Deceit: A Beauty and the Beast Novel (5 page)

I slipped into my room and rushed to pull
open the wardrobe doors. Ruffled masses of pink horror filled the
space. I made a face as I pulled one out. Blye would love to wear
the dress I held. It laced up the front, and the layered skirt
would cover all my important parts, so I couldn’t complain.

Sighing, I let my shirt fall to the floor
and tugged the dress over my head, lacing up the front. After
sliding my feet into the matching slippers, I opened the door and
turned for his inspection.

“I’d expected a happier face,” he said with
a puzzled note.

“I’m sorry, I’m just not used to wearing
anything so...fancy.” I had almost said feminine.

“That’s the point. To provide you the things
you couldn’t have before.”

“What if I liked the things I had before?
Well, except the lack of food. I like the food here,” I quickly
added, hoping I’d get breakfast soon.

“If you could wear anything you wished,” he
asked slowly, “what would you wear?”

I grinned and answered promptly.

“Trousers and a sturdy shirt.”

“Even indoors?” he asked.

I nodded and wondered what he thought of my
preference. He didn’t leave me waiting long.

“I would prefer you wear dresses, and in the
future, I will offer you options that you might find more appealing
than what you wear now. If you find you cannot adapt to them, we
will see if there isn’t perhaps some form of trouser I can
tolerate. I have no issue with the shirts by themselves.”

His words cheered me.

“Come, there is food waiting for you.”

* * * *

I spent the remainder of the day wandering
around the manor and asking the beast questions about various
rooms. Often he didn’t answer or told me it wasn’t my concern, but
he made an effort to clear the mist when he spoke to me, and his
growl faded as the day progressed.

The next morning, an unruffled day dress
with no lace or other adornments waited hidden among several other
options in the wardrobe. The drab brown color made me smile as I
plucked it from its lace-bedecked companions.

When I stepped from the room, the beast made
no comment. He followed me to the kitchen. Now, whenever I walked
into the room, some form of food waited for me on the table. At the
moment, eggs and thickly sliced bacon with mushrooms and cooked
tomatoes waited on the tray.

“I never see you eat,” I said as I sat at
the chair. “When do you?”

“After you sleep.”

I watched his eyes when he answered and saw
them flick to the bacon.

“That seems a long time to go without food.”
Picking up a piece of bacon, I held it out to him. “Here,” I
offered holding it lightly.

He moved quickly, stretching from his mist
and snapping it from my fingers in one bite that left me
wide-eyed.

“I am not a tame pet,” he said.

“Obviously,” I said with a laugh. “A pet
would have licked my fingers in thanks.”

He made a choked noise, but I didn’t look up
from my food or offer him another bite.

After finishing every crumb on my plate, I
stood with a content sigh.

“Is there a bag here that I could use? Like
the one I used to own?” Before you shredded it, I thought
sadly.

“I would like to walk the wall today and
want something to carry the things I find.”

“Look inside the servant’s room.”

I fetched the bag that I knew waited and
held the door for him as we left. We spent the remainder of the day
walking the wall, and he spent the majority of it without his
mist.

Chapter 3

I woke to a noise in my room and sat up
abruptly. Weak moonlight and a dying fire cast shadows in the room,
and I couldn’t see more than vague shapes.

“Sir?” I called with my heart
thundering.

Everything remained quiet, though I knew
something had woken me. I held still for several long minutes until
I heard the noise again. A rip and growl from the other side of the
closed door.

I slipped from my bed and tiptoed toward the
beast’s door as noises continued from the other side. Carefully, I
pulled the handle, and the door eased open. The fire in the room
blazed; and within the light, I saw his massive form lying on the
bed. He tossed about, his claws tearing the mattress as he
struggled against a dream inspired foe.

“Sir?” I whispered again.

He shifted onto his back, and his struggles
calmed slightly, but I saw his hands still twitched. Approaching
the bed, I tentatively reached toward him to smooth the hair on his
arm. It stood up stiffly, an indicator of his mood.

