Chapter 36
Erik's POV
Pounding on my bedroom door awoke me. Damned Daroga... I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it out of my face, and reached for my mask on the stand next to the bed. As I secured it to my face, another bout of knocking came. Glaring at the closed door, I willed for the blasted Persian to leave me be, but the knocking persisted. I rose from the bed, knowing that I would not get any peace until Nadir had been taken care of. My robe hung next to the door and I put it on before opening the door. Nadir stood there, a look of urgency on his face. "Erik, thank Allah. You're... awake? It is the middle of the afternoon."
"I am aware." Having spent much of the night awake, I fell asleep around sunrise. Something I was used to doing from my years spent underground beneath the opera house. How Nadir could not recall my sleeping habits, I'd never know. He would always show up when I was sleeping, though I suppose he never knew. The alarms hidden throughout the catacombs alerted me of his presence before he even reached the front door. "Is there something you needed that required waking me?"
"Flora has been taken. She's been kidnapped." I blinked once. Twice. Nadir's news echoed in my head. Flora has been taken... She's been kidnapped... Flora, my love, the reason I have continued to live has been swept out of my reach once again. Anger bubbled up inside me. It curled its hot hand around my heart, squeezing it so tight that I felt like it'd explode. My hands itched to strangle, to maim whoever it was that had stolen her away from me and from where she was safe. "Erik, you must get dressed. Quit standing there and go ge-"
Slamming a fist against the wall next to the door, I shouted at the Daroga. "Do not tell me what to do, Nadir! Who took her?!" I raged. Nadir backed away from the door. He knew what my temper had done to men before. Though, that was a long time ago. I wouldn't have hesitated to beat what I needed out of Nadir back then, if it was the only means. He would tell me now because he knew how much Flora meant to me. But not when I was this angered and directing it towards him. I paced away from the door, back into my darkened room, all the while taking deep breaths to calm myself. Losing my mind would not help Flora.
"It was her mother, Erik." I turned around, surprised to hear the answer from Estelle. She stood there in the doorway, a sympathetic expression on her face. My shouting must have drawn her upstairs to make sure things were fine. Louis had told me of her closeness with Flora through our correspondences over the last year. The young cook stepped into my room and approached me. Taking one of my hands, she looked up into my eyes. "We will find her."
"Alright." I nodded in agreement, believing her words. Estelle let go of my hand and headed for the door. I realized that Louis had to be here if she was here, but he had not come up with her. "Where is Louis? I'd have expected him to tell me himself."
Estelle stopped, her shoulders dropping. She turned back around and I saw pained look in her eyes. Drawing a shaky breath, she answered. "Louis is dead. Flora's mother shot him." With that, she fled the room and I looked to Nadir. He shook his head, muttering under his breath before looking at me.
"Get dressed, Erik. We will be waiting for you downstairs." Nadir then took his leave and I was left to get dressed. How could this have happened? I had completely forgotten about Flora's mother. The woman had offered Flora freedom, had bribed Saville to let her daughter go. She was as much of a snake as he had been and now had Flora in her grasp. Hopefully, it wasn't too late to save her from whatever fate her mother had planned. I got dressed in a hurry and immediately went down stairs to join Nadir and Estelle.
I found them in the sitting room, along with Darius and another man I did not recognize. He was the first to notice me come into the room and frowned. At first, I thought he might be looking at the mask, as many had done before, but realized his eyes were on me. I had never met him, but he seemed to know who I was and I wanted to know how. Nadir was next to notice me and motioned for me to come sit next to him. I walked over and begrudgingly sat next to the Persian. "Good. We're all here." Motioning to the young man across from us, Nadir introduced us. "Erik, this is Dr. Jacques Bonhomme. Flora is friends with his younger sister."
"It is good to meet you, Erik." the doctor said, but I could tell he was nothing but displeased to meet me. His posture was stiff and there was disinterest in his voice. Not to mention, he had no connection with Flora besides her being friends with his younger sister. Why was he even here? "I hope we will be able to find Flora." he said next, but his shoulders sank iced how he avoided looking me in the eyes. The tone of his voice gave away why he was here. He was guilty. Why he was guilty, I didn't know, but I was going to find out.
I reached across the space between us, grabbing the collar of Jacques' shirt and pulled him up with me as I stood. Estelle gasped at the sudden act and I heard Nadir snap at me, but I had my mind set on figuring this man out. "Since nobody here has cared to explain why you're here, I will ask myself." I yanked the man towards me, glowering at him. Jacques grasped at my arms, attempting to make me relinquish the grip I had on his lapels. His eyes were wide with fear. "What part did you play in Flora's kidnapping?"
"Erik, for crying out loud, he is here to help!" Nadir exclaimed. "Let him go!" The doctor struggled to free himself and I watched him, ignoring Nadir's pleas to release him.
