A/N I am sorry to those of you waiting for this. With the WB board closing, it has been a very long week. But I will be back to schedule now, I hope. Thanks for your patience.

Chapter 18

Christine sat quietly in the Coupe, though her thoughts raced. They had all taken the chance at returning to the inn last night. The convenience of being close to the carriages was one reason, but the thought of sleeping in a real bed had also been enticing. Their journey would take two days, three at the most but they could not tell what they might encounter along the way. Le Raincy offered a small inn, a few tiny businesses, a church, some homes, but nothing more. If they could find no rooms when they arrived— and what of Erik? Would he enter the inn? Show himself? Christine worried that the mask would expose them all. Better they sleep in the woods, than to give themselves away in such a manner. Too many thoughts wound through her mind as they neared the checkpoint. She had not gotten the sleep she craved, and neither had the others. She felt like a walking ghost and the irony was not lost on her.

Christine felt the Coupe come to a stop and knew they had finally reached the edge of the city. Now they must wait their turn to pass. She took little glimpses out the window, trying not to disturb the curtains and draw attention. Jacques had been given the papers before they left. He would be the one the gendarme dealt with. She hoped.

----------

Raoul had come by a back way to the stables, watching carefully for any sign that he'd been followed. His butler had reported to him a man who continued to pass the house, several times a day. Upon closer inspection, Raoul saw two additional men, one stationed at each end of the block, also watching the house and he knew they suspected something. He would not give them the satisfaction of knowing they were right if he could avoid it. He could not put Christine in that kind of danger. So, he had one of the house servants dress as a nobleman and leave the house earlier than he'd planned, with a list of destinations in order to lure the men from the house. Allowing enough time for his decoy to draw the spies away, he and Phillipe left the house by the back exit and made their way to the stalls. He saw that the Brougham and the Coupe had already gone and hoped that all had gone well. If not, I'll know soon enough.

Raoul left Phillipe with the Victoria. He would see that the horses were hitched properly and the carriage gleamed. No young nobleman worth his weight would escort his current paramour in anything less. The officers at the checkpoint would know this and take note if it were not just so. Rauol's thoughts strayed from the task at hand to the passenger he would carry. He wondered how she would look in something nicer than the serviceable attire she was accustomed to. Remembering the color of the dress, he imagined her hair lying against the material. She would make a beautiful paramour for any man. Yes, a very beautiful paramour indeed.

He arrived at the back door to the inn, certain once again that no one had followed. He rapped on the door three times, but got no answer. He frowned, consternation crossing his brow. Rapping again, he could hear no movement on the other side and began to worry. Surely Antoinette should have been waiting for him. He had not wanted to leave her alone. No true gentleman would. But for the plan to work, there had been no other way. Should Christine and Antoinette be seen together, the risk, though slim, was still too great to chance. He waited another moment, then became certain something must be wrong. He tried the door handle only to find it unlocked. He eased the door open lest someone should be on the other side, and peered into the kitchen area. It was empty. Where was she? He entered quietly, closing the door behind him. Listening, he heard nothing. Moving out of the kitchen and down the hall, he heard something clatter to the floor behind a door near the end of the hall. He put his ear to it and heard an angry voice on the other side— Antoinette. Though he heard no other voice, he could hear the tremor as she once again threw angry words at someone. He laid his hand on the door trying to decide his best course of action. He was unarmed and would be no match for anyone who may be. Again he heard her, panic now lacing her words though the words themselves were not clear. Suddenly, the room behind the door was deathly silent. He decided his best course of action would be to rush the room, shouting as he entered, in an attempt to catch whoever else was in the room off-guard. Drawing a deep breath, he turned the handle and shoved with his shoulder at the same time, bursting into the room shouting. He felt the knock on his head and heard the shattering glass at the same time he was set upon from behind.

----------

The air of tension inside the coupe was palpable. Christine suddenly felt like a bird, trapped in a cage with no means of escape. What if this didn't work? She would never see her beloved Erik again. She had talked herself into believing the worst scenario possible and had allowed it to fester, agitating her beyond what she could imagine. She could hear the officers speaking and knew her carriage must be the next in line. God, please let everything be all right, she prayed as she felt the carriage move forward.

