Chapter 17 –

Erik eventually couldn't avoid going home any longer. He walked as slowly as he could, and when he arrived at home, he found Elizabeth already having dinner.

She smiled slightly as he sat down; they hadn't eaten a meal together in a week. Usually, when she was nearly done, only then he would eat, or if he was leaving, she would come in. "How was class?" Elizabeth finally asked, quietly.

"It went well; it was after class that is worth mentioning."

"What happened after class?" Elizabeth asked worried.

"Nothing to worry about, I assure you, but some of our students are wondering why you are not coming to visit anymore." he began. "First Emily came in and asked, then when I assured her you were busy, Caroline came in and gave me a strict talking to, one that could rival your own."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"She thinks that just because we can't get along does not mean that you should stop visiting. I think her exact words were 'You two are very sweet together, but we should not have to suffer because you hate each other right now.' It was almost amusing except that she was quite correct."

"What on earth do you mean by that, Erik?" She asked, shocked and angered.

"Only that they shouldn't have to suffer. It has nothing to do with the way we look together. It is quite ironic though, that you, the woman who assured me I was a wonderful, talented man would sound so shocked and repulsed of the idea of the two of us looking 'sweet' together."

"I do not like you twisting my thoughts, Erik, but I do understand your point. I should not have ignored my students just because you are insufferable. Oh, and here are some lyrics I was working on for Hansel and Gretel." She set them down next to him and smiled sweetly, then left the room.

Things continued this way for much too long in the opinions of both Erik and Elizabeth; unfortunately, both were too proud to admit it. In the end, Elizabeth visited the classroom almost daily as she used to, but she and Erik would ignore each other as much as possible. Erik continued to write the music for the production, and equally as quickly, Elizabeth would write lyrics for them. At the beginning of February there were pieces for all the students to work on, as well as music for Meg to choreograph. Each play was beginning to get underway and Erik was pleased with the progress. It went more smoothly than almost any opera he witnessed at the Populaire. He had to admit that Elizabeth knew how to run her establishment.

During February, Elizabeth and Erik were forced to work closer with each other, and soon became accustomed to working together. There friendship was beginning to grow back to what it had been. In early March everything was done for the musical part of the story and Elizabeth and Erik were working apart from each other more and more. Erik was working with each student one on one, and Elizabeth was trying to balance everything from the singing, the dancing, the music, the props, the set, and the costumes. It was becoming overwhelming. This was an obvious downside to the numerous stories, the costumes and sets were seven times worse than those of the years before were.

The two began to see less and less of each other and they began to miss each other's company. In the end, they agreed to do one thing together outside of school a week just to catch up on the details they were missing.

At the end of March, the schedule was disrupted by the arrival of a small boy.

Elizabeth had gotten up extra early to get to the school because of a sizing problem in the costumes. When she arrived at the school in the pouring rain, she found something she had not been expecting.

Sitting on the front step of the school, trying to stay out of rain, was a small child. Elizabeth ran up to the shivering creature and knelt down beside it. It was a little boy who Elizabeth did not recognize at first. "What is going on, sweetheart?" She asked the child. "Why are you sitting on my step?"

He didn't say anything. She decided to take a different approach. "Why don't we go inside and get you warmed up, and maybe a nice meal?" she asked in a kind tone. He nodded.

She took him into her office where she knew there would be a fire started. Elizabeth moved a chair close to the fire and instructed him to sit while she went to go find him something dry to put on. After finding an outfit that would fit the child nicely, she returned to him where she found a tray of food had been brought by her request.

The boy sat quietly and ate. Elizabeth didn't interrupt. She tried hard to think of where she knew the child. It wasn't until he was finished, and he looked at to her and smiled, that she knew who she was sitting with. It was the young Andrew de Changy.

"So Andrew, why is it that I've found you sitting on my step in the pouring rain?"

"I ran away." he replied as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I didn't like my school, my teachers were mean, and the other students picked on me. They said I didn't belong at their school. And my headmistress, she hated me the most. Whenever I did anything to displease her I was punished. They use the ruler there." he added with a whisper, showing his hands which were striped with red marks from the edges of the item. "I thought I would come back here because I liked it here. It was my favorite of the schools I came to. Please don't tell my momma and father though, they would be angry. They didn't like this school very much. Can I stay, please?"

Elizabeth first needed to comprehend what she had just heard. She took a deep breath and finally explained to the little boy. "Andrew dear, first you cannot just run away like that. I bet your mother and father are worried sick about you. Second, you can only attend my school if your parents agree, I'm sure if we take you back home they can find you a good school to go to…"

"But why can't I come here? Your school was the best! My parents don't even have to know. I promise I won't get you or your school in trouble." He was crying by now, and it broke Elizabeth's heart. She hated that Erik and the de Chagnys couldn't get past their history in order to give the little boy what he deserved.

She moved closer to the child and gave him a hug. She wanted to help him and she didn't want him to have to go back to school where he was unhappy. She wished he could stay here, but she didn't know how.

As she held the boy in her arms, Erik rushed into the room, looking almost like a drowned rat. He had obviously been meaning to get some information to her quickly, but he stopped abruptly when he saw Elizabeth and the little boy.

He knew instantly who the child was, as he resembled his mother so much. "W…w…what's going on?" He stuttered.

The boy sat back in his chair, wiped his eyes and smiled at Erik. He wanted this man to be his teacher very much. "Andrew, can you sit in here for a moment while I talk to Mr. Erik in the hallway?" The little boy nodded. "Thank you."

When she closed the door and the two of them were alone in the hallway, he turned to her and looked at her with his mouth hung open ,pleading for an explanation.

