Bleak despair washed over her. It took a moment for her to manage to say the words, her voice was trembling and her throat seemed frozen shut.
“Yea, M’lord, I swear it,” she whispered in heartfelt anguish.
“Then, I’ll consider it,” he curtly replied. “Be quiet, wench, and let me think.”
Without realizing why, he felt compelled to goad her into backing out of her oath. To prove she was treacherous like all the others in his life had been, men and women both.
There was only one woman who had stayed beside him throughout his life. She was a young widow who once served as a maid in the castle of the knight he was fostered to. At the time she became his maid, she had just recently lost her young son, along with her husband, to the great plague.
The sad young maid, Gwyneth, had taken to the small boy she helped care for. In him, she saw only the loneliness that mirrored her own grief, not the budding cruelty of the Beast. She had mothered him tenderly when she could, but the knight of the castle and the Beast himself made it difficult. Now she was growing older, without a husband or children of her own.
She had returned with the Beast to his father’s castle when he was a grown knight. The Beast even heard rumours that Gwyneth had for a short time been his father’s mistress, as he had begun to recover from the death of his second wife. The Beast never knew or even cared if the rumours were true.
Still, she stayed with the Beast, following him to this castle. She worked hard, managing his castle and worrying over the man he’d become. Gwyneth was the only one who truly cared for him. She was also the only person who felt comfortable enough around the Beast to nag him, and even that was very rare indeed.
Everyone else had deserted him. They had all proven to be shallow and uncaring. If Beauty were to prove truly as loving and steadfast as she appeared to be, then he feared her instinctively, for she was a threat to everything he was raised to believe in. Still he had to know.
He gestured to her clothes strewn about on the stone floor. “Get dressed.”
“M’lord, whatever you decide, may I go to see my brother? Just to say goodbye since I will never see him again once he’s been hung,” Beauty choked out the last words and paused, swallowing several times and breathing deeply before she could continue. “Or, with hope, once he is freed and my promise to you takes effect.”
Beauty rose quickly and pulled on her shift and the loose dress with shaking fingers.
The Beast pondered for a moment then called for a servant, his eyes never leaving Beauty’s.
To her surprise, the servant who answered his summons was known to Beauty from the past. She was so upset that she couldn’t place his name at that moment but he was an older man, probably in his fifties. He was trim and spry with a handsome face, and he was surprisingly well groomed compared to most of the village people Beauty knew.
The servant was dressed in brown hose, a white shirt and a dark brown doublet with no trim. His simple clothes appeared clean and neat, and he seemed to have bathed quite recently, a rarity indeed. He showed no sign of recognizing Beauty, although she learned later that indeed he had. She also soon remembered that his name was Seth, and that he’d once been the personal servant to the old lord.
“Send for the maid, Gwyneth, to clean this girl up and get her in my bedchamber ready for me,” the Beast growled, ignoring the servant’s start of surprise.
He paused, and Beauty’s knees buckled before the Beast continued, “And get word to the stables to release… ” his voice trailed off and he cocked his brow at Beauty.
“Tom.” Beauty supplied quickly, a stunned smile lighting her face for the first time.
“Tom. He’s tied up in the last stall. He’s to go free,” the Beast ordered, mesmerized against his will at the force of Beauty’s smile.
“M’lord,” the stately servant hesitated, almost scared to believe what he’d heard.
He avoided looking at Beauty, now fully realizing why she was there. Without any words, he knew exactly what bargain she’d made and why. A curious mixture of relief and abhorrence filled him. Not that he judged her harshly for the bargain. Knowing her as he did, he knew she had no choice in the matter. He sighed for the old lord, and wondered how such things had come to pass.
“What is it?” The Beast held Beauty’s gaze, amazed, almost speechless, at the joy in her eyes.
“Both of the lads are named Tom,” the quiet servant pointed out.
“Then set them both free!” the Beast bellowed in a sudden temper. “I’m tired of this business and I have better things to do.”
“M’lord,” Beauty asked timidly, repeating her request, “may I see my brother for a moment before I go with the maid?”
“You will return to fill your promise?” the Beast asked.
“You have my word,” Beauty replied.
“I have never trusted in promises, very few men of my acquaintance are worthy of trust and none of the women,” the Beast snarled.
“Then let me prove myself to be the first,” Beauty said calmly. “Truly, I am yours willingly and I do not seek to escape, but I would like to see my brother safe.”
“Then it’s you who does not trust me or my word,” the Beast’s tempered flared quickly and Beauty realized there was still the very real danger of losing her fight to save Tom.
“I do, M’lord, truly. ‘Tis just a woman’s way to want to reassure herself that her loved ones are all safe, that all is aright with them. Also, I would like a moment to calm my nerves before… ” her voice trailed off.
“You said you’d be willing,” the Beast growled, reaching out and grabbing her by the arms.
“M’lord, I am willing, truly,” Beauty stood in his harsh grasp without flinching. She looked him in the eyes and smiled shyly, “But I never claimed not to be nervous, as is a virgin’s right. Even a virgin who marries for love can be nervous the first night. Please, M’lord?”
“All right, but return shortly,” the Beast told her gruffly. “And remember that I can always hang him later, so warn him and be warned yourself: I will only keep this bargain as long as you keep it and as long as he gives me no more problems as he works.”
“You still want him to work in the stables, M’lord?” Beauty was surprised. “After all this?”
“Why not? He does his job well and I wondered who I would find to replace him.” The Beast was surprised at her question, as though a narrow escape from the gallows should not matter a whit to her or to her brother. “Now go!”
“Yes, M’lord.” She turned and moved quickly to follow the servant. “And thank you, M’lord.”
The Beast watched as she walked away, noting the grace of her stride and the sway of her hips. How long, he wondered? How long will it take for me to prove her to be the liar she has to be? How long before she loses her resolve? The game would be fast and furious but he already knew the outcome; Beauty would soon prove to be as inconstant as everyone else in his life.
As soon as they were out of earshot, the servant asked, “Beauty, how is your lady mother?”
“She is very ill,” Beauty told him gently. “I think it’s mainly from sorrow. She misses my father deeply, and she has lost much.”
“Oft