Chapter Nine
A Challenge & A Boy
"My lady?" Christine turned from her place at the window to see a young woman standing at the door, trying to look inside. She went to the door, curious to know who had come calling on her. Christine opened the door to be greeted by the sight of a warm smile and a mass of blonde hair. It was a woman who appeared to be of the same age as Christine. She seemed to resemble someone greatly but she could not figure out who that was. The woman wore a simple black dress that did nothing to hide her ample bosom and rounded hips. Her dark blue eyes studied Christine just as intently as Christine was doing to her but her smile never wavered and Christine instantly felt comfortable in her presence.
"My lady, I hope I am not disturbing you," she said, bowing respectfully. Christine smiled and shook her head.
"No, of course not..." she said trailing off.
"Meg Giry, my lady," she said, peering into the room again. Christine could see that the girl was curious and she liked that. No wonder she had seemed so familiar, she had to be Antoinette's daughter. There was a great resemblance there.
"Is there something I could do for you, Meg?" Christine wondered, curious to know why the girl had come to her chambers, although she was glad for the company. It had been a few hours since Erik had left the room with Nicolette and Christine had just woken up and was ready to look around her new home.
"Oh...I--," Meg did not continue, suddenly worried that she was being to forward. It would not be good to offend the lord's new wife and Meg did not want to see the masked man angry. He had his reputation for a reason.
"Please, you do not have to be shy, speak freely," Christine said. Meg hesitated a moment longer.
"Well, my lady, I was wondering if perhaps I could show you your new home?" the young woman asked. Christine beamed, realizing she had just made a new friend, and it made her feel a lot more comfortable in her new home.
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"Who is that?"
Antoinette Giry turned from the woman she was talking to to see young Carlotta pouting as she looked at Meg walking with Christine. Antoinette sighed; she was really not in the mood for Carlotta and her whining. She was the woman that, sadly, all of the men went to when they needed pleasure. It had made the young girl feel as if she was indispensable, which she was not. Antoinette knew none of those men cared for the woman. The only man that had yet to touch her intimately was the Prince, and Antoinette knew him well enough to know he would not go so low as to take pleasure from the local trollop.
"Your new lady," Antoinette said. Carlotta's surprise was evident. She had not been around when the Prince had arrived home, being busy with a man in the back of the barn. Just now, when she had seen the woman for the first time Carlotta had worried that she had competition. The lady was beautiful and she had a radiance that was very easy to notice.
But if she were the Dark Prince's new lady there was nothing Carlotta had to worry about. The Prince would let no one touch what was his, especially if it were a woman. So her livelihood was still protected, and she would not worry about some beautiful woman getting in her way. Marc caught her eye and she smiled. She actually enjoyed that particular man quite a lot.
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Christine smiled at the woman she had just been introduced to. Agnes was one of the head servants who oversaw all of the chores that were done by everyone else. Christine had wanted to meet the woman who knew all there was to know about the manor and all the people that lived in it. Agnes was a heavy-set woman, with large brown eyes and a wide smile that made Christine feel warm all over. She had eight children, all of a relatively young age. Agnes had called all of the children to her and introduced each one. There were four girls and four boys and Christine instantly fell in love with all of their round, chubby faces.
"Bridget, Caroline, Charlotte, Eleanor, Alfred, Hugo, Luke, and Oliver."
"It is nice to meet all of you," Christine murmured warmly. Agnes was studying her intently. Their lady before her, Nicolette's mother, had been the complete opposite of this woman. That woman did not want anything to do with anyone; all she wanted was riches. Lady Christine had a warm demeanor and she could see that her children already liked her. It seemed that the Dark Prince had actually chosen someone who could bear the name of Lady with honor. She just wondered what this woman wanted that would make her act this way, because Agnes had never met anyone of noble blood who cared at all about how their servants viewed them. Christine excused herself and Meg continued walking with her.
"What about you, Meg?" Christine wondered. The blonde girl turned to look at her.
"Me, my lady?" she wondered, confused. Christine nodded.
"Yes, tell me a little about yourself," Christine clarified. Meg said nothing for a moment.
"I came here with my mother looking for somewhere to work and stay warm. The Prince offered my mother a position in his home taking care of his daughter. My mother accepted and we have been here ever since," she said. Christine nodded, she had always been curious to know about other people's lives. Sometimes the stories she would hear would help her take her mind off of her father being gone at war. She also found out that people always had something to say if you only open up and listen to them.
