Chapter Summary: As Andrew's injuries are assessed, he finds he must answer Raoul's questions. One particular answer stuns Raoul. The doctor arrives to treat Annalise.
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX
The library was a warm, comforting place paneled in a rich cherry wood. Shelves made of the same glowing wood lined the walls and held volumes of leather bound books whose smell filled the room. A marble fireplace sat in the middle of one wall, leather wing chairs on either side, a matching sofa facing it. Other chairs were scattered about the room - around tables, beneath the windows, in a quiet corner. Occasional tables sat near the chairs, bric-a-brac and books adorning their tops. Bright mid-morning sunlight filtered in through the large window that overlooked the expanse of the front lawn and winked off the crystal in the open liquor cabinet.
Jean-Paul poured rich amber cognac into two crystal snifters, closed the door of the cabinet and turned back to the expanse of the library. He saw Andrew seated on the sofa, his sister next to him, Richard bending over them both. Gustave was seated in one of the wing chairs. Regine stood near the windows, his back to the room.
"You need to let me take a look at those ribs," Richard was saying.
Andrew cradled his right arm, beginning to appreciate just how long he had been sitting still, holding Annalise; his arm was nearly numb, his back muscles twitched with every movement and each breath sent deep dull pain throughout his chest. "I know they are bruised," Andrew said through teeth clenched against the pain. "I really do not think you need to see them." He felt a hand on his arm.
"Andrew, please," Katherine asked him. "Let him see. I promise not to look."
"Kitt," Andrew shook his head.
"Please?" His sister tried again. "For me?"
"All right, yes," Andrew relented and looked at his sister, "but you must close your eyes." He waited until Katherine had closed her eyes and then he let go of his arm and allowed Richard to open his shirt.
"Oh God!" Richard exclaimed. "It was not the fall; you've been kicked."
"What?" Andrew looked down and saw a bruise in the shape of a footprint coloring his chest. "Damn him anyway." He suddenly remembered his sister was sitting next to him and turned his head to look at her; she had her eyes open and they were wide and frightened. "Kitt, I am sorry. I did not mean to curse in your presence."
"What kind of a man does something like that?" Katherine did not hear him.
Andrew quickly drew his shirt closed. "The same kind of man that abducts a young girl.
Katherine reached out to touch his head. "Did he do this as well?"
"I had forgotten about that," Andrew confessed as he finally began to feel the pounding in his head.
Richard leaned in. "It looks like a ..." he stopped as Andrew shook his head. "Like it probably happened during the fall."
"It must have," Andrew gratefully replied; he did not want his sister knowing he had been shot. "I am bruised and sore but I will be fine, Kitt. I promise."
"I know," Katherine assured him. "I know."
"Take this," Jean-Paul said and handed the snifter to Andrew.
"Thank you," Andrew said and took a sip, feeling the amber liquid burn its way down his throat before reaching his stomach, sending out fingers of warmth to every inch of his body. He turned to look at Gustave. "Are you sure you are well?"
Gustave nodded his head. "Yes, the doctor has assured me that I am doing well. The bullet did not damage anything vital but I still have a way to go." He leaned back in his chair. "Now that Annalise is home I think I shall recover that much more quickly."
Jean-Paul had walked over to hand the other snifter to Regine. "Drink this."
"I do not need anything," Regine replied.
"To make me happy?" Jean-Paul asked.
"Yes," Regine took the snifter, "and thank you."
"No," Jean-Paul said with a shake of his head. "I need to thank you. I have fond memories of your patience with us as children riding the horses. Now you have helped to bring my sister back. You are a decent and good man and I do not know how we will ever be able to thank you."
"I only did what any man would do," Regine replied, taking a sip of the brandy and returning his gaze to the world outside the library.
"How did Andrew know who you were or where to find you?" Jean-Paul wondered.
"I have the same questions," Raoul said as he entered the library.
"Annalise?" Richard wondered.
"Your mother is making her comfortable and will let us know when she has finished." Raoul sighed. "It is the best thing for your sister at the moment; she needs her mother. My orders?"
"Riders have been sent, sir," Jean-Paul answered.
Raoul gave his son a brief smile. "Well done," he said. "I would like everyone to have a seat." He waited until everyone was seated in the chairs around the fireplace before going to stand against it so that he could look at them all.
"I will leave if you would like," Katherine offered.
