"Christine! I demand you tell me what is going on!" Anthony growled, taking his sister by the arm. She had burst into his room where he had been getting better acquainted with Sienna's body and had demanded that he and Sienna pack immediately before flying out of the room. She ran to both her fathers and Raoul's rooms and did the exact same thing. Now everyone was looking at her with tired expressions on their faces. Christine was unsure what to tell them, Erik had just toldher to tell them to go and pack, nothing else.
"Please, just listen to me! You are all in danger if you do not leave!" Christine pleaded. The four people in front of her burst into question and Christine covered her ears for a moment. She herself was not exactly sure what was going on. She turned to look at her family when she was greeted with sudden silence. They were all looking behind her, the blood draining from their faces. She turned to see Erik standing there, his head held high even with the fact that he was not wearing his mask. Even given everything that had happened she found a small smile come to her lips as she looked at him. He was a strong man, and it showed in the way he held himself. But she could only wonder how much weight was on his shoulders with everything that was happening.
"Oh, my God...how?" Anthony whispered, looking as if he were ready to collapse to the floor. Erik wrapped his arm around Christine's waist, pulling her close to him.
"There is no time to explain. Michael Delauney and his men will be here soon. All of you must leave or it will mean your life," he said. There was no time for explanations. Christine's life was on the line and he would not risk it by staying here longer than he should while he tried to explain something that would take hours to cover.
"Please, all of you must go!" Christine cried. They all seemed to notice the fear that was in her eyes and without a word they all went to get ready. They were not worried about Christine. By some miracle her husband was back with her and they all knew that he would not allow any harm to come to her. Erik took her hand and quickly began leading her down the hall. Christine continuously glanced at her husband, wondering what he had done to jeopardize the frail compromise Michael had made with him. Her hand went to her stomach. She would do anything to keep her baby safe, anything. Erik led them to the barn.
He hid in the shadows as Christine told the driver that she needed to hurry. When the driver was preparing the horses Erik slipped inside the carriage and silently waited for Christine to join him. He would never forgive himself for the mistake he had made with Delauney. He and his wife were now running for their lives because of one of his foolish decisions. He heard Christine tell the driver to keep driving until they stopped and not for the first time Erik realized that he did not know where to take them.
The bordello? The thought of taking Christine there made him sick to his stomach. But perhaps Nadir would know what to do, or where they could hide. Christine climbing into the carriage jostled him from his thoughts and he remained silent as she settled herself against him. The carriage began to move and their silence continued. Christine did not question his actions that night and he knew that she was afraid to ask. He did not want to tell her. He had failed and he would never be able to admit that to her. He took his cloak and wrapped it around them both, pulling her more tightly against him. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, suddenly very tired. Erik's hand strayed to her stomach and her eyes suddenly opened, catching his gaze. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her lips.
"How is my son?" he whispered. Christine instantly felt guilt wash over her. She continued to think about the time she had almost lost the baby because of her own daftness. But she managed to smile at him.
"How do you know it is a boy?" she murmured, although she had begun to think of it as a boy. Though she would be just as happy with a girl. Erik grinned down at her, trying to make light of the moment.
"It's a boy," he said matter of factly. Christine smiled and shook her head, putting her hand on top of his own. Silence filled the carriage and Christine closed her eyes, finally allowing herself to slip off into sleep, knowing that for the moment she was safe in her husband's arms and far to tired to do anything else. Erik stared down at Christine for a long time after she had fallen asleep and he tried to memorize every feature of her face. He looked away from her out of the small window and saw they were only a few blocks away from the bordello. He did not want the carriage to pull straight up at its door so he knocked on the roof and the carriage came to a halt.