Devastation: A Beauty and the Beast Novel (11 page)

“Let’s talk price in the back,” he said,
gesturing to the sitting room.

“No, thank you.” I had no desire to visit
that room again. “Perhaps the kitchen?”

Edmund nodded. When I moved around the
counter, Swiftly followed; and I didn’t mind his company. The
kitchen had its own memories. Yet, when I stepped through the door,
I couldn’t recall them.

The back door stood open, letting in a
breeze and light. No flour coated any surface. The old table was
gone and a longer, thinner table had taken its place. There were
also tall chairs near the high table. Edmund motioned to one and
smiled at my questioning glance.

“It’s easier on the back to switch from
sitting to standing when working. The raised table helps, too.”

“You look like you’ve quite settled in. Has
business improved?”

“Not really. But perhaps this order will
help.”

“I think it will help both of us. I’ll be
honest, Edmund. After such a long enchantment, the estate
struggles. It isn’t what it once was, but Lord Ruhall is working
hard to bring it back. Part of those efforts includes the harvest
feast. It’s not for the gentry, but for the merchants and common
folk who depend on the estate.”

“It feels as if you’re trying to sell me
something, Benella.”

“In a way, I am. I’m trying to explain how
you’ll reach a larger market by baking for the harvest feast so
when I tell you we can only pay a single gold for two hundred
pastries, you won’t kick me out.”

Edmund sighed and his shoulders slumped, but
he didn’t kick me out. “That barely covers the cost of the flour,
sugar, time to prepare—”

“I can also provide you with double the
apples you’ll need so you can produce the same pastries after the
feast is over.” He still looked troubled. “And promise a portion of
next year’s hazelnuts?”

His expression took on a speculative gleam.
I sat quietly and waited for him to think over the offer. I was
loath to part with a single gold piece but knew it only fair. If he
didn’t start receiving coin soon, there would be no baker in
Konrall.

“You have a deal,” Edmund said, offering his
hand.

I shook it with a grin, feeling quite
pleased with myself.

Swiftly and I left the bakery, together,
after assuring Edmund I would keep him apprised of the progress of
the apple harvest. I only hoped that promising him double the
apples would leave enough for cider. If not, there was always
spring water.

“He doesn’t seem to like you any better,”
Swiftly said softly, interrupting my thoughts.

I followed his gaze and found Tennen
watching us.

“His like or dislike is no bother to me,” I
said, looking away. “I’ve more important things to worry
about.”

“The feast will be a welcome respite because
of your efforts,” he said.

“I hope so.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence. By
the time we returned, we’d missed the midday meal. As I went to the
kitchen for a quick bite, I heard a faint giggle. I walked slowly,
listening. In the dim hall, just before I reached the laundry, I
found a staircase leading up.

“I must be the least observant person here,”
I said under my breath.

At the top of the stairs, a hall led right
above the kitchen and left above the laundry and formal dining
room. Another faint peal of laughter came from the left.

A door opened to a large room. Inside, the
children sat at small tables with the youngest in front and the
oldest in back. A weathered man, dressed in a neat, yet worn,
jacket decades out of fashion, wrote the letter D on the
blackboard. He caught sight of me when he turned to his
students.

“Welcome. Students, please welcome Miss
Hovtel.”

“Good afternoon, Miss Hovtel,” they said in
unison.

“What manners,” I said with a smile.

“Manners, letters, and numbers, Miss Hovtel.
I’ve found the letters and numbers do no good without manners.”

I met the man’s steady gaze, and he bowed
slightly.

“Mr. Roost, at your service. I believe the
last time I saw you, you were at the pond.”

And, like that, I could see the resemblance
in his features to those that had twice adorned the tree.

I smiled and gave a slight bow back.

“Do you have the supplies you need to teach
this group?”

“Oh yes. The previous student did not use
much of his supplies.”

Alec had admitted to being a poor
student.

“I’ll leave you to your class then. Good
afternoon children,” I said, moving toward the door.

After leaving the schoolroom, I went to tell
Father about my deal with Edmund.

