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Paladin127

Sophia walked into the kitchen and found Citrine rosy-cheeked.

"Where were you?" Sophia asked.

"Out." Citrine gave a sly grin, which Sophia knew was meant to ensnare her. She didn't want to allow it to work, but she had a feeling that Citrine knew something good. She usually did.

"Out where?"

"Taking care of a very special task assigned by none other than Monsieur Belmont."

"Really?" Sophia arched a brow, knowing that if Citrine had been a bird she would have puffed out her chest and fluffed her feathers.

"Really." Citrine put her nose in the air and sniffed. "However, it's none of your concern."

Sophia's jaw dropped, but she recovered at once and squared her shoulders. "I wasn't concerned. I was merely asking."

"Well, don't ask. I'm not supposed to tell you."

"It's about me?"

Citrine turned away. "I never said it was about you. Why does it have to be about you? Because Monsieur Belmont is involved?"

"An hour ago you wanted to baste him and serve him up for supper."

"Yes, but everything has changed since then. And it's been three hours, mind you."

Still completely intrigued, Sophia folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, attempting an air of suspicion that she didn't feel. Somehow, during the time she'd returned home to clear her mind, Erik and Citrine had conspired against her.

That wasn't at all fair.

"We're supposed to be friends," Sophia said, her voice edged in a pout.

Citrine blew a raspberry. "We are friends, but it's different."

"Different how?"

Citrine looked simply exasperated. "Much as I love you, Sophia, our honest relationship can only exist when there are no juicy secrets. So for the time being, we're friends, yes, but not the same friends we were this morning."

"Why are you doing this?"

"I'm not doing anything." She gave a wink and shooed Sophia away. "I must start supper. Busy yourself."

"Citrine!"

Her friend laughed and placed her hand over her heart. "Oh, you know I merely wish to torment you. I must say you make it far too easy for me, Sophia."

"Did he really send you out for something?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me what he sent you for?"

Citrine held up an onion. "This."

Sophia frowned. "Those were in the cellar. I put them there myself."

"Then, no, I won't tell you since you're such a clever girl and you've found me out." With that, Citrine walked out the back door. "And don't ask me again!" she shouted. "I promised Monsieur Belmont I wouldn't tell you a word!"

"I'll ask him myself." Sophia ran to the back door before it swung shut. "He'll tell me."

"He's not here."

"Excuse me?"

"I said he's not here. And no, I won't tell you where he went."

Sophia pursed her lips. It must have been a really good secret—and she wasn't in on it. Yet.

-o-

Gabe drove Angelina and Erik to the Turro Estate late in the afternoon. Now that he had set himself on the specific task of asking Philippe for Sophia's hand, he wasn't as confident as he'd been standing in his own home.

He hadn't seen Sophia before he left, which made him wonder if Citrine would blurt out his plans as soon as Sophia walked into the kitchen. The cook had been more excited than he'd first anticipated, and he hoped that was a good sign that she'd keep the secret to herself. If not for the sake of surprise, she'd want to keep her employment. From the drama she'd witnessed in the morning of him firing Sophia, Citrine had to understand that she could be next if she angered him.

"He's a very intelligent man," Angelina said.

He sat back from where he'd been watching the landscape blur past his window. "I beg your pardon?"

"Monsieur Dupree. He thinks everything through. His sister used to say he thought the fun out of everything, but you know how she enjoys teasing him."

Erik grunted. His stomach felt tight and uncomfortable as they approached the state. Philippe knew what he wanted, and though he didn't fear that he'd necessarily say no, Erik preferred to meet on his own terms. Somehow it seemed as though it would offer him a greater chance of acceptance.

"You don't have to ask him right now," Angelina offered.

"Yes, I do."

She shifted, the leather seats creaking beneath her. "Erik, is she...in a family way?"

"No," he answered, then more firmly. "No. That isn't why I want to marry her now. I just—it's just that I, that we're…I love her."

He couldn't possibly tell his own mother that he hadn't yet experienced the joys of flesh and love a woman could offer, but that the mere taste he'd been allowed had left him almost unable to think of anything else. With a proposal came marriage, and for Sophia, that meant opening an entire world neither of them knew.

While he doubted his mother would disapprove or judge him for being a man, he didn't want her to know outright that each turn of the carriage's wheels hopefully drew him further and further away from innocence and a life spent alone.

"Love doesn't need to be rushed," she replied, offering a smile as she leaned over and caressed his cheek. "Sage advice, I suppose. In my experience, men rarely think as it is, but throw a woman into their lives and they're defeated. Nothing is as deadly as love."

"I'll remember that."

The carriage slowed and turned into the drive. While he listened to Gabe instruct the horses, Erik wiped the palms of his hands onto his pant legs and took a breath. If anything, he'd learned to feign calm when inside he thought he'd crumble.

Until now, the most frightful moments in his life revolved around Christine, whom he never adjusted to, at least not when it came to being able to function. With the gypsies he'd merely shut down his emotions and learned to sit through their torment until he finally discovered an escape, which he'd taken and never looked back.

Christine, however, required drowning in emotions. There was no quiet moment to simply appreciate her. Ever second had been a struggle inside and out, a constant battle to first win her over and then keep her. He'd failed at both.

The same agonizing rush plagued him now, though he felt more acutely aware of the fall should Philippe deny him. He wondered if he'd become desperate again and take Sophia with him, though now he had no place to go.

As the carriage stopped and jostled with Gabe's shifting weight, Erik silently vowed to himself that he'd never be in that situation again, never put himself or someone he said he loved into a position where there was no way out.

"Are you ready?" Angelina asked.

Gabe opened the door for her, and to Erik's surprise, Philippe stood waiting to assist Madame Turro.

He hesitated only a moment before he followed her out. "Yes," he said. "I'm ready."

Angelina released Philippe's hand, told him how good it was to see him again, then turned to her servant Sabine and asked her to put tea on for Philippe and her son. It still shocked Erik to hear her call him her son, and he couldn't keep himself from smiling. Monster, phantom, devil's son…he'd been called many things, but he'd forgotten how it felt to have someone call him by a name he desired.

"I didn't expect you," Philippe said, offering his hand to Erik.

"I needed to speak with you."

"About Sophia?"

"Yes, it's—well, it's," he stammered. He hadn't expected Philippe to know why he was there, though there weren't many other reasons for him to travel to the Turro Estate. "It's important that I speak to you now."

"Has something happened?"

Erik immediately thought of lying in bed with Sophia, of how he'd explored her body in a way he'd never touched a woman before—but not as fully as he'd wanted to know her. He cleared his throat and shifted his weight, unsure of how to answer without incriminating himself.

"Is she hurt? Sick? What's wrong with her?" Philippe grabbed him by the arm and stared at him, obviously concerned.

"It's nothing bad," Angelina said as she stepped between them. "In fact, Monsieur Dupree, I think you'll be quite pleased." She offered both of them a smile before she turned away. "Follow me, gentleman. I'll see you both comfortable before I allow you some privacy."

Philippe studied Erik as they followed Angelina into the house. "How is she?"

Erik thought a moment. If he and Philippe would be family through marriage then he wanted to treat and be treated like family.

"It's been an interesting day," Erik answered.

"In what way?"

If he wanted to be honest, now was the time to start. "I released Sophia from her duties."

Philippe came to an abrupt stop in the foyer. "You did what?"