By now Raoul was desperate to leave the third cellar and continue the hunt for Christine. But the Persian still hadn't finished his story.
"I waited by the lake because I figured that Erik would eventually have to go outside to get food and clothing for Christine," he went on.
"Aha!" Raoul's eyes brightened with recognition. "Christine told me that he brought her those things the first morning of her captivity. But how could Erik go shopping without scaring everyone to death? I've seen his face; it looks like a skull."
"Erik has a mask with a fake nose that makes him look almost human," the Persian explained. "But back to that morning. I grew tired of waiting and was beginning to think he must have left by another door. Suddenly I heard oars splashing in the water and saw two glowing yellow eyes. When the boat reached the shore, Erik jumped out."
"Had he spotted you?"
"He walked straight over to me and said, 'You've been waiting here since last night, and you're annoying me. I'm telling you that this will all end badly, and it'll be your fault. You think you're following me, but I'm following you. I've been extraordinarily patient with you, but you don't seem to take the hint!' Erik was so furious that I didn't dare to interrupt him."
"What was he so angry about?" Raoul asked.
"Erik said that if his secrets got out, there would be trouble for everyone. I wasn't sure what he meant, but I tried to reassure him that I was after Christine, not him. Erik replied that he had every right to see Christine in his own house because she loved him."
"That's not true!" Raoul pounded his fist on the cellar floor. "Christine is not in his house because she wants to be. She's there because he carried her off and locked her up again!"
"That's exactly what I said," the Persian said. "Erik thought for a minute and finally said, 'If I prove that she loves me, will you promise not to meddle in my life anymore?' I promised, but I didn't know how on earth he'd be able to prove that."
"So did he find a way?" Raoul wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.
"Erik thought if he let Christine leave and then she came back, that would prove she loved him despite his looks. He was positive that she would return to him and then they'd get married."
"What!" Raoul exclaimed. "Christine would never marry Erik! She's engaged to me!"
"You and I know that she loves you," the Persian said. "But Erik was so confident about her love, he'd already composed a wedding mass. He even sang part of it for me. I said I would believe him if I saw Christine leave the house on the lake and return to it voluntarily. I promised, if Erik proved to be right, I'd stop meddling in his affairs."
"I know Christine went back to the house on the lake." Raoul wrinkled his brow as he tried to remember. "But I'm not sure when she—"
"The night of the masked ball."
"Of course! That was when I witnessed her disappearing through the mirror in her dressing room."
"And to my amazement, there were several other times too." The Persian shook his head in disbelief. "I know I'd promised not to interfere, but I felt a responsibility toward Christine. I resolved to be extremely careful and neither return to the lake nor use the passage behind the mirror."
"I appreciate your concern for Christine." Raoul reached out and laid his hand on the Persian's shoulder. "You must have spent a lot of time here, trying to find the entrance to Erik's house."
"I wondered if the death of Joseph Buquet might offer a clue. Perhaps Buquet had seen something that Erik didn't want anyone to know. So I came here—the spot where Buquet's body was found—and waited for hours. One day my patience was rewarded. Erik appeared, knelt down, and pressed a stone in the floor. The stone moved, he dropped through an opening, and the stone slid back into place."
"Did you follow him?"
"I waited for at least thirty minutes before I pressed on the stone. Everything happened just as it did for Erik. But I didn't go through the opening for fear that Erik was waiting in the dark below. I continued to worry about Erik's relationship with Christine as I cautiously wandered through the opera house. That was how I discovered that her heart belonged to you, Monsieur de Chagny. As the two of you rambled through the opera house, little did you suspect that I was watching over you."
"So there was someone following us—and it was you!" Raoul said.
"I was prepared to do anything to keep you safe, but Erik didn't try to threaten you. Still I was not at ease. One day I came back here and moved the stone in the floor. I immediately heard the most astounding music; Erik was at work on his Don Juan Triumphant. All at once I heard him say, 'This must be finished first! Quite finished!' I didn't know what he was planning, but I remembered him mentioning 'trouble for everyone.' My heart stopped when I read the news of your engagement in today's newspaper. Surely that would prompt Erik to act, and it did—he kidnapped Christine right off the stage. And so, my young friend, we find ourselves about to enter Erik's house. Are you ready?"
"Of course!" Raoul shot to his feet. "But one more question: How was Erik able to build his house undetected?"
"That's easy. He knew every nook and cranny of the opera house because he was one of the chief contractors who built it. And now we must be quiet because once we enter his house, our every word can be overheard."
The Persian ran his hand over the floor and pressed a stone, which slid to the side. Raoul followed the Persian through the opening, lowering himself into the dark room below. The Persian turned on his lantern and checked the ceiling.
"The stone has closed over the opening," the Persian said. "Let's hope there's another way out." He swept his lantern over the walls and floor.
"I don't see any doors," Raoul said. "The walls are covered with mirrors!"
The Persian wiped the sweat from his brow. "Unfortunately, we appear to have dropped into Erik's notorious hexagon room."