Summery: Christine begins to see her husband in a new light, however her hopes for happiness are quickly shattered when she discovers that Sir Erik is also guilty of deceit...

Tapestry of Deceit

Staggering News

Christine's head was not flooded with nightmares as it had been the previous night, but with strange, warm dreams of Sir Erik's lips, and the way he held her face as he kissed her. When she awoke, she half expected to find him standing in the room, or emerging from the shadows as he had the previous day, but much to her disappointment, she was alone.

It was quite early, the sun had barely risen, but Christine was accustomed to waking before the sunrise to help Meg with preparing breakfast for the de Coleville's. She thought of her friend, wondering how Meg was handling the chores now that Christine wasn't there. She dearly missed her…

Christine went downstairs after dressing, her heart beating faster and faster the closer she approached the dining hall. What should she do when she saw him? Pretend as if nothing had happened? No, she wouldn't be able to do that; even now her cheeks were flooded with color at the memory of their kiss. Before going to bed last night, Christine was determined to make the best of her odd situation, and work hard to be a good wife to her new husband. Although the man still frightened her in many respects, including the strange feelings he had aroused in her, Christine had made her decision on how to behave when they saw one another that morning.

However, when she entered the large dining hall, her face fell as she noticed that all of Sir Erik's men were present...but Sir Erik himself was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah! Good morning my lady!" Bernard greeted cheerfully upon seeing her.

Christine smiled back, trying to not show her disappointment. "Good morning," she murmured, taking a seat at the table that had been reserved just for her. The innkeeper immediately brought out her breakfast, but Christine's mind wasn't focused on food.

Bernard noticed the way she was looking around the dining hall, and quickly realized who she was looking for. "He has already taken his breakfast," he quietly explained, watching her face for a response."

Christine turned her eyes to those of the steward and felt color flood her cheeks as she realized how obvious her curiosity had been. "Oh…" was all she said, and her attention was suddenly focused entirely on the food before her, however Bernard noticed how she picked at it more than anything. "Did…did you sleep well?" Christine softly asked, her eyes slowly rising to those of the steward, her face growing redder by the second.

Bernard suppressed the grin that was threatening to break forth and simply nodded his head. He knew very well that while she was being polite, her question wasn't truly about him.

A curious thing, Bernard thought. Last night, he was sure that Erik would have stayed with his new bride, after all, the man had not yet "celebrated" his wedding night, but much to Bernard's surprise, just before he and the other men had fallen asleep, Erik came bursting through the barn doors, and without so much as a word, he stalked over to one dark corner and settled down for the night, his back to all of them.

All of Erik's men knew better than to question their master's motives. While Bernard thought it strange that his master was not spending the night in a warm bed with a rather pretty girl by his side, he knew Erik had his reasons and left it at that. Perhaps Erik wished to wait until they were back at Winterbourne, the dark majestic seaside castle that Sir Erik called home. But even as he had stormed past, Bernard caught a glimpse of his master's face (the visible part) and saw the anger and frustration clearly set in his rigid features.

Had something happened between Sir Erik and his new bride? Christine definitely seemed bothered by something, the way she picked at her food and would every so often glance upward when someone entered the room. Bernard did not completely understand why Erik had married the servant girl, but had long since learned to trust the masked man's decisions.

Christine knew it was impossible to eat, her mind was reeling with too many thoughts, and her appetite was completely gone. She may regret it later, but she simply couldn't force the food down her throat. Last night she had been too surprised by the kiss to have even comprehended anything beyond it. But today, after a somewhat fitful night's sleep, she found herself worrying about what had taken place between herself and her new husband.

Had she displeased Sir Erik? Neither of them truly knew anything about the other, but that didn't mean Christine wasn't willing to learn. In fact she longed to know more about the menacing dark knight who wore a mask, and why exactly after learning the truth about her position, did he choose to marry her instead of Carlotta? Did he have feelings for her? Was there something about her that appealed to him? Christine was so used to having her looks being described as plain or undesirable, that the simple thought that something about her had attracted him was completely strange and hard to believe. And yet, she could not help but find herself hoping. She knew she would never be a great beauty…but there must have been something to make Sir Erik want her…

Want her. Did he still feel that way? Last night he chose to not share her bed, but he did kiss her without a moment's hesitation. And it was not a chaste kiss, not at all. Christine's lips still trembled, as did the rest of her, as she remembered the feel of his mouth and the taste of his tongue. Nay, his kiss was one filled with desire, passion, and…promises? Promise to what, she did not know, but those were the feelings she experienced when he kissed her. She only hoped he had felt them too…

But after their kiss, he left without so much as a glance. Had she been clumsy with her kiss? She had little experience, but she thought her response had been right. It felt right, at least.

