Hi, everyone! Just want to say another 'Thank you" to all my readers and to my reviewers, and very special THANK YOU to my friend and Beta, Filhound who keeps me on track here!
Unfortunately, I still don't own Erik, Christina, Nadir, or even Cesár.
Christina, Chapter 14
It had been a long day for Erik. He had been for a walk for as long as he could before finding a place to sit and rest. This day he had taken Cesár with him for the companionship. "Just look at that view!" he told Cesár. "Can you imagine seeing that every day? Look at the way the scene changes as the clouds move across the valley below us, like clouds of cotton fluff sometimes obscuring, sometimes revealing features below. This will be a good place to live! And just wait until you see your new home! There is a large pasture to run in and perhaps by next winter a covered indoor exercise area as well! Would you like that?" Cesár whinnied and bobbed his head in response. "And Perhaps Nadir will bring by some girls for you to romp with! Eh?" Cesár whinnied and pranced as if eager to get to this place in Erik's mind. "Soon, my friend, soon. Well, we'd better get back before they come looking for us!" Returning to the house he had thought to rest, but the allure of the violin called out to him and he couldn't resist playing for awhile, having been inspired by the mountain vistas he had just seen. That is, until his side wouldn't allow him to continue. He put it away hoping to rest for awhile when unexpected visitors arrived: Christina's father! He quickly changed into a clean shirt and washed his face before joining the others. He was happy to meet Monsieur Ragnvaldsson and was impressed with his almost regal appearance. He was quite fit for a man of his age, tall and strongly built. He was dressed modestly, compared with Philippe and the way he had seen Raoul dress, who seemed to feel the need to keep up with the latest Paris fashions. Erik was glad to be able answer all his and Philippe's questions. What he was most pleased with was the opportunity to ask for Christina's hand in marriage. His acceptance was a hurdle that Erik was afraid might not be forthcoming. He hadn't told Christina but he had decided that he would abide by her father's decision, so she was justifiably disconcerted when he mildly chastised her for announcing their engagement before he'd had the chance to ask her father for his blessing.
Of course, Oluf had to see Erik's deformed face. It was his right as her father. But allowing a stranger to see him unmasked was always a stressful experience for Erik, to say the least, and as weakened as he was today, the experience left him drained. He was almost euphoric with fatigue when they rejoined the others to officially announce the engagement, but when Oluf spontaneously turned and gave him a bear-hug, the sudden pain and having the wind squeezed out of him was too much and he began to see black splotches in front of him. He reached for something to steady himself and caught the back of a chair at about the same time Christina reached him.
Christina and Valérie had been watching him grow more and more pale as the afternoon wore on, but were reluctant to interrupt the occasion. When the pair emerged from the bedroom, Christina hurried over to Erik and put her arm around him, seemingly as a loving gesture, but more in an effort to support him because she could see how wan he had grown. Nadir had surreptitiously gone to the kitchen to prepare a dose of the medicine he'd been giving to Erik.
"A little too much celebration?" joked Philippe with a chuckle.
"So it would seem!" added the commander.
Oluf turned, perplexed by this odd reaction from Erik and finally asked his daughter, "What is this? What happened? Is something wrong?"
"I'm sorry, " whispered Erik. "I should have told you…"
"Told me what?" he looked from Erik to his daughter to Valérie who had brought in a glass with some colored liquid in it and was helping Erik to drink.
"Papa," Christina told him softly, "Erik was injured in the fight with Javert, the gypsy leader. He managed to kill the bandit, but he was badly injured. I have been helping Valérie and Nadir to care for him."
Gingerly Erik sat himself up in the chair, pushing Nadir and Valérie away, "I'm OK, just got a little woozy there for a minute."
He looked at Oluf, "Remind me to return the favor when I am healed!"
Oluf roared with laughter at that, "And I will take you up on that, Son!" and he grew thoughtful, "I have always wanted a son, but sadly, it was not to be. Now, thanks to my lovely daughter, I will be gaining a son!"
"And I have always wondered what it would be like to have a loving father, to share an evening of chess with or to join me in music." At that Oluf laughed and nodded. "This will be a whole new experience for me," Erik reflected.
Christina sat on the arm of the chair, "Very new for me as well!" She placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to cover her hand with his and smile lovingly toward her.
"Well, the next step is deciding on a date. Our home will be ready for occupancy in about four weeks, so any time after that will work," Erik said, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb.
