heard Erik's voice. He coughed heavily, then Christine saw his arm jerk towards his face. "Too many have seen me already. The gendarmes may be upon me at any moment."

"But it takes nearly three days to reach Calais!" the man Nadir said. "We cannot make it there without stopping for food and rest!"

"We leave as soon as possible," Erik said curtly. "We stop only to change horses." He gestured for Nadir to follow him and they walked towards the stables.

A few moments later, Christine heard a soft knock on her door. When she opened it, she saw Meg standing there with a tired look on her face. "Mother says we must leave immediately," she said yawning. "The men are waiting for us." She handed Christine a traveling dress and a bonnet. "Meet us at the carriages."

Christine dressed quickly, and adjusted the bonnet around her head. It felt strange; she had never worn one before and was missing her long brown hair.

As she emerged from the Inn into the cold morning air, she found Dr. Jekyll and the man Erik had called Nadir standing by the carriages. Erik what nowhere to be seen- Christine thought he must already be in the front carriage. Dr. Jekyll smiled at her and gestured to Nadir. "Allow me to introduce Nadir Kahn, an old friend of Erik's."

Christine smiled at Nadir as he inclined his head towards her. "Mademoiselle." He was slightly shorter than her, but powerfully built. His skin tone and accent were unfamiliar to her.

Just then Madame Giry and Meg emerged from the Inn. Dr. Jekyll opened the door of the end carriage and gestured for the women to enter. "Erik is anxious to get started. He wants to reach Calais by tomorrow."

The hours inside the carriage seemed endless. They could only sleep a few short minutes at a time, and had little time to eat when they stopped to change horses. Christine saw Erik only once, and he did not look at her. They traveled all day and into the night. In the afternoon of the second day, Meg gestured out the window and whispered tiredly, "Calais. At last."

They stopped at the first Inn they came to. Madame Giry, Meg, and Christine stepped from the carriage wearily, and saw only Nadir and Dr. Jekyll emerge from the other. "We will rest here for the night, then meet the ferry tomorrow morning," Dr. Jekyll told them.

Christine retired to her room and collapsed on the bed, exhausted. Before she drifted off to sleep, she could faintly hear Nadir and Erik talking in the hallway.

"It is important that I reach London as soon as possible," Erik said firmly. "I have business there. And you must not forget that there is a price on my head. I am putting myself at risk the longer I stay in France!"

"The earliest ferry leaves at seven o'clock," Nadir said. "We will soon reach England and you will be safe."

"Safe?" Erik said bitterly. "I will never be safe."