"I can't." Erik said. Kerri's face fell.

"No! Erik, you must! I already told them you'll come!"

"Kerri, you don't understand. I can't do it."

"Please, Erik. Do it for me." She pleaded. "My mother is so anxious to meet you. And my father will love you, I know it."

"And what if they don't? What if they can't get past my face?"

Kerri had worried about that too. Her parents were shallow creatures, as most nobility was by nature.

"Well they never said I had to pick the best looking man I could find. In fact, all my father said was that they had to approve of him."

"That small phrase can carry many meanings."

"Well God damn it, if they love me at all, they'll at least try to get past it, because you make me incredibly happy."

"But is that enough?"

Kerri sighed, looking at herself in the mirror from across the room. She'd picked out the nicest dress she owned, and she'd taken the time to do her hair. Now the whole night was in pieces.

"Fine. If you can't come, write a note." She pulled out paper and an envelope.

"Why?"

"Well, I certainly can't tell them you're not coming and then not have a reason."

He groaned, scrawling out a quick excuse and apologizing. He stuffed it into the envelope and handed it to her. She began to leave to deliver it.

"Are you sure you don't want to try? I can send someone back to the Opera House, or I could go. To find you a mask." She stood at the door.

"No, no. Just give them the note." He looked at Kerri, and her dejected demeanor.

"Kerri, I truly am sorry."

"No, it's quite alright. With everything you've been through, I shouldn't have expected anything less."

He did not know whether that was meant as an insult, or it was just the truth. She left before he could ask.

"Daddy?" She knocked on his office door, stepping inside quietly. He looked up from his bills, glasses at the end of his nose.

"Don't you look lovely!" He smiled.

"Thank you daddy."

"Now, what can I do for you?"

"I have a note. From Erik. An envoy just brought it." She handed him the envelope. He opened it slowly, reading the note carefully.

"Alayna! Come here, dear." He called. Her mother entered the room quietly, still fastening her necklace and putting in earrings.

"Read this." He held out the note. Kerri was genuinely worried after her mother covered her mouth. What had he written?

"Did you open this Kerri?" Her father asked. Kerri shoo her head.

"The poor dears mother passed away! He was called to arrange her affairs." She sighed. "Andre dear, we should send him something when he returns."

"Of course, of course." Her father nodded, removing his eyeglasses.

"This is most unfortunate. Your mother and I were anticipating meeting him."

"I was anticipating it also."

"Well, there's no need to dwell on it. We can't change the past any more than we can predict the future. We'll have to get along without him."

Her father rose, escorting both women into the sitting room. It was almost six o' clock, and the Duke would be arriving shortly. They drank tea, attempting to keep their minds off of the 'death.'

"Well, don't we all look auspicious." The Duke mused, handing his coat, hat, and gloves to the nearest servant.

"Kerri darling, you look lovely." He smiled. "But where is your beau? I daresay he charmed his way out of this?"

"His mother died." She wanted to slap the smug look right off of his face.

"Kerri, don't say it so casually!" Her mother scolded.

"On the contrary ,I think it's beneficial for a young woman to come to terms with such a natural thing as death. It makes life so much easier to accept." Kerri rolled her eyes. What a sad delusion.

"Sir, I've dealt with more death than you could possibly imagine."

"Kerri!" Her mother blushed furiously, ushering the Duke away. It seemed childish, even to her, but if she had to suffer, so did the man who caused it.

"Kerri, could you please attempt to be sociable?" Her father pleaded in hushed tones.

"Well, if he wouldn't treat me like a little girl, I wouldn't rise to the occasion."

"Well, instead of only meeting his expectations, why don't you rise above them?" A voice whispered into her ear. She whirled around, gasping.

"Erik!"

She almost fell back into a chair when she looked at him.

He was the definition of handsome. The suit fitted him wonderfully. He was wearing black leather boots that matched his gloves, and they blended so well with his pants she couldn't tell where one stopped and the other began. She didn't know whether to cry or ravish him.

"Kerri, what was that….oh my." Her mother stopped mid sentence as she stepped back into the room with the Duke in tow.

"Umm, mom, dad,…Duke, this is Erik Delacroix."

Kerri couldn't help but stare at him. He was wearing a mask, she was sure of it. But where did it end? Someone had no doubt used quite a bit of stage makeup to blend the lines, but it was well worth it.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe we've met before." Kerri's father slowly shook the other mans hand.

"It is a pleasure, sir." Erik gave him a debonair smile. She knew how much he hated giving the title to someone who didn't deserve it, and how much he hated be cordial. She decided to save the ravishing for later.

