Chapt. 6

The next day, Elaine went to visit Erik in the early afternoon after she spent the morning with Roland. Erik had been taking up a lot of her time, and he was also beginning to take up her thoughts. She was surprised to find out from the kitchen staff that Erik had not even called down for breakfast yet. She found it strange that he had not yet awoken. Elaine gathered some food on a tray and brought it with her to his room. A maid came behind her with toiletries and a basin for Erik to clean up with. She knocked gently at the door.

"Erik, good afternoon! Can I come in?" she said, softly. She was surprised at the swift reply.

"Elaine? Yes, yes, please come in!" A voice said from within. She pushed open the door, only to see Erik sitting up comfortably on the bed with his good leg bent and a book in his hand. In the bed, scattered around him were the other books she had picked out the night before. He had obviously been awake for quite a while. His face lit up when he saw her and the tray of food. He smiled and put the book down besides him. He looked shyly at the maid, who rested the basin by his bedside, and left with a curtsey.

"Been busy I see." She said, putting the tray next to him on the other night stand, now devoid of books and within the reach of his good arm. Elaine held the basin as Erik cleaned his face and teeth for the morning.

"Be gentle, Erik, you still have some wounds healing on your face." She said, using the cloth to wipe some blood away from his cheek. Erik closed his eyes as she dried his face gently, the feeling of her soft touch a pleasant difference from his own roughness. He could not believe how easily she touched him, with no reservation. "You must be gentle with yourself." She said with a smile, taking away the basin.

As she walked away, he grabbed a piece of bread, devoured it, and reached back to grab a cup with tea. Elaine smirked at him.

"You know Erik, you can call for someone to bring you something if you feel hungry. You don't have to wait for me to come to see you." She pulled up a chair next to the right side of the bed and sat down, sipping on her own tea. He paused to look at her after he took a drink, mulling over what she said. He looked forward blankly.

He had been trying all morning to do it. He could not look at himself for more than a few moments before the painful ache in his heart made him shut his eyes tight. His reflection taunted him in the mirror in front of the bed. He kept trying to block out the disfigured face he saw before him. His face. He had twisted the sheets silently in anger and despair all morning. How had he lived all his life with this face? He could not imagine how.

When Elaine had looked at him, it was deep into his eyes. Whatever wanderings her eyes did, it did not favor or avoid his gruesome side. He felt normal in her gaze. Her words still echoed in his mind… 'You do not need to hide yourself here.' He felt that he should hide himself. He needed to hide himself from his own eyes.

"I…" he started, giving a frustrated sigh. "How do I put this. I feel uncomfortable calling just anyone to come up to see me..." He put the tea back on the table and continued to eat another piece of bread, avoiding her gaze. It is hard to avoid a topic of conversation when one is the subject. Elaine furrowed her brows.

"Why? They won't mind in the least. They were expecting you to call. After all, they know you can't get up and walk around…" She stopped in mid sentence, sadness coming over her with the realization. He did not call anyone because was ashamed. He did not want anyone to see him. A moment later, he confirmed her suspicions.

"I don't want anyone to have to look at me. I don't want to have to see their reaction." He hung his head. "I can't even stand to look at myself. I don't know how you can…" He stopped himself, a lump growing in his throat. He pretended to be coughing on his piece of bread.

Damn. Why does every thought in my head just pour out when she is around me?

Elaine got up slowly and picked up his tea. She handed him the tea, but held on to his hand as he grabbed it. His skin went on fire with her touch. He looked at the soft, warm hand surrounding his own, raising his sad, pale eyes to meet hers. Her eyes were filled with deep compassion. He froze.

How this strange, awkward man moves me. She somehow sensed there was more, deeper within him; he simply had to find it again. She smiled gently as she let go of his hand and sat back in the chair. He took a sip slowly.

"The workers at Capellen Manor are very used to seeing human suffering. Everyone has spent some time working with my father in his office here and in the Infirmary in town. You would not be the first unusual looking person…" she started.

"Unusual is not the word that comes to my mind. Elaine, I thank you for trying to make me feel better. The problem is that I have to be able to look at myself before I can expect others to." He desperately wanted to change the subject. He reached over for a book.

"I have no trouble looking at you, Erik." She said, moving to catch his gaze. "Is that so hard to believe?" He glanced at her briefly.

"That's because you are a special lady, Elaine. I don't need my memories to see that. I know not everyone will treat me the way you do." He said, looking at her intensely for a moment. A strange silence sprang up between them. Elaine leaned over and started to stack the books that were lying on the bed.

"That is the only one are you reading now?" She said, putting the others back on the bedside table for him to reach later.

"Oh, I am done with those." said Erik matter-of-factly, looking at the stack on the table. Elaine glanced at the stack of books. There must have been seven hundred to one thousand pages, all told.

"Let me get this straight. You read all of these? Start to finish?" She said, incredulous.

"I read a bit last night, but mostly this morning since dawn. Very good stories, Elaine, thank you for picking them out." He said, wondering why she was staring at him.

Following a hunch, she walked over to the bookcase and picked out a different book in as many different languages as she could find.

"Can you read these?" she said, placing the stack on his bed. He decided to amuse her request. When he opened the German book, perfect German flowed from his lips. The same happened with the Italian book, then the Spanish book, the Dutch book, the Russian book, and the English book. He read them all with perfect enunciation.

"Well, that is impressive. But do you know what you are saying?" She said, intrigued.

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" he said, opening several of the books and translating the contents into French with the speed of a translator. He did the same for all of the languages.

