Disclaimer - I, do not own the rights to the "Sparkling Diamond[s]" of a
movie, "Moulin Rouge" (If I did I would be a genius going by the name of
Baz Luhrmann). I am simply one of the "Children of the Revolution"
(Although one of "Elephant [Melody]" proportions) that writes fanfiction
"Because We Can". "Come What May", but please do not sue me or I will be a
"Sad Hindi Diamond". May this be "Your Song" and may you say "Some Day I'll
Fly Away"! (I do not own the songs used in this story or in the titles of
the chapters either.)
*A Bohemian Storm Is Brewing*
Truth * Beauty * Freedom * Love
~Casidy
§=Þ
*~*
"Quoi Qu'il Arrive"
~ Part VII: Snowflakes of Love ~
By: Mariclaire
Satine grabbed her robe and pulled it on. She looked at her image in the mirror one last time before smiling and turning towards her bedroom door. She was planning to surprise Christian and sneak into his room. Satine opened the door just barely enough to peek out. When she saw that everyone's lights were out, she opened the door all the way, tip-toed out and closed the door behind her without a sound. She crept down the hall until she reached Christian's door. Placed her hand gently on the knob she slowly opened it then walked in and closed the door behind her.
There, on the bed, was Christian. Satine smiled as she walked over to his bed and shimmied her robe off and let it fall to the floor. But then something caught her eye. He was sleeping very fitfully. He had a distressed look on his face and kept tossing and turning. She sat down on the opposite side of the bed and began to stroke his arm. "Darling," Satine whispered, "wake up."
Christian was pulled from his light sleep and looked at Satine with concerned eyes. "What, is something wrong?"
Satine replied, "no, everything's fine. I came in here to surprise you," she paused and looked down at her revealing nightgown. "But then when I saw you tossing around like that, I got worried."
Christian sat up. "I'm sorry, you look beautiful," he said as he put a smile on his face. He leaned over and swept Satine's hair off her shoulder and slid the strap of her nightgown off and began to plant kisses down her neck.
The sensation sent chills up her spine but she had to find out what was wrong. She gently pulled away and said, "really Christian, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," He replied quickly and continued to kiss her.
Satine pulled away, hurt that he wasn't telling her the truth. "Don't lie to me Christian. I can tell, you have that look on your face. Something's the matter and the least you can do is acknowledge that there's a problem."
Christian looked into her deep, blue eyes. She was his fiancée, she deserved to know the truth. "You're right, something is wrong." He let the fake smile he put on his face drain away.
Satine was relieved that he was opening up to her. She leaned against the backboard of the bed and pulled him so his back faced her chest. She smoothed his hair back and kissed his cheek. "Tell me what's wrong."
Christian took a deep breath and began, "it's my friend, Madeline. I'm so worried about her. She is in love with my friend, Alex, and if my brother finds out-" He cringed at the thought.
Satine didn't understand the severity of Phillip's temper. "Oh, Darling, I'm sure she'll be fine."
"No, she won't. When my brother's mad, he's infuriated; and she's around that all the time." He let out an exasperated sigh.
Satine took his hand in hers as their fingers began to slowly intertwine. "Christian, are you sure it's that bad? He would never hurt her or anything…" she trailed off as Christian's eyes met hers. "Sacre-Dieu, Christian. What did he do?"
Christian was silent for a few moments before he could get anything out. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Emily said he broke her arm."
Satine gasped in horror. How could a man do that to his own wife? "Christian, I had no idea."
"You couldn't have, it's just that…" he trailed off, his voice cracking.
Satine turned Christian towards her and saw the tears forming in his eyes. He suddenly became embarrassed and quickly looked away. She laid both of them down and held onto him tightly. "Shh, it's ok." She murmured into his ear for a moment as she began to sing.
You can sleep in my arms,
you don't have to explain.
When your heart's crying out,
baby, whisper my name.
'Cause I've reached out for you,
when the thunder is crashing up above.
You've given me your love.
When you smile like the sun that shines through the pain,
That's while I'll be there.
When the storm rises up,
when the shadows descend,
Every beat of my heart,
everyday without end.
I will stand like a rock,
I will bend till I break.
Till there's no more to give,
if that's what it takes.
I will risk everything,
I will fight, I will bleed.
I will lay down my life,
if that's what you need.
Every second I live,
that's the promise I make.
Baby, that's what I'll give,
if that's what it takes.
Christian turned to face her. "Thank you. You always know how to make me feel better." Satine smiled and kissed his forehead and lead a trail down the bridge of his nose until their lips finally met. "I love you, so much," Christian said breathlessly between kisses.
