It's hit the fan guys!
Syd
"I'm sorry sir, who are you?" Roxana asked, staring at the stranger with dark skin like her own. He bowed before her.
"I am Nadir Kahn, Daroga of Tehran. Well, retired actually. I am an old acquaintance of your husband's." He said kindly. She noticed he was about ten years older than Erik, his hair was thinning and graying but the life in his eyes still blazed.
"Please come in." She said softly, leading him into the sitting room where Christine was flipping through a novel.
"Your hospitality is much appreciated." He said pleasantly, noticing the slight rounding of her otherwise slender waist.
"So…" She said, setting a cup of tea in front of him. "You knew my mother?" She asked and he nodded with a smile.
"Darya, the Princess of Persia and youngest child of the Shah." Roxana nodded, remembering the things her father had told her about the Shah and his determination to keep Sebastian and Darya apart.
"He's a beast." Roxana said in disgust and the man nearly choked on his tea.
"He's been looking for you, you know…little did he know that you were right here in the heart of France." The man chuckled.
"Yes well…I certainly have no desire to be a Princess or any of that nonsense. I just want to live my life and raise my children." She said, touching her middle and looking at James.
"Is this your son?" He asked, pointing at Jamie. She nodded and brought him to the man's knee.
"Jamie this is Nadir Khan, he is a friend of Papa's." She brushed his dark hair back and kissed his forehead. Jamie had taken to calling Erik Papa, namely because he did not remember having a father first and Erik did love him, awkward as it had been to get used to.
"Hello sir." The little boy said seriously. He'd proven to be a serious little thing and smart as a whip over the past months.
James became caught up in the little tricks Nadir decided to show him by making a coin disappear, then a scarf. Grateful, Roxana went to check on Christine who was now fully lying down.
"I feel like I am dying…" Christine moaned holding her head. Her nausea was steadily getting worse and her head hurt so badly that she had to close her eyes. Roxana eyed her and pressed a cloth to the girl's forehead.
"Have you and Raoul talked about children?" She asked and Christine shook her head.
"I think the thought literally frightens the hell out of him and me…I just don't know. I don't even remember my own mother. How could I be someone's…" She stopped and looked up at Roxana. "You don't think I'm…I'm…" She couldn't bring herself to say.
Roxana folded her hands in her lap.
"It's very possible…of course God would see fit to make us all pregnant together. Why, I wouldn't be surprised if Alana and Garrett were expecting already too!" She said and Christine frowned.
"Why?" She asked and Roxana shrugged.
"It's strange but Papa always used to say that it seemed women got pregnant in groups. It's a peculiar trick of nature but it's sort of true. I mean, first Angel, then Meg, then me, possibly you and if Alana isn't now, she will be soon." Instinctively, Christine's arms wrapped protectively around her middle as if she were clinging to herself.
"I want to find out." She said and Roxana nodded.
"I'll send Carolina for a doctor. Go up into my room and I will occupy our guest." She whispered.
The front door opened just as Roxana had shut it after Carolina. Erik and Raoul walked in, discussing some sort of plan. She stood in front of them with her arms crossed as Erik noticed her and kissed her on the lips.
"I missed you." He purred to her and she patted his cheek before pulling away so he wouldn't ravage her in the foyer.
"Erik, you have a visitor." She said. Raoul blushed furiously. "Raoul, your wife is lying down upstairs. She's a bit green. I sent for the doctor." Raoul nodded worriedly and rushed up the stairs without so much as a word.
"So who is here?" Erik asked, taking his wife's arm. She gestured toward the sitting room.
"See for yourself." She said and followed him into the room. Even though she was behind him, she knew that his mouth had fallen open as the Persian man got up.
"Daroga?" He asked in disbelief. The man pulled out the paper.
"I got your letter Erik. It was good to hear from you." He said, giving a stunned Erik a quick embrace.
"How have you been Daroga?" He asked, sitting across from the man and taking tea for himself.
"Well. I've been well. I visited Reza's grave just before I came. He would have been thirty-two this year." Erik's head bowed in painful memory. Reza had been Nadir's sickly son. He'd died with the aid of Erik just before his tenth birthday.
