A/N: I suppose we've all had a morning after. I hope this satisfies everyone. I didn't let Meg get herself into a fix she couldn't get out of. Can't have too much angst. I am not an angst fest kind of person unless it leads to happiness. Thanks to those loyal reviewers and the ones just jumping in.

Twenty

The Morning After

The morning after Meg's disgrace, she awoke in a strange bed. The worst part had been looking over and seeing bare shoulders which obviously belonged to a man. Flashes of last night played behind her tightly closed eyes. She could not remember everything but could piece enough together to know she had done something stupid last night. To what extent she could not be sure, but occupying a bed with an as yet unknown male could not be a good sign. It was not Erik as the hair color was all wrong. The shoulders while broad were not muscled as Erik's were.

Meg groaned in shame as she turned to her side. She felt the mattress shift next to her. Closing her eyes Meg prayed he would not touch her. If he did she may well scream the place down, wherever she happened to be at the moment. The whole end of the evening seemed like so much swirling fog. Meg could remember nothing after leaving the opera house other than those shameful flashes of memories.

Cautiously she slid her hand underneath the covers. She sighed when she encountered the soft, silky cloth of her camisole and bloomers still in place. At least she had not turned into a complete wanton. Amongst all those flashes she had not seen any scenes of debauchery. Meg could not even remember a kiss.

Meg startled when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She tried to shrug it off as she cried in anguish, "Please don't." She thought she knew who shared the bed with her but as of yet did not want to face him. Steven was a known seducer of women but it had also been touted around how those women all had only good things to say about him. He never left any woman feeling as if she had been thrown over for the new woman waiting in line. Steven was a master at letting women think it had been their idea to break off any liason.

His thoughtfulness had kept his bed occupied when he felt the need. Lately he had wanted it to be Meg but he thought she might be somewhat less experienced than he liked his women to be. He wouldn't want to hurt an innocent or lead her down the garden path.

Steven sighed. He could hear the tears in Meg's voice. It had been his intention to tease her this morning. He had not known just how innocent she was until this very moment. He had suspected. She had not even let him kiss her properly on the evenings they had spent together. Of course they had always been in the company of others but still a good-night kiss would not have been amiss.

It had been his intention to have a little fun at her expense last night but unfortunately she had overindulged in wine and God only knew what else. He, not being a complete cad had forgone his pleasure to take care of Meg. He found he did not mind taking care of her as much as he thought he might. Even without the intimate part of their association Steven found Meg an entertaining woman. At times she seemed quite feisty.

Steven found he did not have the heart to tease her when he heard the misery in her voice. Quickly he said, "Meg nothing happened last night, on my honor as a gentleman. You passed out and I put you to bed. If I am to be dubbed a rogue for sleeping in my own bed instead of the floor or some uncomfortable couch, then call me a rogue of the first order. I plead guilty.

It isn't that I didn't want to venture into the amorous arena with you but sometimes I got the feeling you were only using me, not that I mind. I myself am heart whole and unencumbered. What better person with which to find consolation? Last night my dear girl you passed out leaving me to play the chivalrous night. I find I much prefer that role than odious cad and womanizer.

Was that man who stared daggers into my heart the man who has your interest? The tall man with the curious looking mask on his face who stood beside your mother? I do think if we were alone he may have done me some harm. I swear I felt cold fingers of ice trail down my back. I would not wish to bring his wrath down upon me. Just by the looks of him I dare say he would be quite daunting as an opponent on the field of battle.

I brought you here last night to test your convictions of shall we say slightly more than friendly congeniality? I don't think I would have taken things beyond the experimentation stage. At least I hope my honor would have stood the test. I have long suspected you are a chaste maiden and my standards do not include deflowering virgins. I beg your pardon for speaking so crassly but under the circumstances I feel we have gone past the line where circumspection is required."

When Meg flushed quiltily Steven had to wonder what brought such a look upon her face. Perhaps sweet Meg and her gentleman had gone further than Steven thought. It really made no difference as Steven felt quite certain Meg had only her masked acquaintance in her sights.

Steven continued to reasure Meg, "Last night I wanted to do away with all the intimate nonsense so we might be simply companions when either of us finds ourselves lonely. I tire of constantly being expected to play Romeo. It would be pleasant to carry on a simple conversation while sharing a meal with a woman.

Don't misunderstand me. I am not emasculated. I would welcome sharing any intimacies you might care to indulge with no expectations beyond the moment's pleasure. If not, well at least let us remain friends. One can never have too many friends.

So am I forgiven for sleeping in my own bed?" Meg turned over so she could see his face. She read nothing but honest sincerity on his handsome face.

Meg punched him in the shoulder as she exclaimed, "You bounder. All this time, I had to work myself up to letting you…well to allow you more liberties than would be considered proper. Then last night…well you know darn well what happened last night.

If you had told me how you felt it would have saved me many hours worry about how to reject your advances, which I had fully intended to do until…well until circumstances forced me to reconsider things. By the way I think you must be mistaken about Erik. He and I…well, he and I are barely even friends." Meg's catch in her voice gave a telltale clue as her real feelings on the matter. Steven thanked his mother for instilling just enough chivalry in him that he did not take advantage of Meg. She and her darkly belligerent admirer were more than mere friends.

