As Katherine fastened her cloak around her throat, she felt the sharp twinge in her back again, only this time the pain radiated towards the front. Hissing in pain, the woman put her hand against the bedpost, trying to breathe normally. After a moment, the pain passed, and she was able to straighten up.

“Miss Katherine?”

“Anne, I need you to go to Doctor Wellston,” Katherine said, turning to face the other woman. Her long time maid gasped in concern. “There's no need for alarm. I think that with all the stress lately, I could use a consultation. Just to make sure everything is all right.”

“But, I can't leave you, Miss Katherine!”

Katherine waved her hand. “Jonathon will get me to the D'Arcy's,” she said. “But I need you to get the doctor.”

The maid shook her head. “The D'Arcy's can send for him when we get there,” she insisted. “Miss Katherine, you are in a delicate state right now.”

“Anne, if we wait, who knows how long it will take for someone to get to him,” Katherine argued. “We need everyone out looking for Pip and the rest of the children. Please. I'll be fine.”

Sighing, Anne nodded reluctantly She hoovered around Katherine as the woman made her way down to the hall. Shooing the maid away, Katherine waited until Anne had rushed out of the front door. Following at a slower pace, the mistress of the house smiled as she saw the carriage ready and waiting for her.

Anne vanished out onto the street to catch a hansom cab there. Katherine went down the porch steps, shivering at the wind that blew around her. The cloaked footman jumped to the ground and hurried to open the door for her. Katherine came to a stop instantly, staying on the last step. Her hand tightened on the railing.

The man wasn't limping. Dread hitting, Katherine regretted insisting on Anne getting the doctor. She took a slow step backwards, going up the last step. The man hadn't moved, and didn't seem to realize that she was searching for her escape.

Spinning around, Katherine bolted back onto the porch, cursing her condition that kept her slow and unwieldy. She made it into the house, closing the door behind herself. The wood shuddered as the man outside rammed into it. Swiftly, Katherine turned the lock and backed away from the door, trying to slow her breathing.

The pain hit again, nearly taking her breath away. Staggering, Katherine caught herself against the stair railing. “Oh, not now,” she breathed. She kept her eyes on the shadow that was on the other side of the glass of the door. Her pulse quickened as the shadow vanished. “The kitchen door!”

Knowing there was no possible way she could get to it, Katherine turned and began to hurry towards the library. She pushed the door open, unnerved by the quiet that was coming from the rest of the house. The sound of her breathing seemed far too loud, and her heartbeat was pounding in her ears. She closed the door, leaning her full weight against the wood. Her hand searched for the key to the lock.

The door knob turned just as she turned the key. “Miss Katherine,” a voice called to her. “Is this anyway to treat a visitor?”

“Go away, Arden!” Katherine responded, pulling away from the door. She backed towards the bookshelf. “Leave me in peace!”

“After I've come all this way to pay my respects?”

She gasped as the door shuddered. Katherine turned towards the shelf, running her fingers across the spines. There was a sharp crack just as she reached the right book. Gasping, she spun around to find the door splintered. A second later, the door was flying open, wood splinters flying through the air.

Tall, dark haired John Arden stepped into the room as she recoiled. “Miss Katherine,” he greeted, giving her a mocking bow. “Or should I say, whore of the monster.”

Anger flared up, pushing through the fear. “You're the monster,” Katherine spat at him. She put her right hand behind her back. She grabbed what felt like a thick book. She jerked it out and threw it at the man. “Get out of my home!”

Easily, Arden avoided the volume. But the second book hit the side of his head. “I've heard it said that words had power,” he commented as if he hadn’t felt a bit of pain. Fury was glittering in his eyes, though. “I never imagined that a woman throwing a book was quite what was meant by that saying. It would be wise to stop now.”

“My house, my rules,” Katherine responded, throwing a third book. She jerked towards the desk as he came towards her. She curled her fingers around a rock paper weight that Pip had brought her once. She slammed it against Arden's arm as he reached her. “Get away from me!”

Arden caught her hand before she could hit him again, and with his right hand he grabbed her by the throat. “Now, perhaps we can become renew our acquaintance,” he remarked.

Choking, Katherine used her left hand to search the surface of the desk. She brought a letter opener up. Her attacker let go of her throat, allowing her to breath, to stop her attack. “This is hardly ladylike behavior,” Arden remarked, twisting her wrist. His eyes moved up and down her figure with disdain. “But then again, you've been with that monster, so you've lost your right to that title.”

Crying out, Katherine let go of her weapon. “What do you want from me?” she demanded. “What do you possibly think that you can get from me?”

