Lost in the pages

Heart to heart

"Please Estelle; come stay warm, and eat" Athos stood in the doorway "We will stay the night and then go back to Paris" I wrapped my arms around myself

"It must be pretty here in the summer?" I said looking through the window

"It can be" I heard his footsteps and saw his blurred reflection in the frosted glass "Estelle" I turned to face him, Athos swallowed hard as his brow furrowed "I have spoiled everything haven't I?"

"You've shocked me" I shrugged "but we all have a past"

"Have you been married to a murderer and felt like you have been destroyed?" he asked with a sigh

"No" I shook my head "but I have lost a lot in my life; I've given up everything" I looked down "I thought that maybe, the step that I had taken would have been my fairytale" I chuckled "but I don't suppose that there is such thing"

"Please come by the fire" He offered me his hand "It is freezing out here, It takes a long time for this house to warm up when it has been so long since fires were lit" I took a deep breath and let my hand slip in to Athos's hold. We went back into the other room the heat of the fire was welcoming. "You are the only person to know everything of my life other than Treville" he said letting go of my hand as I sat back in the chair "But now you also understand why I am..."

"No; I don't understand why you are so walled" I said cutting him off "I mean I understand she broke your heart. You were lied to and betrayed but it's been ten years" Athos looked at me "She was the one that hurt you; you did nothing wrong other than let your heart rule your head. So tell me why are you stopping yourself from finding love again?" I tipped my head and looked at him "Don't think that every woman is like your former wife; because that is what you are doing and I find it offensive" his eyes got wide "If she is dead then let her ghost go Athos, you're a good man"

"You are quite the woman Estelle" he said giving me a soft smile "Beautiful and tougher than most, different from any other woman I have known"

"I'm not from here which may have something to do with it" I rubbed the back of my neck feeling the knot of tension under my fingers

"We should eat" he walked to where the cooking pot was sitting by the fire keeping warm He spooned food out on to plates and handed one to me.

It wasn't until I smelt the food close up that I realized just how hungry I actually was; we both ate in silence as the logs crackled on the fire. My head kept returning back to the fact Athos was so much more than just a Musketeer. I finished the food and picked up the wine and took a drink as I looked into the flames leaping in the hearth.

I took a deep breath and looked over the where Athos was sitting, he was watching me as he trailed his finger around the top of his glass

"Do you have a family?" he asked

"Not really" I shook my head "My parents were killed in an accident about five years ago and then my Grandmother passed away a year or so ago; and my brother and I were never close and he left to travel when he was twenty and I haven't seen him since" I shrugged

"And you have no husband?" I shook my head

"I'm an independent woman" I took a deep breath "From a very different place to this" I chewed my lip

"So why Paris?" he moved and picked up the wine bottle and filled both of our glasses

"I picked up as book and it was about Paris and it's people, and I was pulled right into it" I was unsure if I told him the full truth if he would believe me

"And you met the Musketeers" he smiled

"I did and it has been a strange ride" I took a long drink of the wine "I'm learning that women aren't taken as seriously as men; and it's a hard lesson to learn I touched my face where the cut was from the Cardinal's ring. The nerve twitched in Athos's cheek

"You do not know how much I wanted to kill him for doing that to you" he ground his teeth

"And how would that have gone for you" I shook my head "It's not the first time someone has hit me, I'll get over it"

"Don't underestimate the power of the Cardinal; Estelle" He came over and put down his drink and took mine and put it next to his. Athos reached for my hands pulling me up to my feet "I will protect you from him as much as I can" he put his hand on the side of my face and stroked his thumb gently over the cut "I don't know how quickly I can change the man I am; but if you will have patience with me, I will try" His tone was so genuine it tugged at me "That is if you even wish..." I stopped him by pushing up on my toes and kissing him lightly before dropping back down on to my feet.

Athos inhaled sharply and his hands dropped to my waist and pulled me hard against him. My arms went up around his neck and the kiss could have melted all of the snow that was falling outside. I pulled back and took in every line on his face and the blue of his eyes.

"It's been a long day... I think we should"

"Go to bed" he smiled finishing my sentence. I nodded he bent and picked up the two glasses and with his other hand linked his fingers with mine and led me out and up the large staircase that was lined with covered paintings.

"Are any of these of you?" I asked

"Yes" he nodded "I will show you in the light of day"