Father sat at his desk, busily penning a
letter. From the study, I heard a similar faint scratch of ink on
parchment.

“Ah, Bini,” Father said, looking up as he
heard me enter. “How is the progress in the parlor today?”

“The second sitting room was almost finished
yesterday. I hope we can start on the main ballroom yet today. How
is everything here?”

“We’ve penned over half the invitations. By
this evening, we should have two piles ready for the riders who
will go out at dawn. I’ll walk to the Water to hand deliver the
ones in town.”

“That is good news. I’ve made a deal with
Edmund to make apple pastries for the feast. Twice as many apples
as he’ll need for two hundred pastries, for half the price he would
normally charge. I’ll need a gold to pay him when we deliver the
apples.”

Father nodded and made a note.

“Give my warm regards to Blye when you see
her tomorrow,” I said as I left.

Father nodded absently, already back to
penning the next invitation.

Egrit, Mrs. Palant, and I used the rest of
the afternoon to clean the parlor. Once we finished, Egrit went to
press the curtains while Mrs. Palant and I set to work scrubbing
the remaining windows. Once again, I skipped dinner and fell into
bed exhausted.

When the bed dipped long after I’d fallen
asleep, I barely roused. Gentle fingers began to untwist the braid
from my hair. Sleep reclaimed me before he finished.

* * * *

When the sun hit my eyes, I groaned and
rolled over. It took a moment to realize what the light meant.
Sitting up, I looked at the windows. As I’d suspected, it was well
past daybreak.

After a mad scramble of dressing and making
my bed, I left my room and hurried to the ballroom. Both Mrs.
Palant and Egrit were on ladders, using cloths tied to the end of
long branches to dust the webs from the walls and ceiling.

“Why didn’t you wake me?” I asked. Sun lit
the room through the clean windows. The doors to the garden were
wide open, and Tam whistled as he pulled up weeds from the
immediate path.

“I tried. Lord Ruhall heard me and suggested
I let you sleep.”

Unsure how I felt about that, I changed the
subject.

“I’m going to find myself something to eat
in the kitchen and check on preparations while I’m there. I’ll
return to help.”

The manor was quiet with everyone at their
tasks. Father and the riders had left with first light, and Lord
Ruhall was out hunting to replace the man who was helping
Swiftly.

Mrs. Wimbly said little as I entered the
kitchen and took a biscuit from a sack on the shelves. Mr. Crow
nodded to me. He sat at the table, polishing silver and, it
appeared, sorting through linens.

A swell of satisfaction carried me back to
the ballroom and invigorated my cleaning efforts.

It was well past dark before I sought my
bed. Just as sleep pulled me under, I reminded myself to search out
Father to see how his visit with Blye had gone.

* * * *

The bed dipped. His familiar fingers laced
through my hair as they worked the braid free. I sighed, enjoying
the feeling. When he finished, his arms wrapped around me and
pulled me against his chest. His lips brushed the back of my neck.
The sensation didn’t disturb me. Instead, it comforted me; and I
settled deeper into sleep.

Chapter 6

Egrit woke me with a chipper good morning
and a tray.

“You didn’t need to bring me a tray,” I
said, untangling myself from the blankets.

“Lord Ruhall has noted that you haven’t been
eating enough and thought to prepare you a tray. I met him in the
hall, and I insisted it wouldn’t be proper for him to bring it
himself.”

I glanced at her face and saw she was
entirely serious.

“I walked these halls shrouded in nothing
but mist,” I said. “I hardly think bringing me breakfast improper
at this point.”

“Don’t you? Perhaps Rose isn’t just watching
him. This is our chance to show her we won’t let him become the man
he once was.”

She made a valid point. She set the tray on
the small table and moved to help me remake the bed. If she saw the
dent in the second pillow, she didn’t comment.

Four days had passed since Rose’s letter.
Though I felt we’d made fair plans toward a passable feast, I still
worried about the food we would provide.

“Has Tam checked the apple trees lately?” I
asked.

“We walk out each morning at sunrise,” she
said with a blush, and I suspected frolicking as nymphs wasn’t
something they would forget soon.