She once again took his hand in hers and kissed his fingertips. "I love you, too."
*~*
Satine awoke at dawn the next morning. She had fallen asleep beside Christian and she knew she had to get back to her own room. She reluctantly pulled away from Christian's arms, kissed his cheek and got out of the bed. Then she picked up the robe from the floor and put it on. She blew her sleeping Christian a kiss and crept out of his room.
It hadn't occurred to Satine that anyone might be up so early, so when she saw Emily looking out the window, she was taken by surprise.
"Emily!" Satine said whispered. "What are you doing up?"
"I was about to ask you the same question," Emily replied from the small chair she was sitting in.
"Oh, I, umm." Satine stuttered. She couldn't just say, "oh yes, I was sleeping with your brother." Her mind was racing to think of an excuse.
Emily laughed, "Satine, I invented the common excuse. You were with my brother. You're his fiancée, don't worry about it."
Satine felt relieved that Emily was so mature. But then she became nervous again. "Emily, you aren't going to tell your father, are you?"
Emily burst out laughing, "heavens, no. Why would I tell him?" she replied.
Satine sat beside her and patted her arm. "Thank you."
"For what? I never talk to my father anyway." Emily looked out the window again, in that same thoughtful way as before.
Satine smiled sympathetically and decided to change the subject. "What are you watching? At-" she paused and looked at the clock, "six in the morning?"
"I'm waiting for the sunrise. I like to sit here where I can be by myself and just think. There's nobody to tell me what to do and it's a time that's just for me."
"Do you want me to go?" Satine asked, getting up from her chair.
"No, I'd actually really like it if you stayed," Emily said as she looked up at Satine. Satine made herself more comfortable in the chair and looked out into the sky where the last few stars were disappearing. "Satine, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything."
"Do you really love my brother?"
Satine smiled as she thought of Christian, "Emily, the way I feel when I'm with your brother is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I love him more than life itself." She paused. "Why do you ask?"
Emily sighed before answering. "Because Christian is the only person I feel connected to. But lately, all his attention has been on you. I feel like when you get married, he'll forget about me."
"Emily, you're a very important part of his life. And quickly becoming a part of my life, too." Satine gave Emily's hand a squeeze. "You'll always be important to both of us." Satine saw Emily's face, she still wasn't convinced. "Well, how about if tomorrow me and you go out into London. We can go Christmas shopping, get something to eat, meet with your friends; whatever you want. I want to get to know you better." Emily smiled but it quickly faded.
"But what about my father? He won't like us going out by ourselves.
"Emily, with the two of us sweet talking him, he doesn't stand a chance. I have the 'inventor of the common excuse' with me."
Emily smiled and leaned over and hugged Satine. "I'm really glad Christian found you."
"Me too."
They just sat there for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, until Emily pointed and exclaimed, "look, the sun, it's rising!"
"It's beautiful," Satine whispered as she looked at the oranges and pinks of the sky. The hope and promise of a new day.
"We should do this more often," said Emily.
Satine looked down at her soon to be sister-in-law. "Anytime," she replied. "Anytime."
*~*
Satine fidgeted and messed with the hem of her sleeve. It was her first time in a church and she was finding it unbearably boring. If they're talking about God and how mighty and wonderful he is, then why does the minister keep droning? She slumped back in the pew and let out a sigh that caught Emily's attention.
"Are you finding it hard to stay awake, too?" she said out of the corner of her mouth. Satine stifled a giggle and nodded.
Christian looked across the pew, towards Satine and Emily and saw them giggling and leaned in and whispered, "what's going on? I want to be let in on the fun, too."
Satine poked him in the ribs and the two girls started laughing but stopped when Christian's father sent them an evil look. Christian cleared his throat to stifle his laughter.
By this time, several overstuffed, snobby people had shot them the evil eye, just as Christian's father had. The three of them were saved as the organ's music filled the church and everyone stood up to sing the final hymn.
Emily and Satine's soaring soprano and Christian's smooth tenor voices mixed together to blend the most perfect sound. Their voices rose above all the other off key, rigid church goers. The only part of church that Satine could feel a part of was when she could sing.
Rejoice evermore With angels above,
In Jesus' power, In Jesus' love:
With glad exultation Your triumph proclaim,
Ascribing salvation To God and the Lamb.
Thou, Lord, our relief In trouble hast been;
Hast saved us from grief, Hast saved us from sin;
The power of thy Spirit Hath set our hearts free,
And now we inherit All fullness in thee;
All fullness of peace, All fullness of joy,
And spiritual bliss That never shall cloy:
To us it is given In Jesus to know
A kingdom of heaven, A heaven below.
