Призрак Оперы
XI Above The Trap-doors
but,"shecontinued,holdingouthertwohandstoRaoul,orrathergivingthemtohim,asthoughshehadsuddenlyresolvedtomakehimapresentofthem,"butifwecannotbemarried,wecan...wecanbeengaged!Nobodywillknowbutourselves,Raoul.Therehavebeenplentyofsecretmarriages:whynotasecretengagement?...Weareengaged,dear,foramonth!Inamonth,youwillgoaway,andIcanbehappyatthethoughtofthatmonthallmylifelong!"
Shewasenchantedwithherinspiration.Thenshebecameseriousagain.
"This,"shesaid,"ISAHAPPINESSTHATWILLHARMNOONE."
Raouljumpedattheidea.HebowedtoChristineandsaid:
"Mademoiselle,Ihavethehonortoaskforyourhand."
"Why,youhavebothofthemalready,mydearbetrothed!...Oh,Raoul,howhappyweshallbe!...Wemustplayatbeingengagedalldaylong."
Itwastheprettiestgameintheworldandtheyenjoyeditlikethechildrenthattheywere.Oh,thewonderfulspeechestheymadetoeachotherandtheeternalvowstheyexchanged!Theyplayedatheartsasotherchildrenmightplayatball;only,asitwasreallytheirtwoheartsthattheyflungtoandfro,theyhadtobevery,veryhandytocatchthem,eachtime,withouthurtingthem.
Oneday,aboutaweekafterthegamebegan,Raoul’sheartwasbadlyhurtandhestoppedplayingandutteredthesewildwords:
"Ishan’tgototheNorthPole!"
Christine,who,inherinnocence,hadnotdreamedofsuchapossibility,suddenlydiscoveredthedangerofthegameandreproachedherselfbitterly.ShedidnotsayawordinreplytoRaoul’sremarkandwentstraighthome.
