Chapter 6
A lazy smile stretched across Meg's face at the feeling of the cool, soft cotton sheets against her skin and the soft pillow cradling her head. It was a welcome change from the small rickety cot that she slept on the last month. Yet, for the comfort she felt, she missed Erik's presence. She knew that he would be leaving that morning to settle in the old house outside the city.
Why should I care anyway? He will be safe, and that is what I promised Mama.
She rolled out of the mahogany four poster bed and went to the armoire to dress. Her uncle had asked her to let the maids see to her needs, but she found the idea slightly silly. She had been dressing herself since she was 5 years old. Why would she need help now? When she opened her stachel she found her pair of blue stocking neatly rolled into a ball. Holding the silky hose in her hand returned her to that moment and to the feelings the look in his eyes had aroused in her. Quickly she dropped the stockings into the satchel and shoved it into a drawer.
He woke up, his chest tight with emotion. Her face. Her voice. The look of abject pity she gave him before she turned and walked away from him forever. Closing his eyes he fell back against the pillows exhausted by his emotions.
Damn you Christine.
Every night she seemed to wait for him at the door of his dreams. No matter how many times he begged her to leave she stood firm, her hand outstretched, his ring cradled in her palm.
You never loved me. How could I have been so foolish to believe that you could?
The tears pooled in his eyes and he wiped them away furiously.
When will this end? When will I stop seeing your face when I close my eyes?
He tore the sheets away from his body and hurried into his clothes. Within moments he was standing in the open door way, catching his breath.
"Good morning."
He turned on his heel to see Meg dressed and fresh faced.
"Morning," he murmured.
"Did you sleep well?"
He hesitated and nodded his head. "As well as could be expected."
It was obvious that he was unsettled and distracted. She forced herself to smile. "Uncle Gilles told me about the house outside the city. It sounds like the perfect place for you."
"For now. Only time will tell if I can remain there."
She tried to ignore the hope that fluttered inside her. "If that is what you choose, I am happy for you. Will you have breakfast with us before you leave?"
"No, I should be on my way. After all I am eager to see the house."
"I see."
He inclined his head and walked past her to the head of the stairs. There he stopped and turned back to her. "Thank you again, for all you have done. And if you are ever close by, you are welcomed."
The smile she gave him was like the sunlight that shone through the window behind her. "I would like that."
"Good," he whispered."Goodbye Meg."
Before she could say anything more he was gone.
Erik's first glimpse of the Louisiana countryside was from the security of Gilles' carriage. There was a dark, almost eerie kind of beauty to the land. The trees were swathed with moss and untamed brush shot up from the marsh. The warm air carried unusual scents and sounds that kept him entranced during the lengthy journey. Gilles had instructed his coachman to drive at a steady pace so as not to attract too much attention to the carriage and it's passenger. It was the late afternoon when they met a long grey wall of stone. The followed it around a bend and drove through a black cast iron gate.
Perfect.
The gate, the thick walls of trees were exactly as Gilles had promised. After the last bend in the lane, the house appeared. It was made of pale stone in the Spanish style with wrought iron balconies and flagstoned walk ways.Gilles has acquired it from an old creole family who left for Mexico after the war.
"We have arrived monsieur," the driver called out to him as the carriage came to a halt.
Erik slowly emerged and made his way up the path bordered by overgrown brush. He could see that the grounds and the house itself had been deserted for quite some time. At the end of the path was a stone archway that led him into a courtyard. At the center was a fountain overtaken by weeds that grew through the cracks in the flagstone. The paint on the walls was cracked and the windows were dirty or broken. The neglect he faced him made him bristle with disgust. Despite his initial dissapointment he was grateful to be standing there in the warmth of the afternoon sun rather than dead in a darken catacomb. He walked back to the entryway and waved the driver on. With a tip of his hat the driver urged the chesnuts off down the pathway and out of Erik's sight.
So I am finally alone.
Erik went back inside and continued his introduction to this new life.
"No!" Lysette shook her head emphatically.
Gilles grasped her hand, his eyes pleading. "I need you to do this for me. He is my friend and I want someone there who I can trust."
She narrowed her crystalline eyes and shook off his touch. "Why not send Amelie or Auguste?"
"Because I don't trust them!"
"Liar," she hissed.
He reached out, taking hold of her slender shoulders. "Lysette, you have always said that you would do anything I asked of you. Anything. Now, I need you to keep to your word."
"Don't try to make me feel like I haven't proven my loyalty to you! I have been with you for five years Gilles! I have cooked, kept your home and shared your bed when you asked! Why do you want to send me away?"
He pressed his forehead to hers, caressing her shoulders with gentle fingers. "I trust you. There is no other reason why I am asking this of you. It will only be for a little while."
"Gilles..."
He quieted her protest with a soft kiss. "Once he is settled I will send for you. So again I am asking you to please say yes."
She looked into his eyes, knowing that she couldn't refuse. Never in the five years she had known Gilles Galatoire had she ever been willing to tell him 'no'.
"Alright," she whispered. "I will leave in the morning."
