Chapter Three
Even Gods Have Faults

Ariella was a wreck. At least inwardly she was. Looking at her not one bit of her nervousness showed to any onlooker. Her brother had added to her nerves when he stated he had found a shovel. He had let it be known he would be starting excavation in the lobby at first light. He had asked Ariella if she intended to join him and Julianna. She had informed him she would not as he would not be digging in the lobby or anywhere else in the opera house. Seeing the stubborn set of his mouth along with the determined glint in his eye forced her to extract a promise from him not to begin any sort of holes that destroyed the fine marble tile on the floor.

His reluctant promise had her heaving a sigh of relief. If there was one thing she could count on it was a promise made by her brother. Thinking about it later confidence slipped slightly. Her brother was a born politician or lawyer. He could find more holes in a promise he made than one could find in Swiss cheese. He never outright disregarded his promise. He merely found logical ways to circumvent them.

At least for tonight the opera house was safe. She would have to make sure she kept him with her tomorrow. Right now she had more immediate worries. One more floor then a few short feet further would put her in front of Antoinette's door. When she had spoken to Meg earlier she had asked if Meg would be present for the meeting tonight. Meg had pouted a bit when she told her she was told by her mother specifically not to be anywhere near her mother's room this evening. One would think her mother feared she would jump the poor man as he sat drinking tea while they discussed opera business. With a slight giggle Meg had told Ariella her mother was a wise woman and knew her daughter all too well.

Meg had made her promise to recount every detail no matter how insignificant it might seem. If she could not be there she would live vicariously through Ariella. Before Ariella had left Meg, Ariella had asked her about Christine. Meg had gone quiet for a minute. Ariella had almost thought Meg had decided not to answer her when she began to tell Ariella what little she knew and what she had since learned from Christine. Meg still had a close relationship with Christine.

Meg had told her that Christine did love the man who had devoted so many years to her. The love she felt for him was not as strong as her love for Raoul. Erik had made her feel things that most young women felt for their first lover. The first stirrings of passion. Beyond the music and the fledgling passion she had known she could not live as her angel did in darkness all the time. That would have been how she had to live if she had chosen Erik. She had not been strong enough. Her love had not been deep enough. With Raoul she could see herself growing old being content all the long years ahead. With Erik there would have been too much to overcome. Christine had admitted she was not a strong person. The woman who lived with Erik needed to put him first. Love him completely. She would have to be willing to live in his dark world if he never managed to find the courage to leave his underground sanctuary.

Christine could not meet any of those requirements. She had loved Raoul more than Erik. She could make no other choice than be with her heart's desire. She had told Meg of the choice to stay with Erik to save Raoul's life. In the end her innocent offer of her lips on Erik's had made him realize he could not condemn her to live with him. He had set them free. She had also admitted those last kisses had not been all for show. She had felt passion as his lips had met hers. If he had laid his hands on her Christine was not sure if she would have been willing to go with Raoul so readily. She might have been persuaded to find out what all that passion could lead to in time. In the end it was Erik who made the choice. He released them all that night. He had sacrificed everything to make sure Christine was happy.

By the end of her tale they had both had tears streaking down their cheeks. Their noses had been running with them searching frantically for a handkerchief. Ariella and Meg both sniffled vowing to do what they could for this man, Erik would have been astounded he was the topic of such a conversation as well as the fact they shed tears for his suffering.

Meg had made one last request of Ariella before she had left. She had asked her to smell him. When Ariella looked at her as if she were insane Meg laughed lightly. Joseph Buquet had said he smelled like death. Others said he smelled of musty rotting cloth. Christine had blushed when confessing he had smelled intoxicatingly wonderful. She had tried to find a man's cologne that smelled similar but it had been unique to her teacher. Since Meg's mother was determined to keep her away from him she needed Ariella to sniff and tell. Wondering how she could get a sniff without making him think her some kind of escaped lunatic Ariella had agreed to see what she could do. She made no firm promises.

Now here she was standing in front of the door reluctant to knock. With her clipboard under her arm she smoothed her hand over her hair checking to make sure the braid was still wound tightly around her head. She smoothed back the few strands that had escaped throughout the day. Nerves had her running her sweating palms down the sides of her dress. The door hadn't even opened yet and she was about to bolt back to the safety her room. Inhaling a fortifying breath she knocked on the door.

The door flew open so quickly Ariella jumped slightly in surprise. Antoinette pulled her into the room without ceremony. Looking out into the corridor she stepped back into the room shutting the door with a loud click. Ariella could see no one else in the room. Looking at the clock on the wall she felt disappointment seep into her very bones. She was ten minutes late. He had either not come or left because of her tardiness.

