Hello everyone, I hope that you all had a wonderful vacation! Happy New Year! (hugs to all!).
And now my lovelies, I present to you the new chapter of Angels and Roses. This chapter features a lot of interaction between Erik and Christine, and Ned and Meg. I wanted to give Erik and Christine some light moments, I hope that you will like it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Meg and Ned are dealing with some heavy stuff in this chapter.
Chapter 26: (The Village) Part Three
Christine went still in Erik's arms, as she saw that he listened intently. The wind continued to blow gently and the leaves to rustle in the trees. Erik's grip on Christine loosened, as the sound of steps became more pronounced. There was a low snarl and a high pitched bark. Erik rested his head against the tree trunk, a low chuckle escaping his lips. He muttered something under his breath and Christine thought she heard him say, "I don't believe it."
As he straightened and moved away from her, Christine asked, "What is it?"
"See for yourself - " Erik replied. Just as he had finished his sentence, a little puppy came sauntering around the tree. Wagging its little white tail, it looked up at Erik and Christine and barked again. Erik looked at the creature with pure disgust. The little mutt played with the hem of Christine's skirt for a moment, and Christine giggled, then it turned its attention to Erik. Erik glared at it, trying to scare it, but the little mutt only got closer to Erik, and placed its two tiny front feet on Erik's lower legs, tongue lolling, as another cheerful bark erupted from the creature. Erik groaned, but before he could bend down and pluck the puppy away from him, Christine crooned as she reached down and picked up the puppy, completely oblivious to Erik's reaction.
"Erik, look! Isn't he just adorable?" she looked up at Erik's eyes, and then couldn't help a soft laugh. "What?" she asked with a gentle smile upon her lips.
"First of all, how do you know it's a 'he'?" Erik stated, now amused and his features softened. "Secondly, it probably has an owner who is looking for it right now. Don't get too attached."
"Letty! Letty!" the sound of a little girl crashing through the brushes reached them. "Where are you?"
Christine moved from behind the tree, and walked toward the girl, who upon spotting Christine with the puppy in her arms, cried with joy. "Oh, Letty, there you are!" The puppy wiggled in Christine's arms, wanting to be put down. Christine bent down and let it go, and the little puppy took off running toward its owner. Christine watched as the cute little girl knelt down and scooped her puppy up, her copper curls falling over her face, her pink dress was messy from walking in the woods and probably falling. "Oh, Letty, I thought I had lost you!" Standing, the girl put Letty down and looked toward Christine. Christine's heart stopped when the girl's huge doe eyes looked at her. The little girl, who seemed no older than 7, ran toward Christine and hugged her legs.
"Thank you for finding my puppy," the adorable little girl said in a heartfelt whisper.
"Oh," Christine cooed lovingly as she knelt down and hugged the little girl closer to her. The girl in turn rested her head on Christine's shoulder. "I'm glad I could help, sweetheart. Your Letty came right to us." Christine pulled away from the girl and stood. She took the little girl's hand in her own as the puppy walked around them, barking cheerfully every now and then. "Where is your mama?" Christine asked.
And like an answer to her question, before the little girl had a chance to reply, a woman's voice reached them. "Charlotte! Charlotte! You come here this instant!" the voice was getting closer, filled with worry. The little girl tugged at Christine's hand excitedly, trying to break out of Christine's grip as she announced, "That's my mama!"
Christine was about to start walking the little girl to her mother, when the sound of Erik clearing his throat reached her. He was standing next to the tree a few feet away; Christine remembered that Erik did not like company. And the woman's voice was really close now, so the little girl wouldn't have any problem running to her mama. Christine bent down and gave the little angel one more hug before she said, "Alright then, run along, go to your mama." The little girl skipped away from the spot where Erik and Christine were, completely oblivious to Erik's presence. "Come on, Letty, let's go!"
The sounds of the puppy and the little girl got farther away from them, and then they heard the sound of the mother's crying, as mother and daughter met. The voices became farther away from them and disappeared completely. Christine didn't notice how still Erik had become.
She turned toward him and said wistfully, without thinking, longing filling her voice, "Oh, Erik, I want a baby of our own," and then proceeded to turn crimson when she realized what she had said.
Erik looked shocked for a moment, but quickly recovered. He knew that he didn't want any children, but anyway, the whole thing was still too early to think about or contemplate. He thought about making a teasing remark to make her blush more, but instead he chose to reply in a way that would not embarrass her. "I think it's a bit too early to think about that. Don't you agree?"