"No," Raoul told her. "I would not ask you to leave your brother just yet." He managed a brief smile as Katherine reached out to hold her brother's hand; Raoul turned his attention to Andrew. "Where was she?"
"There was a house," Andrew began with a shake of his head. "I am not sure of the exact location."
"Regine?" Raoul turned his attention to his steward.
"It was located on a country lane off a road between Clamency and Toucy. It appeared to be deserted." Regine replied. "It was not easy to find."
"I see. Where is that man now?" Raoul could still not bring himself to say the name.
Gustave glowered. "Tell me you killed him. Just tell me you killed him."
"I am not normally a blood-thirsty individual," Richard chimed in, "but that is one person I would not mind seeing dead."
There was an awkward silence wherein Andrew kept his eyes averted. Raoul watched him before turning his attention to Regine, a man who he had known for over thirty years. Regine, too, had his eyes averted. Raoul studied them both quietly for a moment. "Where is he?" Raoul asked again.
"I do not know where he is," Andrew replied truthfully.
"What?" Jean-Paul was astonished. "You do not know where he is? What if he was to come after Annalise again?"
"How could you let him go?" Gustave was open-mouthed.
"You do not understand," Andrew said as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
"There was a fight," Regine began. "I heard the noise and went into the house in time to see Andrew tumble down the stairs. I chased a figure up the stairs and overpowered him. I found Mademoiselle and felt it was more important to bring her home and to help Monsieur Cameron."
"Do not lie for me," Andrew interjected. He opened his eyes and sat up, wincing as muscles protested the movement. "I am holding another's confidence and I will not betray this person. I can promise you that Michaud Deschene will never again pose a threat to Annalise or anyone else."
"Leave us," Raoul said softly. He saw Regine from the corner of his eye. "You will please stay, Regine."
Andrew shook his head. "Sir, he does not know anything. He was gracious enough to come to our aid but what you need to know, you will only be able to get from me."
"Fine," Raoul replied. "Everyone but Andrew will leave this room." He watched as Katherine leaned in to kiss her brother before she walked out with his sons and Regine. Raoul waited until the library door closed before going to sit next to Andrew. He studied the young man's face, watching as Andrew worried his bottom lip between his teeth. "I know you are holding a confidence but I need to know what happened to my daughter. Plus I think it best you speak to me before the gendarmes arrive looking for the same answers. My name and my money carry some weight and may be of use with the authorities. I would not see you dragged into court to answer questions before the public."
"Thank you, sir," Andrew replied. He gathered his wits and courage about him before continuing. He turned to look at Raoul. "I do know some of what was done to Annalise. I was told you needed to know that Annalise had nothing to eat for Michaud kept her drugged with laudanum the entire time. I believe the exact words used were "heavily drugged". I was told that she will begin experiencing drug withdrawal and that it will be very hard on her." Andrew sighed; he found relaying the message and saying the words made him ill. "He also kept her bound one night …" A sip of the liquid fire. "… outside in the rain."
"That ..." Raoul closed his eyes in pain. "My poor little girl. How could he do that to her? Why would he do that?"
"Sir, there is something else you need to know."
"I do not know that I wish to hear this," Raoul told Andrew. "I do not know if I can bear to have more images in my mind of my daughter in distress."
Andrew shook his head. "It is not what you think."
"You do not know the depths to which my thoughts have sunk this past week," Raoul replied.
"I was told to tell you that Annalise was not ..." Andrew struggled with saying the actual words to the father of the woman he loved. "That he did not ..." Andrew felt a hand on his arm.
"Thank you," Raoul breathed. "That is one less image my mind will hold." He sat quietly for a moment coming to grips with his emotions and studying the young man sitting next to him. "When Annalise first went missing, my wife told me to spare no expense to bring her child home. I assure you, I followed her request - no expense spared, every cooperation given. There was nothing that was not done to aid the gendarmes in their search for Annalise. Yet you, who have been in our country but a few months managed to find my child and bring her home." Raoul shook his head. "I am having trouble understanding this. I know you hold a confidence but answers will need to be given and I cannot aid you if I do not know the truth."
"I was was never told I could not tell," Andrew said almost to himself, his brow furrowed in thought. He turned his head so that he could look at Raoul. "I just do not know how you will take what I must say."
A sickening thought began to take root in the back of his mind but Raoul ignored it and leaned back into a corner of the sofa, folding his hands in his lap. "I promise to sit still and do nothing but listen."
