Page 57 of Once Upon an Enchanted Castle

She curled her hands into fists in her lap instead. Because touching him like that? It would change everything. And she wasn’t ready for what that might mean.

“I had to,” he said finally. He sounded fatigued, as though speaking was an effort. But even so, he added, “I’m glad you came.”

And then he fell fast asleep once more.

Chapter 24

Shesatthereinthe quiet for the longest moment, watching him sleep. He seemed peaceful and at rest. When she was certain he wouldn’t wake again, she rose, placing the book in the seat of the chair. Then she removed her gloves and bonnet, dropping them on top of the book, and then padded to the door.

Once outside the room, with the door closed softly behind her, she paused in the shadowed hallway of blue light, the candelabras dancing overhead.

“My lady?”

Dickens’ voice startled her, making her jump. She pressed a hand against her chest. She hadn’t seen or heard him approach. He was a man of great stealth.

“Oh, Dickens, you startled me.”

He gave her an apologetic look. “Could I offer you some tea and scones?”

At that, her stomach rumbled. Her initial response was to decline, but she skipped breakfast to rush here and see about Leopold. She nodded, viewing this as an opportunity to talk to the valet. He motioned for her to follow him back down the hallway, to the stairs, and finally to the small dining room she had breakfast with Leopold only a day before.

After she was settled, the tea poured and the orange and cranberry scone on her plate, she waited for Dickens to make another appearance. He didn’t. So, she ate in the deathly quiet of the room feeling as though the old oil paintings of long-dead ancestors kept their watchful gaze on her. When she finished her tea, it was as though Dickens sensed it and returned to refill her cup.

“Dickens, is true about Leopold?”

He never reacted to her question as he continued to pour the tea. “Is what true, my lady?”

“That he’s a…”Beast. She couldn’t say the word aloud.

Though she knew the truth of it—she had seen it with her own eyes, after all. She picked up the cup letting the warm steam waft over her face while she peered over the rim at Dickens, her heart in her throat and her gut twisted into a tight knot. He looked as though he would rather be anywhere else than there answering her questions. She replaced the cup in the saucer.

“I must know, Dickens.”

Not that she doubted Leopold’s words, but she wanted to hear it from another source. And Dickens said he’d known him for many years. She kept her gaze fixed on him as he stood there, stiff as a starched shirt, his dark eyes shrouded in mystery.

“You have seen him at his worst, my lady. There is no one else in this realm who knows his secret.” His voice was reedy thin as he stood there, peering at her with a sort of defiance. “I trust you to keep it that way.”

She understood then. He wanted to make sure she never spoke of his friend’s transformation to anyone. He must worry that if she did, it would bring unwanted attention to him and the castle that was in perpetual darkness.

“I would never violate that trust, Dickens.”

It had taken a lot of willpower not to tell Emmaline what was happening here and why she was so desperate to return. She didn’t even tell her, Gerald, or Edith what had truly happened the night before. She let them think it was merely a tree branch that shattered the window. It was impossible to explain to them about the shadow monsters that tried to attack her.

“He said the curse is getting stronger. Is it?”

Her determination to get answers pounded through her. She needed to know what she was up against. She needed to know how much time she had left to translate the book.

Dickens seemed to buckle under her persistence and reached for the teapot. He poured a second cup of tea, dropped in a lump of sugar, stirred, and then sat at the table in the chair nearest her.

“It is getting stronger, my lady. I fear what it’s doing to him.” He took a sip of tea, giving her a look of contemplation over the rim.

“How did he know I was in danger last night?” She ran her finger around the rim of the porcelain cup.

“He sensed it.” He took a deep breath, expelled it, and then replaced his own cup. He laced his long, slender ghostly fingers and leaned on the table toward her. “My lady, since the moment you walked into his life, it seems the curse senses when you are near and when you are in danger.”

She blinked at that, trying to make sense of what he was telling her. “I heard wolves howling close to our manor house several nights and—”

“He was there. Protecting you in the darkest gloom of the night.”

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