Part Twenty-One

Knocking lightly on the door to the bath, Erik heard the faint sounds of his wife moving about. Waiting patiently Esperanza finally opened the door, the knob sounding with a click. Erik was greeted with his wife peaking her head out shyly from behind the wood, her long mane of hair shimmering down her back loosely. A hand held a cloth around her body to conceal her hardened breasts but hiding her stomach was a different story.

"What do you want now?" She asked a bit of annoyance within her tone. He'd been bothering her every five minutes, he always had a fear that she'd slip and no one be around to hear her. However he had come to tell her something, but just the sight of her made him forget.

Pushing the door open he let himself in, scooting her back inside a tiny gasp escaping her lips. Erik no matter how hard he tried could never contain himself with her or even around her. Backing her against the wall he caressed the long mane of hair, bringing his hand to hold the back of her head. Bringing himself closer until he felt her stomach against his own, her head tilting back slowly.

Then he sealed his lips against her own, his lazy tongue outlining the fine petals of her lips. Those lips parted beneath his own, and he plundered her mouth fully and completely. The cloth that had covered her was soon forgotten and dropped to the floor, his hands gently caressing her stomach. Beneath his palms he felt a tiny hand or foot hit at his hand and he smiled against her lips. Resting his forehead against her own, both breathless he breathed out his voice husky.

"You drive me mad..." He said, lifting a hand to caress her cheek. Erik was rewarded with one of her winning smiles, as she began curling her arms around his neck.

"And YOU...make us late." She replied happily, laughing out right when a thoughtful look came upon his face. It was true though, Erik did make them late for every social gathering. He would always let himself in or would pester her while she dressed. Eventually his kisses would have them both short of breath and as just said...Late.

"Well you cant blame me can you?" came his witty little reply which had her giving him a do-you-really-want-me-to-answer-that? look. Smiling down at her, he already knew the answer so he settled for a little peck on her nose.

"Very well Madame de'Longueville I shall leave you to your bath. Oh, and Lord de' Mont' fort is going to be at the Chateau rather early. So I'll be going to meet him, you don't mind riding with Madeline and George do you?" Erik questioned. In truth they had become very close with the Earl and Countess it had them both hating the lie that they lived. But, they couldn't tell them the truth, one day they would be given a chance to come clean.

"Of course I don't mind! As a matter of fact their little squabbles are quite amusing " she giggled when he kissed her nose again.

"I'm certain you are amused. I'll be awaiting you...please hurry and save me from that dreadful old man."

"Erik!" she gasped.

Smiling slightly, he walked out of the room before she could tell him that the dreadful old man. Was indeed one of his most active and productive business partners within the Versailles area. Lifting a hand to his lips, he wondered when he had learned to smile so much. He knew the answer...a little woman inside the bath had taught him.

Continuing to smile he let himself out and told George that Esperanza would be riding with them. Climbing within his own carriage, alone. Erik headed towards the Versailles Chateau, and he hopes his wife would hurry and save him.

While Erik rode away, Esperanza slipped into her warm bath water. However the bubbles hid the slight tinting of the water...but she'd feel what was to come after. Very soon.

Esperanza placed a hand to her brow wondering why she was so warm and sweaty. Ever since her bath she'd been getting slight pains in her lower back and it made getting dressed much more of a chore. It was until a pain snaked through her that she knew for certain she was not well.

Standing slowly, only in her chemise she made her way to the door. A hand upon her lower back a bit hunched over, moving helped but not that much. Grabbing the door frame and using it as support she opened the door and peaked out.

George was standing at the end of the hall, a small glass of brandy within his hand. Drinking lazily just waiting for her...No...He cant see me like this. She thought, but that thought was cut short by a pain that raced through her and made her gasp. It had her hunched over and ready to fall face first onto the ground. When she felt arms around her, lowering her slowly to the ground, a hand brushing back her dark hair to look at her face.

"Esperanza! What's wrong?" A very frantic George asked. He had been drinking, turned and spit out the brandy when he saw Esperanza ready to fall on her face. He'd dropped the glass and it shattered where it landed and he was there catching her in a heart beat.

George's cry had Izzy and Madeline along with newly hired servants running up to see what was going on. Madeline nearly fainted just seeing Esperanza resting against her husband. Her legs in the most unlady-like fashion.

As for Izzy she was smiling from ear to ear. Calling orders to find the mid-wife, and sending Duncan to fetch their Lord. Getting towels and sheets, this and that, she even had George lifting Esperanza and getting her to her bed.

Lightly dabbing her forehead with Madeline on one side pulling back her hair. George on the other side, his eyes wide as if she were sprouting horns.

Oh...they better find Erik, and quick! She thought, when another pain went through her. How she wished it were that dull pain again...

If she thought this was bad. Izzy was thinking wait until she gets to the real contractions.

"What do I do?" George asked over Esperanza's growls and light moans. Her contractions were getting closer together by now and she just would NOT let go of his hand.

Another contraction went through her and she gripped his hand like some animal. Her tiny, delicate digits crushed his like a vice. Biting his lip he tried not to cry out, but when he swore that one of his fingers were getting close to being broken in twain he voiced it.

"Ow..ow...OW! Esperanza...my hand..MY HAND! For the Love of GOD MY HAND!!" Then Madeline snapped at him.

"You shush up! Cant you see she's hurting?"

"Hurting? What about me!" He called. Then Esperanza squeezed his hand even harder as another contraction went through her.

"Oh for the Love of GOD WHERE IS ERIK?" George called...nearly in tears.

"The Chateau de Versailles has ... more than 2,000 windows, 700 rooms, 1250 fireplaces, 67 staircases and more than 1,800 acres of park. The paintings, tapestries , sculptures ,furniture of this fabulous castle , have been executed by the best Italian and French artists of the times!"