Andrew kept hold of the brandy snifter, staring into the depths of the glowing amber liquid. "I saw Gustave shot and Annalise taken. I was riding behind and could do nothing to stop what happened. Gustave sent me after the coach and I did as he asked. I managed to keep the coach in sight for some time but could not reach it as four horses drew the coach. I saw the hatch of the coach open and I drew up short but the bullet still managed to graze my head. It was then that I lost sight of them." Andrew took a sip of the brandy and was silent for a moment as the liquid fire moved through him. "I did not know what else to do so I kept riding. It was very dark and I had been riding for a very long time when I came to a crossroads. I was praying for guidance when I remembered something that Katherine had told me about Annalise and I knew where I needed to go."
Raoul could feel the nausea begin in his stomach but he willed it away.
"It was the morning by the time I found what I had been seeking. I am afraid I made quite a spectacle of myself by barging into a private home but I had not slept and I was beyond caring. The person at this home agreed to help and sent a man to find what information there was to be had. It was several days before that man came back. He was the one who knew of Regine and went to request his assistance. It was only to be the use of the chaise and the horses but I understand that Regine insisted on being the one to handle the horses." Andrew took another sip of the brandy. He knew it was liquid courage but he was in pain, tired beyond what he had ever thought possible and trying desperately to keep Erik's secret. "The person that I went to for help is the one who currently has custody of Michaud. and I am sure he will ensure that Michaud will never be able to reach Annalise again."
There was a silence in the room. Andrew could not lift his eyes to look at Raoul. It was Raoul who finally broke the silence.
"How did this man who went to Regine know of him?" There was no answer. "Andrew?"
Andrew finally lifted his eyes to look at Raoul. "Please do not ask me that," Andrew replied and watched as the color drained from Raoul's face.
"Un cher dieu dans le ciel, il était lui!" Raoul exclaimed. "Dear God in heaven, it was him!" he repeated as he stood, walking towards the fireplace.
"I do not know ..." Andrew began and was silenced as Raoul turned back from the fireplace to face him.
"Do not lie to me now," Raoul told him in a soft tone of voice that commanded attention. "There is a sketch of a man in my daughter's book. There is a letter to go with that sketch. I know who it was that my daughter drew; I know!" Raoul's voice dropped on the last word and he looked as if he were in pain. "God! He must have been watching all these years! He never left us alone and now he is the one to save my daughter?" Raoul shook his head. "How he must be enjoying the irony of all this; he abducts my wife and rescues my child from an abductor." Raoul's brows knitted. "How am I going to tell Christine?" he whispered almost to himself before turning his attention back to Andrew. "This person whose confidence you hold," Raoul paused for a moment as he swallowed, trying to speak the name, knowing it was true but still praying it was not. "This person - is his name Erik?"
Andrew found he could not look at Raoul, so he took another sip of the burning liquid courage before raising his eyes. "Yes," he replied simply.
That one word answer caused emotions to flood through Raoul that he could not even begin to name. "Where does he live?"
"Sir ..." Andrew tried.
"Where?" Raoul demanded his voice sharper then he intended. Raoul returned to the sofa to sit next to Andrew. "You know the history, do you not?" Andrew nodded his head. "I see," Raoul gave a heavy sigh. "I will not do anything to him. God! I am in his debt!" Raoul's voice sounded amazed. "But I must know where he lives. I need to know how my daughter knows him."
"There is a ruined monastery," Andrew began.
"Up the hill from the estate," Raoul finished and laughed - it was a strange, lost sound. "All these years! All these years and he has been the strange hermit, the man the villagers whispered about. Why did I not see? How could I not have known?" Raoul ran a hand through graying, sandy blonde hair. "What a fool I have been."
What Andrew might or might not have said was forestalled by a knock on the door.
"Enter," Raoul called out and Richard opened the door. "What is it?" Raoul wondered.
Richard wondered at the pained looks on the faces of both his father and Andrew but did not say anything. "Monsieur Nesselien is here."
Raoul stood and looked at Andrew. "We will finish this later," he said in a tense tone and relented at the worried look on Andrew's face. "Andrew, I am not going to do anything to him and you are in no trouble with any member of this family. I will do whatever I can to aid you with the authorities and I will keep your confidence," Raoul managed a small smile, "and the moment Annalise asks for you, I shall let you know."