As the organ's final chord drifted away, everyone sat back down and listened to the minister recite the final prayer. It was as if a weight had been lifted from Satine's shoulders when the minister ended the prayer with a solemn "Amen" and everyone stood to leave.
Christian linked arms with Satine and reached for Emily's hand and led them out of the church with Christian's father following behind. When they came to the heavy double doors, it was so refreshing to feel the cold, December air hit their faces after being in the stuffy church for so long.
In the carriage, on their way back home, Christian announced to his father that he was going to take another day to introduce Satine to London.
"Why on earth do you need another day?" Snorted Christian's father.
Emily had a very grim look on her face as well. Satine and Christian gone meant another afternoon of being cooped up in her room working on her studies.
"Well, Satine and I have some Christmas shopping to do." Christian explained.
Emily's face lit up at the sound of gifts and was suddenly all for the idea of Satine and Christian's day out.
Christian's father sighed, "I guess it's all right, you two just better be home for dinner tonight. Mrs. Wilesly was terribly disappointed she missed you last night so I invited her for dinner this evening as well."
Christian and Emily let out exasperated breaths and received another series of vicious looks from their father.
Satine had become very curious to see what this infamous Mrs. Wilesly was like.
*~*
"Christian, you had better be home tonight for dinner," Emily whispered harshly in his ear. "If I have to spend another night alone with father and that horrid Mrs. Wilesly, I think I just might lose my mind."
"Well, we wouldn't want that," whispered Christian as he kissed his little sister goodbye.
"Well father, we'd better be going, we want to be home in time to see Mrs. Wilesly," Christian called.
Christian's father obviously didn't catch the sarcasm in his voice and said, "I expect you two home by 5:30."
Christian rolled his eyes and took Satine's hand as the two of them waved to Emily and were on their way. "Well, darling, where do you need to go?" asked Christian.
"I was hoping we could stop by the jeweler first." replied Satine pointing to the lumpy bag she was holding at her side..
"Sure, it's right up the street. By the way, what is in that bag you're carrying?"
"Oh, you'll see."
They walked around the busy streets of London. They were obviously not the only ones with the idea of getting some Christmas shopping done. Everywhere they looked there were men and women, some on foot and some in fancy, horse drawn carriages, bustling with their arms full of boxes and bags. The scene was made perfect as a light snow began to fall.
Satine twirled around and exclaimed, "Oh Christian, isn't this beautiful?"
Christian pulled her into his arms and replied, "just about as beautiful as you my little snow angel," he smiled as they brushed their cold noses together. He gave her a quick kiss as they came to the front door of the jeweler.
They were greeted by a warm room and a short lady with glasses as they brushed the snow off their coats.
"Good afternoon, I'm Mrs. Cantoff" the woman said. "And what is it that you are interested in today?"
Satine lifted up the lumpy bag that Christian had been so interested in earlier. "Well actually, I was wondering if you might be interested in buying some of the diamonds I inherited." Satine replied.
Mrs. Cantoff didn't look too convinced until Satine emptied the huge bag of diamonds. Rings, broaches, necklaces; they were all on the jeweler's counter in a large pile.
"Oh my." whispered Mrs. Cantoff as she reached for her glasses. She put them on and began to inspect the mound of precious jewelry Satine had placed in front of her.
As she was busily looking through the diamonds, Christian, who knew good and well the diamonds weren't inherited, leaned over to Satine and whispered, "are you sure you want to get rid of all of those? I mean, I thought there was a certain someone who used to serenade me on how 'diamonds are a girl's best friend.'"
Satine rolled her eyes and whispered back, "Christian, that was before I met you. And besides, those," she said pointing to the diamonds, "only remind me of what I had to do to obtain them," she looked down, almost ashamed of herself.
Christian pulled her closer and shuddered at the thought of those drunk men and their groping hands all over Satine. The thought made him feel sick. He quickly pushed it aside and changed the subject, "well, at least you'll get quite a few pounds for all that," he said as he pulled a strand of hair out of her eyes.
Satine nodded in agreement, still haunted by the memories of men throwing diamonds at her feet for one night of what they called 'love'.
Christian, in an attempt to shake them from their state, walked over to the watches. "Satine, look at this one," he said as he pointed to a beautiful, gold watch.
"Oh, that is very nice," Satine nodded.
"I really should get myself a new watch. My old one has been broken for years," he said as he looked at the watch wistfully. "But I have to get all my Christmas shopping done first."
Satine saw the disappointed look on his face and suddenly had the perfect idea for what to get him for Christmas. She would have to do it tomorrow with Emily, when Christian wasn't around, though.
