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No Easy Way	By : secretlysecretly Category: M through R > The Phantom of the Opera > Het Views: 7568 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Phantom of the Opera, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 07

It was seven in the evening when Marianne rang Louise to prepare her dinner. The maid nodded her head in the affirmative and informed her that Baron Olivier Dervaux had visited the estate during her absence.

The next morning Marianne woke early and was sitting at the veranda, reading a book. Her tranquility was disturbed by Louise as she announced a visitor for her.

“Mademoiselle, Baron Dervaux is here to see you.”

“Thank you Louise. Please prepare some tea for us.” Marianne replied, smiling.

“Certainly Mademoiselle.” Louise left, only to come back a few minutes later with Baron Olivier Dervaux, announcing his arrival.

“Good morning Marianne. How are you feeling today?”

“Good morning Olivier. I am fine. How are you?”

“Now that I see you, I can assure you that I’m much better. You look stunning.” he said, smiling broadly at Marianne and walking over to sit by her side.

“Thank you Olivier. You are too kind.”

“Where were you yesterday? I missed you.”

“Yes, Louise informed me that you paid me a visit yesterday. I am sorry I wasn’t here to see you.”

“Where did you go?”

“I had a prior engagement. Surely, if you had informed me that you would visit, I would have stayed here.” she replied vaguely.

“Marianne, where did you go?” Olivier asked her once more, somewhat annoyed by her reluctance to give him a clear answer.

“I paid a visit to my new neighbor.” she replied, hoping that Olivier wouldn’t press the matter any further.

Olivier had heard that a strange man had purchased the estate next to Marianne’s but had not made any inquiries on the matter. He was starting to regret his indifference now. “How come?” he asked her, trying to appear nonchalant.

“It doesn’t matter Olivier. How is your brother? Has he returned from Paris?”

“Are you avoiding the subject Marianne?” he asked her, irritated now.

“Olivier, it was a simple visit. There is really nothing to talk about.” she said, trying to dismiss the matter.

“If it were such a casual visit, why are you so unwilling to answer a simple question?”

“Because, Olivier, I feel as if you are interrogating me. I never considered you a gossip.”

“A gossip? I am only looking after your best interests.”

“Thank you but I can assure you that I am perfectly capable of taking care of my own interests.”

“Apparently you are not. You should know that a young lady of your stature in society should not under any circumstances be so forward as to visit strange men unaccompanied.”

“He is not a stranger to me.” Marianne replied, regretting her words the moment they left her mouth.

“Not a stranger?” Olivier said, raising his eyebrows, now obviously angry at her. “Pray tell Marianne, how did you come to make the acquaintance of your mysterious neighbor?”

“I told you that I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself Olivier. I do not have to answer your questions regarding my personal matters.” she replied indignantly.

“Need I remind you that you are alone in the world Marianne? Our families have a long standing friendship running between them. It is my obligation to look after you.”

“I don’t think that I have ever given you, or anyone else for that matter, the impression that I am an improper woman Baron Dervaux. I am responsible for my own self.”

“Is that so?” Olivier said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Marianne looked at her long-time friend, knowing that this conversation would lead them nowhere. She regarded him for a while, thinking that perhaps she was overreacting, when he allowed his tension to dissipate and smiled at her.

“Come on Marianne, we don’t have to argue like this, do we?” he said, a hopeful look in his eyes.

Marianne didn’t speak; she simply smiled a sweet smile at him, silently consenting. Olivier felt his spirit rise, encouraged by her demeanor.

“Marianne, I have been meaning to speak with you for a long time. You cannot stay alone for ever. People have started to talk.”

Suddenly her eyes sparkled with anger, but her voice remained calm as she spoke. “Have I ever given you the impression that I’m interested in what people think my dear Olivier?”

“No my darling, but that doesn’t make it right. People are talking about the both of us; I feel it’s time that we make it official.”

“Make what official Olivier?”

“Us. Our relationship. We should get married.”

“Our … relationship? I wasn’t aware that we two had a relationship…” her eyes were on fire.

“We have been friends for a long time, we see each other regularly; I am worried about you Marianne.”

“I seem to recall you mentioning that you felt obliged to look after me Olivier. Mainly because of our families being so close during all these years.”

“You cannot possibly believe that my sole interest for you lies in friendship my dear. We were born to be together. You know perfectly well that your parents would have wanted us to unite our lives in holy matrimony.”

“Olivier, you have to understand that I am never going to live my life according to what my family or society expect of me. After all, my father would never have wanted me to engage myself in a conventional marriage. He believed in love, and taught me never to settle for less.”

