Chapter Five

In the Flat

Once it had become quite dark on Christmas night, Erik carried Suzette, wrapped in a warm blanket, through the snowy, deserted streets to a rather undesirable part of town, where they climbed into a window and up a dark, creaky staircase. Erik set her down and knelt on one knee.

"Do try and stay standing, sleepyhead. Now watch while I open this door with magic!" Suzette watched with weary eyes as he gently pushed the doorknob with two fingers, and then blew into the keyhole. He turned the knob sharply and there was a click as the door came open and the two of them entered the small, cold space. Erik lit the room with a candle.

The flat was small and cramped. There was room for a bed and a table for two. It had no furnace and was heated only by a fireplace, which emitted little heat and a great deal of choking black smoke. There was only one small window, which was boarded up so that not even a streak of daylight could come through. Erik sensed Suzette's disgust and assured her that they would only be there a short while. Suzette only nodded in understanding. She was too tired to complain.

Erik pulled a tarp from the bed and they were suddenly blinded and suffocated with dust. He then blew and beat on the mattress until he was satisfied that it was clean enough. He wrapped the blanket tightly around Suzette and set her on the bed gently.

"Now, I must go and get our things. You stay right here in this little bed, and go to sleep. No matter what, don't leave this room. I shall be back soon." She lay back and closed her eyes instantly.

"There's a good little girl." Erik tucked her in, blew out the candle, and left, securing the door behind him. Without the candle, the room was dark as the depths of hell and Suzette could hear angry and terrifying shouts of men in the street and in a distant room in the building. She would have been frightened to tears, but she was so exhausted, she fell asleep, praying that those noises couldn't find her.

She woke in pitch darkness. She heard loud sounds coming from the outside, but she couldn't remember where she was. She was suddenly filled with terror. She was afraid to stay in the bed, but she was afraid to venture into the unknown. She was lost in endless darkness. She wrung her hands and cried pitifully.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of movement at her feet. She screamed and backed away until she fell to the floor and found herself plastered against a wall. She remained there for what seemed like an eternity, listening for what the sound would do next. It moved through the blackness, away from the bed, and Suzette began trembling violently.

There was a click and suddenly the endless darkness became a room with four walls. Erik set the lamp on the table and rushed to Suzette's side.

"What is wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

"I didn't know where you went!" she accused, "I was afraid that those men had come back for me!"

"Oh, Suzette! I would never leave you alone if you were in danger. It will be all right. Look, here is your friend Elizabeth." He handed her the doll and she embraced it tightly. He dried her tears and said to her, "I shall make this room more homey for us. I will clean up every corner and chase all of the shadows away with candles and lamps. Don't worry, we won't be here long."

"When can we leave?" she asked.

"Quite soon. Do you know that I have already found us a house? Not like the house by the lake, but a real house in the sunlight. I just need a week or two to get it ready. I must be very crafty and work at night, for we must not let anyone see us. While we are in Paris, we must be very careful."

"Can I not play outside?"

"I am sorry, my dear little Suzette. You must remain hidden in this room until we leave for the new house, lest those men who hunt you see you playing in the snow. But don't worry. In just a few weeks, we will be free from them and you can play the day away among the trees and flowers."

"It seems like such a long time in this dark, little room," she sighed.

"Try not to think of it, my darling. Come, help me with the cleaning and soon this room will be nice and cozy."

They cleaned the room and unpacked the things that they had brought. Before long they had made the flat fit for living. Each night, Erik slinked out to work on the house in the sun, and left Suzette and Elizabeth snoozing in the light of an oil lamp. He was always back before Suzette awoke.

During the day, the child did her best to amuse herself. She made little dolls of paper to play with and Erik brought her some children's books to read, but by the end of the first week, all she did was sulk around the room. It was heart wrenching for Erik to watch.

One morning, when Suzette had slept half the day away, Erik knelt beside her and shook her until she opened her eyes.

"Come now, you can't just lay around all day, lazy bones! Get dressed!" Suzette squinted at him and said "No!" sharply and sullenly and struck his arm with her small fist. It didn't hurt, but Erik was surprised and annoyed.

"Get up and get dressed, Suzette!" he demanded as he pulled her from the bed and tried to set her on her feet. She went limp like a stringed puppet and collapsed to the floor.

"Come on," he whined, "Get up right now and act like a lady. I don't like lazy girls."

"I don't care what you like!" she snapped, "You can't make me do anything!" He stepped back, injured. She was right of course. He didn't have any right to tell her what to do. After all, he didn't even know how to be a son, much less a parent. Any influence that he would have over her would be completely voluntary on her part.

Suzette looked up at him questioningly. Wasn't he going to challenge this claim? Suddenly she realized that he was agreeing with her, that the only one in the world who could keep her safe would only do so with her permission, and the world was suddenly a rather frightening place. She sat there on the cold floor for several minutes, trying to decide what to do. Suddenly she hopped to her feet and smiling very sweetly said, "May I please have some breakfast?"

Erik was surprised at this sudden change of weather but he said, "Of course, and will mademoiselle be dining in her night dress this morning?" Suzette looked down at her nightdress and shrugged. She went and found Erik's black, wide-brimmed hat and placed it on her knotted curls.

"Now I'm ready for breakfast," came her voice from beneath the hat. Erik laughed.

"You forgot to put on your shoes."

"I hate shoes. I'm not wearing them," she announced.

"Very well then, please take your seat." Suzette looked at the table and then climbed beneath it. Erik pretended to be outraged.

"Such appalling behavior for a young lady!"

"I'm not a lady! I'm a squirrel!" she said and began to chatter. Erik stared dumbfounded.

"A squirrel! Well, what happened to Suzette? I suspect that someone has taken her during the night and dropped a little boy in her place!" Suzette giggled and sat up at the table.

"A little garcon manqué!" he exclaimed as he put out their breakfast.

During the remainder of the week, Erik tried his best to occupy Suzette with little games and songs.

"Do you like card tricks, Suzette? I know lots of fun card tricks." And she sat giggling in amazement as Erik made cards jump from one hand to a pile on a table, to another hand, and to Suzette's own apron pocket. Suzette begged him to show her how it was done and he taught her the secrets of some of the easier ones but the child began to grow bored of even this.

"Once we get into our new house, you'll have lessons," he promised.

"I don't like school," she whined.

"You'll like my lessons. I will teach you how to read and write and do numbers. Then I'll teach you to speak English, Italian, and German. I'll teach you art and music. Then you can play after lunch. There are many other children in the town for you to play with."

"How much longer will it be?"

"Very soon. Tomorrow or the day after."

The next night, Suzette heard strange sound coming from outside the room. She tried to tell herself that it was only an ally cat looking for food, but shivers were going up and down her arms and she felt sick to her stomach. She heard the sound of something trying to pry the planks that covered the window. The room shook slightly and the lamplight trembled. She looked desperately around the room, but Erik was not there. He was working at the house.

Suddenly a sound came from behind her and the door opened slowly. Suzette dove under the covers and shut her eyes tight. Arms went around her and she almost cried out, but then she heard Erik's voice whispering to her.

"Hurry, Suzette! We must go now. They've found us." Suzette was silent and wide-eyed with fear as he put on her shoes and coat, wrapped her in a blanket with Elizabeth in her arms, and carried her back out the door. Suzette saw by the lamplight that all of their things were already gone.

Erik went quickly and silently through the winding small streets. A carriage was waiting for them as they rounded a corner and Erik set Suzette on a seat where she stretched out and rested her head on Erik's arm.

"Where are we going now?" she asked sleepily.

"We are going home," he replied and they both slept through the journey.