Christian and Satine turned their attention to Mrs. Cantoff as she announced, "these are all very beautiful and in excellent condition. I'm willing to pay a fair amount for all of them."
Satine and Mrs. Cantoff bartered for a few minutes before both were fully satisfied. Satine took the money in pounds from the jeweler and put it in her purse. She now not only had money for Christmas presents this year, but probably enough for every Christmas for the rest of her life.
Once they were out of the store, Satine took Christian's hand and said, "I'm glad I was able to get rid of those. It was like letting go of a part of me that I never wanted in the first place."
Christian smiled and kissed her hand. "To tell you the truth, I'm pretty glad to see them go, too."
They continued walking in the light snow until Christian stopped in front of a small shop that had a particularly cozy feel to it. "Emmy loves this store, I was thinking we could find something for her in here," he said.
Satine followed Christian through the small door and they heard the tinkle of a small bell just above the door to announce their arrival. Satine immediately fell in love with the small shop. It was full of tiny knick- knacks, paintings and sheet music. A place perfectly fit for any bohemian.
"What do you think she would like?" asked Satine.
"Well, she's absolutely smitten with anything I tell her about Paris. I wonder if we could find her some sort of -" he stopped in mid-sentence. "Satine, look!" Christian disappeared around a corner, returning with a snow globe with a scene of Paris inside, There was even a tiny little red windmill, representing the Moulin Rouge.
"Christian, she would love it!" Satine exclaimed.
"Well, here, if you want, this can be from you. I think I'm going to see if they have any of Toulouse's paintings. Emily would be amazed to receive a painting and know that I was friends with the artist."
Satine nodded as she and Christian began to look through the many portraits and landscapes lining the walls. "Christian, here's one he painted of The Green Fairy," cried Satine. "Your father wouldn't get mad because it looks innocent enough. We could tell Em the real story behind it later," Satine said with an evil smile on her face.
Christian laughed as he agreed. He imagined his father finding out about his daughter having a painting of a fairy printed on the bottles of Absinthe in Paris in her room. "Well, I guess I'll get her the painting and you'll get her the snow globe." He trailed off, "who else?"
"Your brother," Satine responded.
"Ah yes, my brother. I could get him a cane. He could use it to stick up his-"
"Christian!" Satine gasped and scolded him teasingly. "Be nice," she said through giggles.
Christian sighed, "all right." He looked around for a moment. Then picked up a box. "Here, I'll get him some cigars." He waved the box in front of Satine.
"That's better," she said with a smile.
"I really should get something for my father. But I don't know what he would want."
"Maybe something on banking?" Satine suggested. Christian walked over to the wall of leather bound books neatly placed on wooden shelves. He looked over them for a few minutes before he picked one. "Here, a history of banking." Christian flipped through the pages and faked a yawn. "Unbelievably dull. Yes, he'll love it."
Satine rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess that just leaves Madeline and your friends from the bar."
"I don't know what to get Maddy!" sighed Christian. "That's a woman thing."
"Well, Emily and I are having a day out tomorrow and maybe we could find something for her, you know, considering we are women." Satine said.
"Whoa, you and Em are having a 'day out'? And what am I supposed to do during this 'day out?'"
"Oh I don't know, maybe spend some quality time with your brother and father."
"You two are on a quest to kill me. You're going to come home, and I'll be dead. Oh, I'm hurt," he looked at the floor and pretended to pout.
Satine made sure nobody was looking and walked toward him seductively. "Well, now, darling, we can't be together all the time. I might want to arrange some, oh, I don't know. Christmas surprises," she said as she traced the outline of his face with her fingertip and gave him a quick kiss.
"Mmm, surprises. I like that. Maybe I can deal with Phillip and my father for a day if there are surprises involved."
Satine laughed, "good."
Christian and Satine looked around the store for a few more minutes picking out small presents for all their friends from the bar. After they had everything they needed, they brought the items to the front counter. The cashier typed the prices into the cash register and gave them the bill. As Christian and Satine settled who would pay for what, the cashier boxed up all their purchases. They handed the man the money, thanked him and went back into the snowy street, each holding boxes in their gloved hands.
Christian sighed and said, "well, I don't have a watch, but by the looks of things," he looked around at the shopkeepers turning their "open" signs to "closed", "I think it must be getting late. We better head home to meet Mrs. Wilesly," Christian said in a squeaky British accent.
Satine laughed and kept close to Christian as they quickened their pace in order to escape the wrath of another one of Christian's father's speeches. In a few minutes they reached the front door of the house.
