Authors note: Thank you for all your wonderful reviews, sorry I've taken so long. Well, here's chapter five, enjoy )
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Full of passion and love, Christine rushed back and almost ran right into Martha at the door. The young girl stared at Christine who was completely flushed in her face.
"Goodness, miss. What have you been up to?" Christine couldn't answer that question but the smile on her lips and the sparkle in her eyes told Martha all she needed to know. She herself knew what it was like to meet a man and fall in love and all the excitement that followed.
"You should probably accompany your aunt and uncle in the library, they have an old acquaintance visiting them for tea right now." Christine nodded and headed of to the library but froze to the spot as she heard the voices talking inside.
"We are so glad to see you again you have certainly grown since we last saw you" she heard her uncle say followed by a few chuckles.
"What brings you to England now?" Lena said.
"Well partly business and I heard that your niece was visiting, so I thought that I would stop by and say hello, you must remember how much we played when we were young."
"Of course we do, Vicomte" her uncle said and that made Christine's intake of breath was so high that she was surprised that the door hadn't followed with it. Obviously the people inside hadn't noticed and continued their conversation. Christine kneeled down and peeked through the keyhole.
It was Raoul. Unmistakably Raoul. What was he doing here?
Christine jerked back to reality when she felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Martha again.
"What is it Miss?" she asked. "Aren't you going to go insi..?" Christine putted her hand over Martha's mouth and hushed her. Obviously the people inside the library hadn't heard that either.
"Come" Christine whispered and grabbed Martha by the hand and ran upstairs to her suite with her.
Locking the door carefully behind her she turned to Martha.
"That's my former fiancée" she said and Martha's eyes widened.
"What? No one has ever said anything about you being engaged"
"Probably because I'm not anymore, it ended about five months ago."
Christine sat down and gestured to Martha to do the same. She told everything about her father dying, how she became a ballerina and then the prima donna of the Palais Garnier and of course Erik. Martha listened patiently and had tears shining in her eyes when Christine's story came to an end.
"Oh miss, I can only imagine how you feel now after losing that Erik." She said and pulled up a handkerchief from the pocket in her chaperon and dried her eyes.
"The thing is I haven't lost Erik, I have found him again" she said smiling.
"What? Where? When?" Martha asked.
"That man, you said, that is working in the gardens is my Erik. I met him the day after I arrived here and I still meet him, Martha." Christine looked at the girl. "I love him. I've been so blind and shallow all my life. My father and everybody around me kept me from thinking that even people with facial faults can be beautiful and amiable. It makes me believe that I was brought up the wrong way."
"I wouldn't say the wrong way, maybe not just the entire way when it comes to people. Ever sine I was born my mother taught me that even the most beautiful people can have a devil lurking inside of them and therefore you should never trust anybody you don't know. But you knew Erik even before you saw him."
"Yes but only as an angel" she sighed.
"They are the same person, he was only lying about his identity. Now what are you going to do about the Vicomte?"
"I don't know" she said. "I haven't seen him for months and now I don't know what to do." She leaned her face in her hands and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to close out all the thoughts that were spinning inside her head. She looked up at Martha once more.
"Oh, Martha...what would you do?" she asked.
Martha stood up and walked over to Christine, leaning down, her eyes meeting Christine's.
"Act like nothing" she said, curtsied and left the room.
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Christine walked down the stairs to the library, she would act like nothing.
As she entered the library the first thing she saw was Raoul's face that brightened up.
"Ah, there you are, dear!" her aunt greeted her "I'm sure you remember our old friend, the Vicomte de Chagny." Raoul had immediately grasped her hand and kissed it with such a force that he almost marked her for life. Afterwards his face lit up again, but Christine's remained unmoved.
"No, I'm afraid I don't" she simply said. Raoul's face turned from happiness to shock.
"But of course you remember, Christine?" he looked at her as if she was insane and maybe she was, she thought, then again no, she was only in love. And this time with a true man.
Without Christine noticing, Lena smiled briefly. She had never liked the de Chagny family, after all the years they had known each other, she and Carl had always felt a little sickness towards the posh and pride that the family bestowed, and the thought of her niece marrying one and be just the same was, frankly,...repulsive.
"Tea, dear?" Carl asked, trying to hide his amusement as well.
"Yes please, uncle" Christine replied and walked past the dumbfounded vicomte and sat down.
"So, Vicomte, how do you enjoy your staying in England so far?" Lena asked. Raoul raised his head from the tea and fired off one of his shiniest smiles.
"Brilliant so far, although the weather is tolerable for me but for my carriages" he shrugged " the wheels become all lumpy because of the rain."
"Fisförnäma tönt" Carl mumbled to himself.
"Excuse me?" Raoul asked.
"Oh nothing."
After over an hour of empty chattering Raoul decided to leave.
"I'll be back tomorrow once more" he said and bowed before he left. When they could hear the door to entrance close they all exhaled.
"Finally!" Carl said "He stayed so long I thought his rear end was glued onto the couch."
"Oh, Carl, language!" Lena said and slapped his arm and Christine giggled.
"I take it, you're glad he left also?" she asked her niece.
"Yes, I do remember him, the only thing is I don't want to remember him. Is it ill of me to think so?"
Carl raised his eyebrows. "No of course not, it's your own personal opinion, but your aunt and I agree, just look how he is strutting around with his head so high and how he invites himself in everywhere. He didn't even asked for our permission to have him here tomorrow."
That made Christine reflect the time he had practically ordered her to have supper with him after her first solo debut. That night was the first night she had met Erik. 'Erik' she thought for a second.
"Oh, lord, the sun is set already, you must have some food and then it's off to bed with you young lady." Her aunt fussed with her and made sure she was properly tucked in bed before midnight.
