Lady Be Good

Chapter 3

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Author's Note: All lovey-dovey innocence ahead with the Vicomte! No trigger warnings here.

It was awkward to be amongst people, innocent people, when she felt so dirty and crude. They knew nothing of her past life, it wasn't as if sex for a living was her choice or defined her as a person, but it was always there. Only a tad under the surface, the feeling of men's hands upon her haunted her dreams, the silver of a kitchen knife reminded her of Apple, at night the creaks of other servants' racks reminded her of her horrible little attic. If it were not for Raoul de Chagny, she was sure to have run away within the first month.

"I'm always home on the weekends." He'd promised her one day when he'd stolen an orange from the kitchen. That afternoon he spent the day with his elbows leaning on the counter as he watched her cut carrots into precise portions for beef stew. And then, every Friday night thereafter was spent in the same way. Raoul would roll up his shirt sleeves and lean across the table, talking to her of everything and absolutely nothing at the same time. He'd learned her favorite color had grown to be blue, she enjoyed music above all else, and she'd always wanted a cat. She learned that he despised working as an apprentice to a lawyer, that he much preferred horseback riding to any other sort of travel, and his favorite color was growing to be green.

On Saturdays, after Christine had helped serve and restore the rooms after breakfast and then helped to prepare dinner, Raoul and she would take walks through the house. They weren't very exciting walks, but she had nothing but her uniform to wear in public, so they remained in doors and continued to talk. Raoul told stories to her, of England, of some of the cases he'd had to deal with in the office, of his childhood and what it was like being raised in the shadow of his genius brother. No one commented on the unlikely pairing, and Christine had an inkling it was because he had ordered it so. But she did not mind, as long as she was not bothered for making a friend. A friend who was a man, who respected her, cared for her, sought her out for nothing more than conversation and strolls through his house. Soon, she could think of nothing but Raoul. He wanted to be her friend, willingly! Raoul de Chagny was the kindest man she'd ever met, besides perhaps her Papa.

Sundays were spent back in the kitchen, preparing foods for throughout the week and performing a deep cleaning on all of the appliances, the cook had made sure Christine knew these were the "Madame's orders." At nightfall, Raoul would sneak Christine out through the service doors. She'd never felt so free or young in her life, with her arm tucked carefully in his, she struggled to keep up with his long stride as he tugged her through the darkened streets of Paris with laughter upon his lips. The destination was always the same, for four months Raoul led her out to the park where they would sit upon their bench and stare up at the stars. These visits were what kept Christine going during the week. Out on the bench, nothing mattered but them; their rankings, their past, her job, his family, dissolved into nothingness. Everything fell away until they were nothing but a young couple sitting hand in hand on the bench, sharing secrets under the stars.

"I don't think my mother ever loved me." He revealed one night, giving her hand a squeeze as he pulled her attention away from the sky.

"I doubt that's true, Raoul-"

"No, I mean it. She's never said it before except on holidays and my birthday, I'm not really sure it counts then."

"Don't be ridiculous, your mother cares for you very much-or you wouldn't be here today. No mother could stop loving her child-"

"Your turn Christine, tell me a secret. Tell me what you think about at night before you fall asleep." He smiled at the red tint that rose in her cheeks, she was beautiful. It was true, less than a year living in better conditions made her a rose in full bloom. Christine hardly knew it of course, her work clothes and occupation hid all self-love from her, but Raoul could see past all of that and into the eyes of a beautiful young woman with a beautiful soul.