“Christine! As you have no husband, that ring can only have been given by one who hopes to make you his wife! Why deceive us further? Why torture me still more? That ring is a promise; and that promise has been accepted!”
“That’s what I said!” exclaimed the old lady.
“And what did she answer, madame?”
“What I chose,” said Christine, driven to exasperation. “Don’t you think, monsieur, that this cross-examination has lasted long enough? As far as I am concerned …”
Raoul was afraid to let her finish her speech. He interrupted her:
“I beg your pardon for speaking as I did, mademoiselle. You know the good intentions that make me meddle, just now, in matters which, you no doubt think, have nothing to do with me. But allow me to tell you what I have seen—and I have seen more than you suspect, Christine—or what I thought I saw, for, to tell you the truth, I have sometimes been inclined to doubt the evidence of my eyes.”
“Well, what did you see, sir, or think you saw?”
“I saw your ecstasy at the sound of the voice , Christine: the voice that came from the wall or the next room to yours … yes, your ecstasy ! And that is what makes me alarmed on your behalf. You are under a very dangerous spell. And yet it seems that you are aware of the imposture, because you say today that there is no Angel of Music ! In that case, Christine, why did you follow him that time? Why did you stand up, with radiant features, as though you were really hearing angels? … Ah, it is a very dangerous voice, Christine, for I myself, when I heard it, was so much fascinated by it that you vanished before my eyes without my seeing which way you passed! Christine, Christine, in the name of