Page 49 of The Beauty and the Griffin

She rolled her eyes, reaching for her egg. “Servants? This place is enchanted to answer our wishes, that’s all. You want frou-frou, you get frou-frou.”

My first urge was to defend myself, but I swallowed the words as I carefully transferred the silver egg into her arms. “You should wash thoroughly—your hair too— before your egg hatches. Cleanliness is important during births.”

She stepped into the corridor without acknowledging my advice but turned back to say, “You’d better check the gold egg. It might be hatching too. Oh, and mine’s name is Dodger.”

She shut the door with a click, so I was free to grin. She’d named him! Good for Dodger! Maybe Winifred did have a heart.

First thing, courtesy of the bureau, I changed into practical trousers and a plaid flannel shirt that brought out the green in my eyes. Then, curious, I moved to the nearest window. The palace had to be located on a hillside, because the ground below dropped away in levels much like the terraced gardens at Faraway Castle but dotted with boulders. A lake shimmered in the distance. Beyond it I saw green forest, meadows, and several more lakes and ponds. Clouds covered the tallest of the ice-tipped mountain peaks encircling the valley, yet sunlight filtered through, highlighting a few outbuildings on the slope beneath my window, and what might have been a vegetable garden. Here and there I saw more manmade structures. Houses? Maybe stables? And everywhere in between, flower gardens glowed with life and color.

In midwinter.

In the mountains.

It was only possible with magic.Scadsof magic to maintain such a gloriously impossible oasis. The blooms and the warm weather were the Gamekeeper’s work—I recognized his magic everywhere I looked. So how could he be trapped here?

That was a question for another day. Today was hatching day. Or so I hoped.

In a conversational tone, I spoke aloud: “Gamekeeper, one of the eggs is hatching, and we don’t know what to do. Will you help us?”

19

BEATRICE

Two breaths later, Isensed the Gamekeeper’s presence in the hallway. Before he could speak or knock, I hurried to open the door and stuck my head out. He was pretty much invisible—I caught only glimpses of his large form. “Thank you for coming. It’s Win’s egg that’s hatching. She said it looks as if it’ll take a while, and I think she’s taking a bath now.”

“May I check on her egg?”

“If we hurry, I guess we can try.”

As I passed him to lead the way, I inhaled his familiar scent, fresh like a forest in winter. I was certain Win would have locked the door to her room, yet it opened at his touch. Her window curtains were still closed, and the egg on her unmade bed glowed iridescent blue amid the gloom.

That didn’t look right. I rushed over to carefully turn the egg. Silver swirls followed my touch, but the shell around the crack, which stretched longer than my thumb, looked dark. “Is he all right? What if Win dropped him and lied about it?”

As the Gamekeeper approached, I realized: “Oh, wait . . . the bits of shell are pushedoutfrom the crack, not in. And he’s fast asleep.” My face burned. “I’m sorry. Jumping to conclusions is my best competitive sport.”

He stood beside the bed, bending to examine the egg.

His voice was so low, I nearly missed it: “A hatching griflet will stop to rest periodically. The next time he wakes up, he’ll be serious about hatching. He may become frustrated and even angry, but he must accomplish hatching on his own. Any attempt to physically help him would be harmful.”

“Okay . . . Uh. What did you just call him?”

“A griflet? It’s the term for a young griffin.”

“Wow. Interesting.” But my mind was running ahead. “I hope I can convince Win to heed your instructions. She considers herself the expert on griffins.”

“Winifred claims expertise in many fields, I believe.”

I snorted, then blushed at my own immaturity. “She gets under my skin too easily.”

Ifelthis smile, and I was close enough to hear him draw a long breath before he spoke: “I suggest you kill her with kindness, metaphorically speaking.”

“It’s worth a try. I think I have, once or twice, glimpsed an actual person beneath all that armor plating.” Without thinking, I stepped forward, grasped his upper arm, and rested my forehead on it. “Thank you for the sage advice.”

I quickly stepped away, breathless and pretty sure I’d stolen his breath too. What was I thinking?

When he did speak, his voice was quiet. “The staff is even now setting up a hatching area in the music room at the end of this corridor.”

“I hate to demand so much extra work from your servants.” Even as I spoke the words, I couldn’t help wondering how much work there was for the staff of a nearly deserted palace to do.

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