"Does something trouble you, my lady?"

Christine's head shot up at Bernard's question. The steward looked genuinely concerned, and Christine realized then how she must have looked, moping over her porridge.

"Nay," she whispered, forcing a smile to ease him. A question suddenly came to her as a good means to distract both him and herself from her troubling thoughts. "I was thinking of my new home actually…do you think you could describe it to me?"

Bernard could tell she was trying to change the subject, it was a habit his own wife often used when she wished to avoid a particular topic or thought. However, Christine was not Ophelia, therefore he wouldn't press the matter, and she did seem genuinely interested in learning more about Winterbourne Castle.

"Well, it's still a far journey from here, although we should reach it by nightfall," Bernard began, glad to see Christine's eyes light up with happiness at the thought of finally reaching her new home.

"Is it beautiful?" Christine asked, feeling like a child on Christmas morning. "All I know is that it overlooks the sea."

"Indeed it does," Bernard grinned, although his smile faded slightly as he tried to think how best to describe the forbidding looking fortress that Sir Erik called home. Beautiful was not the word he would have chosen…

"I have never seen the sea," Christine confessed, her voice a longing sigh. "I have heard stories of it though. I have always longed to see other parts of the world though…" she found herself giggling at her words. "How silly that must sound. It is only the ocean, and yet I talk of it as if it were Rome, or Constantinople!"

Bernard smiled, his eyes filling with tenderness as he gazed at his new mistress. Perhaps she would do Erik some good after all? "Nay, I do not think that is silly," he softly replied, meaning every word.

"Please, tell me more about this place," Christine requested, leaning in as if she were in an audience before bard. "Does it have a name? What does it look like?"

Bernard found her enthusiasm catching. "Well, it is set high on a cliff that overlooks the sea. The stone is black; just like the mountain itself…in fact, it looks as if the castle were built out of the very rock!" Christine's eyes grew wide as she imagined how imposing her new home must be. However, she wasn't entirely surprised, knowing who its master was.

"Are there gardens? Forests? Fields?"

Bernard's smile was slowly fading with each question. "Nay…the ground is too rough for much vegetation, I'm afraid. There is a small meadow near by, but…nothing grows there but grass…not even wildflowers, I'm afraid."

Christine's face fell slightly at Bernard's revelation. Of all the chores she had at the de Coleville's, gardening had been her favorite…as well as the most tolerable. She was often reprimanded by Lady Maria for spending too much time tending to the flowerbeds and shrubs that grew in abundance around the castle. The roses were her absolute favorite, and the flowers she spent the most work on. Much of Carlotta's precious rose water came from those very petals that grew in that garden.

"'Tis no matter," Christine murmured, determined to not let this new piece of information dampen her spirits. "I have much experience with gardening. After I examine the land, I may be able to find a patch where some flowerbeds can begin."

Bernard smiled slightly at her optimism. It had been quite a long time since anyone had brought such hopes to Winterbourne. "There are many rooms," he continued. "And the courtyard is quite grand. The great hall is adorned with colorful banners and exquisite tapestries, some of which were gifts by the king himself!"

Christine's face fell once more at the mention of tapestries. In the back of her mind, she remembered the grand tapestry that hung over Pierre's fireplace…the tapestry that was very much a part of her life, even before she came to work at the de Coleville's.

"My lady?"

Christine shook her head, erasing the sad thought from her memory. "I'm sorry; I was simply imagining the place you had described. It sounds quite majestic! What is the castle's name?"

"Winterbourne."

Christine froze slightly as the deep, rumbling growl came from behind her. She should have known he was there, his shadow had fallen across the table and all of Sir Erik's men were gazing up at him, awaiting his order.

Slowly, Christine turned to face him, her body trembling slightly out of fear of how he would be looking. She knew that with one look into his penetrating eyes, her answer as to whether she had upset him the previous night would be there.

She was wrong…

His expression was entirely unreadable.