His words lifted a great fear from Andrew and he let out a long breath. "Thank you," Andrew said and watched as Raoul walked from the room, the people gathered at the door coming back in with more questions that he knew he would have to answer while protecting Erik. Andrew knew he could not do it alone and was grateful for Regine's presence even as his thoughts drifted towards the doctor he knew would be tending to Annalise.
At that very moment, the doctor was at the bottom of the grand staircase watching as Raoul approached. He extended his hand as Raoul drew near. "Thank God, she is alive and home," Dominic said.
"You echo my sentiments," Raoul replied with a slight nod of his head.
"Has she been hurt? Is that why you sent for me?"
Raoul bit the inside of his lip as he attempted to keep his raging emotions under control. He guided Dominic halfway up the stairs where they paused and their voices could not be heard. "Annalise was ... it looks like ..." Raoul exhaled a long breath through his nose. "I believe he may have beaten her."
"There is something else is there not?" Dominic asked, knowing the looks that passed over the face of his friend of nearly twenty-six years. He felt his own anger growing for he despised the mistreatment of any living being but Dominic kept the composure his profession required of him.
"I was told that she has had nothing to eat since she was taken and that she was left outside in the rain. I understand he also kept her heavily drugged with laudanum."
Dominic shook his head; he did not think he could still be amazed at the cruelty humans were able to inflict upon each other. "Drug withdrawal." He laid a hand on Raoul's arm. "It will not be easy on Annalise or anyone else in this household. Take me to her and I will be able to give you a better idea of her condition and what will lie ahead."
"Dominic," Raoul said, "Annalise is confused. She does not seem to know what is real and what is not. I do not know how she is going to react to you."
"It is the drug," Dominic replied, "and, perhaps, the man who did this said things to her to add to the confusion."
"How I wish I could get my hands on that bastard!" Raoul muttered through clenched teeth.
Dominic wanted to know exactly what had occurred but his first concern was for his patient. "I believe, as a parent of two daughters, I understand your emotions. For the moment, though, I would like to see my patient."
Raoul swallowed. "There is one last favor I must ask of you."
"Whatever I can do," Dominic replied.
"I know you need to see Annalise but I am asking you to keep your examination as simple as possible."
"Raoul," Dominic whispered. "I know how to do my job. I will do nothing to hurt your daughter."
"No," Raoul said with a shake of his head. "You do not understand. The man who saved Annalise," Raoul paused, shaking his head, still having trouble grasping the fact that it was the one man in the world he held such mixed emotions about that had saved Annalise. He swallowed and continued. "This man said she was not raped." The very sound of that word on his lips sent a chill through Raoul that he did not think he would ever be able to warm. "I have reason to trust his word." Raoul could scarcely believe the words he spoke. "Dominic, please," Raoul pleaded. "She has been through so much. I do not want to see her in further distress. Please."
There was a moment of silence before Dominic nodded his head. "I see that you trust the word of this unnamed man who returned Annalise." He gave Raoul a small smile. "I will do nothing to cause Annalise any further pain and should the authorities ask, I will tell them what you told me - she was not touched."
A great weight suddenly lifted from Raoul's heart. "Thank you," he breathed. "Come, Annalise is in her room with Christine."
The two men climbed the stairs, turning left at the top and walking down the hall to where Rachel patiently waited outside a closed door. She dropped a small curtsey as the two men approached and knocked lightly on the door for them. Leonie stuck her head out, smiled and closed the door again. When the door reopened, Christine stood there.
"Dominic," she said with a sigh. "Thank you for coming so promptly."
"I do not believe I have ever responded quite so quickly to any request," Dominic told her.
"How is Annalise?" Raoul asked before Dominic could.
Christine looked at her husband, the worry in her eyes reflected in his. "I wish I knew," Christine told him. "She is so confused. I have just convinced her that it is safe to lie down and that Leonie and Therese will not hurt her. It frightens me how lost she has become."
"My sweet little girl," Raoul whispered.
"I need to get back to her," Christine said.
Dominic looked at Raoul. "Give me a few moments and I will let you know how she is doing."
"Come," Christine said to Dominic as she gave her husband a wavering smile before disappearing into their daughter's room.
Raoul sank into one of the chairs in the hall, closing his eyes, as Leonie and Therese came out of Annalise's bedroom. They walked over to him as Rachel closed the door. Raoul felt a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"Are you all right?" Leonie asked.
Words failed him as Raoul finally allowed the relief and anger and grief he had been suppressing, the shock at learning it was Erik who had saved his child, to wash over him. He buried his head in his hands and let the dry sobs come.