"Here goes nothing," sighed Christian as he placed his free hand on the knob to open the door.
* "If That's What It Takes" from Celine Dion's "Falling Into You" album
* "Rejoice Evermore With Angels Above" traditional hymn
*A Bohemian Storm Is Brewing*
Truth * Beauty * Freedom * Love
~Casidy
§=Þ
*~*
"Quoi Qu'il Arrive"
~ Part VII: Snowflakes of Love ~
By: Mariclaire
Satine grabbed her robe and pulled it on. She looked at her image in the mirror one last time before smiling and turning towards her bedroom door. She was planning to surprise Christian and sneak into his room. Satine opened the door just barely enough to peek out. When she saw that everyone's lights were out, she opened the door all the way, tip-toed out and closed the door behind her without a sound. She crept down the hall until she reached Christian's door. Placed her hand gently on the knob she slowly opened it then walked in and closed the door behind her.
There, on the bed, was Christian. Satine smiled as she walked over to his bed and shimmied her robe off and let it fall to the floor. But then something caught her eye. He was sleeping very fitfully. He had a distressed look on his face and kept tossing and turning. She sat down on the opposite side of the bed and began to stroke his arm. "Darling," Satine whispered, "wake up."
Christian was pulled from his light sleep and looked at Satine with concerned eyes. "What, is something wrong?"
Satine replied, "no, everything's fine. I came in here to surprise you," she paused and looked down at her revealing nightgown. "But then when I saw you tossing around like that, I got worried."
Christian sat up. "I'm sorry, you look beautiful," he said as he put a smile on his face. He leaned over and swept Satine's hair off her shoulder and slid the strap of her nightgown off and began to plant kisses down her neck.
The sensation sent chills up her spine but she had to find out what was wrong. She gently pulled away and said, "really Christian, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine," He replied quickly and continued to kiss her.
Satine pulled away, hurt that he wasn't telling her the truth. "Don't lie to me Christian. I can tell, you have that look on your face. Something's the matter and the least you can do is acknowledge that there's a problem."
Christian looked into her deep, blue eyes. She was his fiancée, she deserved to know the truth. "You're right, something is wrong." He let the fake smile he put on his face drain away.
Satine was relieved that he was opening up to her. She leaned against the backboard of the bed and pulled him so his back faced her chest. She smoothed his hair back and kissed his cheek. "Tell me what's wrong."
Christian took a deep breath and began, "it's my friend, Madeline. I'm so worried about her. She is in love with my friend, Alex, and if my brother finds out-" He cringed at the thought.
Satine didn't understand the severity of Phillip's temper. "Oh, Darling, I'm sure she'll be fine."
"No, she won't. When my brother's mad, he's infuriated; and she's around that all the time." He let out an exasperated sigh.
Satine took his hand in hers as their fingers began to slowly intertwine. "Christian, are you sure it's that bad? He would never hurt her or anything…" she trailed off as Christian's eyes met hers. "Sacre-Dieu, Christian. What did he do?"
Christian was silent for a few moments before he could get anything out. Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Emily said he broke her arm."
Satine gasped in horror. How could a man do that to his own wife? "Christian, I had no idea."
"You couldn't have, it's just that…" he trailed off, his voice cracking.
Satine turned Christian towards her and saw the tears forming in his eyes. He suddenly became embarrassed and quickly looked away. She laid both of them down and held onto him tightly. "Shh, it's ok." She murmured into his ear for a moment as she began to sing.
You can sleep in my arms,
you don't have to explain.
When your heart's crying out,
baby, whisper my name.
'Cause I've reached out for you,
when the thunder is crashing up above.
You've given me your love.
When you smile like the sun that shines through the pain,
That's while I'll be there.
When the storm rises up,
when the shadows descend,
Every beat of my heart,
everyday without end.
I will stand like a rock,
I will bend till I break.
Till there's no more to give,
if that's what it takes.
I will risk everything,
I will fight, I will bleed.
I will lay down my life,
if that's what you need.
Every second I live,
that's the promise I make.
Baby, that's what I'll give,
if that's what it takes.
Christian turned to face her. "Thank you. You always know how to make me feel better." Satine smiled and kissed his forehead and lead a trail down the bridge of his nose until their lips finally met. "I love you, so much," Christian said breathlessly between kisses.
She once again took his hand in hers and kissed his fingertips. "I love you, too."
*~*
Satine awoke at dawn the next morning. She had fallen asleep beside Christian and she knew she had to get back to her own room. She reluctantly pulled away from Christian's arms, kissed his cheek and got out of the bed. Then she picked up the robe from the floor and put it on. She blew her sleeping Christian a kiss and crept out of his room.