"You must be some kind of linguist…" she said. His brows furrowed.

"As you know full well, I don't know my past profession. Is what I did that unusual? It felt perfectly normal." He admitted.

"I know people who can speak a few languages, Erik, but not read that many so perfectly…" She said.

"When you first came in to see me yesterday, you were speaking a language I could not understand; it sounded familiar, but I could not place it." Erik queried.

"That was Luxembourgish. It is a spoken language only. It is not taught anywhere, not even here. You would not know how to speak it unless you grew up in Luxembourg." She replied.

"Then I must learn it; to be able to speak with the people who live here…." He said. Elaine looked at the stack of books and nodded.

"Seeing how you know so many languages already, I am sure you will master our language in no time at all." She said. A knock on the door broke the mood.

"Hello? Monsieur Erik? Can I come in?" It was Nate. Elaine opened the door and greeted the round faced man with a friendly hug and a smile.

Elaine had told Nate to meet her here after he had finished putting a few alterations on the pair of crutches he was making for Erik. Considering Erik had never met Nate while awake, she figured she would introduce them.

Nate had commented that Erik would need a special set of crutches because of the injuries to his left arm. He would not be able to use regular crutches normally for a while, and he needed to get up and move about before that arm would be able to support his weight. Nate was a very clever and practical man with a firm grasp of common sense.

"This is Nathaniel." She said pulling him to Erik. This was the first time Nate had seen Erik awake.

"Good to see you so much better, Monsieur. And please, call me Nate." Without hesitation, he approached Erik, shook his hand and patted him on the back. This contact was slightly rough but not unpleasant to Erik. Nate had a man's firm touch.

Erik remembered what Elaine had said about Nate the day before. He was her father's butler for many years, ever since the days when Dr. Dyson was studying medicine in Paris. Dr. Dyson had found young Nate on the street corner begging for work. The boy spoke little French so Dr. Dyson, knowing English, befriended the boy and paid him fairly to run some errands. The boy came back day after day for honest work. Eventually, Dr. Dyson took young Nate in, letting him stay with him at his quarters. What the boy lacked in knowledge he more than made up for in industry. After returning to Capellen with the Doctor, Nate worked hard, becoming his most trusted man-servant. He eventually became the one who ran all the practical aspects of Capellen manor. Nate met and married Adele in Capellen. Nate still retained the right to be the Doctor's personal assistant, for their relationship was more like family after 40 years together.

"A more honest, hard-working, and loyal man you would not be able to find." Erik remembered Elaine saying.

"Nate was the man that found you that night." Elaine prompted.

"Oh, yes. If it weren't for your horse, you would have met your end underneath our carriage." Nate added, laying the crutches at the foot of the bed.

"I had a horse?" Said Erik, vaguely remembering the shape of a dark horse in the moonlight. His eyes fluttered closed for a second "Caesar." He said, surprising himself with the recollection. "My horse...his name is Caesar."

"I see. The memories come back bit by bit." Said Elaine.

"Well, I will take you to see Caesar as soon as you are able, Monsieur. " Laughed Nate. "And I am glad to finally have a name for the gorgeous black stallion who thinks he owns the pasture."

Nate and Elaine helped Erik stand and start to use the crutches. It was then that Elaine realized how tall Erik was, since he had to lean on her for a short while as Nate strapped on the left crutch.

As he leaned on her, Erik again basked in Elaine's clean scent; a light soap mixed with flowers. Nate's rather rough treatment of his arm drew his attention away from it. On the left side, his weight was supported at the elbow, just as Nate had designed it to. Erik beamed, happy to be able to move around by himself. He sat down in a chair by the window, aching with the exertion, but satisfied with the result. Elaine stood behind him and patted him on the shoulder.

"Well done! You will be moving around unaided in no time. But don't rush it, Erik, or you will end up hurting yourself more. We don't want you to have a setback." She warned. Erik looked up and nodded. Elaine's attention was drawn to a noise coming from outside, the sound of a carriage pulled by horses.

A gilded carriage approached the front of the door, easily seen from Erik's window. Elaine leaned out the window, curious to see whose it was. The carriage door opened and out walked a gorgeous, tall woman; fair skinned, raven haired, dressed in a low cut blue outfit that matched her intense eyes. She flirted briefly with the servant that had opened the carriage door, making him blush scarlet. Even her laugh was provocative. She exuded a strong female sensuality that touched everyone in her path. Elaine smiled widely.

"Angelique!" she said excitedly. She rushed out of the room, pausing for just a second, looking back at Erik. "I'll be back later Erik, I promise!" she shouted, running down the stairs. Nate looked out the window and smiled as well. He pushed Erik's chair closer to the window.

"That is Elaine's best friend, the Baroness Angelique. They have known each other since boarding school. They were, well, partners in crime, should we say." He said with a low laugh, turning to look out of the window.

Erik looked outside with curiosity, spotting Angelique as she gently glided her way up the steps. Her feminine form was emphasized by the way she moved and her choice of clothing. Her hair was tastefully but seductively styled.

"She is stunning." He said, looking at the raven haired beauty, studying her every move. "Angelique…" Nate waved a hand in front of Erik's gaze.

"Beware, that lady is the most beautiful, most intelligent vixen around. A mathematician when she is not wooing some poor man off his feet or romancing some head of state. In certain circles she is known as the 'Tigress'. Man-eater she is. I think it is best you stay clear of her." Nate said. A man exited the carriage after her.

The man who followed her out of the carriage made Nate's face contort with anger.

"Now, what is he doing here?" Nate growled.