"And of course, you are all invited to the wedding! Even you, Monsieur le Comte," declared Christina with a nod to Philippe.
"Why thank you for the gesture. I will have my secretary check my calendar once you send word of the date."
"You will use the village hall for your wedding, of course," added the commander. "All our weddings are held there. It's the only space large enough to hold everybody!"
Erik and Christina both began to turn pink before Erik hesitantly asked, "What do you mean, 'Everybody'?"
"Why, the whole town, of course! You don't think we'd let you celebrate your wedding alone? Not after the service you have done in ridding our roads of those brigands? Certainly not!"
Erik and Christina were still in shock from that announcement when Oluf cleared his throat, "Ah, I'm afraid I must insist that the wedding take place in a Lutheran church!"
"Oh, Papa! When is the last time you went to Sunday church service?"
"Well, I… let's see… when your mother died, of course…"
"That doesn't count and you know it."
"Well, but we are Lutherans! " he declared. He looked to Erik for help. "What about you?"
Erik looked from Oluf to Christina to Nadir, "I confess I haven't been in a church since I ran away from home, but I think we were Roman Catholic, at least there was a priest I can remember."
"Yes, we are Catholic, at least in name," offered Robért. "But there aren't any Lutheran churches anywhere around here."
"Begging your pardons. I am unfamiliar with either of your belief systems, but can only wonder if allowances are not sometimes made in your religions, for when circumstances will not permit full adherence to the laws of the church?" queried Nadir. "Would it not be permitted to have a civil ceremony now and a church ceremony when it becomes possible?"
They looked from one to the other, "That makes very good sense, Mister Khan," announced Oluf. "I think that would satisfy the situation!" He suddenly grew thoughtful, "But what would Mama say?"
"Mama would be happy that I have found the love of my life and that he has asked me to be his wife, Papa," she said, resting a hand on his arm.
"In that case I would not stands in your way," declared Oluf.
"Nadir? Can you be my best man?" asked Erik, unsteadily searching the room for him.
"I would be honored, Doostam," he said with a nod.
"But, Doostam, before you fall over, perhaps a softer landing spot could be arranged?"
Erik made a face as he unsteadily looked around for the source of the voice, but gave up on the notion, too tired to focus. "You and your potions have rendered me quite … incapacitated," as he tried to get to his feet and failed. He turned to Oluf, "You see? This is what comes of living with females and a Persian…" and they guided him into the bedroom.
Oluf turned to Robért, "Is he OK? He seems so… weak?"
"I'm told he'll be fine. He lost a lot of blood in the attack and needs to get his strength back. It's only been two weeks since it happened. He still has the stitches."
"Stitches? That bad?" queried Oluf.
"Yes, about thirty from what I'm told," offered Robért.
"Good heavens!"
"He's much improved from the first time I saw him!" said the commander, standing to leave. "Well, thank you, Robért, for your hospitality, and. You too, Constantino! Thank you for going for those delicious pastries!"
"Yes, thank you very much. I have received quite an education here today," added Oluf, also getting to his feet.
"Papa? Can you stay in Genève until the wedding? It's so nice to have you around, and I'd like for you to get to know Erik better," she said, taking his arm.
"In Genève?" asked the commander. "Why not in Gex? It's much closer."
"For that matter, why not just stay here? No sense having to chase around the mountains, and we have plenty of room!" offered Robert.
"No, I couldn't impose," said Oluf waving his hand. "Besides, I might like to do some exploring on my own, now that I've traveled all the way here! What's more, you folks will have your hands full what with Erik as he is and the wedding preparations. I'll look around Gex for a place to stay."
He paused and held her hand, studying the ring. "That is a very exquisite ring! Your husband-to-be has excellent taste."
As they had drawn near to Philippe waiting at the door, he also studied the ring, "Very elegant. Artistic. Not the gaudy sort of things Raoul usually gives to women. I can see the hand of an artist in it."
"I know," she said gazing at it lovingly. "Erik said that it was his own design. He sent the drawing with Nadir to have it made."
"You really do love him, my dear?"
"I do, Papa. I really do," she said dreamily, thinking of the time he gave her the ring, how he couldn't get it out of that simple paper wrapping he had it in.
"Oh! Papa!" she exclaimed suddenly," You have to send home for your violin if you are to play with Erik!"
"Have no fear, Little Lotte," he told her conspiratorially while mounting his horse. "I brought it with me!"