"Winterbourne," he repeated, his eyes locked intensely with hers. "That is the name of my home."

His home. Yesterday he had gone out of his way to correct himself and call it theirs. But that mutual feeling seemed to have slipped away along with the last stars of eveningtide.

"Winterbourne," Christine murmured, the very name causing a chill to run through her body. Her sudden hopes of making the castle a comfortable home also seemed to vanish…

Erik lifted his eyes from Christine's and looked directly at his men. "It's time we return home," he barked, before turning on his heel and leaving the room, his black cloak billowing in his wake.

Christine quickly rose from her chair, her heart beating rapidly as she watched him go. Something was wrong; she could feel it in her bones. His face and eyes may have been unreadable, but she could hear the displeasure in his voice. And she knew that it was her fault…

Before any of the men had risen from their chairs, Christine was already flying out the door after her husband, determined to make peace before they began their long journey back. "My lord!" she called, noticing he was marching towards the barn. She picked up her skirts and hurried after him. "My lord! My lord, please!" He still did not turn to face her. Christine stopped her running and took a deep breath, hoping this would catch his attention. "Husband!"

Erik froze as the words echoed in the early morning air.

He was just standing in the barn entrance, but he slowly turned to face the woman who had addressed him by his newest title. His eyes caught hold of hers, and Christine felt her breath leave her body at the powerful way he gazed at her. "Yes, madam wife?" he answered, his visible brow lifted in question.

Christine swallowed the lump in her throat and quickly took several large paces until she was standing just a few feet away from him. "I…that is…I wish…" she cursed her nerves that were not only causing her voice to trip over her words, but also her mind. "Did…did you sleep well?" she finally asked, feeling like a fool and a coward for her lack of courage.

Erik studied her for a moment, before simply nodding his head to her question. "And you?" he inquired, his eyes slipping just momentarily from hers to her lips.

"I did…" she murmured, although she yearned to cry out, 'I would have slept better had you stayed!' but even the mere thought of such an answer caused her face to grow hot with embarrassment.

"I am glad," Erik whispered, his fingers flexing as a wisp of brown hair fell across her cheek. Every instinct in his body told him to brush the soft threads back, but he restrained himself, just as he was restraining himself now from grasping her shoulders and tasting her sweet lips once again. "Was there something else?" he asked, his impatience growing suddenly, the question sounding much harsher than he meant.

"I…" Christine bit her lip, wishing she could respond the way she wanted to, to simply ask him if she had done something wrong, if she had displeased him, if he would kiss her again, just once more before they set off on their long journey to her new home…

But her cowardice won over in the end. "Nay, my lord," her voice was barely more than a whisper.

Erik chose not to ponder what she had truly meant to ask, for he had a fairly good idea what was troubling her. In truth, it was what had been haunting him ever since he barged in the barn the night before.

He turned and left her standing there while he went to fetch his horse, his men-at-arms arriving then to fetch their own steeds, each of them moving around the frozen figure of their master's new wife.

As soon as Erik's stallion was saddled, he mounted the mighty black steed, his eyes not even going to Christine's face. "Bernard!" he barked to his steward, who was staring up at him with surprise.

"Aye, my lord?"

"Take my wife."

Both Christine and Bernard paled slightly at Erik's words. "I…I beg your pardon?"

"She will ride with you," Erik growled, before digging his heels into his horse, the creature rising up to stand on its hind legs, before letting out it's own mighty battle cry, and taking off down the road that would lead them to Winterbourne.

Christine stared in shock and horror as she watched her husband gallop away.

"My lady?" Bernard was also troubled, but knew he had orders to follow. He offered his hand out to Christine, and found that he had to nudge her shoulder ever so slightly to get her attention. Christine numbly allowed Bernard to lift her up on his horse, before mounting his own stallion behind her.

But her attention was focused entirely on the black figure that rode ahead of everyone else, the road's dust enveloping him in an ominous cloud.

For the first time since she had come to know Sir Erik, Christine felt the hot moisture of tears touch her cheek.

She realized then, that her heart was truly breaking…

Erik had kept his promise; they did not stop as they rode their horses northward until it became absolutely necessary to give the animals a drink. But even then the rest was brief, and Christine never had the opportunity to approach him. What would she say? Her courage had failed her earlier, and she doubted it would help her now.