When I looked up at his face, I saw the
glint of his eyes as he watched me.

“A dream troubled you,” I barely whispered,
wondering if he would roar at me for the intrusion. Instead, he
closed his eyes; so I continued to stroke his fur. When the fur on
his arm gradually settled, I shifted to his head where it still
stood up wildly.

He sighed loudly, looped an arm around me,
and tugged me onto his bed. When I landed, a cloud of feathers
erupted around us. I squeaked in surprise and dread. I didn’t want
to be in his bed, I’d only thought to ease his troubled mind.

“Stay until I sleep,” he said, closing his
eyes.

I relaxed slightly and shifted in the loose
feathers to again stroke my fingers through the fur on his head.
Not long after, I felt his body relax and his breathing deepen.

The beast confused me. During the day, I
attributed his ire to his isolation since he only had me for
company. Once I retired each night, I had given little thought to
what he did. Yet, I should have. The state of his room on my first
day should have told me just how troubled his nights might be.

A feather tickled my nose, and I softly blew
it away. What thoughts tormented him so much that he sought to
destroy the comfort and extravagance around him?

Carefully, so I wouldn’t wake him, I eased
myself to the side of the bed and lightly touched my feet to the
floor.

“She will never free me,” he mumbled and
rolled to his side.

“Who?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer.

Looking at him, I decided he still slept. I
withdrew from his room, leaving a trail of feathers. It was a long
while before I slept.

* * * *

Squaring my shoulders, I dropped the beast’s
shirt to the floor and undid my braid.

After his comment the night before, I
decided today would be the first day to try our new bargain. He’d
let me wear proper clothes for two days and had let me see him
without his mist. But it was last night, seeing him so disturbed by
whatever he dreamt, that made up my mind. He had so many secrets,
and no one to trust with them. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be his
confidant, but I didn’t like being in the dark either. I hoped
keeping my end of the bargain would open him up to a few questions
I had. I wanted to know who wouldn’t free him and from what he
wanted to be freed.

As I stood combing my hair before the
mirror, I began to shiver. This would never work. I would shiver
the whole day through and wake up sick in the morning, I thought to
myself. Yet, I knew if I didn’t try to uphold my end of our new
bargain, I would find myself dressed in his choice of clothes once
again. Taking a calming breath, I smoothed my hands over my hair.
Unbraided, it fell to my waist and could serve to shield me a
little if I chose. But I didn’t use it that way.

With one last worried look at myself, I
turned away from the mirror. Each step brought more doubt, and by
the time I reached the door, my hand shook. I paused and took a
fortifying breath before setting my hand on the handle. I pulled
open the door.

In the hall, the beast looked up from his
usual waiting place. Without the mist, I saw the shock on his face.
Before I blinked, a storm cloud of mist erupted around him,
swirling with an intensity that stirred the air around me.

“Do not move,” he said.

I stood frozen with my hand still on the
door handle. His reaction and the violence of the tempest that
surrounded him robbed me of my thin courage. My limbs shook with
cold and fear. Several long minutes passed with the mist growing no
calmer.

“Beauty,” he growled. “Lead and I will
follow.”

My voice failed me the first time I tried to
speak. After clearing it, I managed a whisper.

“I would, but between fear and cold, I’m
shaking too badly. May I try again tomorrow?”

“No.” The single word sounded like a
desperate plea. “I will meet you in the library. Join me when you
are ready.”

He departed quickly, leaving me stunned and
clinging to the door. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected, but the
disturbing storm that had surrounded him hadn’t been it. That he’d
left me as soon as I’d mentioned my fear helped calm me.

I went back into my room and looked in my
wardrobe for a wrap. It was empty of everything. Even the shirt I’d
dropped on the floor had disappeared.

Wrapping my arms about myself, I shivered
and awkwardly walked naked through the halls until I reached the
library doors. They stood ajar and glowed with orange light.
Inside, I heard the roar of a large fire. I peeked around the
corner but saw no sign of the beast. Or of his mist. However, the
curtains were drawn, making it hard to see very far into the room
beyond the circle of fire light.

