A/N: Here we go again! I promise to have more time with just the two of them coming up, but I thought I should establish Cecilia and Phillip a bit better before moving on. I hope you enjoy!
Thursday came and went far too quickly for Erik's liking. He took Angeline into town, and though she had been able to get her dress, she refused to show it to him. He had not thought much of this, but his curiosity got the better of him, and it began to bother him for some trivial reason. Somehow Angeline managed to hold him in the palm of her hand without even trying. He did not even care that much what she had chosen as most any colour would assuredly look stunning on her, but it was the secret she so enjoyed keeping from him that kept him pestering her.
'You will have to wait and see.' She argued playfully, clearly loving the subtle torture she was inflicting upon him.
He eagerly awaited Friday morning, but when she came out she was wearing the green one he had first given her. Somehow she had managed to clean it where dirt from the alley had attempted to stain it. Erik did not remember her doing this, but sometimes she would move around like a ghost, causing him to wonder if she were truly real. This fact always amazed him as he was generally very good at keeping tabs on her.
'Shall we walk today?' She asked, holding her hands behind her back in childlike modesty. She rarely ever did this, but her puppy-dog eyes suggested she was trying to get a specific answer out of him.
Rolling his eyes, Erik agreed. He caught himself hoping she would learn the way herself so that he could work when he remembered why she was leaving and where she was going; most importantly, who was going to be there.
Angeline walked silently beside him, drifting in and out of attention as the smallest things would capture her imagination. Erik did not mind her quietness, but he was worried that her limited attention span would bring her into trouble if she were not careful. Taking care of this one was clearly going to be a fulltime job.
They came to the house, and Erik felt himself dreading having to leave her. But the idea of staying with that man for two whole hours seemed somehow worse. Somewhat fortunately, Angeline chose for him, releasing his arm and walking up the steps without hesitation.
'Angeline,' she heard behind her after knocking on the door. His voice sounded small and distant. 'I'll be back to pick you up.' He said after a pause, though the strength of his voice had not returned.
She smiled upon him sweetly, with a bit of confusion in her eye. She had never heard him sound so lost and helpless. She almost wondered if it were wise to let him go off alone.
'Alright.' She replied softly, as if talking to a tired child. The tenderness of her tone almost sent him to his knees. He could not understand how such a small word could carry so much and mean so much to him. Still, he disappeared as she went inside.
The first hour and a half went a bit slower this time, with Cecilia finally hitting a roadblock. She was struggling with her "R"s and how to roll them in the back of the throat in French as apposed saying them in the front of the mouth in Gaelic. Finally she got them to work, though she had to think about it rather hard each time.
Just as they were sitting down at the piano, as Cecilia had insisted under the complaint that she would lose her mind if she had to say the letter r again, Phillip came in.
'I hope you don't mind my sitting in.' He said, taking a seat where he could watch, but not interfere. 'My study gets rather stuffy in the afternoons.'
'No, not at all.' Cecilia assured, though Angeline's slightly strained smile was not lost on her.
Angeline found it hard to focus with someone else in the room, and she kept glancing up, sensing Phillip was not as attentive to his book as he let on. She felt his eyes upon her. Though they were soft, she wished he would not stare. His smiled remained the same admiring grin and his every fleeting look seemed to show his complete and total disbelief that anyone could be so beautiful. She wondered at him for this, for though she had once been on display for her beauty, none had seemed as captivated with her as he was.
Her eyes met his at last and she quickly looked down. Phillip had never seen anyone who could look so deeply into one's heart on a single glance. From the way she pulled her hair back over her ear to the way the roses bloomed in her cheeks, she was like a spirit, only half meant to exist in this world. And when she sang he doubted even the choirs of heaven could match her single voice. Her music transported him to another realm with seamless ease and as she finished, she seemed to lay him back in this world like a feather.
'A true divinity.' He murmured. He was enchanted by her. Her beauty, her voice, every ounce of her seemed like complete perfection in his eyes.
