ALL I KNOW OF LOVE
Erik and Christine are the creation of Gaston Leroux; the reference to Persia and some of its customs are derived from Susan Kay's book, "Phantom". All other characters and the backdrop of the story are the creations and property of GerrysJackie.
Some places and all names are fictional.
PLAYERS:
Erik – Gerard Butler - Perfect
Christine – The face and coloring of Zooey Deschanel (Failure to Launch, Elf) – and the body of Marilyn Monroe, except 3 inches taller
Gustav - Billy Connelly – Because I really like him.
Patrick Connelly - Paul Bettany – (A Knights Tale, Firewall, A Beautiful Mind)
Pascal – Mel Gibson's looks (slightly older with graying hair) with the cunning and cruelty of J.R. Ewing from "Dallas".
Madam Marie Forsythe – Miranda Richardson
James Lumpkin (the butler) – Daniel Davis (the butler from the TV show "The Nanny")
Kamilla – Georgie Henley (Chronicles of Narnia)
Duke Sergei Beauvais – Derek Jacobi (Underworld:Evolution)
Use your imagination on all others.
This story has taken a while to develop, but I hope it has been worth it. I have several chapters already written, but I am taking my time. There is humor, drama, and romance in this story, so I hope you will enjoy it.
This rendition of Erik is one of a man who has suffered greatly in his life, at the hands of just about everyone in his life, but his spirit is still intact. He is less self-loathing than others that I have written, but he is very much aware of his self-proclaimed faults. He is dangerous and ruthless, but has had enough of death and destruction. Women are still a mystery to him, and he needs a strong, independent woman who is his equal in every way.
This Christine is not a drop-dead gorgeous woman, but her beauty is less assuming and soft…Erik will see it.
I will try to update twice a week, depending on how quickly I write chapters. I don't anticipate this being a particularly long story, but we'll see.
Enjoy.
Thank you for your reviews, they mean a great deal to me.
CHAPTER 5 – Give Me a Reason
Erik felt no better about things after the brief meeting with his future father-in-law. He sat down in the east drawing room and brooded for what seemed like hours. He stared into the blazing fire in the fire place, almost in a comatose state, until Kaveh interrupted.
"Erik, preparations need to be made; the wedding party arrives in the morning."
Erik didn't even look away from the dancing flames of the fire as he responded.
"The ring was delivered yesterday; Bishop Farquhar will be here in the morning, and the meal is being prepared as we speak – what else is there?" Erik inquired.
Kaveh sat in the chair next to his friend and silently supported him for a few minutes. Erik mechanically twirled the Scotch around in his glass, staring at the amber liquid as it turned.
"It's not too late to change your mind, Erik…you know that." Kaveh finally stated.
Erik didn't respond at first, but eventually he pulled his eyes from the monotonous movement of the Scotch and gently shook his head.
"I can't do that, Kaveh…no…I won't do that…." Erik sighed and leaded forward in the chair, dropping his head as though defeated. "…I find myself wanting a woman in this cold, ancient manor house – a woman to warm the atmosphere – not for me, Kaveh…for my children."
Erik stood and walked over to the mantle of the fire place with his back to Kaveh. "Sergei assures me that this woman is a spitfire and an independently minded female. He insists that she will be a good influence on Kamilla, a good mother for Timmy, and a much needed proper mistress for this estate."
He moved back to the chair and sat again; still not looking at Kaveh. "What if she's out there, Erik?"
Erik lifted his head in confusion, "Who?"
"The woman of your dreams." Kaveh murmured, "What if she's out there and you're stuck in a loveless marriage."
Erik scoffed and shook his head, "Such a woman does not exist."
ЖЖ
Flashback - two days ago
She refused to cry and held her chin in a stubborn tilt.
"Why does he want me?" She asked, dourly.
"It's my fault Christine." Gustav admitted.
She had a confused look in her eyes and Gustav turned from her before he continued.
"I am so sorry, Christine…when I went to the Duke for help, I had no idea he would expect me to give up my daughter." Gustav pleaded, "I only wanted enough funds to restore the business to its pre-war glory."
Christine knew the business was in trouble, but she had not known her father went to the Duke for help.