"I'm sorry Nadir." He said for what seemed like the thousandth time. The Daroga shook his head.
"It was imminent. He wouldn't have lasted. Poor child had his mother's health." He replied as Roxana sat on the arm of Erik's chair and felt his arm snake around her waist. He sighed and looked up at her.
"Surely my wife has introduced herself to you?" He asked and Nadir nodded.
"I cannot believe that I am sitting in the home of the Crown Princess and now Prince of Persia. I always knew you would one day snake your way into the Royal family." He chuckled and Erik rolled his eyes.
"The Shah will just have to find another heir because I have no desire to rule for a man who threatened execution on my mother for following her heart." Nadir nodded.
"The Shah never claimed to be a patient or caring man." He said as Jamie crawled into Erik's lap.
"Papa." He said and Erik messed his thick black hair.
"What is it?" He asked and Jamie bit his lip.
"What's Ex'cution?" He asked, intrigued by the word. Erik looked at Roxana for assistance.
"Well…execution is when people are punished for doing very bad things." He said, unsure of how to describe punishment by death to a three year old. Jamie nodded.
"Oh." He replied, suddenly uninterested.
"Clever little imp you have there Erik." The Daroga said with a chuckle. Erik nodded, nudging Roxana.
"He's just like his mother."
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"So what is wrong?" Raoul asked, holding Christine's hand as she covered her eyes with a damp cloth. She wasn't sure how to lay her suspicions on him but found the words.
"Raoul, we've been married almost a year…" She said softly and he nodded.
"Yes…is something wrong Christine." He asked, filling with anxiety. She shook her head.
"We haven't talked, it's just…we never…"
"We never what darling?" He asked, kissing her hand and she pulled the cloth off of her eyes to look into his.
"I think I'm going to have a baby."
He reeled back as if she'd kicked him in the stomach, and sending her heart into a panic.
"I knew it! I knew you didn't want a baby!" She said, beginning to cry. Funny how her emotions had completely gone out of her control these past few weeks. He came back and grabbed her arms, shaking horribly.
"I never said that. It's just I know my mother has been hounding you for an heir and everything and I wanted us to have one when we were ready and…oh my God. Are we ready?" He asked, blabbering on and on. She sat up angrily.
"Well, ready or not here it comes!" She said and wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
He sat on the bed beside her and put both of his arms around her, pulling her against his chest and resting his chin on her curls.
"Whatever happens, it will be fine and great." He said, scared out of his wits. She looked up at him.
"Promise?" She asked, and he nodded.
"I promise." He said and kissed her lightly on her pouting lips as the maid entered the room with a middle aged man.
"Tell me child, what symptoms do you have?"
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Erik turned to look when he heard footsteps outside the sitting room and saw Raoul walking in, dazed.
"Well?" He asked, Roxana having filled him in on the details. Raoul nodded.
"She is." He said and Roxana grinned, satisfied with herself.
"I knew it." She said, kissing Erik's cheek. Jamie had fallen asleep in his lap and Nadir had gone to find a hotel room and would be returning later.
"Congratulations are in order." Erik said, "We'll all have a drink for you tonight."
Once Christine and Raoul went home, Erik put James in his bed and turned his attention on to Roxana. He found her in their room, brushing her hair and getting ready to take a bath. She felt his arms come around her from behind and his lips below her ear.
"Would you like some company in the bath?" He asked and she turned around, laughing.
"My, aren't we forward tonight?" She said with a laugh, pulling the mask from his face and tossing it onto the bed.
"Is that a yes?" She gave him a slight nod and within moments she her dress and chemise were pooled at her feet.
Feverishly he pulled at his cravat and struggled out of his close, nearly falling over as he tried to take his pants off. She laughed hysterically as he victoriously stood, fully naked. Pulling her gently by the wrist, he led her into the bathroom and shut the door behind them. She let herself sink into the warm water and felt him slide in behind her. She rested against him as he began to wash her. The calming effect aroused her immensely and she began to writhe under his touch. He knew what he was doing and his objective was clear. He was seducing her.
Feeling wicked, she slyly reached behind herself between them and wrapped her fingers around him, hearing him let out a low growl.
"Roxana." He said and she laughed.