“Your death, and the knowledge I have taken everything you held dear,” Arden answered simply. “Do you know what your refusal did to me? I was on the verge of regaining my family's position in society. But what did you do? You left me in that forest with no shred of dignity, left for a man who by rights should have been killed before he took his first breath.”

Keeping her eyes on him, the woman shook her head. “You really did kill my brother, didn't you.”

“He had become very tiresome,” Arden responded, shrugging one shoulder. He tightened his grip on her arm. “He blamed me for our plan failing. And when he learned that I was the one who let slip to that annoying wife of his that he killed Piangi, he turned on me. I had to defend myself, you understand.”

Katherine swallowed hard. “He actually asked for me to spare you, said you'd be protected,” Arden scoffed. “By the end, he was begging that I kill you to spare him anymore pain.”

As hard as she could, Katherine kicked his ankle. When Arden jerked back, the woman wrenched her arm free and twisted away from him. She'd gone only one step when pain stabbed her through her back again. She cried out, bending over.

A moment later, a hand struck the side of her head and she fell forward onto her knees. “Good bye, Katherine,” she heard through the ringing in her ear. Something crashed against the back of her head, and Katherine felt herself falling to the floor. Everything went black.

~*~

By the time they reached the last of the stairs, Pip and Crutchie were agreed that their arrangement wasn't going to work. While on his own Crutchie was sure he could have managed the whole way back to Rose Lodge, because no cab would pick up a group of children, but having Gustav clinging on his back like a cat in a tree wasn't making the going easy at all.

Leaving Cordelia and Gustav with Crutchie at the side entrance, Pip scurried off back into the theater in search of something to put to use. He returned within a few minutes, before Cordelia could become fussy, with a tall crutch in his hand. “This is the best I can find,” he said, holding it out. “Its a little big.”

“I'll make do,” Crutchie assured him, positioning the crutch under his arm. “We should hurry, Pip. Who knows what could have happened while we've been gone.”

Worry crossed Pip's face for just a moment. “I know,” he admitted.

“You!”

The sharp voice of Madame Giry caught their attention, making them both cringe on instinct. The woman, dressed in black as she always was, was striding towards them from the street. She had a cane in her hand, which she brought down on the ground with great force when she reached them. “Is this where you have been all this time?” she demanded.

“Its not our fault!” Pip protested. “It was that Arden who brought us here. See? We weren't the only ones he did it to!”

He pointed at Gustav and Cordelia to prove his point. Madame Giry's face softened and she knelt down. She spoke softly in French, making Crutchie frown in confusion. Gustav's eyes, though, widened and he began to nod.

Rising, Madame Giry pointed to a stage hand who was smoking a cigarette. “You there,” she called out, authority ringing in her voice. The man dropped the cigarette, straightening up instantly. “You will go to the docks and find the vicomte de Chagny. Tell him that the children have been found, and will be taken to Rose Lodge.”

The man opened his mouth, as if to object, but Madame Giry just stared at him. Ducking his head, the man hurried away. “The docks?” Pip asked with a frown. “Why would a vicomte be there?”

“Because that is where he believes Arden to have taken you.”

Crutchie adjusted his balance slightly. “So, if everyone is out looking for us, who's with Katherine?” Pip demanded.

Madame Giry paused. “I'm sure she went to her English friends.”

“But Arden planned this whole thing!” the young boy protested. “Katherine is the one he wants to hurt! We have to get to her before he does!”

~*~

“The man isn't here!” Raoul raged, throwing a pitcher at the wall. It shattered, and the pieces fell to the floor. “Where is he? Where are my children?”

His brother rolled his eyes, turning away. “We'll never find him in this city.”

“Katherine is sure to have sent everyone out searching, just to be sure,” Henri said to his son in law, who was glowering at the notes that Arden had left behind. “Perhaps they have learned something. Maybe the children have even been found.”

“Excuse me, which one of you is the vicomte de something?”

All four of the men turned to find a young man in the doorway. “I am the viscomte de chagny,” Raoul said, pushing his way forward. “What do you want?”

“Madame Giry told me to find you,” the man said, glancing between them. “She said to tell you that the children have been found and are being taken to...some lodge.”

Erik's hand shot out and grabbed the man's jacket. “Tell me,” he ordered, his voice low.

The man gulped. “M-Madame Giry s-sent me to tell the vicomte de Chagny that the children were found and that they were b-being taken to Rose Lodge,” he stammered out. “That's all, I swear!”

Shoving the man away, Erik strode out of the room.