“This is nonsense Marianne. The role of a woman is to get married and procreate. It has been thus since the dawn of time, and always will be. Don’t be foolish expecting ridiculous romantic gestures. Love does not last. What we have is forever. We are both of noble origin, we have a sturdy friendship, we will be -”

Marianne was livid. She couldn’t believe the words that were leaving her friend’s mouth. “Olivier, if that’s how you think, you have no place here. I thought you were my friend. You have always treated me in a condescending manner, but I wanted to believe that you want me to be happy and that you see me as a person and not as a breeding instrument. Apparently I was wrong… Anyway, to end this once and for all; don’t harbor any illusions that I am going to marry you because I have no other choice. If I am ever to marry it will be out of love; and Olivier, I was never in love with you.”

“Alright then, I will take my leave. One day, you will regret this; you will soon understand that all these romantic dreams of yours are absolutely inane. You know where to find me!” At that, Olivier took his leave, storming out of her presence.

“It will be a cold day in hell before I become one of the women you all expect me to be!” Marianne muttered through clenched teeth.

She was furious. She stood unable to stay still any longer, her steps leading her to the gardens of her estate. ‘Who does he think he is? Taking me for granted when I have never given him cause to believe that I would want something more than friendship from him? Who gave him the right to pry in my personal affairs?’

As Marianne started walking through the gardens towards the lake that separated her estate from the neighboring one, suddenly a thought crossed her mind.

‘Is this the way I made Monsieur Destler feel with my questions? If he’s truly hiding something, then he had every right to be angry at me for meddling in his dealings. After all, I have known Olivier all my life and I am furious at his indiscretion; it’s only natural for monsieur Destler to behave so defensively.’

As she approached the lake, she could feel her temper cooling. This had always been her favorite place whenever she felt sad or stressed by something. It had been her haven time and time again ever since she had been a little girl. Reaching the lakeshore she heard the water splashing, immediately alarmed as she realized she wasn’t alone. Tentatively, she peered through the reeds and saw a man’s head coming out of the water.

She gasped as she realized it could only be him! Turning to run away, she stepped on a twig and the sound traveled to her ears like a gunshot had been fired. She froze in place looking back to the lake to check whether he had heard her.

Breathing a sigh of relief when he didn’t turn to her direction, she saw him dipping his head in the water once more swimming to the opposite side of the lake where she spotted his clothes and mask lying in a bundle on the shore.

Unknowing to Marianne, Erik had indeed been aware of someone watching him through the reeds. He swam to the spot where his mask lay and, obstructing the intruder’s view, put it on hastily.

Marianne couldn’t help herself from watching Erik’s form as he put on his mask, the muscles of his back rippling underneath the taut skin. She fixed her gaze upon his body and remained still, almost hypnotized by the sight as he turned, mask in place, a calm expression on his handsome face.

She allowed her eyes to travel on his solid chest and broad shoulders. She let her eyes wander over his torso, gawking at his tight abdomen. Her breath caught in her throat as she caught a glimpse of his loins, where the water splashed upon the hard planes of his body.

Her breathing became quick and shallow as the image from her dream flashed before her eyes. She imagined his arms around her and blushed crimson as she pictured herself reciprocating the embrace, running her hands down the resilient muscles of his smooth back. She imagined what his lips would taste like under hers, violently shaking her head to drive the scandalizing thoughts from her mind.

Erik caught a glimpse of Marianne’s dress through the corner of his eye, realizing that it could only be her watching him. He smiled smugly as he saw her turning to leave the lakeshore abruptly.

Stepping carefully, trying to be as quiet as possible, Marianne attempted to make herself invisible as she turned to leave. Just as she thought that she had gone unnoticed by him, she heard his deep voice behind her.

“Mademoiselle Pinon, won’t you join me? The water is lovely.”

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A/N 1:Since we’re new to the site as ‘authors’, we will post a reply here.

First of all we would like to thank both Courtney and Nightscribe for taking the time to leave their reviews.

Dear Nightscribe: Yes, it is absolutely true, Marianne is a very strong-minded young woman, and she has the luxury of being one. And yes, she has to be like this (in our minds), as an opposition to many other characters we have read over the past year in other phics.

This is not a Christine-friendly fanfic, and from the moment we’ve mentioned it since our first chapter, yes, it is only natural for Christine to make her appearance.

Yes, many things will happen, but we thought it would be too soon to let them occur during the first chapters. You will have your answers soon.

The thing is that we love Erik very much, and we would like to see him happy! Of course, a few twists and turns wouldn’t hurt anyone either…

This is one of the most well-thought reviews we’ve received and we deeply appreciated it.

A/N 2: Come on people, tell us what you think!
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No Easy Way