Christine nodded mutely although continuing to blush. Erik chuckled quietly, absurdly pleased that she would want to have a child with him, even though the thought of having a child made him queasy. He gave her his hand and she took it. He bent down to retrieve his cloak, and they began making their way back to town. The last thing Erik wanted was to have the little girl return with her mother to thank them, and then have the mother or child descending into a screaming fit at the sight of him.
Thinking of what she had just said to him and trying desperately to change the subject, Christine tried with, "So, you didn't tell me how you met Ned."
Erik smirked. "I'll tell you that later, Angel, but first - " Erik needed to know something important - "where is my gun?"
Christine blushed again and bit her lip as they continued to walk among the trees and brush toward the church. "Well, I left it in my room at the hotel where Madame took us." Erik lifted Christine over a log, put her down again and they continued walking.
"So?" Erik said seriously, but he was teasing. "I take it you were planning to shoot me on sight?"
Christine gasped and stopped dead in her tracks causing Erik to stop and turn to look at her huge eyes as she whispered, "I could never shoot you!" Her horrified expression turned to one of outrage when she saw Erik's lips twitching and his eyes gleaming mischievously. That he would joke about something like that! "Oh!" Christine huffed as she hit Erik playfully on his arm. "You - you!" Christine sputtered trying to find the right adjective.
Erik gently cupped her cheek, a small crooked smile forming on his lips. "Speechless, are we?"
Christine pulled away from him, rolling her eyes as a small smile slowly appeared on her beautiful face. Erik silently bent down and kissed her gently, lightly, a simple brush of the lips, knowing that if he deepened the kiss now, things would probably get out of control, and he didn't want to make love to her out here, especially not since it would be their first time together. Christine sighed as Erik pulled away and pouted a little that he hadn't kissed her more deeply, Erik chuckled as he turned and started walking again, holding her hand firmly in his. Yes, she was his… and his alone…forever.
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Meg heard her name being called but it was coming from far away. She wanted to call back but the darkness seemed to be engulfing her. She fought to get to the light, a little pin-point of light where the sounds seemed to be coming from.
"Meg, sweetheart, wake up."
Meg whimpered as she continued to reach for the light, and the voice of her beloved. Ned's voice was beautiful and soothing and she loved him. Ned was beside her on the bed, after having carried her there when she fainted. He held her lovingly in his arms. Madame was still very angry, but her worry for her daughter had taken first place and she had gone to see if the hotel had some smelling salts.
Ned gently brushed a strand of hair that had fallen across Meg's soft cheek and placed it behind her ear. Holding her close, her head lying on his chest, he gently rubbed her back. "Meg, love, open your eyes." Meg whimpered again as her eyelids began to flutter. Ned whispered sweet nothings into her ear as he watched her eyes open and she looked at him in disorientation for a moment. She frowned and tried to push away from him. "Ned?" she asked, confused. "What are you - " her inquiry cut itself off. She gasped and sat up, moving away from him as the events of earlier came rushing back to her.
Ned coming for her…her mother pointing a gun at Ned…she was pregnant…pregnant!
"Oh, God!" she wailed as she buried her face in her hands. Ned leaned forward and gently gripped her by the shoulders, pulling her back into his arms. "Shhh, sweetheart, it will be all right, you'll see," he said soothingly. Meg sobbed helplessly into his shoulder. She felt so safe in his arms, as if nothing could harm her, but she couldn't take advantage of him. She knew that they couldn't be together anymore. He deserved someone better. Not someone tainted like her. And with those bitter thoughts burning through her heart, Meg pushed away from him and quickly started wiping away her tears. She knew what she had to do, the quicker the better, because she didn't know how long she would be able to stand her ground.
"Ned, I want you to leave. I don't want to see you again - " her voice almost broke as she said the last word - "ever."
"Nonsense," Ned stated in a confident voice. His reply caught her off guard, causing her to turn back and look at him. He was sitting on the bed, slightly behind her.
"W-what?" she asked, not knowing what to say for a moment. Oh, God, she couldn't keep the charade up much longer; she had to be more convincing, more firm. She couldn't let him see her weakness! She quickly moved to the edge of the bed, gathered all her remaining courage, got up and turned on Ned, who was staring lazily at her, as he got up from the bed as well.
"I mean it, Ned, I don't want to see you again," Meg said firmly, trying to be as convincing as possible.
