"This is our newest tenant, Mr. Erik Reauchard. He's just arrived from Paris. And Mr. Reauchard, this is my daughter in all but blood, Christine Daae."
Christine hesitantly held her hand out, and very slowly the man grasped the tips of her fingers then quickly released them. His hand was cold.
"The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Daae."
Erik looked at the young woman in front of him, and was coldly amused by her reaction to him. She was nervous and it showed. A typical response to anyone meeting him for the first time, especially those of the opposite sex.
He observed her as the three of them stood in the foyer, the two women trying very hard to look relaxed and friendly, but losing the battle to his intimidating presence. She was petite and slender, with a curly mop of blonde hair that just touched the collar of her pale green shirt. With her lack of height, she came no higher than his chest. Her voice was very pleasing to his ear, and inherently musical. It was the loveliest quality about the girl, and it appealed to him in a very fundamental way. Her eyes were a light blue and at the moment they were fixed shyly on what passed for his face.
She looked him in the eyes and was surprised at their strange color, the blackness of the pupils were startling against the amber color of the irises. Who has yellow eyes? But when he greeted her, his voice had surprised her even more. She thought she had never heard a more attractive male voice than his; it was a smooth tenor and it almost made up for his bizarre appearance.
Almost. Yep. Drop dead sexy voice only gets so much mileage around here.
Still, she managed to speak. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Reauchard. Uh...welcome to Gettysburg."
"Thank you."
His accent was light, with just a hint of his nationality. His English was impeccable and his voice was beautifully modulated, if not a little chilly. Wonder if that voice of his actually gets better as it gets warmer?
They stood there, Christine still with a feeling of unreality washing over her at the presence in their home of a man wearing a mask. It was so highly unusual. At first she hadn't realized it; the color tint blended very well with his pale chin and lower jaws, but soon it had occurred to her that his features were curiously emotionless and stiff. Save for his bony chin and thin lips, that is- they had the look of a man not prone to smiling very often, and she guessed astutely that stubbornness with this man would be in abundance. What the mask covered could only be wondered at, but the nose beneath it appeared to be long and aristocratic. Patrician? From a distance the disguise would be hard to spot, but up close it was more noticeable, which explained Mamma's attitude.
Elizabeth cleared her throat and indicated Erik's suitcases. "Grab your bags, Mr. Reauchard and Christine will show you the way to the Reynold's apartment." She smiled kindly at him. "All of our rooms are named after generals who commanded the field during the battle."
Christine led him from the foyer. "Are you at all familiar with the Civil War, Mr. Reauchard?" She headed for the stairs to the left of the entry.
Erik made a moue of distaste as he followed behind her up the stairs and into a wide hallway papered in white cabbage roses over a soft gray background. It was reminiscent of days gone by, but to him it was overblown and retrogressive.
"Yes, I am quite familiar with your American Civil War, although the United States most definitely wasn't the first country in the world to experience one, given its very short history," he said curtly.
Geez, what a grump. He really put me in my place. "Uh, yeah, that's right. Who hasn't had a civil war at some point?"
He said nothing more, and she led him to a door midway down the hall, and opening it, revealed a set of narrow wooden stairs.
"The Reynold's Apt. has the best view in the house of the battlefield. Uh, I'm sure you'll be very comfortable during your stay with us. There's quite a bit to do in your leisure time around here," she said, smiling shyly.
Climbing the steps, she glanced at him over her shoulder. "If I may ask, is it business or pleasure that brings you here?"
"Yes, you may ask."
Christine waited nearly a minute before she realized he wasn't going to answer. She felt the blush creeping across her face. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry." Oh yeah, definitely a grump. She would make sure to stay out of his way while he was here.
She reached the top of the stairs and unlocked the door in front of her. Stepping inside, she turned to Erik and handed him the key.
"Mrs. Valerius has already told you everything you need to know about your stay with us, but if you have any questions about the area, or places to eat- stuff like that, please feel free to ask." She went through her usual speech to new tenants, only this time she wanted nothing more than to leave this one far behind. "We'll be happy to help anytime. So um, enjoy your stay, Mr. Reauchard."
She turned to leave, glad to be getting away from him.
With a sigh, Erik reached out and lightly touched her arm. "Business."
She nodded, giving him a hesitant smile and walked out, gently closing the door.
He threw the key on the small desk in front of the window and looked around the room. It was a very efficient set-up- apartment sized refrigerator and stove, table with two chairs, and in the alcove where the ceiling sloped, was a comfortable looking double bed. Not that he would be using it much; he didn't require the usual amount of sleep, getting by on very little.
The walls were painted a pale peach; the wood trim in white, and the worn, dark oak floor was covered in colorful rag rugs.
Erik opened the door near the bed to reveal a small bathroom with a walk-in shower. He removed his mask and splashed water on his face, never once looking at himself in the mirror over the sink.
He dried himself off thoroughly, then placed the damp towel over the mirror, hiding his image from sight. If he wasn't careful, his skin developed sores, which made the damnable mess that much more of a curse. The mask would need to stay off for a while.
Running his hand through his thinning, black hair he walked over to the window, opening it to allow the cool breeze in. Reauchard gazed out over the fields surrounding the house and grounds to the woods beyond. He took out his cell phone and placed his call.
