Chapter 53.

Christine went to check on Gustave and the other children, while Erik decided to sit by George's side. Fortunately they had all been playing on the opposite side of the Chateau when all the action had taken place. They heard nothing but the gunshot, which was explained as an accident. Eventually young Eugene was going to have to be told of his father's death, but that task was deferred for now until a proper narrative could be given that the boy could understand. He was now the heir to the Duc. An hour passed, yet Erik still refused to budge until George woke up. Despite Christine's words to the contrary, he still felt more than a little guilty about George lying there fighting for his life when he could have been at home safe with his own family. If Lalie had not pushed the gun out of the way, Tristan would have shot him instead, and a far less worthy soul than George's would have been dispatched to hell. It did not seem fair that he, a man who had committed unforgivable acts of violence, should have the chance to live a happy life with a beautiful bride and loving son, when George might never see his family again.

"You do not deserve this. If I could, I would change places with you in a minute my friend." Erik told George out loud, in English.

Just then George's eyes opened and he told Erik, weakly but in surprising good humor "I am not asking you to do so buddy, but thanks for offering."

Erik looked at him in amusement "How long have you been awake? All this time have you just been lying there, listening to me both babble and pour out all of my emotions? If I had known I would have been far more discrete. I do not want you thinking that I am overly fond of you."

George replied "Pretty much so, but it was nice to know that you really do care. To think that you would gladly die for me is quite a gesture, but an unnecessary sacrifice."

"But I am not afraid to die, not now, or before. On the contrary, until recently, I would have welcomed such a prospect." Erik told him.

"No, unlike you, I have experienced years of happiness my friend. I have been living on borrowed time ever since you rescued me last summer." George added. "I would like you to know joy for more than a few hours or days. You have been through a lot my friend and deserve to be happy for once."

"But if you had not risked your neck for me none of this would have happened. It is my fault that you are laid up there." Erik told him.

George shook his head in denial "This is not your fault Erik. I chose to come here with you. I knew the danger, yet I made the choice to stand beside you and face your enemies. You would have done the same if I were in your position, but you would not be stupid enough to get yourself shot."

Erik smiled "I have been shot more than once George. I have been beaten half to death and tortured even more often. My so-called genius has never saved me in the past."

George warned, "Well be careful, you may not have me to watch your back forever, or even Nadir. If you haven't already, you should try to make up with your brother. As far as I can see, Henri is a good man who just made a mistake. I can tell that he cares about you."

Erik shrugged "Lalie and Christine have urged me to do so as well. I promised Lalie that I would, but I am not sure that I will ever feel the same way about him as I did before. He revealed a lot of latent hostility towards me."

"But he is your brother Erik. You and he share the same blood. I know that you were not raised with any kinfolks to care about you, but you have them now. Family should stick by one another, through thick and thin, and forgive one another even when one has been as pigheaded, as Henri was. You and he are a lot alike; you both shoot straight from the hip and don't ponder the consequences. " George averred.

Erik listened and wondered why the whole world was asking him to forgive Henri, when he has not yet truly apologized. He had given Erik a hangdog look, and mumbled some words of regret, but it did not mean that he could trust him the next time around. Still he did not want to deny George and therefore he told him, "I will think about what you have said, I truly will. Just so you know, from now on, you and I share the same blood as well, making us brothers of a sort. The doctor performed a blood transfusion on you and gave you some of my blood to stabilize you. He said that it was the only hope to save you."

"I am grateful to you for that Erik. If I have some of your blood now, I sure hope that I don't pick up that ornery temper of yours. But I don't want you try to change the subject on me, when I am giving you my advice about family. I never told you that I had another brother and he that fought for the Yankees in the War Between the States. He could not bring himself to fight for the South when he did not truly believe in slavery. He said that it was a stain upon the soul of America to abide such an abhorrent practice as one human owing another. He and I were once close, until the day that we both enlisted in regiments on opposite sides. His regiment fought mine continuously from First Manassas, in late July of '61; clear up until Gettysburg, two years later, in July of '63. That darn fool got himself killed at Gettysburg defending the Union flank from Pickett's charge. I was serving under Longstreet and was wounded in the same charge trying to overrun the blue bellies at the top of the hill. For all I know, my own bullet might have been the one that sent poor Timothy to Kingdom Come. At the time that he declared himself for the Union side in '61, we all denounced him as a traitor to the Southern Cause. But in the clarity of almost thirty years of reflection, I have come to realize that he was no more a traitor than I was. He believed in the Union cause, and was ready to die for it, just as I risked my life for the Confederacy. I now regret that the last words that I ever spoke to him were very hateful and venomous. If I could go back to that time and take back all of my vile words that I spoke to Tim in anger, I would do it in a heartbeat. I reckon that you have not had much experience with having family, particularly a brother, but such ties are precious and once lost are irreplaceable. So my friend, even if it is the last lesson that I will ever teach you, go make peace with your brother. You will not regret it. If you truly honor my wishes then you will do so immediately. Is that understood?"