"And you must be Kerri's mother." Erik went right on charming the room, using his voice like a drug. He kissed her hand, and Kerri could swear she was blushing.

"Oh, hello. She giggled. "Yes, I am."

"I can see beauty runs in the family."

This was amazing for Kerri to watch. Her mother was a puddle of giggles and eye bats, and her father was down right impressed with him. The Duke was just scared.

"Wonderful to meet you, monsieur Delacroix. We've heard so much about you." The Duke offered his hand. Erik took it, shaking it firmly, and giving him a hard stare.

"I hope nothing too terrible." He glanced at Kerri, as if to say 'This is the man they want you to marry? Pfft.'

She smiled.

"On the contrary, Kerri has had nothing but good things to say about you."

"Erik dear, I was so sorry to hear about your dear mother. You really should be with your family." Kerri's mother sat down on the nearest couch.

"Well, no sooner had I sent the letter to you, did another arrive from my step father. He said he had everything under control, and that there was no need to worry."

He sat down next to Kerri on a couch across from her parents. Even his posture was excellent. She had the strangest feeling that he was making fun of Raoul. Her parents didn't seem to notice.

"You seem to be taking the news rather well. I know that when my mother died, I fell to pieces." The Duke commented, crossing his legs in some statement.

"Well, in truth, my mother and I were never very close. She remarried when I was very young, after my father died, and I felt that she never really loved my father in the first place."

That was an understatement.

"Well then, I must applaud you on your excellent standings in life. To come from such humble beginnings to this is indeed an accomplishment."

"You flatter me Duke, honestly. I don't think I would be where I am without Signor Giovanni."

"And who is that?"

"Erik's adoptive father, I suppose." Keri laced her fingers into his.

"He was a stonemason who took me as his apprentice when I was thirteen. He was the only man I could ever truly call family."

The entire night progressed just as swimmingly. The only comment that hinted to Kerri otherwise was as they were escorted into the dining room, Erik whispered into her ear.

"Kill me now, before I do it with a steak knife."

She smiled, knowing how hard it was for him to pose as something he hated. But he was doing it anyway.

"Now, monsieur Delacroix, I don't mea to bring business into pleasure, but since you are an architect, and I am in the process of recalibrating my summer home, I was wondering if you could provide you opinion on the matter." The Duke leaned beck in his chair. Erik cast a questioning glance at Kerri, who shrugged.

"Alright, but I really can't say anything officially without seeing the site and its blueprints." Erik relaxed inside. Finally, something he was familiar with!

"Well, as it so happens, I have them in my carriage. This fellow who was barely older than Kerri tried to sell me some cock-and-bull story about how he could do this and that and remodel over there in under a year. A swindler if you ask me."

"I am many things, but I don't think I have ever been a criminal."

Kerri snorted, but when everyone looked she turned it into a sneeze. Erik smirked. Magically, the Dukes footman brought the plans in. Erik moved his plate out of the way, and was glad that the table was long. He spread the drawings out, wishing he had a graphing pencil.

"This is impressive. What do you want to do with it?" Erik had the most studious look on his face, and Kerri found it incredibly attractive

"Well, it sits on five acres, which gives me plenty of room for expansion, but unfortunately, the sap I bought it from built the house right up against the lake. All of the land is in front."

"Have you considered demolishing it completely and rebuilding?"

"Yes, but that would take entirely too long. I plan on moving there directly, after I settle up a few things in the city." He glanced at Kerri forlornly.

"Well then ,I suppose there are only two ways to go; up, or back."

"Well, you can't build over the lake. I had one man try and do that. He said the ground was too soft."

Erik scoffed.

"If that were true, the Opera House I built wouldn't exist."

"Oh, I had completely forgotten you built it. Wonderful job, I might add. Was it your first?"

"Hardly." Erik had found a pencil, finally. "Before that, I built the Hall of Echoes for Nasser al-Din Shah Qajar."

"He sounds important."

"He is." Erik hadn't looked up from his drawing. "He is the Shah of Persia and a Knight in the Order of the Garter. The only foreign ruler to bear that title." Erik left the part about designing various torture devices for him out. If they were ever alone, however, he might let the Duke n on that bit of information.

"So, how did you manage to keep the place from flooding?"

"We installed a system of flood chambers and hydraulic pumps. The lake we dug was a sort of spillway. We could probably use the same sort of technique here."

"You mean level the water out?"

"No. Pump the water into another adjacent man-made lake to give us a chance to cement the bottom and provide a stable building surface."