Darting inside, I stood before the fire and
held out my hands to warm myself. It seemed the temperature inside
had dropped severely since revealing myself.

A whisper of noise had me spinning. A great
black cloud churned just inches from me.

“Eat,” he said gruffly.

Only then did I notice the tray laden with
every sweet imaginable. My stomach growled. The tray sat low on the
table, and I didn’t want to bend to reach it.

“Could I see you please?” I whispered.

When he had shown himself during those brief
periods over the last several days, he’d always appeared calm. The
black air around him did not hint at calm. I needed to know what it
meant.

“No,” he said in a surprisingly gentle
voice. “Eat. Do not fear me. You are safe.”

I glanced at the tray. Everything on it
tempted me, but it felt like a trap.

Taking a fortifying breath, I reached for a
pastry glazed with sugar and stuffed with dates, ignoring the
strawberries and grapes. I kept my eyes trained on the cloud the
entire time, but nothing changed. It still swirled in the same
position. I continued my wary study as I took my first bite. The
sugar melted on my tongue, and the taste momentarily distracted
me.

The mist moved away from me. I watched in
surprise as it drifted toward the shelves and plucked the gilded
book I’d wanted to read several days ago. The beast returned to the
sofa and set the book on the cushions for me.

“Relax,” he encouraged. “Read.”

“I would prefer not,” I said, not willing to
turn my back on him.

He didn’t become upset as I expected.
Instead, he seemed to sense he caused my unease because he drifted
from behind the sofa to the corner near the first curtained
window.

“Please, sit,” he said in a firmer tone.

Finishing the pastry, I licked my fingers
and picked up the book. I sat as he bade and tried to read. I felt
absurd sitting there naked while holding a book, and my mind
drifted to my first glimpse of Father’s classroom at the Whispering
Sisters. Had he felt the same way sitting in a chair before a group
of naked woman? Had they? I wondered if it became easier the more
time they spent together.

The blaze kept the room warm enough that I
didn’t shiver, but it began to warm the tray of food too much. I
looked up, noted the glistening moisture on the fruit, and reached
for several. The tartness of the grapes and sweetness of the
strawberries complemented each other. When I’d eaten those, I went
back to reading. I’d only managed a few pages when my eyes drifted
to the pastries. The heat from the fire had warmed them enough that
they smelled freshly baked.

I glanced at the mist, but it remained the
same. Since sitting, he hadn’t made a sound.

I stretched forward and plucked another
pastry from the tray. The tiny tart was no bigger than the palm of
my hand. I nibbled at it slowly and read.

The gilded book contained a compilation of
poetry from several authors. Most of the poems annoyed me as
whining drivel from love struck fools, but a few provoked deep
thought and required re-reading. After several chapters, I tossed
the book aside and looked up at the cloud.

“I need a moment,” I said softly, hoping he
would understand.

He didn’t move, so I stood and quickly left
the library. I considered running to his room and getting a shirt
but took a few calming breaths and made it back to my room to use
the chamber pot, instead.

Away from the fire, I started shivering
again. The cold didn’t cause me to hurry, though, and my teeth
chattered by the time I returned to the library.

I peeked around the door just to be certain
the beast hadn’t moved. The mist still swirled in the corner. I
crept inside and stood before the fire, telling myself he was just
sleeping and wouldn’t notice me. Gradually, the shivers eased, and
I sat on the sofa again. New food waited on the tray, cooled meat
pulled from a bird and tender cooked vegetables.

I moved to the shelves to look for a
different book. Since farming had held my interest for a while, I
decided to read about animal husbandry. It amused me since I sat
with a beast while reading it.

Losing track of time, I jumped slightly when
the mist moved toward me, nudging the table. It momentarily blocked
the view of the fire. The crash of a log and crackle of new flames
explained why he’d moved. I hadn’t thought of feeding the fire.
With the table so close, I settled back into the sofa and nibbled
while I read.