Erik looked at George and smiled "Is that order coming from you as a rebel officer, or as my friend?"

"Both, you ugly French mule, and you better not unleash that lasso on me for calling you that." He gave Erik a challenging leer.

Erik smiled "You have called me worse, my friend. You may look even worse than me right now, and that is a real feat. But seriously, you look exhausted, and I want you to heal."

George shot him a more serious glance and pleaded "If I don't heal will you take care of my family for me? I have left them with a decent inheritance, but it would be tough going without a man to lean on and support them. My brother lives a little too far to check on them everyday. Tell Vic that I expect her to remarry and to give her new husband the same love just as she gave me. I want her to be happy."

"I shall do nothing of the kind George because you will be coming back with me to America just as soon as you are well enough to go home." Erik insisted, placing his gloved hand on top of George's.

George met his gaze "I am weak and lost a lot of blood. The bullet went deep and did a lot of damage. I know a lot about wounds and mine is in a bad place. The doctor did his best to remove the bullet and sew me back up, but I still may turn septic and die. So please promise me that you will look after them."

Erik squeezed his hand assuredly, "Of course, my friend. I will look after them as if they were my own. I vow to you that no matter what the future might hold that I will make sure that they are well taken care of. I will give them whatever they need to be successful. They will never be in want of anything, except you, if you do not fight for your life."

George replied, "I will fight for my life Erik, but I will make no promises. In the meantime go make peace with your brother and spend some time with your new family. I hope that you will still marry Christine here in Brittany. It would be good for you to tie her to you, lest someone else, like that varmint that you killed, might try to rustle her away from you again."

Erik laughed softly "Let them try to take her from me, and they will learn the full extent of my ire. I am not a man who you want to make an enemy of."

"I think that the late Marquis might agree with you at this point. He was a fool to tangle with you. Has anything yet been heard about the Comte de Chagny?" he asked curiously.

"The gendarmes were hot on his trail. He will either escape to the far side of the world or he will be captured. If they have found him, I would expect to hear from them any time now." Erik told him hopefully.

"Well it appears that your ordeal might finally be over." George mused.

"Not quite, not until you survive and I bring you back home." Erik insisted.

George observed, "You at least will get half of your wish if not all of it. You will bring me back to Colorado? Right?"

"Of course. I would do anything for you." Erik replied.

"Thank you Erik. I knew that I could count on you." George told him. "For a man who claims to know little about friendship y'all make one heck of a good friend." George suddenly looked even more tired. Erik wanted to let him rest.

"Thank you, mon ami. You make a great friend as well. Please do not leave us." Erik pleaded. He then took his leave.

Erik left George's side feeling worried. His friend wanted to prepare him for his death and he wondered if he had somehow sensed that his end was near. He knew that sometimes people could sense their own death. He prayed that it was just George's way of tying up any loose ends. But at the same time it was so morbid to discuss a man's own impending demise with them. Erik had never really been close enough to anyone to worry about the consequences of their death. One person's demise was the same as the rest when they all looked at him the same way, as a subhuman monster. George was different; he had always treated Erik as an equal. Others, who he had cared for, had always been physically distant when death had occurred, almost as if fate had wanted to spare him the anguish of watching them die. When Erik had believed Christine to be dead, he was too far away from her to feel the despair of watching her battle for her life. Christine's life was already over, or so he thought. It was the same with Antoinette, he cared about his old friend a great deal, but she too was far away, and her death felt abstract. This man was fighting for his life, and there was nothing more that Erik could do for him, other than patiently wait for him to improve. He decided not to dispatch any telegraphs to Colorado at this time. Why make them worry, as he was, when George's fate was still up in the air?