Narrowing her eyes Meg asked, "Are you sure nothing…nothing untoward happened?" She could not breathe freely until she knew without a doubt nothing had happened between them last night.

Steven placed his hand over his heart then proceeded to proclaim absolutely nothing had occurred of a sensual nature. Meg remained as chaste as if she had worn a chastity belt.

Although mollified to learn she had done nothing that would irrevocably mar her decency Meg still felt the sting of humiliation as was proper and deserved. She had after all spent the night in the same bed with a gentleman who had no marital contract with her. Only she and Steven would know nothing but sleep had taken place behind the closed door. She had played the fool overindulging in Champaign or had it been wine? Meg could not even remember what Devil's brew she had imbibed.

Meg groaned again. What if Erik knew of her misconduct? Even Meg would not believe the innocent way they had spent the night if Steven had not told her nothing had happened between them. What man slept in the same bed as a woman without taking some advantage of the situation? Meg almost lost track of her thoughts when her feminine dignity wondered why Steven had been able to resist her. Shaking off such stupidly inane wonderings, Meg opted to leave it all behind her firmly placing it in some far corner of her mind.

"Meg it is of an hour when the hotel kitchen will be sending up my breakfast and morning paper. If you stay in this bed dressed as you are I cannot guarantee how long my gentlemanly conduct will last. I will turn my back so that you may leave to dress. Your clothing will be in the room next to this one. I had a maid take them so that they could be washed and pressed for you. There is a robe sitting on the chair by the door with a pair of slippers. Both will be rather large of size but adequate for your needs.

That room has its own facilities so you may lock the door if you feel the need. Once you are ready I shall escort you out the back way so no one will be the wiser. I promise to keep my own council if you do the same. Can't have anyone thinking I am other than a cad. I would lose all credibility among my peers as a womanizer.

The hotel staff is accustomed to cleaning articles of women's clothing coming from my room. I don't think anyone will have taken note of just who came in with me last night. My lips shall be sealed on the matter even if tortured in a most vile fashion. Now, up you get my girl."

Meg needed no second prompting. As soon as Steven turned back the other way she scooted with more haste than decorum out from under the covers. She could not believe how incredibly lucky she had been to choose Steven when she misplaced all her good sense. All Meg could hope for now would be to make it home without her mother being any the wiser about what had taken place last night or rather what had nearly taken place. If not for Steven's thoughtfulness Meg could now be a ruined woman. To some she may already be considered a fallen woman since she and Erik had been intimate. When Erik had taken Meg's innocence most would say that had been her moment of disgrace. Meg did not think of her first time with Erik other than as the wonderful experience it had been for her.

Getting through breakfast with Steven had been much more amiable than Meg had any right to expect. Another type of man would be berating her while calling her tease, charlatan, woman of loose virtue and any number of other horrible terms. If her near disaster showed her anything it had been that life is too short and unpredictable to let things go on without finding a reason for the unexplained.

She should have confided in her mother about Erik. Always her mother had given her good advice throughout the years. Perhaps she could have asked Erik for an explanation of why he had done what he did. Maybe then Meg could understand and except that Erik really cared nothing for her.

As much as she had told herself he didn't have feelings for her, Meg had retained a small portion of belief that something had occurred which had made Erik leave. Further thought on the matter had Meg hopefully believing it had been Erik's own insecurities which had caused this separation and not any regret on his part.

Now that Meg could think rationally she could see that if Erik had wanted Christine, he would have simply taken her as he had done before. If she rejected him once more he would have returned her then disappeared. He had done neither of those things.

She tried not to let Stevens's words give her too much hope. As hard as she tried, Meg could not help the little flicker of optimism coming to life inside of her.

Steven had bid her farewell asking that she keep in touch unless she and that dark masked highwayman became something more than mere acquaintances.

As Steven watched Meg hurry inside he wondered if he should have let her know he had sent round a note to her mother that she was safe and sound. While Meg had been dressing he had summoned a bellboy to take a note to Madame Giry. The woman must have been worried sick about Meg. In the end he had decided to add a little more to Meg's life's lesson. There would always be a morning after and consequences to face.

Arriving home Meg tried her best to enter without running into anyone. She should have guessed her mother had gone to her room and noted her still freshly made bed. Meg wanted to ignore her mother's stern call from the sitting room as Meg passed it on tiptoes.

"Megan Louise Giry." Meg sighed deeply. With the angry calling out of all three of her names Meg knew her mother had to be furious with her.

Stepping into the sitting room Meg could thank her lucky stars no one else would witnessed her disgrace. Not able to look her mother in the eye Meg sat in the chair her mother directed her to with a single gesture of her hand. Once seated Meg glanced briefly toward her mother's silent accusing stare trying to discern just how angry and upset she was. Meg and Christine had always said their mother had been the only person they knew who could say so much without uttering a word. Meg squirmed in anticipation of her dressing down. Her mother had been known to be quite caustic when the occasion warranted.