"Would you like to see the stables, my lady?" Meg wondered. Christine nodded. Erik's steed had been very impressive and she knew that the stables had to be full of such animals.
"We have close to a hundred horses, and they are beautiful!" Meg said as they went into the stables.
Christine smiled and slowly made her way to each stall. They were indeed beautiful animals, everything about them flawless. Meg stayed by the doors because she could see that her lady wanted a moment to admire what was before her. Christine came upon a particular horse, a mare, worthy of being God's horse she was so beautiful. Her coat was a chestnut color and her eyes seemed to look straight through her. She reached out and slowly ran her hand down the mare's side. A soft sound slowly erupted from Christine's mouth to become a song of horses dancing in the wind, of their spirits flowing free. The horse's ears pricked up, as if she were listening to the words being sung.
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Erik's hand stilled on his horse's neck as he slowly became aware of singing. It was Christine, but other than that he had no idea why she was in the barns. He had not seen her since he had left her rooms with Nicolette and he suddenly found himself wanting to get a glimpse of her, just a small look, nothing more. Giving his steed a final pat he made his way out of the stall and followed the sound of his wife's voice.
It was strange, but it seemed to draw him forward with its beauty. He found her inside the mare's stall and she was softly singing to the mare, which seemed to relax the horse, who looked ready to go to sleep. Erik kept himself to the shadows, not wanting to disturb her. Christine's face was relaxed and she was smiling and Erik found himself unable to look away.
She was beautiful.
The fact that something so beautiful could belong to him, even if it was not completely, was something Erik would have never believed possible before. She had a saucy mouth about her, but beneath that she was a kind, compassionate woman that he desperately wanted to learn more about. Her song slowly came to an end and Erik desperately wished she would sing something else.
"Hiding in the shadows does not help your reputation, you know," Christine said, not looking at him. Erik was surprised she knew he was there; he had believed that she was immersed in her song.
"If you have not noticed I do not care what people think of me, you would be wise to do the same," he answered. She said nothing, knowing in a way he was right.
"Do you happen to compete, my lady?" Erik wondered softly. Christine turned her gaze to his in surprise. Compete? What did he mean? She raised an elegant eyebrow in question.
"On horses," he clarified.
"A proper lady would never do such a thing; you, my lord, should know that," she said. Erik did not fail to notice that she had not completely answered his question. He knew there was an inner fire she had inside of her that cared nothing for propriety and he wanted to explore that a little.
"I did not ask what a proper lady did, Christine; I asked about you," Erik said. Christine sighed and nodded. She had before, but without her father knowing, because she knew he would disapprove of such a thing. Perhaps that was why she had enjoyed it so much.
"Then saddle the horse in front of you and I will meet you in the courtyard," he said, striding away. Christine looked after him in disbelief. He was challenging her to a race? What in the world was that man thinking? And why had he come to her with this? However the idea of perhaps winning over this man who believed that he could do anything was incredibly tempting. She called for a stable hand and had him prepare the horse.
Erik felt himself become tight in his trousers when Christine rode into the courtyard. He had expected her to ride out mounted like a lady should be mounted. But he was in for quite a surprise. Not only was she straddling the horse like a man, but her skirts were hiked up so he could see her deliciously beautiful legs as they were wrapped around the horse's girth. Every movement the horse made caused the muscles in her legs to tighten to show her hidden strength.
Several of the people nearby turned to look in surprise to see their lady mounted so provocatively, but neither Erik nor Christine paid any attention to it. There was a small smirk on her lips that Erik did not fail to notice. He knew she was willing to compete, most likely because she wanted to be better at something than him. He was not going to make it simple for her to beat him, Erik knew she would be offended if he did do that so he would give her a challenge.
"I think you have met your match, my lord," Christine said as they rode the horses out of the courtyard. Erik said nothing. He doubted that statement, but he was willing to give her a chance to prove it. An open field surrounded the castle and it was the perfect place to run a horse.
"Are you ready, my lady?" he wondered. She did not even answer, her heels dug into the horses side and she bolted forward. Erik smirked and kicked his own horse to follow.
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Antoinette watched with some fascination as his lordship and his lady rushed their horses forward in the open field. She watched from one of the manor's many balconies. This was out of character for the Prince and Antoinette wondered what in the world had driven him to do such a thing with his new bride. She turned when she felt a tugging at her skirt and saw Nicolette peering up at her, her arms up. Antoinette smiled and picked her up and the little girl immediately looked to find her father and new mother racing their horses incredibly fast. Nicolette looked at Antoinette with round eyes before turning back to the scene before her. Her Papa seemed to be winning...