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She found some sketches of houses in the workroom. Erik was sleeping soundly, poor man had worn himself out, and she was restless, so she'd let herself into the workroom, searching for something to read and found sketches of an amazing house. Three stories tall, nestled into a mountainside as if it were part of the mountain, with a conservatory on the middle level, along with a music room as part of it and a work room on the other side of it. The suite on the east side of the conservatory was simply labeled "K". A kitchen at the rear of the house backed onto the stone wall of the site with a door into a hewn cave in the mountain's rock face that would serve as a cellar and with a spiral staircase leading to a wine cellar below it. Some of the bedrooms were on the topmost floor, with one grand suites facing the front windows there and other bedroom suites behind. More rooms on the lower level had not yet identified. Part of the conservatory roof was glass protected by an overhang from the roof above. Both of the upper floors had balconies decorated with carved railings with heart cut-outs and colorfully painted designs.
Suddenly she became aware of Erik behind her, then felt his hands gently caress her shoulders. "What's this?" he asked softly, looking over her shoulder.
She bowed her head and began to blush, "I'm sorry. I was just looking for something to read and when I found these beautiful drawings, I couldn't resist looking at them." She turned around in his arms and looked up at him. For some reason he looked disappointed. "Where is it? It will be a beautiful home for someone!"
"It was supposed to be a surprise," he intoned softly.
She covered her mouth with her hands as if to stop the sudden intake of breath. "Oh, Erik! I'm sorry! I had no idea!"
"Robért and Nadir found it for us and I have been directing some renovations to the place to make it more comfortable for us and for Nadir."
"Nadir?"
"He will have the easternmost suite to accommodate his daily prayers."
"Oh, Erik! That is so sweet of you! You think of everything!" and she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss before pulling back and reaching into her pocket. She grinned shyly as she pulled out a small package wrapped in paper. "Erik? … here!" and she handed him a gold ring.
"What's this for?" he asked, turning it over in his hand.
"Look inside." she prompted with a small smile
He did and noticed a date inscribed inside along with her name, then looked back at her, his eyes filled with questions
"It's the date we got engaged. It's for you to wear. Now. In our tradition you get this when I get this" and she gestured with her left hand."
"But yours doesn't have my name or the date inscribed." And he held out his hand for the ring. "I'll get it done tomorrow," and wrapped the ring in the same piece of paper and put it into his pocket."
She gave him another hug and kissed him.
"So, you like that idea that much?" And he kissed her back, pulling her tighter against him and savoring her scent. He wanted her so badly; he wanted her like he wanted air to breathe and water to drink.
"Erik?" came the voice of Robért from the bedroom door. "Erik? Are you …? Oh! there you are," he said heading toward the work room. "I was just wondering if you were feeling up to joining us for a little supper? Nothing heavy, just some soup and fresh bread."
"I will be there as soon as I wash up. Thank you!"
"And Christina? If you could bring in some milk from the well outside? Thank you." Christina peeked out from her hiding place, checking to make sure the coast was clear before she and Erik looked at each other with surprise and giggled. Christina reached for Erik and encircled his waist with her arms until he flinched slightly.
"Sorry. I'd better go…" she said, not moving, absent-mindedly working her hands up across his solid chest, thrilled with the feel of this amazing man.
"Yes you had …" he replied with a husky voice filled with passion, gazing at her face, tensing as he felt her fingertips moving across his torso.
"Erik…"
"I feel that this is going to become harder as the time gets closer to our nuptials," he murmured, his voice still soft, his eyes still filled with yearning. Reluctantly he added, "Perhaps you should move in with your father? Because I am finding it increasingly difficult to keep my hands off of you, you little vixen!"
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Valérie could hear some subdued grunts coming from the bedroom. She knew Christina was cleaning the upstairs bedrooms, so she peeked in to see what was going on. Erik was sitting on the bed facing a chair from the kitchen with the dresser mirror propped on it, shirtless. He held a scissors in one hand and a pair of pliers in the other, intently clipping and removing his stitches. A kitchen towel lay in his lap to catch blood that oozed from where some of the stitches had been removed.
As Erik uttered an anguished groan through his teeth, Valérie stepped into the room. "Did it not occur to you that the pain and bleeding might be because it is too soon to remove them?"
Erik immediately drew the towel up to cover his chest, "Get Out! I didn't tell you to come in here! I can do this alone!"