"Oh Antoinette I am so sorry. I lost track of time. I visited Meg earlier and stayed longer than I had planned. Was he angry? Did he leave because I was late? Oh dear this was not the sort of impression I wished to make. Perhaps if I apologize personally he will agree to another meeting?"

"Ariella you are not that late. He did not leave. He is still here. Calm down. No harm done. If anyone knows how disruptive Meg can be to ones timing who better than her mother? She was three weeks late for her own birth. She has been running late ever since. Now for introductions. Erik you could be a gentleman and stand when a lady enters the room."

Erik had been frozen in his seat as soon as Antoinette had opened the door. It would have taken a bomb underneath him to make him leave his seat. This was a mistake. A terrible mistake. What had possessed him to come? Once she saw him....Once she saw you what? What did you think would happen? What did you want to happen? Could all those sly looks you give her mean more than you are willing to admit? You fool. You have been following her around like a puppy for weeks now. All those weak excuses you gave yourself just to be near her. Pathetic. Admit it to yourself, you wanted to impress her. Why would you spend two hours bathing and choosing what to wear? Antoinette would not give a damn if you came naked. Well perhaps that is not true. She would not care what type of clothing you wore as long as it is clean. You dressed for Ariella and no one else.

Ending his self lecturing he reluctantly pushed himself to his full height of six feet four inches. He heard a gasp form behind him. Dear God! He had not even turned around and already she was horrified.

"Erik." His hesitation to turn to greet Ariella irritated Antoinette. She took Ariella by the arm and walked her around to the front of Erik's chair. If Mohammed will not come to the mountain the mountain must go to Mohammed.

"Ariella this is Erik. Erik this my assistant Ariella." Antoinette looked from one to the other waiting. She did not know what she had expected but she had certainly expected more than complete silence.

Neither one spoke or offered any type of greeting. Ariella looked up then up a little higher. She did not know a person could be so tall. Or broad shouldered. She was afraid to look downward. If the rest of him matched the top portion he was better than any godlike statue she had seen. Meg had not exaggerated one bit. She had neglected to warn her about those marvellous green eyes. Well she could be forgiven for that as he mother would not let her get within spitting distance of him. Now she could understand Antoinette's concerns. The man was simply not like anyone she had ever seen. The mask was not the most unusual thing about him. It was everything else. His height. His eyes. His face. Those lips. As her eyes locked on those lips she saw his tongue sweep across his lips leaving a sheen of moisture behind. For the oddest reason her finger wanted to follow the same path. Or better still her tongue. When her brain allowed her to comprehend what she was thinking her face warmed with the flush of blood roaring to the surface.

With a loud huff Antoinette brought both of them back from their own introspection. This was not how she had foreseen the evening beginning at all. Erik had been struck dumb. Ariella looked as if she were about to expire from a heart attack.

"Well let's be seated then we can begin to go over the notes Ariella took this afternoon."

Notes. They were going to discuss notes? Not one clear thought came to Ariella's mind. Dear God she was about to make a fool of herself. She could think of nothing. Ariella then remembered she carried her clipboard with all her notes written neatly down on paper.

Walking over to the seat Antoinette offered her she stepped in front of it. She would have been fine if he had not bent towards her to hold the darn chair. One whiff and she was done for. Inhaling while leaning closer to him she misjudged where the chair was. Missing it completely she slid down to come to an abrupt stop when her derrière hit the floor.

A moment of shock then total mortification. Just let me die now she begged. Or disappear from the planet. Or suddenly become invisible.

None of those things happened. She did get to feel Erik's hands on her as he assisted her to her feet. Strong hands with long tapering fingers. Smooth skin only slightly callused as if used to labor and being well maintained. A clean fastidious man. He offered her his hands to assist her to her feet. Another reward was another intoxicating whiff of him. Spicy. Citrusy. Man. Whatever it was, it smelled heavenly.

Taking her seat without mishap this time she sat quietly while she straightened the skirt of her dress. Well that was certainly going to leave a lasting impression. Not one she would choose to have him remember later when he would surely laugh at her clumsiness.

"Ariella perhaps you could show Erik your notes then he can ask you questions. She is really quite good at spotting little problems on stage," Antoinette said to Erik. "Things that normally we do not discover until we are in the middle of a performance and must improvise to cover some mistake or other, Ariella spots immediately. Ariella has an amazing knack for timing and staging. She has been indispensable these last few months."

Ariella stood to hand Erik her notes. She had suddenly become all thumbs. She fumbled with the papers. The clip did not want to let go. She pulled harder. The papers went flying threw the air to scatter all across the floor. Erik and Ariella bent down at the same time. Her head bumped his chin with a little thump. His curse was much louder than he intended and certainly not one that should be said in the presence of a lady.