"Duke Sergei Beauvais is a fair and just man, Christine; I thought he would hear my plea and act accordingly – Delancy Dock-It is a very important upper-class merchant business – the nobles rely on us."
"But I am a commoner – this is highly irregular." Christine argued, coming around to look him in the face.
Gustav agreed, but such unions were not unheard of. "Our family is distinguished and honorable…maybe the Duke just took advantage of the circumstances to better the bloodline."
"Am I expected to love this man, papa?" Christine asked. "You promised me that if I ever married, it would be for love…and nothing else."
His hands were on her shoulders, trying to help her understand the finality of the decision. His weary eyes bore into her features and Christine held his gaze with determination, but pulled from him and paced the floor..
"I've heard of him, papa…he's ruthless and cunning…" she stopped pacing long enough to show her disgust, "….he's killed many."
Gustav sighed; he had heard the same things about the Marquis; and it was disturbing. He would find out in a couple of days when he met the man – face to face.
"Perhaps the Lord is punishing us both; me – for allowing you to develop your mind instead of entertaining young suiters…and you – for being unwilling to be courted in the first place."
Christine looked him deep in the eyes and smiled sheepishly, "God does not work like that, Papa; you know that."
"You are right, my daughter…but that doesn't make it any easier to cope with."
Christine developed a crease in her brow and Gustav knew that her quick mind was at work.
"Papa, I know the war depleted our family holdings and money is scarce, has he agreed to help…will this marriage guarantee the help you sought…or am I to watch as my family's estate and holdings dwindle down to nothing?" She was almost screaming, but controlled the urge to do so. "Tell me I am not entering into a loveless marriage with this Marquis only to warm his bed, bear his touch, and bear his children." Her eyes pleaded with him, "I want to know that you will get the help you need."
Her desire to help her family made the situation bode even less favorably with him, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Gustav backed away from Christine, and turned to wipe his eyes. He hoped that over time, she would come to have a happy marriage with this man, if not a loving one.
"I've not spoken with him yet, Christine…the agreement was apparently made with the Duke." Gustav finally murmured.
She stood proudly before him; looking every inch the strong woman that she was. "I see." She stated.
Gustav found Christine a worthy adversary that afternoon as they played a game of chess. She cleared the silence with her thoughts; thoughts about a certain marquis, "I can only assume he cannot find a wife through the normal means, so he must be portly and short, or elderly and decrepit, or perhaps waspish and homely – not that it matters, I detest him."
She was not talking to him, but Gustav prayed with all his might that this Erik Laroque had none of the attributes she was stating. He knew a few things about the Marquis and felt that Christine might want to know them, also.
"Vile man…" she spit the words out, and then took Gustav's queen - sealing her iminant victory; she was certainly fired up, "…saw an opportunity to have a woman warm his bed and do his bidding…probably some old goat..." Christine ranted.
Gustav started to speak, but Christine refused to hear it, she crossed her arms over her chest and defiantly shook her head, "I wish to know nothing about him, that would give the impression that I care; when, in fact, I do not."
End flashback
'That was certainly an entertaining afternoon.' Gustav thought as the carriage moved into the city and stopped in front of the hotel.
Gustav chuckled, seeing himself in her as clearly as he could see the rolling hills of France outside the window. He only hoped she would learn the lessons God had for her faster and more completely than he ever did, it would save her a great deal of heartache in the end.
He withdrew from the carriage and headed inside. It was going to rain and the humidity level and made the outdoors unbearable in a very short period.
Christine greeted him at the door with a fretful look on her face. She had resolved herself to this marriage, but she didn't have to be happy about it.
He walked into the room and placed his cape over the chair, took off his gloves and hat, and turned to Christine.
"You are to wed tomorrow morning at 11:00 am ."
Christine turned from him and went into the washroom.
ЖЖ
Christine Delancy was a practical woman and did not believe in fairy tales or knights on white horses. She knew this marriage was a farce, why would a man of Laroque's station want a bride of common blood?
It had been her decision to know nothing about her future husband; but some things begged questioning.
Why would he marry a woman, sight unseen, who would not advance his family name or increase his holdings? Why did no one know about his past, other than bits and pieces that had probably been leaked out just to increase the shroud of mystery surrounding him?