He felt exhausted, once again. Even so, he went down to the drawing room to seek out the company of the others. Christine, Meg and Eulalie were in the corner speaking to one another. Lalie had changed into a black gown indicating that she was now in mourning for both the death of her brother and her mother in law. Henri was there as well but reading a newspaper on the opposite side of the room. He had donned a black armband. Lalie's parents had been there and gone, apparently they had accepted the word of Tris' death stoically. It had been hard for Lalie and Henri to present Tris' death to his parents in any way that would make what had happened palatable for them. They were both shocked at what they had heard about Tris' actions, especially at the news that Tris had been the one who had killed Maela.

Henri gave Erik a wary look as he entered the drawing room. Erik observed as Henri hung his head low between his shoulders. He looked as if he had aged ten years in the last few hours. Erik did not know how to address a man who only hours earlier, he had much to say to. He did not know where to begin. Before addressing the unpleasant task of piecing the shattered relationship between him and Henri back together, he walked over to Christine and gave her a gentle peck on her forehead. He loved the thought that he could claim her, like a husband would a wife. It was a small token of domesticity that appealed to him on the most basic level of animal instinct. Until now, he could never walk into a room and lay claim to a woman of his own. In the past he was just a lonely man in the shadows, condemned to being unclaimed by anyone.

Even in Colorado, he was ever the single man, who had been invited over to even out an odd number, or as a potential suitor for a widow or old maid. It felt amazing to be greeted warmly by his own fiancé. He could not wait until he could present his ring to her and place it on her finger. Erik had spent a lifetime waiting for the moment when he could experience the joy of being both wanted as a man, and loved like everyone else. He had decided to bring her out to the dolmans, which were at the highest point of the estate. From that point there was supposed to be an excellent view. Earlier, before all that happened Erik had planned to give her his ring, that very day. But he felt that such a frivolous activity would fly in the face of all of the events of the day. He wanted to do it on a different day, where no terrible events would be in the background to compete with the joyous spirit of the day.

Christine looked at Erik, in concern. She could see his exhaustion "Is everything alright? Did you get to see George and speak to him?"

Erik replied evenly "Indeed I did. He was weak but very coherent. He even offered me his sage advice. But he also insisted on preparing me for the possibility that he could die. I do not want to think that he might die."

"It doesn't mean that he will Erik, but I could see why he would need to prepare you for it." She told him gently.

"I am not used to caring in this way. I have never had a friend perched at the juncture between life and death, when so much could still go wrong. It is somewhat disconcerting for me." He admitted to her.

Christine took his hand and caressed it "Poor, Erik. You have always wanted to be part of humanity, instead of apart from us. Part of having a friend, or family member, is to accept that there will be times when you have to worry. You will get used to those feelings. They are a part of love and caring and of feeling human, just like everyone else."

He looked at the other two women who were also smiling at him. Lalie cut in and told him "You will get used to it. Worry is a part of living. Be glad that you now have people to worry about, but conversely, we must worry about you. It is a blessing for you Erik."

Erik smiled "You have a point. I have not had much experience with interacting with others, other than Nadir and Darius, and more recently Gustave. By the way, where are Nadir and Darius?"

"They rode into town. Apparently the gendarmes called. They apprehended Philippe. They wanted someone to go into town to identify him. Since we were all preoccupied with other matters, they volunteered to go." Lalie told him.

"I am pleased that the gendarmes have captured him. It is good to know that this ordeal is truly behind all of us." Erik replied with a smile. He looked over at Christine. "You must be especially relieved, ange. Raoul's death will be avenged after all."

Christine replied warily "I am past feeling much emotion about it Erik. At the moment, I am too tired to care. I am sad that the de Chagny's will have to bear the loss of yet another son. Despite their treatment of us, Raoul still cared about his family, and to know that the direct male line will end, would have distressed him."

"Gustave will carry their name with pride Christine. Regardless of the outcome today, there was never going to be a direct de Chagny heir. Raoul was incapable of siring a son, and Philippe would not perform his duty to his family. He had the obligation to assure them of an heir, yet refused to take a wife." Erik reminded her. "It is he who is responsible for the end of his family's direct blood line, not you, mon ange."