"Tell me." I seethed. "Tell me!"
All of a sudden, the guilty man stopped fighting to break free. He sighed in defeat and looked up at me. "Flora's mother was my sister's etiquette instructor. She wished to meet the young lady my sister praised so much during her lessons and I offered to introduce them. Had I known who she was and what she was planning, I would never have done so." I let go of him and he stalked away from me. "Now Flora is in the hands of a woman who killed a man. And it is all my fault. If I would have prolonged the introduction, she would have been safe here with you by now."
"She was coming here?" I looked to Estelle, shocked by Jacques' words. She nodded and I returned my gaze to the doctor. "Why?"
"Why?" Jacques scoffed as if he were surprised that I did not know the answer. Turning around, he met my gaze with his own. "Because she loves you. Even though you abandoned her, she loves you. It will not matter if something happens to her. We have to find her, Erik." I sighed, wishing his words weren't true so I could be mad at him but I knew they were. If she loves me still, if there is still a chance for me to fix things, we needed to rescue her first.
"You are right." I admitted, sitting back down on the chaise. "Where are we even going to start? I know Flora lived in Paris, but who knows where her mother is taking her."
"Her mother was staying with a friend near my home." Jacques said. "Perhaps we could see if she knows where Flora's mother lives and hope they are there."
"Well, we have a direction now." Nadir said. "What are we waiting for? Let's go save her!"
…
Flora's POV
I gave up on trying to escape the carriage. My fists were scrapped and bleeding from beating on the door. The only way I could speak was in a whisper because it hurt to speak louder than that thanks to my screaming. Instead of sitting on the cushioned seats, I curled up on the floor and wished for this to be a dream. I prayed that the sudden jolt of the carriage would wake me up. That my eyes would shoot open and I'd be back in my room at the manor. Things wouldn't play out that way and I knew it, although it wouldn't keep me from wishing they would.
By the time the carriage stopped, it was dark out. I was aching all over. Laying on the floor hadn't been my greatest idea, but I couldn't care any less. There was no point in giving into my mother. She wanted me back, the daughter that did not conform to her wishes. So that is what she would be getting. No matter what she'd ask of me, no matter how much she'll beg for me to listen, I won't. I will fight her until the day she decides I'm waste of her time and get rid of me, one way or another.
The carriage door opened and the light of a lantern washed over me. "Flora, what are you doing on the floor?" She prodded me with one of her hands. "Ladies do not lie on the floor. Get up and come inside." Her voice was just as fake as I remembered. No matter how sweet and caring she tried to sound, I knew she did not care how I felt. "Flora, dear, get off that floor. Wouldn't you like to eat something? You'll have to come inside..."
"I'd rather die." I interrupted. She snarled and grabbed, yet again, a handful of my hair. Pulling me towards the open carriage door, I couldn't do anything but follow where I was dragged. She slammed the carriage door behind me and I recognized the back door to our home in Paris. She hung the lantern on a hook next to the door so she could open it. Once open, she shoved me inside and grabbed the lantern, then shut the door behind her.
The lantern lit up the kitchen, but it was still quite dark. My mother stood over me, her mourning veil pulled away from her face. The light from the lantern allowed me to see the exasperated expression on her face. She had to be exhausted from the long drive back and then fighting to get me inside. "Welcome home, sweetheart. Don't get used to it though." she said, leaning against the door.
"Why?"
She laughed and shook her head. "Oh, my dear Flora. You are to be wed to Laurent Marquis tomorrow afternoon."
"No! You can't make me!" I shouted, leaping to my feet. I ran to the doors that lead out of the kitchen, only to find them locked. Spinning around to face my mother, I glared at her calm and collected face. "I will not marry him. I do not love him and he is a spoiled, pompous, moron. He even cried when I broke his stuck-up nose."
"You will do as you're told." she ordered, walking towards me. "Anything to spare your mother the debt your father's death left her in. I'd have you wear the dress I married him in, but I had to sell it to keep the house, along with all my precious possessions." Catching one of my wrists in her hands, she pulled me toward the unlit stove. In the dim light, I could see a coil of rope on the floor and she forced me to kneel next to it. There would be no escape. Not this time, and it would not benefit me to attempt one. Taking the rope, she tied it around my hands and then tied it around the leg of the heavy iron stove. "You will see in time that this was good, Flora. And maybe one day you will thank me for it."
With that said, she took the lantern from the counter and unlocked the door to the rest of the house. She shut the door behind her and locked it, leaving me alone in the dark. I leaned against the stove and wished there were some way out. There was no way I would be rescued before tomorrow afternoon. It was impossible. I felt like crying and I would have if I had anymore tears left in me.