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Christine admitted that when she had first been asked to do this by Erik she had not really known what to think. She knew enough about him to know that he would not ask this of just anyone. He did not seem like the type of man who would wish to do anything for his own enjoyment and this surprised her. But perhaps he had a reason for doing this, a secret motive that she knew absolutely nothing about.
The idea caused her heart to sink a little. She spurred her horse on a little faster and was delighted when she pulled ahead. Tugging sharply at the reins she and the horse turned when they reached the end of the field and made a mad dash back towards the manor. She could hear Erik coming up behind her and turned to look at him, a smirk on her lips when she realized that she was going to beat him. It really was an exhilarating feeling.
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"The horse is yours." Christine gasped and turned around in the stall to see Erik standing there. She had not heard him come up behind her and she was more startled than she would have liked to be. She frowned, however, at his statement.
"I beg your pardon, my lord?" she said.
"The horse is yours," he repeated. Christine immediately shook her head.
"Oh, no, my lord, I could not possibly-"
"Do not argue, it is a wedding gift, you will offend me if you do not take it," he said sharply. All Christine could do was nod and Erik stormed out of the stables. Something was bothering him, because he had not been that angry when he had asked her to ride against him. Christine wondered if he was angry about losing to her. But that was ridiculous!
Her thoughts were interrupted when something caught her eye. She turned around quickly, but it was quickly gone. She noticed that when she turned back to the horse she could see it again and it had the definite shape of a small human being. Christine began to hum, knowing that if anything could get the person's attention it was her voice. She was right. She turned and lunged quickly, grabbing it by the arm and hanging on tightly when it began to struggle.
"Stop, it is alright! I am not going to hurt you!" Christine said when she realized that it was a small child. This, however, did not seem to relax the child and the small body began to struggle a little harder. After a moment she could make out that it was a little boy and she got down on her knees, wanting to get him to relax. Though he struggled Christine realized that he was not very strong and soon his thrashing ceased, giving way to soft sobs. Christine was mortified, she had not meant to make him cry!
"Oh, no! Shush, please, it is alright, there is no need to cry!" she said in a soothing voice. He would not look at her and he kept his head down. Since he was finally still Christine took a moment to study him. She presumed him to be at least a year younger than Nicolette. However, he was painfully thin and covered in dirt. His clothes were dirty and torn and his blonde hair was shaggy and hung before his eyes. Christine felt tears coming and she pushed them away. The poor thing! What in the world had happened to him? And where was his mother?
"My name is Christine, what is yours?" she wondered softly. The boy said nothing, just continued to cry, as if he expected her to beat him.
"I am not going to hurt you, I assure you that; may I please know your name?" she asked. The boys shoulders were shaking with the force of his sobs and he slowly managed to croak out his name.
"Adrian."
Christine smiled warmly.
"That is a lovely name. Was there something that you needed here in the stables?" she wondered. He shook his head and his crying had lessened.
"Would you like to see my horse?" she wondered. Christine knew that animals had a way of making children less frightened. Adrian nodded slowly and brought his gaze to hers hesitantly. Christine smiled when his handsome blue eyes met hers. She stood and offered him her hand. He looked at it closely for a moment and Christine wondered what had caused such a young boy to get in this condition. She planned on finding out.
Adrian finally took her offered hand and she led him into the stall. His round eyes looked over the horse in awe and Christine could not contain her smile. "She is beautiful, do you not think?" she asked. He nodded. One small, grimy hand reached out to touch the animals soft coat but stopped short, quickly going back to lay limply on his side. Christine frowned.
"You may touch her," Christine said. Once more a hesitant hand came out and he ran his fingers over the horse's side. Christine remained silent while Adrian occupied himself with the horse until she saw him relax just a little.
"Where is your mother, Adrian?" Christine asked. She wanted to have a talk with the woman about how to raise a child. Adrian immediately became tense again and turned to run. Christine laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. The boy immediately became still, waiting for her to say something.
"Would you like to go for a ride tomorrow, Adrian?" she wondered. He looked up at her with round eyes, disbelief written all over his features. He nodded rather quickly, as if afraid that she was going to take back the offer. She smiled.