"You are right, darling. I just have to learn to see it that way. I am glad that Philippe will not bother us any longer. Although I told you that I have a good feeling about our future, I still cannot help but worry that there might be someone else out there. Someone even worse than Tristan or Philippe." She told him.

"The matter is finished Christine, even if it weren't, I already told you that I will always protect both you and Gustave. As long as I have breath in my body, no one will harm either of you." Erik reminded her fervently.

"But who will protect you Erik? Raoul tried to protect us, as you assure me that you will, and failed." She told him.

Erik looked at her in amusement and told her "No offense, but I am not a simpering fop. The boy did the best that he could, given his weak capabilities. Despite recent events, few men would dare trifle with me. Even Philippe only involved me in his game because he was afraid of what I would do to him. He thought me to be already involved and he was right. From the moment that I was informed of your death, I was ready to avenge you. I was only settling Gustave in before I dared to seek vengeance."

"Even Raoul knew that you would come for me, and avenge me if need be. It is why he sent me to your lair to hide. He was right; you did, in a sense, protect me." Christine admitted.

"So you see, all of this is now over. With Philippe in jail, your ordeal has truly ended, you are safe." Erik told her. He looked over to Lalie, What happened with your parents? Did they accept your version of the events? What did you tell them?"

"They were not as surprised as one would expect them to have been. They had noticed a change in Tris. He had become more secretive towards them recently. But they were shocked that he had killed Maela and then threatened all of us. They did not think that he had been that far gone. They had attributed his behavior to his grief at the loss of Therese, and nothing else." Lalie told him.

"Were they angry at Henri?" Erik asked quietly.

"No, in the end they understood that he had no choice. They were surprised that he knew how to break his neck, but he told them that it was a reflex motion. He claimed to be standing behind Tris when I pushed his gun aside, and that he instinctively grabbed him by the neck and accidentally broke it." She told him. "They seemed to accept it."

"I hope that this sacrifice, which you both insisted that you had to make, on my behalf, does not come back to haunt us. You saw what happened when Henri did not tell you about Tris." Erik told her.

"It is for the best Erik. Your reputation whether deserved or not might still have swayed them to dislike you. They were there that night too, and yet until now were willing to overlook it. I don't know that they could have done so again. Not without having been there, as I was. They might have wondered whether you could have found a way of neutralizing Tris without killing him. I was there and I saw everything. I know that what you did, most likely had to be done, to keep all of us safe." She told him.

"Are you sure that you really understand?" Erik asked.

"Yes, Erik I am sure. I saw a very wicked gleam in his eye right before he got ready to shoot you. It was how I knew what he was going to do. He was determined to see all of you dead. Perhaps not me, but definitely the rest of you. You warned him that if he moved that you would have to kill him, and he did not listen, so you did what had to be done."

"Did you tell them the truth about Therese? Or did you do, as you told me that you would do, and protect them from the knowledge?" Erik asked.

"No that would have devastated them even more. It is hard enough for them to stomach that he killed Maela, and that he would have done the same to you. To tell them that their son killed the mother of their grandson would be too much for them to handle at this time." She admitted.

"Then we shall keep his secret still longer. For once I do agree with keeping that information from them. It is too late to help Tristan, and would cause too much unnecessary grief. Hopefully the boy will never know either. It might devastate him to know that his father killed his mother. That is a grief that no child should ever have to bear." Erik averred.

"Thank you Erik." She replied, softly. "I almost wish that I had never found out. Tris and I were once very close, and he was not always so bitter and angry at the world. He was, at one time, a bit like you were with Christine back then in Paris. He was so madly in love with Therese that she became his entire world. From the moment that he met her, he was determined to have her. She was not very bright, and extremely high-spirited. I tried to warn him that she might not be a good wife for him, but he ignored me and married her anyhow. They were happy for a few years, but then she grew bored with Tristan and started to stray. Henri found out and kept the information from Tris. He did not see how he could stop her, and did not want to hurt Tris. I guess that Tris did not see it that way; he saw it as a betrayal. Poor Henri, he always means to do what he feels is both right, and just, but sometimes his good intentions lead to trouble."

She looked over at Henri, who was still standing off to the side on the other end of the room, and staring out a window, dejectedly. She then turned back to look at Erik and whispered, so Henri could not hear, "Speaking of which, won't you go over to him, and engage him? Henri does feels terrible for what he said to you. He is afraid that you will never forgive him. But you already have done so haven't you? You promised me that you would, and Christine told me that you never go back on a promise."