"But wouldn't the cement sink?"

"Not necessarily. Like I said, I would have to visit the site."

"Well, I'm afraid it's in the middle of nowhere. Terribly hard to find. Just outside of Rouen."

Erik paused, his entire body tensing up.

"Rouen you say? On the outskirts?"

"No, no. A small town. I can't recall the name."

"Boscherville?"

"Yes, that's the one! Terrible thing really, that I can't remember the town I was born in. Why, do you know the place?"

"I should. I spent thirteen years in Hell there." Erik felt like saying. But he couldn't. That would lead to questions. Questions he couldn't answer without raising suspicion.

"I was born there also." He nodded. Keri could see him gripping the table edge from where she sat, so much so that his knuckles were white. Did that mean the two men knew each other?

"Delacroix, Delacroix… I knew I knew that name! Your mother married the doctor!"

"Yes, she did."

"Well isn't it a small world?" Kerri prompted, thinking of something she could change the subject to before Erik lost his temper, or the Duke became too curious.

"Why don't we all move into the parlor for tea?" She sighed, getting up from the table and leaving for the next room without waiting for approval. Since she was what the dinner was really all about, everyone followed her.

They talked about politics, which Erik couldn't have cared less about. He was too busy fuming. He had known the instant he laid eyes on him that there was something familiar about this Duke. Finally it hit him; he had been one of the well-to-do's who'd come to see him at the freak show. He had stuck out in his mind only because he had spent the entire night chasing a girl.

The Duke hadn't changed much.

After another half hour of mindless talking ,the Duke confessed he had business to attend to early the next morning, and was heading home. Erik took that as his cue to leave also.

"Well, it was a pleasure meeting you, monsieur Delacroix. We should meet again, to discuss those blue prints more in-depth."

"I'll be in touch." Erik nodded. He thanked Kerri's parents for "a lovely evening." And really, apart from the over-the-hill Casanova, it had been.

Kerri walked out to the cul-de-sac with Erik, and they both realized at the same time that he didn't have a carriage.

"It seems your transportation has wandered off, monsieur."

"No matter." Erik called, giving the Duke a confident smile. "It's a beautiful night, and I'm only staying a few blocks away."

"Oh? Where?"

"L'hotel Bristol."

"I hear they I have beautiful gardens." He commented, before being whisked away in the carriage.

"I hear they have beautiful gardens." Erik mocked. "God, what a fop. Do you really think that some women find that sort of man attractive?"

"Money is an attractive thing." She smiled. "We've backed ourselves into a bit of a corner."

"Not really. I know how to climb a fence."

Kerri nodded. "Thank you."

"For a lovely evening?"

"For an entertaining evening." She corrected. "And for not splattering the Dukes intestines all over the room."

"He was testing me, the wanker."

"Do you think you passed?"

"I hope I didn't." He snorted. For the first time, Kerri saw what he might have been like if he'd lived a normal life, free of torment and torture and pain.

"And for the record, your impression of Raoul was fantastic."

"You noticed?"

"I was the only one."

They kissed, Kerri rising up on her tiptoes to meet his lips.

"Never without an audience." He murmured when they broke."

"I forgot the landing looks right out at us."

"Will you be in trouble?"

"They'll be happy I've taken an interest in someone."

He kissed her forehead.

"Twenty minutes."

He strolled down the drive way, and for some reason, both of them felt like they had been on their first date.

Kerri shut the door behind her quietly, but jumped when her father spoke.

"He seems like a nice enough man."

"Uhuh." She nodded. Approval was good, but it was like a call girls dress; It could disappear just as fast as it was given.

"He's older."

"So is the Duke."

"But that's not a bad thing. Older men know things, as Erik has demonstrated."

"Yes."

Kerri's father nodded slowly, thinking about something.

"We should have him for dinner again sometime."

As soon as he left the foyer, Kerri raced up the stairs and into her bedroom. Erik was waiting for her, flipping through a poetry book that had been lying on the bed.

She slowly approached him, taking the book out of his hands and tossing is onto the mattress. She held his face, wanting to remove the mask. He put his hands over hers to stop her.

"Kerri, I saw the way you looked at me…"

She butted in before he could finish.

"Erik, I'm not going to lie. You look good. But this is a costume; it turns you into something you're not."

She removed the prosthetic slowly, putting it gently on the nightstand.

"There's the man I wanted to marry." She sighed.

"Wanted?"

"Yeah, before I met that Delacroix fellow, you were my top pick."

"And now?"

"There's no contest." She shook her head. "You're the winner."