"I don't know exactly what happened, but somehow he managed to get here from his school in London. I found him out in the rain on the front step about half an hour ago. Apparently he ran away without anyone knowing. Oh, Erik, I feel so terrible! It is my fault he ended up going to that dreadful school. The things he said happened—!The other students picked on him, his teachers hit him with a ruler, and he was punished for almost anything he did wrong." She was crying now, blaming everything on herself.

"It was not your fault, Elizabeth." Erik began as he pulled her into a comforting hug. "It was my fault, not yours, had I not begun teaching here his parents wouldn't have sent him anywhere else." This didn't help Elizabeth and she began to cry harder into his drenched chest.

"You should not blame yourself for everything. Besides, we should not worry about placing blame on people. What we need to do is inform his family of what happened. His parents need to know where their little boy is." she told him.

Erik stiffened at the mention of the boy's parents, and Elizabeth noticed, but he did add his agreement a few seconds later. It struck him that for a brief moment then, the child was not just 'Christine's son', he was like any other child. Erik felt for him as he did any of his other students. He wanted to protect him as he would any little boy, not because of his mother. The thought made him smile, but only for a second. Maybe there was some small hope for him yet.

"I'm going to send a messenger to London right away. We'll keep him here and his parents can come retrieve him." Elizabeth said. Again, Erik tensed up and Elizabeth just snuggled tighter to him. "Erik, wouldn't you rather that Andrew stay here where we know he is safe, rather than riding in the rain and the cold? He could become ill. I know that you worry about seeing them, but you also have to realize that it is better for Andrew to stay here. You can let him attend your class and sing along with some group numbers if you'd like."

"Yes, that is the right choice; it is better and safer for him here. Are you sure he isn't ill all ready from the rain though?"

"I'm not sure." she said, pulling her head away and looking up to Erik, his arms still safely around her. "He might be ill. I should fetch the doctor right away." Her eyes told him she was very worried for the child.

"It's all right, I have acquired some skills in doctoring over the years, and I shall see if he is well or ill." She just nodded.

"I regret to inform you that we are going to have to let go of each other for that to be possible." he added a few seconds later, and she immediately pulled away and began to blush, something that he no doubt noticed.

Elizabeth cursed herself inside for blushing; she was not some silly schoolgirl who blushed at things like that.

She followed Erik in a few minutes later and found Andrew curled up asleep with a blanket being placed over him by Erik. "I'm pretty sure he is fine, just completely exhausted. We're lucky it hasn't rained all night, or we might have ended up with a much more serious problem on our hands. After some rest he might be able to join the class for their lessons this afternoon. I planned to teach the Snow White Finale song so nearly everyone is involved."

They sat silently for a minute, then she remembered that Erik had run over in the rain. "What was it you were going to tell me when you arrived? It must have been urgent because you ran over in the pouring rain. And, speaking of rain, Erik, you're drenched. If we don't get you out of those wet clothes, we will have a much more serious problem on our hands, for you will be the one who is ill."

"I will be fine. Remember, Elizabeth, I lived through much harsher things than a little British rain."

"Please, I would never forgive myself if you got sick. Oh, and you still didn't answer my question. Why were you coming here?"

"I figured out how to fix that little problem I was having in Sleeping Beauty's solo. I wanted you to know."

"Erik, that piece was fine, everyone loved it. Except, apparently, you. You shouldn't have run over here drenching yourself over a silly little song. Now I'm going to find something for you to wear."

"There won't be anything for me to wear here, the only clothing in this building is children's clothing." He called back to her.

"Absolutely not, Elizabeth. I refuse to go out in front of people wearing this. I look like a farmer."

"Fine, but let me at least see. I've never seen you wear anything that isn't black and white aside from your red robe."

"How often do you see me in my red robe?" he asked ,as he opened the door for Elizabeth to come into his office.

Her mouth dropped open in horror, not only at his comment but at her slip of the tongue. "Erik, that was entirely inappropriate, especially at school. And… oh dear! I think you are right. You can't possibly wear that in front of people." The entire outfit looked absurd on him. The dark brown pants were a little wide at the waist, but were being held up by a pair of black suspenders that ran up and down the loose-fitting taupe shirt he was wearing. She put her hands in front of her mouth to keep her laughter hidden. Instead, she managed to snort, which made her laugh even harder.

Elizabeth left the room to check on Andrew, and a few minutes later, Erik arrived, wearing his damp clothes again. "I'd rather suffer in soaking wet clothes that suit me than wear anything like that again." he said when she eyed him, annoyed he had changed. "You even said I could not wear that in front of people." She just nodded. "But I have classes to teach, I'll see you and Andrew later.

Andrew woke around lunch. Elizabeth let him eat in her office and explained to him that he was going to be staying until his parents came and got him. After lunch, he happily walked, holding Elizabeth's hand, to the vocal classroom. "Will they want me there?" He asked her when they reached the door.

"Of course they will! They liked you very much when you visited at Christmas." He nodded and she opened the door.

Elizabeth was right. He was warmly welcomed into the class, and right away, many of the students decided he should learn the group numbers for fun. Erik and Elizabeth stood back and watched how well they got along. "I do wish he could stay, I couldn't bear the thought that he might end up in another school where he is treated badly." Elizabeth said. She was being honest, but she was also curious to see Erik's reaction. He just stood there without saying or doing a thing.

Elizabeth sat in for the rest of the lesson, and had Andrew settled with Jimmy and Fredrick for the night, wondering what the next week would bring for them. It seemed that every time they got used to life around here, something was right there to disrupt it. This time however, it was forgivable since it came in the form of a delightful little boy. His parents however, would cause a much less enjoyable situation.