"You started this Erik." She said and he nodded, putting his hands on her hips and twisting her to straddle him. In an instant, he was inside her and her nails were raking across his chest. The water from the bath splashed madly onto the floor as their lovemaking become more intense with each thrust of his hips. His lips were everywhere. On her throat, her breasts, shoulders. Feeling her climax he let go and they sat together in the bath holding each other, their hair matted to their foreheads with sweat and water.
When they'd finished bathing he helped her dry off and put her nightgown over her body. Kissing her forehead, he let his hand drift to her middle.
"Have Carolina lock all of the doors Roxana. I mean it." He said, as he laid her down in bed. She nodded.
"I know." She replied and he set his jaw because she really had no idea just how far Andrew was going to go to destroy their happiness and his family. He left the room for a moment, confusing her. A moment later he returned with the sleeping Jamie.
"I don't want him alone." He said and kissed the boy's hair before putting him beside his mother.
"We'll be fine you crazy overprotective bastard." She laughed as he kissed her repeatedly, trying to find the will to leave.
"I mean it." He said and kissed her again, pulling back to put his coat on.
"I love you Roxana." He said, squeezing her hand and she grinned as he stopped in the doorway.
"I love you too Erik."
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As Erik met Nadir along with Raoul, Brett and Trevor, the three men failed to notice the pair of feminine eyes watching them from the corner of the room. She looked in her bag. It was all their. The syringe, the packet of morphine, the key to her room upstairs in the tavern. Now all there was to do was wait…Satisfied with herself, she sipped her wine and eyed the fair haired viscount. Soon my love…soon.
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"I think a toast is in order for the Vicomte de Chagny!" Trevor said, raising his glass. "And to our friend Lord Destler." Erik rolled his eyes hating that title. Since Roxana's father had died, he had inherited the title Earl La Coste. Which really meant nothing at all other than the fact that he and Roxana were on every social invitation list.
"To their thriving families. And to the imminent revelation that I am right about everything." Raoul laughed, glad to have friends like these four men as they all drank their ale. Even Brett seemed in better spirits if not quieter than he usually was.
Erik looked around, feeling someone's eyes on him. He saw no one and shook it off.
"Is something wrong Erik?" Nadir asked, seeing his discomfort. He shook his head.
"No…I just…I should get home to Roxana soon. She'll worry." Nadir smiled.
"Ah to be in desperate love. I was the same way when Rookheya and I were first married." He said and Erik smiled uncomfortably. Why was it that before something terrible happened, he always got this feeling of dread in his stomach?
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Meg watched silently as Andrew slept, finally having passed out after drinking half a bottle of brandy. She desperately wanted her mother. Needed her. The baby was restless and she felt like he was trying to claw his way out of her. Seeing her cloak in the corner of the room, she tiptoed to it in her nightgown and began to sneak out of the room, gently opening the door and nearly fainting when it creaked. Andrew let out a loud snort but didn't wake. Breathing in relief she shut it behind her as she crept down the hall. She was going to get out, if not to save her then to save her baby.
Suddenly, she collided with someone and nearly screamed but to her relief it was the butler.
"My lady," He whispered, "What are you doing?" She grabbed his hands.
"Albert, you have to help me…I have to get to my mother. He's mad. Get yourself out of here!" She whispered and he held up his candle, looking toward the bedroom.
"Come." He said and grabbed her wrist gently, leading her down the stairs. "Wait in the foyer and I will go see if Drake is up. He'll take you to your mother."
"Thank you…oh, thank you."
Anxiously, she waited near the front door, dreading every moment that passed before she saw the two men coming down the stairs toward her.
"Not so fast." Andrew said from the top of the stairs. Instantly, she was clawing at the door and threw it open, uncaring and began to run fast as one could with an extra thirty pounds on her small frame. He caught her within a minute and grabbed her by the hair.
"Marguerite, what is the meaning of this?" He asked, and gathering her courage, she spit directly into his eye and brought her knee up to meet with his manhood. He fell again and she began her run. Albert, terrified, decided to go for help and rode off into the darkness toward the city.
Somehow, Andrew managed to run through his pain and caught her again, this time twisting her arm behind her back and smiling when she shrieked in pain.