Jacques handed the papers to the officer approaching the carriage. Looking as somber as possible, he sat quietly, waiting out the decision.

"Death in the family, oui? In Meaux? That is a long drive. Three, four days perhaps. I don't see much luggage for a trip of that length."

"We will be stopping in Le Raincy. Mme was visiting here when the news came. We packed— quickly." Jacques kept his voice even and bland. The officer was obviously sharper than he'd expected.

"Ah, I know Le Raincy. I have family there. I do not remember anything that would house someone of her title. No manor, no villa. She is a DeChagny, is she? A long way from their manor."

"A cousin, sir. Mme's home is in Meaux. She was visiting." Jacques thought he was starting to sound like a parrot and decided the less said, the better. He watched as two other officers walked round the coach, stopping to brush their hand along the DeChagny crest on the door. It took a moment for the reason to come to him. Crests could be painted at a moment's notice by a good artist. Papers could be forged. But the crest on this carriage was unmistakably real, and Jacques was confident there would be no problem.

A few more moments of exterior inspection and the officer in charge looked satisfied.

"Be aware, sir, there have been reports of robbers about. I would hate to see so fine a carriage come under attack. Oh, or the Mme in question as well. Let this carriage pass."

Jacques noticed the order of importance the officer had placed on them and was not surprised. He tch'ed the horses forward, out of the city.

----------

They'd gone about 2 kilometers from the city when Claude found a copse of trees that would accommodate the carriage and turned the horses toward it. Once secluded, he left his seat walking around the back of the carriage, where he saw the edge of the tarp jerking back and forth along with a stream of words he was more used to hearing in the tavern. He laughed aloud which only caused the tugging and grumbling to multiply.

"Claude, rather than stand there laughing, your energy would be better served in getting me out of here."

"Oui, Erik. I can do that though you do make an interesting sight." He went to the tarp untying the end and releasing Erik who escaped it red faced and disheveled.

"I am glad that I could provide your day's entertainment, though I found nothing what-so-ever to laugh it."

Claude watched Erik as he glared back but the look on Erik's face once more brought laughter from him. Erik's look of astonishment only made his laugh more exuberant which in turn broke Erik down and he too, began to laugh joining Claude in a rare moment.

Erik settled himself in the carriage, pulling the satchel he had concealed from under the seat. Though the papers Raoul had provided Christine were authentic, Erik did not trust to luck and had secured an extra set he had made, along with some food, water and medical supplies. The main store of food and supplies was in the carriage with Christine as the hope was she would not be bothered at the checkpoint. A second change of clothing, along with his sword and cape had also been secured in his carriage and he removed them now as well. He had no wish to be caught unawares.

----------

Raoul pitched forward with the weight of whoever had pounced on him. His chest hit the floor and he began to roll as he was being pummeled from behind. Wrestling himself loose, he flipped on his back, dislodging whoever had hit him. He rolled his weight onto his attacker while being beaten about the chest. As they grunted and growled, fighting each other, he tried unsuccessfully to grab the hands and when that didn't work, he drew his arm back to strike with his fist, but stopped abruptly when his attacker began to scream. Blinking rapidly to clear his mind, the image that appeared before him was not at all what he'd expected. Antoinette lay beneath him, the green dress closed at her waist with the bodice tangled in her skirts, her only other covering a sheer chemise which showed her to an advantage. For a moment, neither moved, simply staring at each other in disbelief. Antoinette was the first to regain some sense of self and attempted pull the bodice to cover herself with some semblance of modestly. Raoul, still slack-jawed, clamped his mouth shut, blushed scarlet and turned, clearing his throat several times in an attempt to regain some control. He could hear her scrambling behind him. Finding his voice, he attempted an apology as he helped her from the floor.

"I, ah, excuse me, Antoinette, I, I, um…are you all right?"

