He was always so angry toward her, when they were arguing or simply kissing. When he was this still and quiet she wanted to cry. Was it strange to miss the sound of him yelling? It had become a part of her life very quickly and she did miss it.
His mask was a temptation she was having trouble ignoring. It was there...and she could easily remove it. She could find out once and for all what it was he was hiding beneath it. Was it for pretenses or did he truly need to wear it? Her father had said that he was the reason he was wearing it. But what was that reason? She was very curious and her hand itched with needing to remove it.
But she gazed at his face and knew that she would not do so. She respected him in many ways and she would not break any trust the two of them might have, even if that trust was minimal. She let her fingers lightly run across the white porcelain and she settled herself more comfortably against him. The door opened and she looked up in surprise to see her brother standing there.
He ran a hand down his face and yawned as he looked at her and her husband, shaking his head in the process. She put a finger to her lips, indicating that he needed to be quiet, Erik needed to rest.
"We told you not to come in here," he murmured. Christine shrugged.
"He is my husband, I have every right," she answered. Anthony sighed, knowing he was not going to be able to sway her from her thinking.
"What do you feel for him, Christine?" Anthony asked. Christine stilled, her heart beginning to race. What would be an appropriate answer. She did not know what to say.
"I...care about him," she murmured. Anthony stared, hoping she would elaborate, when she did not he persisted.
"You do not love him?" he asked. She shook her head.
"I do not know him well enough, Anthony, there is no way for me to feel something that deep for him," she said. Anthony remained quiet for a long time, thinking deeply.
"Do you know anything about what is going on?" he asked. It was hurting him that his sister might be in danger and he had no way to help her. Christine shook her head.
"No...I know nothing," she whispered. The only thing she knew was that whoever was doing this did not care who he hurt, as Susannah was a testament to. Her death had been hard on Christine and she missed the woman terribly.
"We could leave now," Anthony whispered. Christine's eyes found him in the darkness and she found herself moving slightly closer to her husband.
"What?"
"He is unconscious, he will not be able to stop us," Anthony continued. Faced with the fact that she could leave that very moment from a marriage she had not wanted anything to do with was very tempting...but with Erik beside her so lifeless she would feel like she was abandoning him, something she would not do. When her mother had died she had for a long time, felt as if her mother had abandoned her, and she had not liked the feeling. She would not inflict that pain upon anyone, even Erik.
"No, Anthony, my duty lies here," she whispered. Anthony was proud of his sister, even though it killed him that she was a prisoner to this man in many ways. But she had the courage to stand up against her hardships and become a stronger person. He loved that about her.
"Alright...I will see you in the morning. I love you," he said with great reluctance. Christine smiled.
"I love you, too, Anthony...thank you for understanding."
Her face was the first thing he saw when he slowly opened his eyes. Worried blue eyes and tight curls were the sight that greeted him, and for a moment Erik believed that he was staring at an angel. Surely no human could possess such beauty. But the pain in his chest told him that he was certainly not in heaven, and Christine was not an angel, although she resembled one greatly.
"About time," Christine grumbled, not wanting to tell him how glad she was that he had just opened his eyes. Erik muttered something under his breath and shifted, groaning in immense pain.
"Don't move!" Christine demanded.
"Thank you, I realize that," he grumbled. He did not want to ask her what happened because he already knew. Kenneth had bested him and he would never forgive himself because of it. He glanced at Christine, wondering if he would be able to know what had happened to Kenneth by the look in her eyes. That was when he noticed the bruising and he remembered the words Douglas had told him in the middle of his pain, 'Madam Desslar is screaming'. He felt a painful squeezing in his chest as he automatically thought the worst. His hand hesitantly reached out and touched one of the various bruises, causing her to wince.
"Christine..." he murmured. She smiled and shook her head, knowing what was bothering him. She was fine. She did not want him to worry about anything because he had enough to deal with. She refused to complain when nothing major had really happened to her.