"Someone! Please help me!" She begged into the cold February night. He laughed maniacally.
"There's no one there for you, you selfish little bitch." He said coldly and dragged her back toward the house.
"You're going to kill me aren't you?" She asked, tripping along with him. He snorted.
"Not until after I have my heir." He said and she laughed. She actually laughed at him.
"I hope it's a girl. I hope you never get your goddamn heir or your money!" She said and rage filled his dark blue eyes as his large hand struck her small face.
Finally, after walking up two flights of stairs he tossed her into the attic, knowing she loathed dark empty rooms and slammed the doors shut, locking her in there.
"Enjoy your night Marguerite. You're never going to leave this room again." He said and all she could hear as he walked away was the jingle of the ring of keys. Just as she sank down to the floor, she felt a sharp pang of pain in her abdomen and a slight trickle down her leg. Lifting her nightgown she gasped. Her water had broken.
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"Someone! Anyone! Help!" Albert screamed as he entered the lively tavern. A few of the regular drunks laughed at him, but Raoul became concerned, recognizing him.
"What's wrong?" He asked the man who looked at him, grateful and knelt at the viscount's feet.
"It's my mistress. Lady Marguerite! She tried to get out…he caught us…" Brett's stomach lurched.
"What did he do to her?" He asked and the terrified man began to sob.
"He pulled her by the hair and that's when I left for help! God knows what he's done to her by now!" Brett was already out the door.
Erik turned to Nadir.
"Daroga, I want you to go to my home and fetch my wife and son. Here is my key. Bring them back here. I shall get us a room for the night. He won't think to look here." The Daroga nodded faithfully and made sure his pistol was loaded before leaving. Raoul sighed, pulling out his extra pistol and giving it to Erik.
"I am going to get Christine. We'll be back as well." He said and Erik nodded at the boy.
"Take care of her." He said and Raoul nodded.
Once he'd spoken with the manager and paid upfront, he was given a key to a room and decided to go up and wait. As the old door swung open, he was taken by surprise as a cloth clamped over his mouth and the room went blurry. He fell in a heap on the floor. Tossing aside the chloroform drenched cloth, Jacqueline pulled him to the bed and removed his clothing. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. Pulling his arm, she tied a piece of ribbon tightly around it and shoved the syringe into his vein. He jerked for a moment but relaxed quickly.
"Roxana…" He said groggily, coming around. She took off her dress and stood over him in her corset and stockings.
"Don't worry Erik…I'll take good care of you."
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Raoul nearly died when he reached his home. The door was bashed in, he could hear weeping coming from inside and there was a black ribbon lying on the floor. Christine's black ribbon.
"Christine! Christine!" He cried frantically running through the house. He found the housekeeper sobbing on the arm of Martin, her husband.
"What…happened…?" He asked and Martin shook his head.
"Two men, I'm not quite sure who said they were taking the Vicomtess. They had guns…they told us not to tell you."
"No…" Raoul whispered, turning and flying up the stairs into his bedroom. The room had been torn apart and there had been an obvious struggle. Christine was nowhere to be found.
"Christine!"
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"Daroga, what is going on?" Roxana asked, packing James into the carriage as he told the driver to go. He sighed.
"All will be explained when we return to your husband." He said, his heart racing but his calm exterior telling her otherwise. The ride to the tavern was silent and long and dreadful. Grabbing Jamie, she wanted nothing more than to go inside and wrap herself into Erik's embrace and allow him to tell her she was safe with him. She was always safe. The manager noticed them and raised an eyebrow.
"Who are you?"
"Lady Roxana Destler…where is my husband?" She asked and he grinned.
"Ah, so you're the Earl's wife? Room twenty upstairs." She nodded at the man.
"Thank you sir." She cried as she ran toward the stairs with James, Nadir close behind.
"Eighteen…nineteen…twenty! Here!" She said and twisted the doorknob throwing the door open. Light flooded into the hall and she heard the Daroga draw in a ragged gasp, unable to believe the sight before him. When Justin had died, she hadn't lost hope, when her father had died, she'd gone on, when Andrew Westcliff had raped her, she'd still been determined to prevail, but at that moment, Lady Roxana Destler, Countess La Coste wanted to die.