A Place in This World

This chappy is rather short, this I know.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

CHAPTER 9

Christine absorbed all that Margarite had told her. She realized just how little she knew about this man that held so much of her heart. "Why did you ever allow him to start wearing a mask? If he had forced the world to accept his deformity from the beginning, maybe things would have been different."

Margarite had often contemplated removing the mask and making Erik show himself. There would have been some awkward times, but everyone would have adjusted.

"Erik would not have it." Margarite's voice took on an angry tone, "His mother, if you can call her that, was actually the first one to force the mask upon him. She never even allowed herself to look at him if he was not wearing his mask…now, it seems to add to the enigmatic beauty of who he is. It is mysterious and majestic; giving him an air of danger…even if he really is a pussy cat…"the last phrase was said with a wink and a squeeze to Christine's hand.

Christine squeezed her hand back and pulled Margarite in for a motherly hug. As the hug broke up, Christine said in a confident voice, "I do love him…what woman wouldn't?...There is so much that I need to say to him, but I am so nervous in his presence. I just hope that I can hold my composure when I see him again. I do not wish to make a fool of myself now that I know he is not a murderer and rapist."

Christine knew that there was nothing preventing her from giving her heart to Erik… except Raoul. "I have made my choice and I will resolve myself to it… but that does not change the fact that I am terribly attracted to Erik. What am I going to do? I find myself anticipating his presence with a butterfly stomach and sweaty palms!"

Christine implored Margarite to come up with a solution.

"Is Raoul aware of your conflicting feelings?" Margarite asked with a raised eyebrow.

Christine gently shook her head to the negative, "Only to the extent that it will not cause him pain, he need only know that I have deep feelings for Erik; that is all."

Margarite discerned the struggle that was going on inside Christine. "You will have the opportunity to set things right with Erik, this I guarantee. You must not let him know that you are in love with him." At Christine's open-mouthed gape, Margarite held up her hand to let her know that she was not done yet, "Yes, you are in love with him Christine. You have all the indicative signs of this…let him know that you are his best friend. This will allow you to remain in close proximity to him without suspicions growing that neither one of you need..." Margarite took both of Christine's hands in hers and folded them in her lap, she leaned in close to Christine, almost touching her forehead with her own, "You must promise to help me find the love of Erik's life. He will, undoubtedly, give up on the prospect of finding her."

This reminded Christine of another question she had, "Erik spoke of another woman that was in his life some time ago. All he said was that it ended tragically. Do you know anything about this?"

Christine waited with baited breath for what Margarite would say.

Margarite dropped her eyes and her voice became distant and melancholy, "He did love one other time… about 7 years ago."Margarite shivered visibly as a chill ran down her spine,"She was a lady of upper-class and thought Erik the most handsome man she had ever seen. She could not get over the mask though. No matter how many times he explained that it covered a deformity, a hideous one at that, she insisted that he show her."

Margarite paused, "Let me go back a bit, Erik was head-over-heals in love with her; but like with you, he never pressed the issue. He treated her like a queen, but never ventured to kiss her or hold her for fear she would be repulsed by him. Whenever he held her hand, it was always with gloves on."

Christine thought on that for a minute, remembering that never, until Don Juan, had he touched her without gloves on.

She gave a perplexing stare to Margarite who knew exactly what Christine was thinking, and tried to explain, "He is under the impression that his skin, in fact his whole body, is disgusting and no woman would want him to touch her…skin-to-skin...he has never been in my presence without them either, not since he was much, much younger."

Margarite rang her hands together, as if trying to feel Erik's hand in hers. "Lucy, that was her name, kept persisting and Erik finally gave in. One evening, while they were walking across a bridge in Venice, she would not leave him alone about it, saying that there was nothing that would make her hate him. Erik took every reserve that had built up inside him and pulled the mask from his face…Lucy was horrified. She backed away from him with disgust and malice on her face, the whole time calling him a 'monster' and 'demon'."

Margarite was crying as she relived the tragic story that had been told to her by Michél. He had been present as a chaperone, walking several steps behind them. "Erik was so distraught and turned from her to hide his face, Michél went over to Erik. She kept backing up and eventually was at the edge of the bridge and lost her footing, she fell over the side. Erik looked around just in time to see her falling and he jumped in after her."

Margarite closed her eyes as the visions of the tragedy and pain that Erik had wrestled with came back full force, "She probably would have survived the fall if there had not been rocks at the bottom…she was dead instantly…Erik was never the same after that. He blamed himself…"

Margarite looked at Christine and saw the pain in her eyes, tears flowing freely down her perfect cheeks.

Margarite spoke again, in a whisper filled with regret, "Guilt, black as death, set itself in his heart and it still rests there, in his eyes. His self-loathing and self-hatred are most evident when you look in his eyes."

Margarite took a brief moment to wipe her eyes and compose herself, "Her family tried to say that Erik had murdered her, and in his heart, he feels that he did. Thankfully, Michél witnessed the whole thing, as did one other person who was on the bridge at the time. All charges were dropped, but Erik came home a broken man…I thought…prayed…that you were the one who would mend his heart…"

Margarite brushed her fingers down Christine's cheek and gave her a sad smile, "but you were destined to wound him even more."

Christine could bear the pain no longer and sobbed in Margarite's loving arms. She wept for Erik, she wept for herself, she wept for the world; a world that had been robbed of the gifts that Erik possessed and had no idea what it was missing.

She was more determined than ever to be to Erik something that he never expected; a woman who was also his best friend. A woman who found him devastatingly attractive, even after seeing his deformity - something she had never told him. She would be a best friend that he could count on to be there for him as he had been for her. Someone he could confide in and with whom he could feel safe.

She would show him a new world; a world where he was loved and adored for all of his exceptional qualities, including his handsome face; a world where he could touch and be touched without the hindrance of leather…a world that finally gave him what he desired…everything he desired.

Christine showed Margarite to the door and bid her good night. She felt completely drained from the emotional rollercoaster she had been on all day. She pulled down the covers and eased into bed, blowing out the candle. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

Chapter 10 preview – Best Friends