“We tried one this morning. They’re tart.
Another week or two will be needed.”

“We might need to start picking a few days
early than that so Edmund has the time he needs to make the
pastries,” I said.

“Mrs. Palant and I were talking last night
about the menu. We think smoked fish would be a nice addition,” she
said, touching on a subject I’d so far avoided.

“Smoked fish is a good idea. I think Mrs.
Wimbly is salting or immediately preparing the fish being brought
to her. I’ll have Mr. Crow mention the idea to her. Any ideas for
the main course?”

Egrit shook her head, looking worried.

“We have time. We’ll come up with
something.”

She nodded and left the room. I lifted the
cover from the tray and smiled at the egg tartlet. We needed to
work on a new recipe. But, I doubted there was much else Lord
Ruhall could make with the ingredients we had in the kitchen. That
thought took me back to the source of my dilemma for the feast.
Grudgingly, I acknowledged the impossibility of hosting the feast
without using some more of the estate’s gold.

With a sigh, I dressed then returned the
empty tray to the kitchen.

Mrs. Wimbly’s voice reached me before I
entered.

“I told you, we’re not a market. Lord Ruhall
has no use for—”

“Henick,” I said as soon as I saw the man in
the door.

His frustrated expression melted when he saw
me.

“It’s all right, Mrs. Wimbly. I’ll speak
with Henick.”

Mrs. Wimbly turned to scowl at me. The woman
might know how to cook, but her personality remained
unpleasant.

“He’s trying to sell us potatoes,” she said
in a huff.

I smiled at Henick.

“Would you happen to have onions, too?”

Mrs. Wimbly threw her hands in the air and
stomped from the kitchen. Kara kept her head down as she continued
to prepare the midday meal.

“I do, but not with me. Father thought you
might be interested in some produce since the manor probably has
fallow fields,” he said, waving to his wagon that waited just
outside the door.

“Let’s see what you have.” I stepped out,
moving toward the back of the wagon. My skirts tangled with my legs
when I attempted to boost myself up, and I missed the days when I
went about in trousers and had freedom of movement.

With Henick’s help, I stepped up into the
bed. Four large sacks rested near the front. They were tied with
twine, so I easily opened the first one and pulled out a potato.
Dirt sprinkled off as I turned it in my hand.

“How much for a sack?”

“I’ll give you two sacks of potatoes and
half a sack of onions for a gold and a promise to dance with me at
the feast.”

“You received your invitation, then?”

He nodded, his eyes twinkling.

“Yesterday. It was one of the reasons we
knew you might be interested in potatoes.”

“Well, you have a deal,” I said, dropping
the potato in the sack.

Henick reached up, and with a firm grip on
my waist, helped me from the wagon. Inside the kitchen, something
crashed. That woman...I sighed, pasted a pleasant smile on my face
and motioned to the drive that wandered to the estate’s gate.

“Shall we walk and discuss delivery?”

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he
smiled knowingly.

“Yes.”

We strolled side by side in silence until we
passed the front of the house.

“Are you well?” he asked.

“Much the same. Memories plague me. I was
thinking a fresh start in a new place might be the adventure I need
to lighten my spirit.”

“You want to leave, then?” Disappointment
laced his statement.

“Not just yet. I’ll be here to honor my
promised dance.”

“A dance I will look forward to.”

We’d reached the gate and turned around.
Walking from the manor to the gate took much less time without the
tangle of living plants to impede a person.

“I can leave the sacks of potatoes and
return with the onions in a few days.”

“That will work perfectly. Thank you,
Henick. I’m grateful that you and your father thought of us.”

When we reached the wagon, he lifted the
potatoes from the bed and set them by the door before climbing
aboard. I waited beside the door and waved as he left.

“Benella.” Alec’s angry, clipped voice had
me turning in surprise just as Henick rounded the front of the
building. “What are you doing?”

Behind him, I caught Mrs. Wimbly glaring at
me with an overly satisfied smirk.

“Purchasing potatoes and onions. Now we can
serve individual meat pies.”

Alec’s gaze drifted to the direction in
which Henick had disappeared.