"Dear God, I'm angry right now…why must I marry a man I already loath…help me." Christine pleaded. "In my heart, I feel that there is more to this than I am being told…give me wisdom and strength."
She ran a bath for herself and lounged for a couple hours while her father and Patrick discussed issues she was certain involved the Duke's arrangements.
She thought about her younger sister, Beth. Beth had wed out of a deep, passionate love and Christine remembered seeing how she lit up every time Stuart entered a room.
Stuart had been her first and only love. They had wed when she was seventeen and he was twenty-three. Giorgia had been born a year after they married and Christine had never seen a couple more in love.
Seven years was all they'd had together. Stuart was killed in the war against Prussia in late 1870; he had left Bethany and Giorgia with very little, and they were going to have to move back in with Gustav and Teresa.
Christine felt the sting of tears welling up behind her closed eyelids, and it wasn't long before the tears dropped to the bathwater in a slow trickle. She had never thought to marry, not really. She had loved once…a delicate, sweet love from years ago; a love her father knew nothing about; a love that had been an act of rebellion against her father, but also against the God she was struggling to accept into her life.
Caleb. He had been everything she thought was perfect in a man; or a boy, really. They had both been sixteen and the thrill of young love ruled their bodies and their minds; they cast aside all common sense and good judgment.
He had been the son of a merchant, living on the edge of town, near the water. He had soft brown eyes and equally soft brown hair; and his kiss had been her undoing. They had made swift promises to each other as the heat of passion took over, and Christine gave up her innocence in a moment of reckless fantasy.
She tried to remember only those happy moments, for the rest of the story tore her heart out. He and his father had decided to take a merchant vessel out to sea, only for a day or two, to trade with a fellow merchant who passed through the area once a year.
The news of the accident had reached the shore in a matter of hours, and Christine had heard by the following day. The storm had been on them before anyone could react; both vessels and all who were aboard were washed away.
That had been nine years ago. Her father did not know she was no longer an innocent. He did not know she had cried herself to sleep for endless nights.
With one breath, she prayed she was not pregnant; but with the other, she prayed she was, than a part of Caleb would live on.
There had been no baby, and Caleb's memory soon faded to a dull ache within the corner of her heart. Now, she was forced into marriage with a man whose reputation was that of a hard, cold shell of a man who never smiled, never laughed, and seldom left the sanctuary of his estate.
"I hate him." Christine seethed toward the ceiling, as she pulled herself out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her tall, rounded figure. "I hate what little I know about him and fear that which I don't."
The still, small voice of God knocked on the recesses of her mind, but Christine pushed Him aside, once again; she chose to wallow in her own thoughts and desires.
She stood in front of the mirror and examined the reflection looking back at her. A wolfish, sardonic smile suddenly came upon her and her eyes lit from an internal heat.
"You may have my hand Erik Laroque, but my heart will be harder to gain." Her voice was composed and determined, "I may have no choice in this, but I'll not bleat and bicker about my lot, I will do what my father has asked me to do."
She would not be the sacrificial lamb, coming to the alter willingly; she would be the ram caught in the thicket – the one that God provided for Jacob when he was tested with Isaac. That ram was kicking and screeching all the way to the alter, and probably got a few good kicks in before succumbing to the will of the stronger; Christine considered that a prophetic vision of her attitude about this marraige.
As she left the washroom, she could have sworn she heard a divine Voice whisper, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you…thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope."(a)
She chose to ignore that Voice, as she often did, and moved into her sleeping quarters. She knew her father waited in the main room for her and she was suddenly eager to be in his warm presence.
He greeted her with a wide smile, something she had not been expecting, and Patrick seemed more at ease than he had been earlier.
"I am famished." Christine stated, heading for the door. "Let's go eat some supper and spend the rest of the day together."
"Christine, I want to tell you about…"
"Papa, I already told you – I don't want to know anything about him…it will ruin the rest of my day and I intend to enjoy the day, regardless of whether you do, or not." She stared him straight in the eye, "Tomorrow will hold sorrows of its own…today I live."
Gustav shrugged his shoulders and passed a defeated look over to Patrick. When Christine's mind was made up, there was nothing that would dissuade her until she chose to listen to what needed to be said; or learned things on her own.
(a) Jeremiah 29:11, NKJV
TBC