Enchant: Beauty and the Beast Retold (Romance a Medieval Fairytale #1)(19)

"The cakes are lovely," she said. "But I thought you said you were an honourable man. You are trying to seduce me with food."

"And wine!" he added, filling a cup and holding it out to her. "Don't forget the wine."

She took the cup, but she didn't drink. "You didn't answer me, your Highness."

"Vardan, and I believe I did. Food and wine, the best we have to offer, for my guest. There is nothing dishonourable in offering hospitality to a beautiful lady."

Zuleika heard shuffling footsteps, like someone trying to leave the room as quietly as possible. She stared into the depths of her wine cup in order to avoid his soul-piercing eyes. "But you are trying to seduce me."

"If there is a way to help my people and retain my honour, I will do what I must. If all I succeed in doing is to make you fall in love with Beacon Isle, as I have, then so be it. You are welcome to stay."

On a cursed island where the invisible people would be a daily reminder that there was a more powerful witch than her who worked for the king and was willing to blame her for inflicting this horror on the island. While her father worried.

Zuleika shook her head. "My father will be waiting for news of his lost ship. I must return home. Once you have shown and told me all you can about this curse, perhaps I can look in my mother's library at home for ways to break it." She drank the wine. Elena was right about her wanting more.

"First, you should check our library here. I'm sure it's far superior to anything your mother may have collected. My house used to be a monastery. The monks refused to stay in a building suffering under a curse, so they left, but they could not take everything. I'll show you on our return."

A monastery library wouldn't contain much about magic, but Zuleika held her tongue. She was fond of reading, and she would relish the chance to see his collection. He already knew two of her weaknesses – good food and wine. She didn't dare let him add a third: reading.

After all, she still didn't know how he'd come to be in possession of her father's goods. Or why the witch had chosen to target him for her curse. For all his talk of honour, there had to be something wrong with the man to justify such a punishment.

Either that, or she was missing something that might help her make sense of all this. She knew she wouldn't find the answer in any library, though – Vardan held the key to the curse, she was certain of it. How to extract it…she did not know. But she would enjoy finding out.





Twenty-Three

When Vardan was certain Belle had rested sufficiently – and they'd eaten all of Elena's saffron cakes, which was only to be expected – he suggested they continue on the tour.

He read her hesitation in her eyes – such a marvellous thing, to see another person's expression again! Her face was both delightful and expressive, a treat to observe – and offered, "Or we could remain here at the inn and resume the tour on the morrow, when you are better rested. We could return to my house, if you no longer wish to…" No longer wish to see any more of me or my island, he tried to say, but the words stuck in his throat.

She'd looked at him with such horror and fear on the road outside that he'd nearly dropped to his knees under the weight of his despair. Could he have imagined the other times she'd looked at him and seen more than just a beast? Because the sheer intensity of the terror in her eyes for that moment had been enough to unman him. She hadn't been the only one in need of some wine when they entered the inn.

Yet she'd reached up to touch his face, and her terror had vanished. No one had touched him like that in a very long time. Like she actually wanted to.

A whisper of hope sent a shiver through his soul. Perhaps the curse could be broken by Lady Belle.

She rose and smoothed her skirt before reaching for her cloak. "I fear if I rest any longer, I shall fall asleep. I ate far too many of those delicious cakes. A ride in the crisp winter air should wake me up nicely." She paused. "Unless you are too tired of my company to continue, of course. I cannot have a tour of this island without a suitable guide."

Yes, she had recovered, Vardan decided, hurrying to fasten his cloak so he could follow her outside.

"I'll bring the next batch out in a basket, Prince Vardan," Elena said. "And some wine. Your lady will want more, and so will you. Winning a lady's heart is hard work."

"You think I can win it, too?" Vardan asked bitterly. "Is there anyone on this cursed island who I will not disappoint when I fail?"

"I know some cheeky lads who like being invisible, so they can cause more mischief, but a good clout around the ears will sort them out. It certainly worked on you when you were a boy." Though he couldn’t see it, Vardan knew she was smiling. Elena continued, "She has a playful heart, that one. I warrant she would dearly love to dance with the right man."

A man, and not a beast. Vardan sighed.

"The cakes you wanted, ma'am," said a younger voice.

Elena made an irritated sound in her throat. "Give them to the prince, then!"

The girl thrust the basket hard against Vardan's midsection. "There you go."

"Your Highness," Elena reminded her.

"There you go, your Highness," the girl said sulkily. Stomping footsteps signified that she'd left.