As soon as the song ended a knock came at the door. Angeline looked confusedly at the clock. Erik was early. Immediately she wondered if something was wrong. She listened for his voice in the hall, unusually tight, presumably from being greeted by Phillip.
'I had nothing to do, so I thought I would come by a little early today. I hope I have not inconvenienced you.' His supposed hope sounded more like a challenge. He grew only tighter as Phillip quickly put on his charm as they entered the room.
'No, not at all. The ladies were simply working with their music.' He said. Effortlessly hiding any displeasure he may have born against Erik's sudden intrusion.
Angeline felt muscles in her shoulders relax that she had not realised were tight when Erik took a seat beside Phillip, looking at her. Still, however, Phillip's persistent scrutiny stole her attentions.
Erik felt himself soar with happiness as she looked at him and smiled so fondly, only to sink with –dare he call it- disappointment as her eyes strayed to Phillip.
'Shall we begin again?' Cecilia interrupted, enjoying her new role as teacher.
Angeline played more, flowing gracefully from note to note with inherent skill. Only one who was really listening could pick out the mistakes of which there were few. Somehow she had managed to pick up on Cecilia's skill of hiding unintentional moves almost effortlessly. She seemed to allow the music to sweep her away without ever touching her. It suited her wonderfully.
When she finished Cecilia smiled, though she held within it the unmistaken knowledge of each and every one of Angeline's errors.
'This one,' she pointed to the music sheet in front of Angeline. 'Should have been a D sharp.' She explained.
'Oh, and here I thought it was an E flat.' Angeline joked. She was only able to hold her composure for a second before joining Cecilia in laughing. Even Erik let out a mild chuckle. The joke was lost on Philip, however.
'Forgive me, but I am afraid I am as completely useless in music as I am in Gaelic.' He said, smiling laughingly at his own ignorance.
'They are the same note.' Cecilia explained, shaking her head mockingly at her brother.
'Ah,' Phillip said, though it was clear that he did not fully understand at all. 'My sister has always been the more skilled of the two of us.' He explained. 'Father and I used to joke that she was truly the reincarnation of Saint Cecilia.'
Now it was Angeline's turn to be left out.
'Saint Cecilia was the patron saint of music.' Erik told her softly.
'I see.' Angeline smiled up at Cecilia. 'It suits you.'
After beaming at her teacher, Cecilia seemed to suddenly remember something. Turning to Erik she thought through her words only a moment before addressing him. 'Monsieur Erik, Mademoiselle Angeline tells me you are well travelled.'
He was visibly taken aback by this, giving Angeline a pointed look she pretended not to notice. 'I suppose you could say that, yes.' He finally consented.
'Where all have you been?' She persisted, taking a seat across from him and listening intently with her hands folded in her lap.
Erik considered his odds of backpedalling out of the spotlight, but found himself stuck. He was not comfortable in talking about his past in general, but talking in front strangers and Angeline was nearly unbearable to him. He found himself fearing more than anything what Angeline would think of him. She could not possibly know of what he did through his time in his travels, but tempting fate even a little was not high on his list of preferred activities.
'Well, I travelled through most of Europe, Russia, Germany, Spain, and the likes, though I did not get much of a chance to enjoy the culture. Italy was nice, though. I spent a good bit of time there perfecting my drafting.' He said, feeling Angeline's interest grow. He had not told her this, and the fact that she had brought it up surprised him. The only way she could have known he had once travelled was from his varied selection of books. He wondered what else she said about him while here, but put it aside just to enjoy her attention.
'That's incredible!' Cecilia praised. 'I have only been here and Ireland.' She said, letting a bit of her accent slip.
'"R"s, Cecilia.' Angeline noted absently as she started picking up the music and stacking it on the top board of the piano. This received a mock glare from Cecilia.