It hadn't occurred to Satine that anyone might be up so early, so when she saw Emily looking out the window, she was taken by surprise.
"Emily!" Satine said whispered. "What are you doing up?"
"I was about to ask you the same question," Emily replied from the small chair she was sitting in.
"Oh, I, umm." Satine stuttered. She couldn't just say, "oh yes, I was sleeping with your brother." Her mind was racing to think of an excuse.
Emily laughed, "Satine, I invented the common excuse. You were with my brother. You're his fiancée, don't worry about it."
Satine felt relieved that Emily was so mature. But then she became nervous again. "Emily, you aren't going to tell your father, are you?"
Emily burst out laughing, "heavens, no. Why would I tell him?" she replied.
Satine sat beside her and patted her arm. "Thank you."
"For what? I never talk to my father anyway." Emily looked out the window again, in that same thoughtful way as before.
Satine smiled sympathetically and decided to change the subject. "What are you watching? At-" she paused and looked at the clock, "six in the morning?"
"I'm waiting for the sunrise. I like to sit here where I can be by myself and just think. There's nobody to tell me what to do and it's a time that's just for me."
"Do you want me to go?" Satine asked, getting up from her chair.
"No, I'd actually really like it if you stayed," Emily said as she looked up at Satine. Satine made herself more comfortable in the chair and looked out into the sky where the last few stars were disappearing. "Satine, can I ask you something?"
"Sure, anything."
"Do you really love my brother?"
Satine smiled as she thought of Christian, "Emily, the way I feel when I'm with your brother is like nothing I've ever experienced before. I love him more than life itself." She paused. "Why do you ask?"
Emily sighed before answering. "Because Christian is the only person I feel connected to. But lately, all his attention has been on you. I feel like when you get married, he'll forget about me."
"Emily, you're a very important part of his life. And quickly becoming a part of my life, too." Satine gave Emily's hand a squeeze. "You'll always be important to both of us." Satine saw Emily's face, she still wasn't convinced. "Well, how about if tomorrow me and you go out into London. We can go Christmas shopping, get something to eat, meet with your friends; whatever you want. I want to get to know you better." Emily smiled but it quickly faded.
"But what about my father? He won't like us going out by ourselves.
"Emily, with the two of us sweet talking him, he doesn't stand a chance. I have the 'inventor of the common excuse' with me."
Emily smiled and leaned over and hugged Satine. "I'm really glad Christian found you."
"Me too."
They just sat there for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts, until Emily pointed and exclaimed, "look, the sun, it's rising!"
"It's beautiful," Satine whispered as she looked at the oranges and pinks of the sky. The hope and promise of a new day.
"We should do this more often," said Emily.
Satine looked down at her soon to be sister-in-law. "Anytime," she replied. "Anytime."
*~*
Satine fidgeted and messed with the hem of her sleeve. It was her first time in a church and she was finding it unbearably boring. If they're talking about God and how mighty and wonderful he is, then why does the minister keep droning? She slumped back in the pew and let out a sigh that caught Emily's attention.
"Are you finding it hard to stay awake, too?" she said out of the corner of her mouth. Satine stifled a giggle and nodded.
Christian looked across the pew, towards Satine and Emily and saw them giggling and leaned in and whispered, "what's going on? I want to be let in on the fun, too."
Satine poked him in the ribs and the two girls started laughing but stopped when Christian's father sent them an evil look. Christian cleared his throat to stifle his laughter.
By this time, several overstuffed, snobby people had shot them the evil eye, just as Christian's father had. The three of them were saved as the organ's music filled the church and everyone stood up to sing the final hymn.
Emily and Satine's soaring soprano and Christian's smooth tenor voices mixed together to blend the most perfect sound. Their voices rose above all the other off key, rigid church goers. The only part of church that Satine could feel a part of was when she could sing.
Rejoice evermore With angels above,
In Jesus' power, In Jesus' love:
With glad exultation Your triumph proclaim,
Ascribing salvation To God and the Lamb.
Thou, Lord, our relief In trouble hast been;
Hast saved us from grief, Hast saved us from sin;
The power of thy Spirit Hath set our hearts free,
And now we inherit All fullness in thee;
All fullness of peace, All fullness of joy,
And spiritual bliss That never shall cloy:
To us it is given In Jesus to know
A kingdom of heaven, A heaven below.
As the organ's final chord drifted away, everyone sat back down and listened to the minister recite the final prayer. It was as if a weight had been lifted from Satine's shoulders when the minister ended the prayer with a solemn "Amen" and everyone stood to leave.