In a flash Ned was standing in front of her. Before she could say anything, he had grabbed her and pulled her to him, holding her in a strong embrace. Meg tried to wriggle away, knowing that she would break down at his warm, soft, so awfully wonderful touch and the feel of his arms around her making her feel so safe and secure.
"Why can't you just stay away from me?" she shouted. But it was no use; no matter how hard she tried to push away, there simply was no way to break free of his firm grip. She was so broken and tired; she didn't want to fight anymore. Why was he making this so hard? Couldn't he understand that he would be better off without her? She began to weep again, becoming limp in his arms.
"Shhh," Ned whispered soothingly, as he gently lifted her up in his arms and placed her on the bed again. Lying next to her, as he pulled her into his arms again, he said lovingly, "Listen to me, Meg. You are not going to be rid of me that easily. I am here to stay, because I love you."
Meg only cried harder, finally managing to say between sobs, "You don't know what you're s-saying. You d-deserve someone better than me!" she squeaked.
"Hush," Ned said firmly. "I don't want to hear any of this nonsense coming from those pretty lips of yours," he said as he held her even closer to him. God he loved her so much, he ached. His heart broke for her, for what she had been through. And that she would say something like this just broke his heart even more and made him angry. He wished he could kill the men, who did this to her, again. "None of what happened to you is your fault. You are the most amazing, courageous, beautiful woman I have ever met. I love you so much," Ned whispered fiercely. "And just for the record, we are getting married as soon as possible."
Meg laughed in the midst of her tears, as she spoke in a trembling voice, cuddling closer to him. "You're crazy." As she took a deep breath, the tears started again. She buried her face deeper into Ned's chest and whispered brokenly, "Oh, Ned, I'm not amazing or wonderful at all, I wanted this baby dead, the first moment my mother said that I was pregnant. All I feel is resentment for it!" Her voice was becoming shrill. "What kind of person does that make me?"
Ned smoothed her hair and continued to stroke her back and arm gently. "A normal person," he replied. "Meg, the circumstances that led you to this point were horrific. You are allowed to resent this pregnancy." He was quiet for a moment as she continued to weep softly in his arms, before deciding to say, slowly, "As a matter of fact, I know where I can get you a potion, if you want." Meg's breath stopped, as Ned went on cautiously. "It would cause the pregnancy to end."
Meg gasped and sat up and drew away from his arms. "I don't think I can kill it," she whispered, her eyes wide in trepidation.
"Then don't," Ned stated sincerely. "We can raise it together. It will be our child."
"Oh, Ned," Meg cried and threw herself into his arms again. "I don't know if I can do that either. I don't know if I can handle it."
"Listen to me, Meg," Ned whispered soothingly. "Your feelings are still too raw, too uncertain. Wait a few days and then see how you feel about things. I will accept whatever you decide." He continued in a lighter tone, "Except for the wedding, of course. We are getting married as soon as possible, and that's final!"
Meg laughed, a wet laugh into his chest. "You ARE crazy!"
Ned just laughed at that, before saying seriously, "I love you, Marguerite Giry. Don't ever forget that," he said, but as his lips moved closer to hers, the door flew open as a very worried Madame entered with smelling salts in her hands. Ned moved back away from Meg, and Meg turned to look at her frantic mother.
"Oh, those hotel workers could try the patience of a saint! It took them half an hour to find those smelling salts!" Madame stopped dead in her tracks as she saw that her daughter had woken up.
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Phillipe and Armand heard the sounds of approaching hooves and voices. They knew that soldiers were coming their way. Armand wanted to turn around and leave Phillipe there to meet the soldiers, but Phillipe had had a better plan. Armand had told him that they couldn't tell the police that they had caught Joseph Bouquet, because Erik wanted to handle that traitor himself. In addition to that fact, there was no proof that Joseph was involved with the Marquess, or that Joseph had helped fabricate the plot to kidnap the Comte De Changy, which Phillipe initially had wanted to say.
"Over here!" Armand shouted frantically, as the sounds of the coming police officers sounded closer.
"I'll see you later, friend," Armand said under his breath to Phillipe.
"Until later then, stay in touch. Tell Erik, I don't want to have to go looking for his whereabouts," Phillipe stated between labored breaths, teasingly.
"Don't you worry. Erik will come visit you from time to time," Armand grinned.
"Phillipe!" the shout was heard from far away, as a horse from among the coming twenty riders shot forward ahead of all the rest
"Raoul," Phillipe said in a tired voice, looking up as his brother approached.