"Well I suppose it is a blessing you have come home. If that young man had not sent round a note of your whereabouts and an assurance of your safety I think I would have sent the authorities in search of you. You should be eternally grateful to that young man for his gentlemanly behavior. Others would not have hesitated to take advantage of you.

I will not have you running amok Meg. All this foolishness must stop. I do not know what happened between you and Erik but I want the both of you to settle this once and for all. It is not good for either of you.

To top everything off Brimley sent round a note informing us that Erik had taken ill. The fool had spent the night in the rain. I will be visiting him in a few days. Brimley is trying to get Erik to send for a doctor. I know how Erik feels about such things. He will no doubt protest any such thing.

I know you are a grown woman but I do hope you respect me enough to listen to me. Meg, whatever happened between you two, please try to decide if it is worth losing him and what you had without a fight. Erik can be stubborn. He gets these ideas in his head that no one will ever truly want him. I do not blame Christine for rejecting him in favor of Raoul but she did hurt him in a way he had not been hurt in many years. I suppose his mother had been the only other person Erik loved with that much intensity and she had not even seemed to care for him at all. When she gave him to that man in the fair Erik nearly died. He suffered heartbreak as well as the physical abuse. Life has taught him to be wary of giving his heart. I suppose he would use his brilliant mind to pick apart any reason that he should trust his heart to anyone. He is his own worst enemy most of the time. I do not know how you feel about him but I have seen the way you look at him. He looks at you in much the same way."

Meg heard all her mother said but could not process any of it as her mind had grasped onto what seemed most important to her. Erik had fallen ill. He could be dying at this moment. Influenza had been spreading. Other illnesses just as deadly popped up when cleanliness in the environment left much to be desired. Erik only came into contact with those places when he went about town looking for property to purchase. Had he been exposed to some foreign disease?

When she announced she would be going to see him at once Antoinette persuaded Meg to give it some time. When she found out how Erik faired then if he were not too ill Meg could visit him. It would do no one any good to expose herself to something that would make her ill as weii as everyone else.

Not knowing how ill Erik really was had Meg on tenterhooks. Her mother advised her to wait. Waiting had never been Meg's strong suit. She had always been a charge ahead then live with the consequences sort of person. That last bit gave Meg pause for thought. That very charge ahead without thought attitude had gotten her into trouble lately, with Erik many times and almost with Steven just last night.

Meg agreed to wait until further information had been gained as to Erik's condition before she made any moves one way or the other. Needing the support of Christine just now, Meg went in search of her closest friend. Christine had almost the same reaction as Meg. Hers had been tempered just a bit but she still felt terribly worried. Raoul told her Erik would not allow any illness to put him under the ground. He would not go without a fight.

Meg and Christine looked at him in horror. They had not been thinking of his imminent death. They were only hoping it was some minor illness such as he had caught a chill. Illness was one thing but being at deaths door was something else entirely. Meg had just gotten the idea of Erik's demise out of her head now Raoul forced it back in.

Meg and Christine took one look at one another and began to cry in earnest. Raoul felt somewhat at a loss. As he gave what comfort he could he hoped Madame would come and rescue him. Over the next few days Raoul spent time going between the two women crying inconsolably and the window watching anxiously every day for the carriage that would bring Antoinette back to relieve him of his duties of comforting two crying females.

Antoinette would only tell them Erik had been doing as well as expected. From the look on Meg's face Raoul knew Meg wanted to shake more information out of her mother. Why the woman had been so circumspect Raoul thought might have something to do with the calculating look in Antoinette's eyes. She apparently had no qualms about using Erik's illness as a convenient way to test Meg's feelings for Erik. Raoul began to suspect Antoinette had been cagey with her reporst in order to bring Meg to her senses about her feelings.

Raoul wondered if he were to become ill if they would shed as many tears for him. He felt a little mean spirited for having such a thought but he had not quite gotten over the idea that Christine harbored some residual feelings for Erik. Not all that passion on stage the night of Don Juan Triumphant had been acting.

That night in the privacy of their bedroom Raoul used all the skills in his seductive arsenal to sway Christine's full attention to him. Christine did not know what had prompted such amorous attention from Raoul but whatever had caused it she hoped it happened again. Raoul had always been an attentive and considerate lover. Tonight he surpassed every night they had spent together, including their honeymoon night. They would not know until later that a child had been conceived that night.

Meg alone in her bed down the hall cried herself to sleep. The world would be an empty, lonely place if Erik were gone. Just those two months without him had been a living hell. To have her whole life living in that empty void did not appeal to Meg at all.

After Erik had attacked her Meg had thought herself blessed when no child had resulted from their two times of intimacy. Now she wished with all her heart that she carried a part of Erik under her breast. Thoughts of what might have been made Meg cry all the harder. She pulled a pillow to her for comfort. It would be long and stressful days ahead until news of Erik's health had been learned by Meg and the others. Antoinette would only give vague reports that satisfied no one. She hinted that Erik's illness was of a serious nature but did not seem to be concerned after any of her visits to her home. Meg thought if had been her going to Erik's home she would not have been satisfied to stay in the lower level of the house knowing Erik lay in his bed feeling miserable and alone. She would not have taken Brimley's word alone. Meg would have wanted to see with her own eyes how Erik faired.