Christian linked arms with Satine and reached for Emily's hand and led them out of the church with Christian's father following behind. When they came to the heavy double doors, it was so refreshing to feel the cold, December air hit their faces after being in the stuffy church for so long.
In the carriage, on their way back home, Christian announced to his father that he was going to take another day to introduce Satine to London.
"Why on earth do you need another day?" Snorted Christian's father.
Emily had a very grim look on her face as well. Satine and Christian gone meant another afternoon of being cooped up in her room working on her studies.
"Well, Satine and I have some Christmas shopping to do." Christian explained.
Emily's face lit up at the sound of gifts and was suddenly all for the idea of Satine and Christian's day out.
Christian's father sighed, "I guess it's all right, you two just better be home for dinner tonight. Mrs. Wilesly was terribly disappointed she missed you last night so I invited her for dinner this evening as well."
Christian and Emily let out exasperated breaths and received another series of vicious looks from their father.
Satine had become very curious to see what this infamous Mrs. Wilesly was like.
*~*
"Christian, you had better be home tonight for dinner," Emily whispered harshly in his ear. "If I have to spend another night alone with father and that horrid Mrs. Wilesly, I think I just might lose my mind."
"Well, we wouldn't want that," whispered Christian as he kissed his little sister goodbye.
"Well father, we'd better be going, we want to be home in time to see Mrs. Wilesly," Christian called.
Christian's father obviously didn't catch the sarcasm in his voice and said, "I expect you two home by 5:30."
Christian rolled his eyes and took Satine's hand as the two of them waved to Emily and were on their way. "Well, darling, where do you need to go?" asked Christian.
"I was hoping we could stop by the jeweler first." replied Satine pointing to the lumpy bag she was holding at her side..
"Sure, it's right up the street. By the way, what is in that bag you're carrying?"
"Oh, you'll see."
They walked around the busy streets of London. They were obviously not the only ones with the idea of getting some Christmas shopping done. Everywhere they looked there were men and women, some on foot and some in fancy, horse drawn carriages, bustling with their arms full of boxes and bags. The scene was made perfect as a light snow began to fall.
Satine twirled around and exclaimed, "Oh Christian, isn't this beautiful?"
Christian pulled her into his arms and replied, "just about as beautiful as you my little snow angel," he smiled as they brushed their cold noses together. He gave her a quick kiss as they came to the front door of the jeweler.
They were greeted by a warm room and a short lady with glasses as they brushed the snow off their coats.
"Good afternoon, I'm Mrs. Cantoff" the woman said. "And what is it that you are interested in today?"
Satine lifted up the lumpy bag that Christian had been so interested in earlier. "Well actually, I was wondering if you might be interested in buying some of the diamonds I inherited." Satine replied.
Mrs. Cantoff didn't look too convinced until Satine emptied the huge bag of diamonds. Rings, broaches, necklaces; they were all on the jeweler's counter in a large pile.
"Oh my." whispered Mrs. Cantoff as she reached for her glasses. She put them on and began to inspect the mound of precious jewelry Satine had placed in front of her.
As she was busily looking through the diamonds, Christian, who knew good and well the diamonds weren't inherited, leaned over to Satine and whispered, "are you sure you want to get rid of all of those? I mean, I thought there was a certain someone who used to serenade me on how 'diamonds are a girl's best friend.'"
Satine rolled her eyes and whispered back, "Christian, that was before I met you. And besides, those," she said pointing to the diamonds, "only remind me of what I had to do to obtain them," she looked down, almost ashamed of herself.
Christian pulled her closer and shuddered at the thought of those drunk men and their groping hands all over Satine. The thought made him feel sick. He quickly pushed it aside and changed the subject, "well, at least you'll get quite a few pounds for all that," he said as he pulled a strand of hair out of her eyes.
Satine nodded in agreement, still haunted by the memories of men throwing diamonds at her feet for one night of what they called 'love'.
Christian, in an attempt to shake them from their state, walked over to the watches. "Satine, look at this one," he said as he pointed to a beautiful, gold watch.
"Oh, that is very nice," Satine nodded.
"I really should get myself a new watch. My old one has been broken for years," he said as he looked at the watch wistfully. "But I have to get all my Christmas shopping done first."
Satine saw the disappointed look on his face and suddenly had the perfect idea for what to get him for Christmas. She would have to do it tomorrow with Emily, when Christian wasn't around, though.
Christian and Satine turned their attention to Mrs. Cantoff as she announced, "these are all very beautiful and in excellent condition. I'm willing to pay a fair amount for all of them."