As his sister continued her conversation with Erik, Phillip rose to join Angeline. He smiled as he watched her most basic of movements. Everything she did seemed like it was made to look indescribably beautiful without her even trying.
'I'm afraid I still don't quite understand what you were talking about with the notes being the same.' He admitted, still laughing at himself.
'Here, let me show you.' She offered sitting down at the piano once more. 'If you think of D and E being whole steps,' she indicated with her fingers the two keys in question. 'And having a half step in between,' she continued, showing the black key between the ivories. 'A sharp carries half a step up, while a flat goes down half a step.' She checked his face to make sure he understood. He looked to her eagerly, nodding for her to continue. 'Then D sharp is the same note as an E flat. At least, on piano it is. I cannot speak for other instruments as they read the music differently.'
'I see, but it seems a little redundant to have two ways of saying the same thing.' He noted.
Angeline shrugged, smiling passively up at him. 'Just another maddening mystery of music.'
'Good alliteration.' He laughed.
'Thank you.' She said, looking down but joining him in laughing.
From across the room Erik was seething. He adored Angeline's laugh but Phillip was standing far too close to her, and on top of it all she was laughing with Phillip like she never had with him. Erik felt the crack inside of him begin to deepen. He threw himself back into his pit of Hell, scolding his mind for ever dreaming he could belong anywhere else, let alone by her side.
Cecilia watched as Erik's earlier enthusiasm for Angeline grew uncomfortable before fading away entirely as he hid deeper within himself. She was quite fascinated in watching her three companions and how they behaved around her. Having very limited use of the native language before, she now found she had acquired a knack for knowing someone's thoughts based upon their body language.
Phillip was growing very fond of Angeline, and while Erik was protective of her, he was distancing himself rather drastically. Angeline, herself, seemed only partially aware of the two men's battling affections towards her, even if they did not fully realise their own feelings as yet. It was all quite interesting, really, but Cecilia found herself starting to realise she would need to take a side eventually, and neither choice seemed preferable at the moment.
Phillip leaned in a little more conspiratorially now, handing Angeline a small envelope from his breast pocket. 'Payment as promised.' He said quietly but proudly. It made him feel fulfilled to say that this seraph was in his employ as well as his thoughts.
Angeline opened the envelope to peek inside and nearly gasped at how much was there.
'Monsieur, this is far too much!' She said, just loud enough for him to hear. Something told her bringing Erik in on this would only complicate matters. 'I cannot possibly accept it.'
'Nonsense. You are a blessing to my sister and me, and I wish to keep you happy. Besides, a student is only as good as their teacher, and Cecilia is progressing far faster than I had anticipated.' He smiled warmly down at her, his blue eyes shining like a lake in the sun. 'I insist.' He said more firmly when he saw the argument forming on her soft pink lips.
'Thank you very much, Monsieur. I only hope to continue to live up to your standards.' Once more she found herself unable to look him in the eye. There was so much admiration flowing from him she thought she might drown. Still, she mustered the strength to search his gaze. She knew there had to be something deeper down, she just had yet to find it. When she looked at Erik she fell right to his heart, and though it had walls and chains around it, she knew where it lay. Phillip was like a blank canvas, and this fascinated her greatly.
'Angeline,' Erik's voice interrupted her train of thought and she realised she had rather boldly been staring at Phillip far longer than she had intended. 'I have important work waiting for me at home.' He said, hearing his voice lose strength as it went. Her look of surprised guilt did not help any.
'Oh, alright.' Angeline hurried to his side. She was eager to keep his mind from wandering too far afield. There was little she could do about the slightly pained expression he now wore, but perhaps acting like nothing happened would convince him it meant nothing to her (though that was hardly the truth, either).
Saying their good byes, they finally left. Erik simply wanted to feel the safety of home, though he doubted it would ever be the same again.
A/N: Oof! That was a long one. I hope you liked it just the same, though. Let me know via reviews. I love hearing from you, it makes me feel like I have someone I'm doing this for besides myself.