"Erik," she soothed, "You're making it worse than it is. Here, let me help…" and she slowly took the scissors from him and the pliers and reached into the dresser where she'd been keeping implements and bandages for working on Erik and withdrew a pair of tweezers and a scissors with longer and narrower blades. She then reached into a small drawer and retrieved some balls of cotton, twisting part of one around a stick and dipping it into some cognac she'd poured into a cup. "This will soften the stitches, making them easier to cut," she explained, dabbing at a few of the stitches and waiting for the initial burning to subside. "You alright?" He just glared at her, gritting his teeth. "I'll take that as a 'yes'," and began to cut and then remove them. She looked up at him and saw that he was still tense, most likely bracing himself for the pain. "Erik, let me know if any of these hurt. If they do, they should not yet be removed."
"I want them out. They itch!"
She sighed, "Erik, if you take them out too soon, the scar will spread and become wider and more pronounced. Do you want to look like Frankenstein?"
He gave her a heated scowl. "Have you looked at me? Do you think I care about one more scar?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way…" She felt awful. Looking at his many scars, it was apparent that he had led an impossibly difficult life. Some of the scars were deliberate burn marks, some knife wounds, while others looked to be from being whipped. No human being deserves to be treated in that way! And here she had verbally reminded him of all of it! "I'm sorry," she repeated. "I wasn't thinking. It's just something I ask everyone who wants their stitches out too soon."
"Take them out – ALL of them! And have done with it!" he growled. So, despite his groans and moaning through his teeth and flinching, she removed them all, then applied a salve and bandaged it all up once again, adding extra padding where blood continued to seep out.
"You'll need to take it easy until that bleeding stops again."
He nodded and reached for his shirt. "Thank you, for doing that."
"I'm only glad that I could help in some way. Rest now." And she carried the soiled linens and implements out to the kitchen, closing the door behind her.
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A week later, word of the unexpected arrival of Onkel Claus and Tante Dagmar set Christina in a tizzy. Constantino had been in the village to buy some supplies for Erik when two strangers had asked him for directions to the Boivan estate.
He'd looked at them, perplexed, "Which one?"
They had conferred in Swedish before Dagmar replied, "Monsieur Robért Boivan."
"Oh! Umm…" He'd looked at the carriage they had arrived in, thinking about the snow still deep in places on the mountain roads. "Maybe better you go to the hotel and Robért come to see you?"
They conferred again before turning back to the young man, "We are here to speak with Christina Oledotter…"
A bright smile suddenly lit up his face, "Ah! Christina! Si! I will tell her, bring her to the hotel!" He turned to leave before turning back, "Who are you?" he asked as an afterthought.
Dagmar smiled, "Tell her 'Tante Dagmar'… umm… Where is the hotel?"
He showed them to the hotel before turning his horse and racing out of town. Less than an hour later, while Claus and Dagmar were still unpacking, Christina arrived with the same young man. Christina hugged them both before looking around at their suite. "Did you take the whole hotel?"
Dagmar laughed, "No, my dear. We took a suite large enough to include you. We thought you might like a place to prepare for your wedding, away from your young man. Madame Boivan explained the situation to us and said that you and your young man are inseparable and that it might be better for you to have some space to complete your preparations."
Christina looked from one to the other and blushed, smiling. "We have been discussing the same thing. This would be a perfect arrangement, although I do wish Erik were closer than miles away."
Dagmar wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, "Lotte, soon you will be living together in your own home. But now it is time to prepare. We have brought the wedding dress that was your mother's, but you will need to buy shoes and other accessories. We will need to order flowers and other decorations. We need to visit the local patisserie and order a huge cake and arrange your trousseau, and tomorrow Valérie will arrive to take you shopping and Clause will go up to help Erik with the housel"
"But Onkel, how did you get here so quickly from Uppsala?"
"I came with Ole to keep him company as far as Zurich, then take Tante back home. But then we hear you were getting married and come here to keep you company! Ja?"
"Ja!" she laughed, then stopped abruptly… But what of Erik? Did anyone tell him where I've gone?"
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Robért managed to find a young priest who was willing to perform an impromptu wedding ceremony. .. for a donation to the building fund to repair a damaged bell tower. After hearing Erik's story and that both the man requesting his services and this Erik were architects, he was eager to contribute his services and maybe get to know these men a little better. Perhaps the bell tower wasn't the only thing needing repair?
Meanwhile, Valérie arrived and she and Dagmar tucked and fitted Christina's mother's dress to fit her. "You are so much smaller than your Mama was, Christina, but I don't want to cut the fabric of the dress," complained Valérie.