The storm that had found them yesterday seemed to have returned once more, and again it crashed and poured upon them, making the journey all the more miserable. Christine's joy at coming to a new place, at seeing the ocean for the first time in her life, at trying to be a good and proper wife to her husband, had completely vanished. She now dreaded this place called Winterbourne, this black castle where nothing grew. She now began to wish that she had stayed behind at the de Coleville's. She did not miss the family, and knew they would punish her severely, but at least she would have Robert and Meg. More than anything, she longed for her friends, and found herself thinking of Antoinette, Meg's mother. She could use the woman's advice so badly…

Night fell sooner than she had expected; or was it the storm clouds that still rumbled overhead that had turned the sky black? It mattered not; she was inconsolable.

"My lady?" She was awakened from her thoughts by Bernard's gentle voice. "My lady, look ahead!" She did as he commanded, and gasped as a streak of lightning illuminated the sky, revealing an ominous mountain fortress in the distance. "That is Winterbourne."

"Winterbourne…" Christine whispered. The place did indeed look like something out of one's nightmares.

Suddenly, Erik's horse came to a stop, and everyone else slowed as well, wondering what their master's reasons were, when they were so close to home. Erik turned his horse then and trotted towards Bernard's steed until he was standing right next to him.

He said nothing; simply held his hand out to Christine.

Christine stared at the offered arm blankly, unsure exactly what he wanted. She tried to see his eyes, but the hood he wore hid them from her view. All she could make out was the white of his mask, and even then she had to squint through the pouring rain.

Erik groaned with irritation and without saying anything, grasped Christine's arm and pulled her off Bernard's horse and onto his own in a single, effortless, movement.

Christine didn't even have time to gasp her surprise. She felt Erik's armored chest against her cheek and his strong arm around her body as he turned his horse back towards the castle, and broke out at top speed. She realized then that no matter how long she lived, she would never truly understand this man or his actions.

Within a few short minutes, they were at the castle, the gates opened wide and a small gathering of people standing in the courtyard, paying no heed to the pounding rain that fell about them.

A woman in a bright red tunic and green gown gave out a joyful cry and flew to Bernard's horse, the steward quickly dismounting to embrace the woman. Christine smiled softly as she set eyes on the dear woman that Bernard had been filling her ears about. At least someone would be having a happy homecoming at this daunting place.

"So glad to have you home, my lord!" an old man hailed, coming forward to take the reins from Erik's stallion.

"Already have a fire blazing!" announced an elderly woman from the entrance that led into what Christine assumed was the great hall. "And should ye wish, we can have a bath brought up to ye."

Christine bit her lip as she looked around at all the faces that crowded the courtyard. They were busy taking the horses from the men-at-arms, but they were also staring right back at her, some looking at her with ample curiosity, while others were frowning with confusion. No doubt these faces belonged to those who had heard about Carlotta's stifling beauty.

However, out of all the faces that filled the courtyard, none caught Christine's attention as much as five young ones, each standing straight and tall, and each looking grimly up at her.

Two of the children, a pair of girls that were exactly identical, save for the small dresses they wore, didn't look to be much older than three or four, while a boy with dark hair stood behind them, looking a few years older, although the grim way he gazed at her aged him considerably. A thin girl with short curly red hair stood in front of the twin girls, her expression extremely sour, her arms folded across her chest in a most indignant fashion, while standing to her left, was another boy, who looked to be the oldest of them all. Christine's breath caught in her throat as the boy glared at her, his eyes an exact replica of Sir Erik's…in fact, everything about him, save for his smaller height, seemed to be an exact replica of Sir Erik! His hair was black and shaggy, his shoulders were rather broad, and while he couldn't have been more than ten or eleven, he definitely seemed to tower above the other children the way Erik towered above everyone else. Who were these children? And why…did they look at her with such resentment?

Erik himself was frowning with great disdain at the sight of the five children. "You should be in bed," he growled, while sliding off his horse with ease.

The oldest boy only glared back, his eyes moving with contempt from the Black Knight to the lady that still sat upon his horse. "Who's she?" he charged, his voice attempting to growl just like Erik's.

Erik's hands wrapped around Christine's waist as he slowly pulled her off the horse and lowered her to the ground. It was a good thing he was holding her at that exact second, for her knees buckled from the shock of what he said next.

"She, is your new mother."