"I'm so glad that you're all right," Raoul said in obvious relief, as his horse circled his brother's, before looking at Armand. "And who are you?"
"Raoul," Phillipe said. "This is Armand, who found me after I escaped from the Marquess' clutches. He had kidnapped me for ransom."
"That, that bastard!" Raoul shouted, remembering how the Marquess had gone to him pretending not to know where Phillipe was. At that moment, the rest of the police arrived to where the horses were standing.
"Comte, we were looking for you everywhere!" the chief exclaimed, clearly pleased, since his name would become famous now - he had found the Comte! "What happened?"
Phillipe repeated his story of being kidnapped by the Marquess for ransom. Phillipe reminded the police chief that he had told them all several times during the past few years that the Marquess wanted him dead because he wanted his land, land which Phillipe otherwise would not sell. The chief wriggled uncomfortably in his saddle, as he said, "Well, it's not an issue of whether I believed you or not - it was an issue of proof. Without proof, we have nothing to go by to arrest the Marquess."
Phillipe looked at Armand, but Armand didn't know how to answer. They needed to ask Erik first if he would give the documents that proved that Lucienne was involved in an illegal business network, and that the reason he wanted Phillipe's land so badly, was because it was a strategic spot for the moving and loading of the merchandise.
"I'm very tired right now," Phillipe replied wearily. "I just want to rest and then we'll discuss it." His reply had just bought him time, and Armand was pleased.
"Stop harassing my brother," Raoul snapped. "Can't you see he needs immediate medical attention! Let's go."
But the police refused to budge as the chief stated, "Wait! We can't go back now. We need to continue to our destination, where several people heard gun shots."
"Oh, that," Armand was quick to say. "It was just the Comte and I shooting at the perpetrators. You see the Comte was trying to escape from his captors when I happened to be passing by. The Marquess had put two men to guard the Comte. So when I saw the struggle, I decided to help." The chief of police eyed him suspiciously, wondering why he would put himself in danger for the Comte. So Armand added, "I do know about the prize that was placed for anyone who could find the Comte. So I wanted to be the one to deliver him to you safely. I will be waiting for my prize."
"Can we please go now? Can't you see that Phillipe is about to pass out?" Raoul stated with authority. Turning to the police chief, he continued, "And I will have your head if something happens to my brother, because you're standing there wasting time!"
That got the chief's attention. After thinking about it for a moment, he decided that he liked his job too much to take that big a risk, plus it seemed like a plausible explanation on why there was shooting. "All right, men. We are to escort the Comte back to his estate immediately."
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Joseph Bouquet made his way out of the cottage. His legs felt weak, but he knew he had to carry on. His body ached and his face was swollen. It had been hard to free himself of the ropes that had held him to the chair, but Armand and Phillipe hadn't tied him thoroughly, because as usual they had underestimated him. Everyone underestimated him, disrespected him. He was tired of them all, after all the risks he took, trying to make it up the ladder, and they all treated him like scum, as if they were better than he, ha! They would pay, Erik and his men - those bastards! So would Lucienne, for using him without paying him his fair share. He looked around. He knew that Lucienne would not be in a far away place, but he knew that wherever Erik was keeping him, it was what he deserved. Let him suffer and rot as Erik's captive. Joseph knew what a blow it would be to the Marquess's pride, as well as his health.
With an initial plan starting to take form in his devious mind, he started walking to the nearest village. First, he needed medical attention, then he would find Erik. He and his men would pay for knocking him unconscious, for making a fool of him in front of Lucienne's men –no, not Lucienne's men, his men! He was going to take the lead after Lucienne's corpse was found some place. He didn't put himself to all this trouble only to end up someone else's servant. He was going to be the leader when all of this was over! Lucienne was vile and stupid. Joseph knew he would be a better leader.
The Marquess would pay - and Erik would pay.
Walking in a daze, he began to think about the nearest town… where would the nearest town be? He stopped in his tracks, closing his eyes for a moment, as he tried to bring the image of a map into his mind, and then it appeared, he knew where he was going now…he knew where the nearest town was…he would head to Rouen…
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As they walked in the forest, Erik suddenly paused and changed course. Christine gasped, as she saw the wretched and rugged trail Erik was heading for. She was getting tired, and she had thought that they were very close to town, but now Erik seemed to be going in another direction.
"Erik," Christine said between labored breaths. "I can't make it through that terrain! Please, where are we going?" Erik stopped and turned, looking at Christine. She was leaning against his arm.