"Monsieur! What do you think you're doing breaking through my door like that?"

"Antoinette, I— I thought I heard—"

"And just what did you 'think you heard' that would cause an entrance such as that?"

"Mme," Raoul began as he pulled himself to his full height, "I had no idea what to think. I heard a crash and angry noises and could only think the worst. I thought you needed assistance!"

"And I thought, sir, that you were one of the gendarme, or a robber, attempting I don't know what!"

"Well, obviously, I am not that. And it would appear you do not need my assistance after all"

"The only assistance I seem to need is someone to help me into this robe damnée! Mon Dieu! No wonder your nobility needs someone to dress them!"

They stared at each other in silence until Raoul began to laugh. Antoinette glared at him as if he was an idiot before she too, began laughing. When they had once again quieted, Raoul looked behind him to see a large hand mirror, or what was left of one, lying shattered on the floor. He looked back at Antoinette, smirking.

"What did you thing you were going to do with the mirror?"

"Well, if you must know, I had been using it trying to do something with these laces. But it wasn't working and then I heard a noise in the hall. I hid behind the door and when the door burst open I thought to bash whoever it was over the head with it in defense."

"Yes, well, you bashed me, though it did little harm however, you managed to kill the mirror. And how could it possibly help you with your laces?"

"I was of a mind that I could hold it to see behind me with one hand while I tried lacing this dress with the other, but it wasn't working very well."

"No, I suppose it wouldn't. Why didn't Christine help you this morning?"

"Too much left for me to do, I didn't want to soil this. It is rather lovely." She sighed as she pressed the bodice to her, her fingers skimming the fabric.

Raoul could hear the wistful tone in her voice and was very glad he'd chosen that particular dress for her.

"If you think you won't be too embarrassed, I could help you into it. I'm not unversed in these things. I helped my mother often when I was a little boy. It's how I learned to lace my shoes."

Antoinette eyed him with some skepticism as to the real reason he could help, then nodded slightly allowing him to approach her.

"You'll have to put the top on before I can lace the back."

Antoinette turned her back and struggled into the sleeves while trying to remain as covered as possible. Finally, the bodice was in place and Raoul pulled the sides of the dress together and began to lace. She had pulled her braided hair in front of her and as he neared the neckline, he noticed her ivory skin against the emerald green of the material. He reached the top, his fingers brushing against her, and he felt a tiny shiver go through her. She really is quite lovely he thought as he took her shoulders and turned her to him. Her blue eyes were round, the iris' dilated, desire evident in them and he knew he'd lit a spark in her. What am I doing? My heart is Christine's! But he was learning that the mind and the heart often disagreed. Yes, lovely he thought, as she continued to look at him, her mouth moist and tempting. He began to lean in to her when he shook his head, dropping his hands to his side.

"We must be going if we're to keep to the plan." He said, though he still gazed at her lips.

Finally breaking eye contact with him, Antoinette turned to check her hair in the floor mirror, grabbed her gloves and portefeuille, and handed her shawl to Raoul to place over her shoulders. He left his hands to linger upon her once again, then cleared his throat as he moved to the door.

"Shall we go?"

"Oui, Monsieur, it is time." She wove her arm through his and together, they left the room to play at a pretense that showed signs of becoming something more.

Raoul led Antoinette to the stables the same way he'd come, staying as inconspicuous as possible though he knew any man seeing her would stop to stare at her beauty. Phillipe had the team hitched and the Victoria ready when they arrived. He helped Antoinette into the carriage as Raoul went round the other side, climbing in to settle himself next to her. The Victoria was designed to keep the couple as close together as possible and remain comfortable, and Raoul took advantage of it, motioning to Antoinette to take his arm again. He could feel her warmth through his sleeve and it stirred in him again, the war between heart and head. He felt in his heart he had betrayed Christine, but his head knew she would never be his. Antoinette had tucked her arm through his once more, placing her free hand on his arm as well. Phillipe pulled the Victoria out of the stables as they began their ride to Le Raincy.