MADELEINE

"Wait…what?" I asked Charles, extremely confused as to what he'd meant. He breathed deeply.

"I said…I've never done this…" He repeated, leaving me just as confused as ever.

"Never done what?" I asked him, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Never kissed…" He stopped, and I grew even more frustrated.

"Never kissed…what? A chorus girl? An orphan? What?" I demanded and he just kept shaking his head meekly.

"A woman…" He said. "I've never kissed a woman…"

"Oh." Was all I could manage to reply, but I was still confused. "Not to be rude, but how is that possible?" I asked him suspiciously, wondering how a rich, handsome man of twenty-five had never kissed a woman.

He shrugged.

"I just never have. It wasn't important to me…" For some strange reason I believed him, but I was suddenly a bit uncomfortable after I realized what I was doing, so I stood up.

"Look," I said putting my hands up, "I think we should just be friends. This is a little much a little fast…" A look of disappointed crossed his face, but he nodded, swallowing.

"Friends…if that's what you want…" He said, and I began to feel horrible. He'd gone to all this trouble and I had just thrown it back in his face.

"Charles, what I meant was, I think we should take things one day at a time. Not rush into something we're not ready for. I hardly know you!" Relief came into those beautiful enchanting eyes.

"Friends." He said again, this time with a smile as he held out his hand for me to shake on it, which I did.

I found myself staring into those sparkling green eyes like a moth drawn to a flame.

"Um…are you alright?" He asked, and I snapped back to reality.

"Oh sorry…" I said, looking away quickly. What the hell was the matter with me?

"Do you want to go see what everyone's up to now?" He asked and I nodded as we went into the sitting room where everyone was crowded. Deirdre looked up at me and smiled, waving me over. I sat between her and Madame Giry.

"So what happened?" Didi whispered and Madame Giry shot her granddaughter a stern look.

"Deirdre that is enough." She warned giving me a smile. I blushed, watching as Charles sat next to his father across from us. I studied the two of them carefully, searching for the similarities one often saw in father and son and to my surprise, I saw none.

The Vicomte sat properly with his hands on his knees as did Charles's grandfather, but Charles sat back with his leg draped across his knee. It was funny, but, even though Charles was slouching he still looked devastatingly graceful. Also, both his father and grandfather had fair hair and light blue eyes while Charles had dark hair and green eyes. I leaned over to Deirdre, whispering,

"Didi…this may sound stupid, but does Charles look like his mother?" Madame Giry, even in her older age had amazing hearing and sharply looked at us.

"He takes after Christine's father…" She said quickly and Deirdre's mother looked at her so strangely that Didi and I had to look at each other, confused. I decided to drop the subject, but I could see that there was something going on here. Something that no one was supposed to know about. Maybe I could sense it because of all the things that had gone wrong in my life, I don't know but whatever it was, it certainly wasn't any of my damn business. Aida came into the room and leapt onto Charles's lap gracefully. He kissed her little black nose and scratched behind her ears. Suddenly for the strangest reason, I felt insanely jealous of that cat. It's just a cat, Madeleine. He is your friend…I reminded myself. I had made him such.

Charles's cousin, Camille and Gabe were on the floor sitting across from each other. She was extremely beautiful with the same blue eyes as the Vicomte and her mother had, but the strawberry blonde color of her hair was exquisite. She was the only one of her siblings to get the same hair as her mother. Indeed, she looked as if she was a carbon copy of her mother, who didn't look a day over thirty. Camille's two sisters were very beautiful too, but they took after their father as did their brother. I instantly liked Camille. She wasn't fluffy like most rich girls; she was very real and down to earth for a girl of only sixteen. Gabe himself was a very handsome man despite his slight scarring on his right cheek. He was a sly devil though, and I'd instantly liked him too. In fact, there wasn't one person here tonight that I could say I honestly disliked.

After a while, people were starting to leave. First, Charles's grandparents and great uncle, followed by his aunt and uncle and their children and finally the Ames family. As I got up to leave with the Bennetts and Girys, Charles motioned for me to come with him, so I let him walk me to the door.

"I uh…hope you had a good time tonight." He said, clearly still embarrassed from earlier. I nodded.

"Your family is great, Charles."

"They are wonderful…" He agreed and suddenly took my hand. "Look Maddie, I meant what I said earlier about you getting better parts at the opera. I would like to train you." I had forgotten already.

"Well, I have rehearsal until three tomorrow, but after that I am free." I found myself saying, and suddenly wanted to kick myself.

"I will meet you there at three-thirty." He said, smiling.

"Three-thirty it is then, goodnight Charles…" He pulled me into a quick hug, which seemed to last hours. I took in his smell, which was a strange mixture of cologne and his natural smell. It was nothing special, but I would remember the way he smelled all my life. I couldn't help myself as I pulled away and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to leave with the Bennetts. I turned once more to see him standing there with his father, half smiling and still touching his cheek. Three-thirty tomorrow. What will come of this? I wondered as I got into the Bennetts' carriage.