She put her hand on his mouth.
"Hush, Raoul! ...
You know there is no question of that ...
And we shall never be married: that is understood!"
She seemed suddenly almost unable to contain an overpowering gaiety.
She clapped her hands with childish glee.
Raoul stared at her in amazement.
"But ... but," she continued, holding out her two hands to Raoul, or rather giving them to him, as though she had suddenly resolved to make him a present of them, "but if we can not be married, we can ... we can be engaged!
Nobody will know but ourselves, Raoul.
There have been plenty of secret marriages: why not a secret engagement? ...
We are engaged, dear, for a month!
In a month, you will go away, and I can be happy at the thought of that month all my life long!"
She was enchanted with her inspiration.
Then she became serious again.
"This," she said, "IS A HAPPINESS THAT WILL HARM NO ONE."
Raoul jumped at the idea.
He bowed to Christine and said:
"Mademoiselle, I have the honor to ask for your hand."
"Why, you have both of them already, my dear betrothed! ...
Oh, Raoul, how happy we shall be! ...
We must play at being engaged all day long."
It was the prettiest game in the world and they enjoyed it like the children that they were.
Oh, the wonderful speeches they made to each other and the eternal vows they exchanged!
They played at hearts as other children might play at ball; only, as it was really their two hearts that they flung to and fro, they had to be very, very handy to catch them, each time, without hurting them.
One day, about a week after the game began, Raoul's heart was badly hurt and he stopped playing and uttered these wild words:
"I shan't go to the North Pole!"
Christine, who, in her innocence, had not dreamed of such a possibility, suddenly discovered the danger of the game and reproached herself bitterly.
She did not say a word in reply to Raoul's remark and went straight home.
This happened in the afternoon, in the singer's dressing-room, where they met every day and where they amused themselves by dining on three biscuits, two glasses of port and a bunch of violets.
In the evening, she did not sing; and he did not receive his usual letter, though they had arranged to write to each other daily during that month.
The next morning, he ran off to Mamma Valerius, who told him that Christine had gone away for two days.
She had left at five o'clock the day before.
Raoul was distracted.
He hated Mamma Valerius for giving him such news as that with such stupefying calmness.
He tried to sound her, but the old lady obviously knew nothing.
Christine returned on the following day.
She returned in triumph.
She renewed her extraordinary success of the gala performance.
Since the adventure of the "toad," Carlotta had not been able to appear on the stage.
The terror of a fresh "co-ack" filled her heart and deprived her of all her power of singing; and the theater that had witnessed her incomprehensible disgrace had become odious to her.
She contrived to cancel her contract. Daae was offered the vacant place for the time.
She received thunders of applause in the Juive.
The viscount, who, of course, was present, was the only one to suffer on hearing the thousand echoes of this fresh triumph; for Christine still wore her plain gold ring.
A distant voice whispered in the young man's ear:
"She is wearing the ring again to-night; and you did not give it to her.
She gave her soul again tonight and did not give it to you...
If she will not tell you what she has been doing the past two days ... you must go and ask Erik!"
He ran behind the scenes and placed himself in her way.
She saw him for her eyes were looking for him.
She said: "Quick! Quick! ... Come!"