"Did she tell you that?" he looked at Christine "You little minx, you would gang up on me as well." He told her. He glanced at Meg and raised a questioning brow "You too Baronesse?"

Meg smiled "Maman always said that she never knew anyone with a greater capacity to love and to forgive than you. She reminded me how readily you forgave her for betraying you that night, and Christine as well. She told me that despite your outward ferocity that inside your heart was crafted from pure gold."

He looked at her in astonishment "She said that about me?" He asked. "Or are you lying to stand by your friend? Your Maman always chided me for being so pigheaded and angry all the time. She told me that if I would just mellow my temper that I would not have so many enemies around the opera house."

"That was what she told you to keep you in line. The truth was that she adored you, and would have done anything that you asked her to do. She believed that if the world had treated you better that there would have been no kinder and gentler man than you." Meg looked over towards Henri and back to Erik. "Prove my mother right Erik, forgive your brother."

Lalie looked at him, and whispered, "It is time for you to talk to Henri." She then said, in a louder voice, "Christine, Meg and I will leave. I am sure that we can find something else to do, like plan your wedding."

"Plan our wedding?" Erik replied surprised that Lalie, of all people, would suggest such a thing. "I thought that, under the circumstances, you would want it to be more subdued. I do not want to put you to too much trouble, not after all that just happened."

Lalie smirked, "Christine already told us about your 'Viking-Jewish' wedding. I think that it is a great idea, provided that you add some Breton elements to the ceremony. You are after all a child of Bretagne, and your nuptials should reflect your Celtic heritage."

Erik looked at Christine, and teased, "As long as I do not have to wear a skirt, like those darn Scotchmen. Like it or not, I will wear my customary black garb. I have a certain amount of dignity to maintain."

Christine giggled, "I think that you have amazing legs Erik. I think that you would look great in a kilt, or perhaps as a fierce Highlands laird, we could have a band playing some bag pipes."

Erik looked at her dryly "Only if I could talk you into honoring my time in the East by dressing as a belly dancer, or perhaps you could dress like Elissa or even Aminta."

Christine giggled again. This time Meg joined her, and observed, "That would be wicked. You could dress like Don Juan and carry Christine off again, this time for real. Could you imagine the scandal that it would inspire?"

"Since when has anything having to do with Christine and I not resulted in scandal Meg?" Erik asked drolly. He saw Lalie blanche "I am sorry if this teasing is making you uncomfortable, Lalie."

She gave him a meek smile. "No I am fine. At least this time there will be no chandelier for you to cut down and then make fall."

Erik smiled at her "I promise to be on my best behavior this time Lalie. I will save my theatrics for another time. I will need to preserve my energy to devote to Christine, to make her the happiest bride ever. Present company excluded." He added with a smile.

Meg smiled at the thought, and mused, "I do wish that Maman could have been here to enjoy your new found happiness."

"Me too. When we have our next child we will name them either Antoinette or Anthony to honor her memory, that way she will always have a role in our lives." Christine mused.

Erik put his arm around Christine's and faced Meg smiling warmly "Agreed. Christine will work on that right away, just as soon as I am allowed to claim her as mine."

Christine looked at him radiantly, and replied, "You have already staked your claim to me, Erik. You looked rather smug earlier when you casually came into the room, and smoothly glided over to me and claimed me with a husbandly kiss on the brow. I don't think that there was a person in this room that did not notice how firmly you claimed me."

Erik smiled, he had been caught red handed he purred, "Did you have a problem with my actions? Would you prefer that I did not behave in such a manner?"

She smiled invitingly "On the contrary, I thought it rather endearing that you would put forth such great effort in such a small matter as coming to me."

He then whispered softly into her ear "Staking my claim on you will never be a small matter for me, my love." To prove the point he gave her another more passionate kiss on the lips. He could see her passion for him ignite and smolder in her blue eyes. He smiled triumphantly, knowing that he had pleased her once again. He reluctantly released his hold on her and ordered, "Now run along, and plan the rest of our lives. I will make things right with Henri, and then rejoin you. I promise." As she walked away she looked at him with such love and devotion in her eyes that Erik thought that his heart would burst from filling up with so much happiness. He had never felt so elated in his life.