It took them the better part of the day to return to town. The roads were a mess and all along the way they could see the damage caused by the storm. Trees were lying on their sides, their roots sticking up in a muddy tangle above the pools of collected water. The orchard was in poor condition and a farmer somewhere was going to have a horrible harvest later this year. Some areas were not as bad as others. Erik breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the edge of town over the rise of the hillside.

As they passed through the streets, Erik surveyed the destruction. Most of the homes and buildings were no worse for wear but the streets were littered with broken roof shingles and bits of glass here and there from windows that had shattered. The townspeople were well on their way to cleaning up the mess. The homes that had fared better through the storm had thick shutters over their windows to protect them from damage.

Christine had remained silent through most of the ride back, only speaking up to point out a possibly easier path to lead them on. Had she seen the box, Erik thought to himself over and over again? Surely not, or else she would have said something, he was sure. He had not even realized it was still in his pocket when they lay down together. He was grateful it had not been lost on his insane ride across the countryside to rescue Christine, not that he couldn't easily afford to replace it, but he had never seen any stone more perfect than the one in the setting.

Last night had been a cruel irony for him; the first time in his entire life to hold a woman as she slept by his side and it could not have been a more horrid circumstance to be had in. His poor bones ached from sleeping on the wet cloak and hard floor and his shoulder cramped painfully from leaving his arm in the same position most of the night, rather than wake Christine to move it. Still, he had never felt any sensation more comforting and natural. Nor had he ever felt anything more sensual either. He awoke sometime in the night and uncomfortable as he was, he could not keep his mind free of the very provocative thoughts that crept into his head. He would never dream of repeating such a situation, granted, but he was determined to do whatever was necessary to one day experience that sensation once again with her, only on more enjoyable terms.

Past town, they approached Marie's Inn. Erik could already see several people, guests he presumed, milling about the outside of the house. As they rounded the corner and turned up the path, Marie burst through the front door.

"Oh, thank heavens you're alive and safe!" she cried out as she ran towards them to take the reigns from Erik's hand. "I was so worried about you both! Tell me what happened? Are either of you injured?" she prattled on a mile a minute, "Goodness, look at the both of you! You look like you went through the worst of it all. I must get you both inside so you can get cleaned up."

"And fed," Christine said wearily. "We're both very hungry."

Erik helped Christine down off the mare's back. The animal was already eagerly seeking its stable where it knew there would be fresh hay to eat. Marie nodded in agreement and handed the mare's reigns off to one of the guests who were helping clear fallen branches away from the house. He led the horse towards the back of the house where the small barn stood.

Marie led them both inside making them promise to tell her what befell them after they were clean, fed, and rested. Erik kept his arms around Christine's shoulders protectively as she clutched the cloak to her body. She started ordering her maid to draw up some bathwater for Christine. She motioned for Christine to follow her to the bath house but remained in the hall with Erik.

"Monsieur Durand," Marie began hesitantly, "I'm afraid there was some damage done to my inn last night." She stopped there, unsure of how to explain further.

"Damage? What sort of damage?" Erik wondered why she was so hesitant.

"Well, to be specific, a rather large branch of the tree in the back broke off and smashed through your window," she replied then quickly added, "The other guests have already helped me clean it up, but I'm afraid some of your things may have been ruined."

Erik quickly opened the door to his room to see just how bad it was. The first thing he checked was his violin case. It was across the room where he left it and it was undamaged. He could not say the same about some of his clothes though. Several items had been rained on directly through the open window and nearly everything left out of his suitcase was dirty. The entire room damp from the rain that the wind had blown in. He would have to launder most of his clothing or have some new things purchased. He pulled out a fresh set of clothing from the bottom of his suitcase that were the only ones dry. The mask he was wearing would have to be thoroughly cleaned if he wanted to continue to wear it but it would take awhile for it to dry so he pulled out his backup mask to wear in the meantime. He removed the soiled black box from his pocket and tried to brush it off before opening it. Its contents remained untarnished and blessedly in tact. He stowed it away in his luggage for now, until he could find the opportune time to give it to its rightful owner.

After awhile he heard a knock at the door, informing him that Christine was finished with her bath and he could now use it if he wished. He went downstairs to the small room just off the kitchen that had a small bathtub and mirror inside. The maid came inside with a jar of soft soap, followed by another servant struggling with two pails of hot water, which they proceeded to pour in. They returned again with two pails each and poured them into the tub as well. They left and told him to make a pile of anything he wished to be washed outside the door. After stripping down out of his muddy and dirty clothes he stepped into the warm water and started to scrub the remnants of the last two days out of his hair and skin. Rightly so, the water was black when he left it and toweled himself dry. After dressing he felt much better and more like himself than a dirty street urchin.

He gave the maid an apologetic look as she passed him to clean up the bath house and empty the water from the tub. He found Christine in the main room, curled up near the fireplace, hungrily eating her stew. She looked pale and fresh with her still wet hair curling down her back. She only wore a cotton robe and had her legs drawn up underneath her in the overstuffed chair in which she sat. She saw him and smiled.

"You look much better when you aren't caked with mud," She said between mouthfuls.

"Thank you. I have to return the compliment. Although it seems to me that for most of this week I've seen your propriety in clothing dwindling," he teased as he took his waiting bowl of stew and joined her in an adjacent chair.

She gave him a glare and said, "I was hungry and I couldn't be bothered to go to the trouble to dress before I ate something." She stuffed the bread into her mouth and chewed.

"I was just teasing you," Erik replied. Normally he did not get very hungry but he was ravenous and before he spoke again he had consumed three bowls full and at least half a loaf of the warm bread.

When Erik looked up again, he saw that Christine had drooped over in her chair, her lax hand about to drop the bowl into her lap. He quietly stood and took the bowl from her hands placing it on the end table. Then he slipped his arms under her shoulders and knees and lifted her with ease and carried her up the stairs to her room. She awoke as he settled her down to her bed. Christine's hand tightened around his and she dreamily murmured, "Stay."

Now they were back at the inn under the motherly watch of Madame Beauchamp, as much as he wished he could, he knew it was best if he left her alone to sleep. He removed his hand from hers and said, "You're exhausted. Get some sleep."

Her whimpered a protest but it came out so soft Erik couldn't be sure that's what it was. She curled onto her side and fell fast asleep. Erik closed the door softly behind him and found Marie there waiting for him.

"I've had the downstairs room prepped for you since you can't stay in your old one until we get that window replaced," she said to him. "I want to thank you for returning Christine safely. She's a sweet girl and I was worried sick last night."

"There's no need for thanking me. I would give my life to keep her safe," Erik replied.

She looked at his eyes appraisingly, "That I believe you would." She left him in the room where he promptly fell across the bed and was asleep in moments.