Satine and Mrs. Cantoff bartered for a few minutes before both were fully satisfied. Satine took the money in pounds from the jeweler and put it in her purse. She now not only had money for Christmas presents this year, but probably enough for every Christmas for the rest of her life.
Once they were out of the store, Satine took Christian's hand and said, "I'm glad I was able to get rid of those. It was like letting go of a part of me that I never wanted in the first place."
Christian smiled and kissed her hand. "To tell you the truth, I'm pretty glad to see them go, too."
They continued walking in the light snow until Christian stopped in front of a small shop that had a particularly cozy feel to it. "Emmy loves this store, I was thinking we could find something for her in here," he said.
Satine followed Christian through the small door and they heard the tinkle of a small bell just above the door to announce their arrival. Satine immediately fell in love with the small shop. It was full of tiny knick- knacks, paintings and sheet music. A place perfectly fit for any bohemian.
"What do you think she would like?" asked Satine.
"Well, she's absolutely smitten with anything I tell her about Paris. I wonder if we could find her some sort of -" he stopped in mid-sentence. "Satine, look!" Christian disappeared around a corner, returning with a snow globe with a scene of Paris inside, There was even a tiny little red windmill, representing the Moulin Rouge.
"Christian, she would love it!" Satine exclaimed.
"Well, here, if you want, this can be from you. I think I'm going to see if they have any of Toulouse's paintings. Emily would be amazed to receive a painting and know that I was friends with the artist."
Satine nodded as she and Christian began to look through the many portraits and landscapes lining the walls. "Christian, here's one he painted of The Green Fairy," cried Satine. "Your father wouldn't get mad because it looks innocent enough. We could tell Em the real story behind it later," Satine said with an evil smile on her face.
Christian laughed as he agreed. He imagined his father finding out about his daughter having a painting of a fairy printed on the bottles of Absinthe in Paris in her room. "Well, I guess I'll get her the painting and you'll get her the snow globe." He trailed off, "who else?"
"Your brother," Satine responded.
"Ah yes, my brother. I could get him a cane. He could use it to stick up his-"
"Christian!" Satine gasped and scolded him teasingly. "Be nice," she said through giggles.
Christian sighed, "all right." He looked around for a moment. Then picked up a box. "Here, I'll get him some cigars." He waved the box in front of Satine.
"That's better," she said with a smile.
"I really should get something for my father. But I don't know what he would want."
"Maybe something on banking?" Satine suggested. Christian walked over to the wall of leather bound books neatly placed on wooden shelves. He looked over them for a few minutes before he picked one. "Here, a history of banking." Christian flipped through the pages and faked a yawn. "Unbelievably dull. Yes, he'll love it."
Satine rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess that just leaves Madeline and your friends from the bar."
"I don't know what to get Maddy!" sighed Christian. "That's a woman thing."
"Well, Emily and I are having a day out tomorrow and maybe we could find something for her, you know, considering we are women." Satine said.
"Whoa, you and Em are having a 'day out'? And what am I supposed to do during this 'day out?'"
"Oh I don't know, maybe spend some quality time with your brother and father."
"You two are on a quest to kill me. You're going to come home, and I'll be dead. Oh, I'm hurt," he looked at the floor and pretended to pout.
Satine made sure nobody was looking and walked toward him seductively. "Well, now, darling, we can't be together all the time. I might want to arrange some, oh, I don't know. Christmas surprises," she said as she traced the outline of his face with her fingertip and gave him a quick kiss.
"Mmm, surprises. I like that. Maybe I can deal with Phillip and my father for a day if there are surprises involved."
Satine laughed, "good."
Christian and Satine looked around the store for a few more minutes picking out small presents for all their friends from the bar. After they had everything they needed, they brought the items to the front counter. The cashier typed the prices into the cash register and gave them the bill. As Christian and Satine settled who would pay for what, the cashier boxed up all their purchases. They handed the man the money, thanked him and went back into the snowy street, each holding boxes in their gloved hands.
Christian sighed and said, "well, I don't have a watch, but by the looks of things," he looked around at the shopkeepers turning their "open" signs to "closed", "I think it must be getting late. We better head home to meet Mrs. Wilesly," Christian said in a squeaky British accent.
Satine laughed and kept close to Christian as they quickened their pace in order to escape the wrath of another one of Christian's father's speeches. In a few minutes they reached the front door of the house.
"Here goes nothing," sighed Christian as he placed his free hand on the knob to open the door.
* "If That's What It Takes" from Celine Dion's "Falling Into You" album
* "Rejoice Evermore With Angels Above" traditional hymn