Midnight or not, Christine simply could not sleep. She stepped out off bed and gazed out through the window at the gardens. Without giving it a second thought, she grabbed her white cloak and made her way out to the gardens.
She could feel the heaviness in the air, it was about to rain. She entered the secret garden, shutting the door quietly behind her. She looked around but saw no sign of Erik. Deciding to wait for him she sat down in the swing and pressed her feet into the ground, pushing her and the swing up then letting go. She flew into the night breeze, a smile played upon her lips, it was years ago since she had been sitting on a swing. She remembered how her father had pushed her forward, making her laugh like the little child she had been, her feet kicking happily in the air and she had been shouting "Högre, högre!"
She was pulled back out of her thoughts as she heard the sky break over her head, she looked up and saw a lighting upon it. A few moments later the rain started to fall. Christine pulled her hood up and made her way to the door again, only to find it locked. She pushed with all her might but it would not move, by now she was soaked, she started shivering.
Suddenly she felt hand on her shoulder she turned around and saw her Angel standing behind her, she almost sobbed with relief.
"What on earth are you doing out here in the rain?" his voice was worried.
"I can't get the door open" she tried once more but the result was the same as before. Erik also tried but it found it just as difficult.
"It must have locked itself, I will deal with it tomorrow." Suddenly he realised that it was plenty of hours left before tomorrow arrived and Christine couldn't sleep outside in this weather.
"You are going to have to sleep at my home tonight" she that that was probably the only way to escape the rain, she nodded and took his hand that he offered. They walked into the depth of the garden until they stopped in front of one of the many ivy-covered walls. Erik pulled it aside and told her to walk through. When she was on the other side she saw the house, it was quite big for a cottage, it reminded her of a smaller version of he operahouse, without all the statues on it.
As they walked in they were greeted by the warmth from the fireplace that Erik had lit earlier that night. Christine felt his hands remove her cloak from her shoulders, but the rest of her clothes were also wet.
"You need to take a bath, before you catch your death. I will go and prepare one for you and while I do that you can get out of your clothes." Christine looked up, shocked by his choice of words.
"Um, what shall I sleep in?" she asked shyly. He walked over to a closet and pulled out a robe that he remembered, it was the same that he had worn the night she had pulled his mask off for the first time.
"Here, you can have this" he handed her the robe and she accepted it with a yawn that she was unable to hide. Erik saw it and smiled.
"I'll come back when your bath is finished" as he left he felt her hand take his arm, their eyes contacted as they had done so many times before.
"Thank you" she said, her hand moved up behind his neck and pulled his face down to hers and kissed him, the best way of showing her gratitude.
"You're welcome, as always" she giggled and felt his lips on hers again. When he went upstairs she started to undress. Her nightgown was completely soaked and her hair was dripping. She laid her clothes out in front of the fire and pulled the black velvet robe on, it smelled like Erik, masculine and mysterious. The velvet caressed her skin and she hugged herself, imagining that it was Erik himself that she hugged. The robe was definitely made for a taller person but she enjoyed wearing it.
Erik returned and informed her that the bath was ready. Christine walked up and rinsed of all the dirt that she had collected from the garden on her face and on her hands. Her body instantly warmed up as she lowered herself in the big tub. She closed her eyes and it reminded herself how tired she was. She got up and dried off, slipping into her angels robe again she made her way out. Erik stood outside and smiled at the sight of her small figure in his robe.
He opened the door that was opposite the bathroom. Christine gasped, all the furniture in this room came from his home in the operahouse. All the candelabras, the organ, the mirrors, the table with all his paintings and the huge bed that was shaped like a swan.
Erik saw her reaction. "Are you alright?"
"Yes" her voice was barely a whisper but thick with emotions. His arms came around her, he brought his hand up under her chin, facing her.
"What's the matter then?" he asked gently. Christine inhaled shakily, tears forming in her eyes.
"It feels like I'm home, with you by my side, like before." She buried her face against his chest and cried silently, his hands roamed over her back, comforting her. He picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying her down. As he stood up to leave the room he felt her hand taking his arm once more.
"Stay with me" she pleaded "I don't want to be without you anymore." As those words left her mouth, Erik couldn't help but love her now more than ever. He undressed, leaving his underwear on and lay down next to her, bringing the velvet sheet up to cover them. He opened his arms to her and she settled in, her head resting against his bare chest. He closed his eyes and inhaled the scent from her hair, he had dreamt about this moment so many times that now when it really happened it was more than he ever thought it could be, how he loved her!
"I should have never left you" she said her voice breaking into tears again.
"Shh" he whispered "You were just a child, I asked too much from you."
"The thought of this frightened me, I knew you loved me and wanted me, but I couldn't return the kind of love that you wanted from me, I didn't know how. How can you ever forgive me?" She looked up at him, tears falling down her cheeks that he brushed away with his fingers.
"I love you, Christine. No one has ever understood me the way you do and you have given me the thing that I have wished for my entire life. My love, responded."
Christine smiled through her tears, she kissed his chest, nuzzling against it she felt him kiss her forehead.
"Sleep now, my angel." He felt her lashes brush against his chest as she closed her eyes in exhaustion. Erik stayed awake a little more, memorising every look and feeling of this moment. She was sleeping peacefully, her back underneath his hands was rising in time with her breathing. She was soft and warm, he couldn't imagine his life without her anymore. They had know each other for so long and the thought of losing he again was torturing. She was going to be his in the way he had never had her before. To lay her beside her with her face pressed against his chest was undeniably arousing. He wanted her to belong to him forever, he wanted to marry her, create a family and life with her. He would ask her when the time was right.
Sleep finally claimed him. He spent the night holding the woman he loved with the rain pattering outside.