Free The Phantom of Manhattan by Frederick Forsyth

this invisible paymaster, this phantom of Manhattan? Whoever he is, he has now surely exceeded himself in his attempts to spoil us. For if there is one name that acts upon Nellie Melba like a red rag to a bull it is that of her only rival, the younger and stunningly beautiful French aristocrat Christine de Chagny, known throughout Italy as La Divina.
    What, I hear you cry, she cannot be coming too? But she is. And herein lies a mystery and a double mystery.
    The first is that, like Nellie Melba, La Divina has always declined to cross the Atlantic, calculating that such an expedition would occupy too much time and trouble. For this reason the Met has never been favoured by either of them. Yet while Nellie has clearly been seduced by the astronomical sums poured upon her by Mr Hammerstein, Vicomtesse de Chagny is noted for her complete immunity to the lure of the dollar bill, no matter what the quantity.
    If a torrent of dollars was the argument which prevailed upon the Australian diva, what was the argument that convinced the French aristocrat? This we simply do not know - as yet.
    Our second mystery concerns a sudden change in the artistic calendar of the new Manhattan Opera House. Before departing for Paris on his quest for the world’s most famous divas, Mr Hammerstein had announced that the inaugural opera on 3 December would be Bellini’s I Puritani .
    The construction of sets had already begun, programs sent to the printers. Now I hear that the invisible paymaster has insisted there will be a change. Gone is I Puritani . In its place the Manhattan will inaugurate with a completely new opera by an unknown and even anonymous composer. It is an awesome risk, utterly unheard-of. It is all too amazing.
    Of the two prima donnas, who will star in this unknown new work? They cannot both do so. Who will arrive first? Which one will sing with Gonci to the fierce baton of yet another star, conductor Cleofonte Campanini? They cannot both do so. How will the Metropolitan fight back with its highly risky choice of Salome as the season-starter? What is the name of this new, untried work that the Manhattan insists upon for its inaugural? Will it prove a complete flop?
    There are enough hotels in New York of the finest quality to permit the two prima donnas not to share the same roof, but what about the liners? France has two stars, La Savoie and La Lorraine . They will simply have to have one each. Oh, opera-lovers, what a winter to be alive!!

7
    THE LESSON OF PIERRE DE CHAGNY
    SS LORRAINE , LONG ISLAND SOUND, 28 NOVEMBER 1906
    ‘WELL, WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE TODAY, YOUNG Pierre? Latin, I think.’
    ‘Oh, do we have to, Father Joe? We’ll be coming into New York Harbor soon. The captain told Mama over breakfast.’
    ‘But at the moment we are still passing Long Island and an empty coast it is. Nothing to see but mist and sand. A fine moment to kill some time with Caesar’s Gallic Wars. Open your book where we left off.’
    ‘Is it important, Father Joe?’
    ‘It certainly is.’
    ‘But why should Caesar invading England be important?’
    ‘Well, if you were a Roman legionary heading into an unknown land of wild savages you’d have thought so. And if you were an Ancient Briton with the eagles of Rome marching up the beach you’d have thought so too.’
    ‘But I’m not a Roman soldier and certainly not an Ancient Briton. I’m a modern Frenchman.’
    ‘With whom I am charged, Heaven save us, to try and give a good education, academic and moral. So, Caesar’s first invasion of the island he knew as Britannia. Start at the top of the page.’
    ‘ Accidit ut eadem nocte luna esset plena .’
    ‘Good. Translate.’
    ‘It fell … nocte means night … night fell?’
    ‘No, night did not fall. It had already fallen. He was looking up at the sky. And accidit means “it befell” or “happened”. Start again.’
    ‘It happened that on the same night … er … the moon was full?’
    ‘Precisely. Now put it into better