Erik sighed, listening boredly to Lord de' Mont' fort's describing the Chateau for everyone. If Erik had known he'd only be coming for a history lesson on the place he would've been late with his wife. That was another thing...where was she?

As if on queue Duncan burst through the doors and ran straight for him. Duncan was young perhaps sixteen and a very good horseman. His shorn hair was wild and his eyes just as big. Dear God..Had something happened?

"Monsiuer de'Longueville! Monsiuer de'Longueville! The Madame...the...Babe!" Was all Duncan could manage before Erik was out the doors.

He was going to be a Father!

Erik paced back and forth in the passageway, a sniffling George in a chair beside the door. He was currently nursing his hand which looked like it had been crushed beneath a cart wheel. Erik refused to believe that his dainty little wife had done that to him, but one never knew.

Erik had not been allowed in with his wife, in fact. The women had barely managed to get George out of Esperanza's death grip. So Erik paced in the dark passage, helpless, frustrated and knowing nothing.

He fisted his hands at his sides, struggling with a desire to bead down the wall that separated him from Esperanza. What was going on in there?

A memory of Esperanza when she had been wounded returned to haunt him, and he envisioned her lying cold and silent upon their bed. His stomach lurched and his chest tightened in fear. When would they let him back in?

The first of her cries tore at his insides, and Erik began to sweat, despite the coolness of his surroundings. The next few screams made him lunge toward the door, but he stopped himself, striding back and forth again, trying to regain his composure.

Minutes ticked by like years, and the longer he paced outside the door, the more frantic Erik became. Esperanza's moans were a constant now, coming closer together, sometimes louder, sometimes softer and he found himself straining to hear them, for they meant that she lived and breathed.

Erik knew how suddenly death could claim a man or a woman. The thought made him pause, for he remembered all to well the time during her weakness due to the wound. Esperanza had nearly slipped away from him then. Only the kindness and caring of his hands had brought her back to him and he had no intentions of losing her now. After all even now with what medical was available, women still died during their birthing of a child.

The realization that his wife might be dying in there, away from his reach, made Erik act at last. Striding to the door, her wrenched it open, and it banged against the wall loudly, startling everyone in the room as he stood on the threshold assessing the scene. He barely even heard George croak out a " Don't hold her hand."

Esperanza was lying back upon the bed, Madeline and Izzy at her sides and the midwife at her feet. A cloth covered his wife's upraised knees, but the birthing stool stood to the side, unused. The old midwife, turned to face him, a scowl on her wrinkled face.

"Monsiuer! You must leave here at once" came the protest of anger. Eyeing the old crone he wondered if she was some sort of witch. He did not trust her.

"Why is she not on the stool?" he snapped.

"Monsiuer, Monsieur," Izzy said, bustling over to come between him and the hag. " It is not time yet. You must be patient." She finished trying to get him out of the room.

"Patient? I have been listening to her screams for almost an hour!" he exclaimed.

"You must go Monsieur and wait. We will tell you the moment the babe arrives." Izzy tried again.

"No! I am NOT leaving until I found out how my wife IS!"

"Let him stay!" Esperanza growled, surprising everyone and almost had Erik jumping. "Better yet, let him come closer, and I will show him how I Am!"

"Esperanza?" he whispered, almost to a squeak as he went to her side.

She was lying back on the bed, red-faced and panting, but she did not have the pallor of death that he had seen within his mind. Still, she did not look well at all, and as he watched, her features contorted into a grimace.

"How...uh...ahem...How do you feel?" He gulped.

"Lean nearer and let me twist your privates into a knot, and you can know how I feel!" she promised between breaths. That had both men self-consciously closing their legs a bit tighter.

Frowning down at her, he shot back. "You are the one who wanted this baby! Do not lay your discomfort at my door!"

"Discomfort?" she shrieked "Discomfort? I shall give you discomfort, you fiend! This is all your fault! You bedded me!"

"You seduced me!"

The two were shouting so loudly at each other that neither one heard Izzy ask about the stool or the midwife's soft reply that it would not be needed. "Push.." the woman said, but Esperanza was too busy throwing every single curse she knew at her husband.

"Push Madame! Push!" Izzy encouraged louder and finally she did, releasing a long ragged breath before yelling at Erik again.

"I am NEVER doing this again!"

"Fine! At last we agree on something!"

She pushed again, her face a startling shade of scarlet, and Erik felt alarm race through him until she screeched at him with new curses.

"You are to never touch me again!"

"Then you must keep your hands off me and I shall do the same!"

"Stubborn man!"

"Impossible woman!"

Suddenly Esperanza fell back against the pillows with a sigh and reach for him. Despite her threats he took her hand immediately casting George's advice to the wind. His fingers closed around hers, being crushed just as an infants cries filled the room.

Smiling slightly Esperanza breathed in deep gulps of air. Only the cries began to fade, even Erik was gone from her side. The absence of all the bodies from the room had her sitting up, and questioning aloud with an anguished cry.

"Where's my baby!?"

A closed door and silence answered her.

Paris

Phillip watched from his perch as the men worked tirelessly on the Opera Populaire. One moved to an area where he should not have been and it had Phillip grinning evilly. Slowly he moved from his little area, staying within the shadows he began to loosen a rope.

The rope held several beams that would be used on a later date in the construction. The man pulled out a cigar and began to smoke it at his leisure. Slowly Phillip released the rope and the entire stack began to rain down.

One hit it's make, driving through the man's skull, impaling on him. He fell back and the screams of the other men filled the Opera Populaire, and they certainly would not be the last.

Four 'accidents' had occurred...and Phillip was just DYING for another accident to happen.