Let is not be said that I keep my readers hanging...for too long! (wink)
I give you Erik.
MAN OF SORROWS
CHAPTER 25
Cardinal Poindexter sat with his hands folded in front of him, as though praying; and he had a troubled look on his face.
"Erik, there are no words that will compensate for what has been taken from you." He stated with a grievous tone. "No one knew what he was capable of….no one."
Erik watched the older man breath heavily to avoid giving way to the tears that threatened in the corners of his eyes.
"After the news came to us and the truth was finally determined, the authorities would not allow us to come to you."
The old man raised kind eyes to Erik and smiled sadly, "I wanted to assure you that all would be brought to light….and his misdeeds would be dealt with quickly and justly."
"He was like a father to me." Erik murmured; still feeling the betrayal stir in his heart.
"I know…which makes things much harder to keep in prospective…in his troubled mind he thought he was doing what was best for you and the church."
The Cardinal stood up with the aid of his cane and looked out over the courtyard. His eyes were aged and full of wisdom; wisdom that knew there were unseen forces warring against each other every moment of every day – spiritual warfare.
"Somewhere in the pursuit of his own agenda, Wallace lost sight of God…and took his eyes off Christ and His mission."
He turned around and sighed heavily; then he lifted his admiring gaze to Erik.
"You never did…in all that you have endured, your faith has not faltered." He smiled this time, taking several years off his weathered face, "You are an amazing individual, Erik…absolutely amazing."
Erik felt his heart go out to this man. During his last years at the Vatican, Cardinal Poindexter had been a Monsignor when Erik had been studying under him. He had been another fatherly figure to Erik, but Wallace had seemed to monopolize his time very jealously.
"I've found someone that I want to make a life with…" Erik stated. "I have no choice but to put closure on my time here...to prove to him I was stronger than he thought."
The Cardinal shook his head knowingly and opened the top drawer of his desk. He pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote an address on it; knowing Erik would be interested in having it.
"Here is what you seek, my child…go and find the peace you deserve."
♫♫♫
The grave was marked, but not kept. Erik stood beside it, willing the rage and fury burning within him to flee in the opposite direction.
"I'll never understand why you did what you did." He ground through clenched teeth; fighting back the furious tears that knocked on the corners of his eyes.
Erik talked to whatever part of Wallace Neville remained. He raked his long fingers through his sable hair, and finally allowed his emotions to take over.
"Why Wallace…after all that you meant to me? You tried to rob me of my humanity, and you almost succeeded. However, what you meant as evil against me, God has used for good."
He smiled toward the heavens and felt peace and freedom for the first time in years.
"Since I missed the trial and you missed the sentencing…" his fists unclenched and a strange twisting gripped his heart. "…there is only one thing I can do that will free me from any hold you had over me…"
"…I forgive you." He whispered. "You have no power over me any longer."
He left that graveside, only to visit another…one he would never forget.
The rolling hillside where Loraine and Jean-Marc rested was still lush and green, even in early October.
The lone figure of a man sat at the bench beside the grave and rested his chin in his hands. The clouds passed overhead, the sun began to rest, and tears still glistened on his cheeks.
The soft breeze caressed his features and ran invisible fingers through his hair with soft precision.
Finally, he leaned toward the grave and spoke softly.
"She came, Loraine…just as you said - she's become the most important person in my life and, if she'll have me, I will ask her to marry me."
His eyes misted over as he thought about the sweet, broken memories he had of Loraine.
"I am able to let you both go now, although I will never forget you…thank you for loving me." He pushed the tears back, and smiled with hopeful sadness, "…you taught me the joy and beauty of love the first time…before it was ripped away from me; now, she has taught me to love again."
He sat a little longer, basking in the peace that washed over him; he knew they both understood and wanted him happy.
"Someday, we'll meet again."
He took one last fleeting look at the gravesite and walked away, it was time to go home.
♫♫♫
Christine's art class was going extremely well. She had wonderfully gifted students whose futures were quite bright if they wanted to pursue careers in art design or any form of art.
Luke Vanderbilt was one such student. Christine had been instructing him since he had been a sophomore; he was now a senior. He came from a low-income family, but his talent was extraordinary.
"Luke, that is wonderful – your use of color makes the focus of the picture move flowingly from thought to thought…excellent job."
"Thank you, Ms. Daughtry."
The boy was beaming from the praise she gave him; Christine knew his family didn't support his desire to become a graphic design artist. He was a naturally born artist, and Christine wanted him to have the opportunity to make his dreams come true.
"I have seen what you do with your graphics, Luke…I think you are one of the most talented young people I have ever known."
A look of longing rested in his deep brown eyes. He wasn't sure how much of a chance he had, but he appreciated his teachers support and praise.
Christine was circling the room, watching and instructing each student when she heard a quiet, but very pronounced, whisper.
"Who is he?"
"I don't know, but he is HOT!!"
"Yeah, even with the mask."
Christine was about to tell the girls to stop disrupting class, when the "mask" comment caused her to spin around and almost faint from the sight of him.
"Erik!"
He smiled, turning her knees to mush, and approached her with a maddeningly sensual smoothness to his movements.
"Hello, Christine." His voice was like a cool shower on a blistering hot day.
Tears hung in her eyes, and it would only take one blink and they would coat her cheeks. She slowly walked toward him, hardly believing that he stood before her.
"You came back."
Her tone was breathy and surreal and she allowed herself the luxury of enfolding him in her embrace. She breathed in his scent and closed her eyes, causing the tears to spill out.
He held her tight, not fully understanding why she was so emotional; but then, he really knew very little about women.
"Was there a doubt?"
One hand rested in the small of her back and the other cradled the back of her head. She pressed against him – warm and giving – and Erik closed his eyes in contentment.
"I missed you." She whispered, barely loud enough for him to hear.
He lifted her chin with his finger, the most intimate gesture he could have made at that time, and a warm shiver went through her body.
"More than I thought you would…apparently." He whispered.
The urge to kiss her was almost overbearing, but Erik knew it was not appropriate on school grounds, and especially in front of her class.
"Who's the guy, Ms. Daughtry; he's gorgeous!"
Shelly Graham was the oldest girl in the room, and she was literally boy crazy – but a gifted artist, nonetheless.
Her whispered question escaped the ears of Erik, who was still looking around the room at the various designs.
"Students, I would like to introduce you to my favorite artist – whom I have had the wonderful opportunity of getting to know in the past few weeks – Erik Argeneau."
The name whispered around the room, and each student approached him with awe-filled eyes and numerous questions.
Christine stood back and allowed him to answer the questions with patience and grace; he would have made an excellent teacher.
After he had answered each question and settled minds, Erik planted his eyes on Christine and smiled; his eyes were deep teal and sparkled with mirth.
"You did that on purpose…was that my punishment for leaving so abruptly?"
She blushed slightly and smiled coyly.
"No, I know why you left…but I wanted my students to know who it was that provided the finances to make this class possible for the next few years."
Every set of eyes turned to him and he smirked and ducked his head…somehow, she had found out.
"Would you go away with me this weekend?" He leaned into her and purposely brushed his warm lips against her ear, "I'll be a good boy, I promise."
His whispered promise sent a sensual shiver up her spine and she nodded, unable to hide the happy grin that spread across her face.
"You rogue – you're way past being a good boy." She teased, quietly.
He grinned and risked running his thumb along the moist outline of her lips.
"I'll pick you up at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon...dress for traveling, semi-formal dining – and whatever else you feel you may need." He winked.
He smirked with a sensual glint in his eye and then bid the class farewell.
TBC