"Here, let me show you," interposed Dagmar. "I was a seamstress in my younger days, although more of my work involved letting out seams and adding gores than taking them in!" Dagmar expertly pinned enough small darts all the way around the waistline and bust line, that soon the dress began looking like it had been made for Christina.
While Dagmar worked on the dress, Valérie took Christina to Genève to shop for accessories and a trousseau, and of course they brought home some pastries from the shop they had stopped in for tea. Christina also ordered several cakes, being careful to order one from each of the three patisseries in town, so that everyone who came might have some to take home with them, despite Valérie telling her that every family that came would be bringing food and deserts.
"Oh! It's beautiful!" Christina exclaimed when she tried on the dress once they'd returned home. The dress was high-cut all the way up to her throat and with a dark blue standing collar around her neck. It was made of semi-sheer cream-colored organza with lace and flowers across the bodice and down the arms and a pale blue apron that reached to several inches above the hem of the dress. It was a cross between the old traditional dress and the modern style. The shoes they had bought were traditional, practical black with a gold buckle on top. Her father had ordered a garland of sewn lace daisies for her to wear as a crown and Dagmar was in the process of adding green and white grosgrain ribbon streamers to the back and sides of it.
Christina could hardly believe it was her when she looked in the mirror. "It's so beautiful on you, Christina. You look so much like your Mama," said Dagmar, quickly wiping away a few tears. "Best take it off so I can finish the stitching."
"Thank you so much, Tante! And Valerie! I can't begin to say how much I appreciate what you are doing for me!" she said, giving each of them a hug.
"Nonsense!" declared Dagmar. "My Mama and aunt did it for me and you will do it for your daughters when they marry as well! We just keep passing it on."
She had just put her street clothes back on when there was a knock at the door. "Yes?" called out Valérie. "Who is it?"
"Oluf!" came the voice from the other side.
"Papa! Hello! What brings you here?" Christina asked, opening the door to let him in.
His eyes and voice betrayed his words, "Oh, I just stopped by to see my little girl! How are things going?"
"They're going very well, Papa… why did you come here? Is something wrong?"
"Umm… do you have everything you need?"
"Well, I think so… Tante? Tante? He, he, he," she giggled, "… it feels strange calling you both "Tante"!
"Are you sure?" and he looked hard at her, his eyes sad. "Come with me." He took her to her bedroom and sat her down on the bed before pulling up a chair for himself. He took both of her dainty hands into his large, long-fingered hands. She thought about the calluses on his fingers. Some of them looked fresh – he'd been practicing!
"Little Lotte, before your mother died we had a long talk about your future. As joyful of heart that I am to see you being wedded by such a fine young man, it saddens me that Mama couldn't be here to see it. But she did think about you and she gave me something that only she could give you." He opened her hand and dropped two coins into it: one gold and one silver. Christina immediately covered her mouth with her other hand as tears began to fall, unchecked.
"Oh, Papa!"
"You know what this is?"
She nodded, trying in vain to stop her tears. "Yes, Papa. The silver one is from you and goes in my left shoe; the gold one is from Mama and goes in my right shoe. Oh, Papa!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her head against his chest while he patted her back with one hand, wiping away a few tears of his own with the other.
"Mama wanted to be sure that you had everything you needed for your wedding day," he told her, his voice somewhat muffled against her shoulder.
"Thank you, Papa." She got up and placed the coins in her new shoes.
"One more thing," he said getting to his feet, "I've decided to move my things to the Boivan
home, so I can get to know your young man better."
"Papa…? Don't you go telling him stories about me! Papa? He can learn about me well enough after we're married. He doesn't need to hear stuff from you right now!"
Oluf got a stunned look on his face, as if he hadn't considered the notion, holding up his hands in defense as Christina began poking him with her finger to emphasize each point as she made it. Soon he was backing out the door into the living room, chuckling. "No! No! Who, me? I wouldn't! I swear it!"
Dagmar looked up at the two of them and scolded, "Ole? What have you been up to now?"
"Nothing! I swear it! All I did was tell her that I was moving up to the house."
She gave him a look that said, Oh, brother! and shook her head.
"I'm leaving, OK? I'm going… but I'll take one … or two!... of those pastries! I'm going!" He said, putting his hat on his head and grabbing his coat, not even waiting to put the coat on before ducking out the door.
The three women just stood there laughing until they had tears in their eyes.
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