The Phantom of the Opera | Page 9

said to be "on terms" with Sorelli. But it could
hardly be reckoned as a crime for this nobleman, a bachelor, with
plenty of leisure, especially since his sisters were settled, to come and
spend an hour or two after dinner in the company of a dancer, who,
though not so very, very witty, had the finest eyes that ever were seen!
And, besides, there are places where a true Parisian, when he has the
rank of the Comte de Chagny, is bound to show himself; and at that

time the foyer of the ballet at the Opera was one of those places.
Lastly, Philippe would perhaps not have taken his brother behind the
scenes of the Opera if Raoul had not been the first to ask him,
repeatedly renewing his request with a gentle obstinacy which the
count remembered at a later date.
On that evening, Philippe, after applauding the Daae, turned to Raoul
and saw that he was quite pale.
"Don't you see," said Raoul, "that the woman's fainting?"
"You look like fainting yourself," said the count. "What's the matter?"
But Raoul had recovered himself and was standing up.
"Let's go and see," he said, "she never sang like that before."
The count gave his brother a curious smiling glance and seemed quite
pleased. They were soon at the door leading from the house to the stage.
Numbers of subscribers were slowly making their way through. Raoul
tore his gloves without knowing what he was doing and Philippe had
much too kind a heart to laugh at him for his impatience. But he now
understood why Raoul was absent-minded when spoken to and why he
always tried to turn every conversation to the subject of the Opera.
They reached the stage and pushed through the crowd of gentlemen,
scene-shifters, supers and chorus-girls, Raoul leading the way, feeling
that his heart no longer belonged to him, his face set with passion,
while Count Philippe followed him with difficulty and continued to
smile. At the back of the stage, Raoul had to stop before the inrush of
the little troop of ballet-girls who blocked the passage which he was
trying to enter. More than one chaffing phrase darted from little
made-up lips, to which he did not reply; and at last he was able to pass,
and dived into the semi-darkness of a corridor ringing with the name of
"Daae! Daae!" The count was surprised to find that Raoul knew the
way. He had never taken him to Christine's himself and came to the
conclusion that Raoul must have gone there alone while the count

stayed talking in the foyer with Sorelli, who often asked him to wait
until it was her time to "go on" and sometimes handed him the little
gaiters in which she ran down from her dressing-room to preserve the
spotlessness of her satin dancing-shoes and her flesh-colored tights.
Sorelli had an excuse; she had lost her mother.
Postponing his usual visit to Sorelli for a few minutes, the count
followed his brother down the passage that led to Daae's dressing-room
and saw that it had never been so crammed as on that evening, when
the whole house seemed excited by her success and also by her fainting
fit. For the girl had not yet come to; and the doctor of the theater had
just arrived at the moment when Raoul entered at his heels. Christine,
therefore, received the first aid of the one, while opening her eyes in the
arms of the other. The count and many more remained crowding in the
doorway.
"Don't you think, Doctor, that those gentlemen had better clear the
room?" asked Raoul coolly. "There's no breathing here."
"You're quite right," said the doctor.
And he sent every one away, except Raoul and the maid, who looked at
Raoul with eyes of the most undisguised astonishment. She had never
seen him before and yet dared not question him; and the doctor
imagined that the young man was only acting as he did because he had
the right to. The viscount, therefore, remained in the room watching
Christine as she slowly returned to life, while even the joint managers,
Debienne and Poligny, who had come to offer their sympathy and
congratulations, found themselves thrust into the passage among the
crowd of dandies. The Comte de Chagny, who was one of those
standing outside, laughed:
"Oh, the rogue, the rogue!" And he added, under his breath: "Those
youngsters with their school-girl airs! So he's a Chagny after all!"
He turned to go to Sorelli's dressing-room, but met her on the way, with
her little troop of trembling ballet-girls, as we have seen.

Meanwhile, Christine Daae uttered a deep sigh, which was answered by
a groan. She turned her head, saw Raoul and started. She looked at