"I am glad, I will see you here around this time tomorrow?" she said. Adrian nodded before running out of the stall. Christine did not like the idea of allowing the boy to go back to where ever he had come from but for now this was the only thing she could do for him until he trusted her enough to really allow her to help him. As she walked out of the stables Christine realized it was would be dark any moment and she made her way inside. She was immersed in her own thoughts about Adrian when she ran into someone, effectively knocking her onto her bottom. Christine looked up angrily to see a pretty girl looking down at her with one eyebrow raised. Her reddish hair fell down her back and her dress encased a well endowed body that left little to the imagination. Christine did not like the way the woman was looking at her as she slowly got to her feet, wiping herself off and pretending that she was not bothered by what had happened.
"You should really pay attention to where you are going, my lady," the woman said. Christine's brows rose.
"I do not believe we have met," Christine said. The woman smiled and mockingly curtsied.
"Carlotta, my lady," she murmured. Christine simply nodded her head slightly. She did not like this woman, something about her was cold.
"You are the new lady of this house?" Carlotta asked when Christine said nothing. Christine had a feeling that this woman already knew the answer to that question.
"Yes."
"You are either very brave or very foolish," Carlotta informed her. Christine could not believe that this woman was talking to her in such a manner! It was so disrespectful!
"Please explain," Christine said. Carlotta smirked.
"I would never be so bold," she said. Christine could not help but snort, which happened to offend the other woman.
"You have been so far, please continue," Christine said. The other woman took a moment, looking Christine over thoroughly.
"It is said that he does not know how to treat a woman."
"How so?"
"Really, my lady! In the bed chamber!" Carlotta said, surprised by her lady's innocence. Christine blushed when she realized what they were talking about! However this woman did not know that she did not have to worry about Erik's ability to please in bed because they would never be in one together! Christine decided not to acknowledge the fact that this conversation had even began. This woman was far too bold and she no longer wanted anything to do with her.
"Well, if you would excuse me," Christine said. Carlotta said nothing and walked away. There was something about that woman that did not bode well with Christine at all. She walked up the large stone steps toward her chambers, ignoring her thoughts about Carlotta to think about Adrian. He had to be only five years of age and she had never seen such a sad sight as he had been in. She had wanted to gather him into her arms and tell him everything was alright.
As Christine passed Erik's rooms she noticed that door was slightly ajar. Through it she could see Erik pacing in the failing light. There was a brooding look on his face and Christine wondered if he spent much time pacing his chamber floor. She did not know how it was possible for one to have so much negative emotion. There was no way she would be able to hold so big of a dislike for everyone in the world.
"My lord?"
He turned to look at her, his surprise obvious. He had been so immersed in his own thoughts that he had not heard the heavy door swing open. Neither said anything for a moment and it was not exactly a comfortable silence.
"I am retiring for the evening, my lord, and I wished to thank you for an enjoyable afternoon on horseback," she said, surprising him once again. Christine did not know why she was thanking him but she had not known what other reason she had come into the room for. He nodded and Christine turned away for a moment, biting her lip. He did make it hard to have a conversation because he really was a man of little words.
"I was wondering if perhaps you could show me to Nicolette's chambers? I hoped to wish her a good evening before she fell asleep," Christine said. Erik stared thoughtfully at his new bride. This was her first night at the manor and she had barely seen Nicolette a few times but already she seemed to act like a mother. Was she doing such a thing because she felt obligated, or was she doing so because she truly wished to tell his daughter good-night?
Erik turned his gaze to the right and Christine's eyes slowly followed his. In the middle of the massive bed a little angel was sleeping. Her hand was tucked beneath her small cheek and she truly looked small in such a large bed. She glanced back at Erik. Was this really the fierce man that could kill someone without a single breath of remorse? How many dark and frightening warriors allowed their little girls to sleep in their bed for the night? Certainly none Christine had ever heard of. And this man was the worst of the lot.
"I put her in her own bed and yet she somehow manages to end up in mine," Erik said softly. Christine smiled and approached the bed on silent feet. She did not know what was making her want to approach the sleeping infant but she had an urge to make sure that she was alright before she herself could sleep. Erik watched in silence as Christine bent over his daughter and gently caressed her cheek, pushing a stray curl out of the way in the process. With a warm smile she pulled away and wrapped her arms around herself, walking towards the door.
"Good evening, my lord," she whispered.
Silence.
A/N: Sorry this update took so long, I hope you guys all like it, a special thanks to my beta Monique whose hard work I really do appreciate! DJT