Ariella jerked back losing her footing. With arms flailing she tilted backwards. Still reeling from the blow to his chin Erik reached out to grab Ariella. Her right hand smacked into his left eye. He let go of her with his left hand to protect his eye from further damage. With his left hand covering his left eye he held onto her with his right hand. Fearing she was about to fall she grabbed his shirt front. A loud ripping sound echoed around the room. Erik lost his balance then fell forward knocking her down with him coming to rest on top of her.

A loud oof sounded in Erik's ear. Then complete silence for a few minute seconds then the two entangled on the floor heard laughter. Not quiet chuckling but roll on the floor bellyaching laughter.

Antoinette had to sit or fall to the floor with them. She had never in her life seen anything so hilarious. If everyone could have seen Erik in these last few moments he would have had lost all credibility as the fearsome Opera Ghost. He had always been so smooth and graceful, never putting a foot wrong, never stumbling among all the twisting ropes above the stage, leaping from one board to another without losing his footing once. Now he lost all coordination in just a few seconds.

Erik thought things could not get worse. He was mistaken. Once he recovered his breath he began to notice other things. Her eyes drew his and held them. He could not look anywhere but into those dark blue depths. Her lips were parted. He glimpsed her tongue quickly flicking out over her lips. The most noticeable thing was her softness. Where she was all softness he was all hardness. He was getting much harder in an area he would rather not have anyone witness. The part poking directly into her soft stomach.

Pushing up with his arms he then slid to the side. Once he was clear of her body he stood up. Brushing himself off Erik hesitated for only a moment then offered her his hand. Her reluctance was just as obvious as his had been. Taking that strong hand she allowed him to pull her up. He had tugged harder than needed. She stumbled to her feet coming to rest with her breasts crushed against him just below where his heart was now thundering a fast beat.

Neither moved away or said a word. Again their eyes seemed to be locked in battle. Had Antoinette not been there or cleared her throat at that precise moment who knows what could or would have happened? Erik silently cursed. He was willing to find out damn it.

"Well this has not been the most auspicious meeting I have attended. Perhaps in light of circumstances we should save this for another time. Why don't you take Ariella's notes with you Erik? You can look them over then we can meet again to answer any questions or hear any suggestions you may have."

"Yes Antoinette I think that would be best. If you would excuse me I will take my leave. I'll place a note in the usual place when I have finished looking over the notes. Until then I wish you both a good night." With an elegant bow he turned around heading straight to the wall.

Ariella's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he waved his hand across the surface. A panel opened up. He stepped into the darkness then the panel closed behind him. Ariella could now see one reason he was thought to be a ghost. He walked through walls.

"Well that went better than I expected." Antoinette chuckled still amused at their expense.

Better than she had expected? Good Lord had she thought they would bring the whole opera house down? Considering who Erik was and his past, that could well have been a possibility. It still might be. Ariella began to see the humor in the situation. She only hoped Erik did too.

"I don't know what dictionary you looked into to find the definition for "better" but in mine the events of this evening in no way come close to what the word means. The word disastrous comes to mind. I have never been so flustered in my life. I seemed to lose all control. A person could be forgiven for thinking I held those papers with my feet rather than my hands."

"Well look on the bright side. Your next meeting must go better than this one. Things could hardly get any worse than they are already. The two of you did look rather hilarious. How two such elegant people could tie themselves into such knots I can only hazard a guess. This will remain a source of humour to brighten many days when I need something to cheer me from the gloom of everyday life."

"Well I am glad someone received something out of this whole mess other than humiliation. How can I ever face him again? Why I practically attacked the man. I dragged him to the floor. I can not remember if I apologized. Did I Antoinette? Please tell me I did." Ariella placed her cold hands on her hot cheeks.

Antoinette had been laughing so hard at their antics she could not say for sure what had been said. Looking at Ariella's hot flushed cheeks she decided she could tell this white lie without any remorse.

"Of course you did. Stop worrying. Go back to your room. Get to bed. Tomorrow everything will look better or at least less tragic." Antoinette could barely contain the smile pulling at her lips. She was looking forward to seeing Erik tomorrow. She could only imagine how Erik was feeling about his less than graceful first meeting with Ariella. It still amazed her that two perfectly graceful people could suddenly forget how to manoeuvre their bodies without mishap.

As soon as Antoinette was sure Ariella was far enough down the corridor to be beyond hearing her laughter she let her merriment take over. It was quite some time later with tears streaming from laughing so hard and long running down her face, she got ready for bed. She knew they would be perfect together. Now she only had to convince them of that fact.