"I have arrived and I can see the de Chagny house from my window."
Christine walked into the kitchen just in time to catch Lucy, Mamma's black pug, pawing at the dish towel on the edge of the counter. Shooing her away, she grabbed the dog's dish off the floor and filled it with kibble. The little dog began eating as though it had been days since her last meal, which was far from the truth. Mamma had a tendency to overfeed Lucy.
She went over to the stove and stirred the pan of soup heating there.
Elizabeth sighed tiredly and went to the cupboard for some bowls. "Seems like we keep having supper later and later anymore."
She ladled the soup into the bowls, while Christine got some bread and put it on the table. Both women sat down and started eating.
"Did you know he wore a mask?"
The older woman paused, soup spoon halfway to her mouth. "No. I was as surprised as you were. But you have to admit it's not that noticeable at first, is it?"
She buttered a slice of bread and tore off a piece, feeding it to Lucy, who was shamelessly begging. "I can't exactly break the lease because of it, now can I? That would be discrimination, and it's against the law. Besides, he seems all right once you get over his appearance. Never judge a book by its cover, Christine." Mamma wagged her finger at her as she spoke. Christine merely rolled her eyes.
There was a light tapping on the kitchen door, and she got up to answer it. "Bet that's Raoul." She let him in and he made his usual fuss over the pug.
She sat back down and Raoul took a seat beside her. "What have you ladies been up to today?"
Christine pushed her bowl away and grinned. "Aw, you know- my usual. Tennis at the country club, a massage, and then I lazed around the pool."
Raoul grabbed a piece of bread and popped it in his mouth chewing slowly. "Okay. That took care of your morning. What about the rest of the day?"
"Idiot. You're a real laugh riot, Ray."
"Well, I try," he said grinning. "Anyway, you definitely had a better day than me. Phil has a guest who's been annoying as hell all day, and my brother hasn't been much better. Can I bunk here for the next few weeks?" he asked hopefully.
Mamma got up and took the dirty dishes over to the sink, bringing back a plate of gingerbread cookies. "Here Raoul, have a cookie- your favorite, and the answer is no. All the apartments have been leased. Our newest tenant arrived tonight."
"That would explain the black BMW in the parking lot. Nice wheels. What's he like?"
Christine looked at Mamma, and Raoul sensed the hesitancy in the glance. "So what's up, Chris? What'd he do, hit on you?" He looked at both women.
Elizabeth shook her head. "Nothing like that. Mr. Reauchard is just a little unusual, that's all, but he seems harmless enough."
"Unusual how?" he asked curiously.
Elizabeth dabbed at her mouth with her napkin and shrugged. "He wears some kind of mask. He must have scars he doesn't want people to see." She glanced sharply at him. "It's none of our business whatever his reasons for wearing it."
Raoul snorted. "Harmless? A mask? Huh! I'm not so sure letting him stay here is a good idea. I'd like to meet him; maybe he's hiding his face for some other reason- maybe he's on the run from the law."
Christine looked at her childhood friend. She didn't like the idea of their tenant being given the third degree by her friend. "Uh uh. No. you don't. He's a paying customer and he's done nothing wrong, so leave him alone. Besides, don't you have to get back home and help your brother host?"
"Yeah, leave it to you to ruin the rest of my evening."
She laughed. "You're evening isn't ruined and you know it. You'll just go in your room, lock the door and turn the music up nice and loud."
He grinned back at her. "Think you know me so good, huh?" He got reluctantly to his feet. "Well, guess what? You do, and I am. Happy?"
People had commented for years as the two of them grew up together, that they looked like brother and sister- both were fair-haired and had blue eyes with open, friendly faces. They had dated on and off over the years, and although Raoul seemed ready to take their relationship a step further, Christine always hesitated. She still wasn't ready to commit to anything more serious.
She smiled to herself; still waiting for Mr. Right- where was he hiding?
She went over and grabbed the leash hanging on the wall, and bent down to hook it to the dog's collar. "Come on Luce, let's take a walk."
She went outside with Raoul; he stopped her in the back yard with a hand on her arm. "I'm serious Chris. You and Mamma need to be careful around this dude; he could be trouble. Not too many guys I know of who wear a mask on any day other than Halloween- or a bank heist. It's just weird. Let me know how it goes with him, will ya? Now how about me and my problem? This Moncharmin is a pain in the ass! He's nervous as hell and my brother is tired of dealing with him. I don't know why Phil doesn't just boot him out, but maybe you can come over tomorrow and help put me outta my misery. We can maybe watch a movie or something. How bout it?" He gave her a fake leer. "We can suck some face when the movie gets boring."
"Except for the snogging, it sounds like a plan. If Mamma doesn't need me, I'll be over with the popcorn. And uh, Raoul? Mr. Reauchard is okay; don't bother him, all right? The mask is no big deal. You make him sound like some kind of nut job or...or terrorist or something, and he's not. I talked to him a few seconds before I realized he was even wearing one- it's no big deal. He's cool, so lay off."
He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say."
Chagny wasn't too far from them; Raoul had hiked over the field, so Christine walked a ways with him, letting Lucy have a run before heading back home.
In the attic room, Erik stood near the window and watched her return.