"I'm sorry," he stated. "I just wanted to show you something." He gently disentangled his hand from hers and wrapped his arm around her, bringing her to rest against his chest. "I'll carry you when the path gets hard. The rough terrain is not too long." He paused, listening as Christine's breathing calmed, before continuing. "But if you're getting tired, we can just continue the way we were going. We're really close to town now."
"A-are you sure you can carry me through that?" Christine asked suspiciously, as she pulled away from him, looking up at his masked face.
Erik smirked. "Would you like to wager?"
Christine shook her head lightly as a smile graced her lips. "And what would we wager on?"
"A kiss," Erik replied lightly.
"Hmm…a kiss," Christine mused playfully.
"There's a catch, Angel. The winner gets to kiss the loser on any body part they please."
Christine frowned for a moment, and then she remembered that day on the shore, when Erik had kissed her breasts. She remembered the intimacy, the pleasure, and she flushed crimson. Worry filled her, as another thought hit her.
"But what about your shoulder? There is blood on your shirt."
Erik cupped her soft cheek lovingly in his palm. "Don't worry, Angel. My shoulder is just fine. As for the blood, it's just a little spot, and it's dried, so there is no bleeding anymore."
That seemed to relax her a bit. Then she went on. "But - "
Erik stared at her patiently and she sighed in defeat, before she stated in a warning tone. "If anything happens to you, or if your wound reopens, I will never forgive you."
"We have a deal. Now, do you accept the wager or not?" Erik replied lightly.
Thinking about it for a moment, Christine decided to take the leap. She wanted to be with him, she wanted to feel his lips on her, to feel the things only his touch could make her feel. She wanted to touch him, to kiss all the scars on his chest. But at the same time she felt a little afraid, everything was so new to her. "All right, but first you must ask permission, if I don't allow you to kiss the body part that you want to kiss, then you can't kiss it."
"I will abide by your rules," Erik replied quickly, too quickly for her peace of mind.
With that, Erik told Christine to get on his back, and she hesitantly did, wrapping her arms around his neck, grabbing the front of his shirt, and wrapping her legs around his waist.
"So," Christine replied breathlessly. "You didn't tell me where it is we are going?"
"It's a place I used to go to when I was little, to get away from everything. You could call it my secret place. I discovered it one day, since I used to come here a lot." He took a deep breath before continuing, as he started to climb the rough terrain: "All the town's people were afraid to come and climb this terrain, because they thought that wolves lived behind it, and it was said that ghosts haunted it by night. But I didn't care. I climbed it once, and I discovered the most beautiful place. So it became my sanctuary." He paused, lost in his thoughts, then said. "I wonder if it's still the same, from the time I left it." He chuckled softly as he added nonchalantly, "I've never shown anyone this place before."
Christine felt tears in her eyes at the thought that he would take her to his secret place, a place that he hadn't shown anyone. It touched her heart in a way that she couldn't explain. She loved him so much, she ached with it.
"Are you crying?" Erik asked incredulously, stopping his climb for a moment, as he tried to peer at her over his shoulder
"No," Christine was quick to say, quickly blinking away her tears.
Erik didn't seem convinced, but he didn't push the subject.
"I love you, Erik," Christine whispered, causing him to chuckle as he continued the climb.
"I know, Angel."
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"Maman, please don't be angry! Nothing happened! It wasn't Ned's fault!" Meg started, panic stricken, the memory of her mother pointing a gun at Ned rushing to her mind.
"Shhh," Ned said tenderly as he held Meg in his arms, calming her. "Your mother isn't angry. She's very concerned for you." Meg buried her face in Ned's shoulder and whispered, "Please don't leave me."
"I won't," Ned whispered back. He then looked up at Madame's grief stricken face. A tentative truce had settled between them, after Meg had passed out. She had seen Ned's reaction and that had convinced Madame that he truly cared about Meg. And seeing him now with her daughter convinced her that he loved her.
"Madame, I thought I would wait for a better moment - "as Meg whimpered in his arms - "but there is not a better moment than now." He continued without hesitation. "I love your daughter. I don't know what she sees in me, but I love her even though she deserves much better than me. I want to make her happy. I want to protect her. I want to be there for her, forever."
Meg pushed away from his arms, looking at him with surprise, she whispered shakily, "What are you doing?"
Ned ignored Meg's question as he continued, looking at Madame. "I would like to ask for your daughter's hand in marriage."