Page 23 of To Ride the Wind

Henry looked at her, a considering light in his eyes. “If you would like to ride, we could get there faster.”

“I don’t own a horse,” she said stiffly. And even if her father offered her one of his, she wouldn’t accept it. She refused to accept their bribes, offered only to assuage their own consciences.

“I meant on me,” he said with a smile. “But I understand if the thought is unpleasant.”

“Ride you?” She stared at him, taken by surprise. People didn’t ride bears, magical or not.

“We would get there much faster.” He sounded apologetic.

A slow smile spread across her face. Her determination and sense of betrayal had been buoying her up, but she was dreading the long walk and the awkwardness of arriving in the middle of the night with such an odd request.

“If you really don’t mind, that would be lovely,” she said, already moving toward him.

He lowered himself as much as he was able, but he was still very large. She paused, unsure how to ascend.

“You can grip my fur,” he said, the amusement in his tone reassuring her.

“I won’t hurt you?”

“I will do my best to bear it,” he said gravely although the amusement still leaked through.

She smiled at him and grabbed handfuls of his thick fur, using it to scale his side. The fur was soft—much softer than she had expected—and it was surprisingly comfortable sitting just behind the shoulders of his front legs.

“Charlotte!” Elizabeth’s voice cried, her sisters both tumbling from the house to stand with their parents. “You can’t get married without us!”

“We’re supposed to have new gowns for a wedding,” Odelia moaned. “And where is the bride price? We were promised a bride price!”

“You will have it,” the bear said, all amusement gone from his voice. “Once the ceremony is completed.”

“If you wish to be there, I can’t stop you,” Charlotte added stiffly. “But there is no time for new gowns. You will have to ride if you want to make it in time as it is.”

Taking her words as a sign, the bear began to move. She had thought she would need to direct him, but he didn’t ask any questions, moving with confidence in the right direction. She remembered that he had spoken of being in the region for some time. Perhaps he knew the homes of everyone who lived in the valley.

In what felt like an impossibly short time, Charlotte spotted the wooden house of their closest neighbor in the distance. And moments later they were lumbering to a stop in front of the door.

She hadn’t expected him to move faster than a horse. Did bears usually move so quickly, or was it just the magical ones? She glanced over her shoulder, checking for her family, but there was no sign of them.

Her last glimpse of them had been of all four of them rushing toward the small stable attached to their house, so she assumed they were on their way. But their horses couldn’t have kept up with the bear. With a brief pang of guilt, she wondered if she should wait for them. But a moment later she swept the feeling aside. She was doing what they so desperately wanted her to do, and they deserved no further consideration in the matter.

She still climbed down slowly, however, her courage wavering now that the moment had arrived. Not that she was reconsidering her decision, but explaining it to near strangers was another matter. What would Master Harold and his family think of her?

“This is the correct house, isn’t it?” the bear asked when she stayed motionless beside him.

Charlotte shook herself and nodded. “Yes, Master Harold is the official who conducts all the local ceremonies. Hopefully he doesn’t mind being disturbed without warning.”

She made herself move forward and knock loudly on the door. Movement could be heard inside, and then the door opened. The tall man on the other side looked from her to the bear standing beside her, his expression going slack.

Charlotte tried to think how to word her request and came up blank.

But Harold recovered himself more quickly than she expected, looking down at her with concern, rather than confusion, in his gaze.

“Good evening, Miss Charlotte,” he said gravely. “I can’t say I thought you would actually come.”

“You were expecting me?” she asked, surprised.

He nodded. “Your pa came to talk to me yesterday. Explained the whole situation. Just in case…” His words trailed off as he looked back up at the bear, a crease between his brows.

“Father came yesterday?” Charlotte repeated in a breathless voice, struck anew by the sense of betrayal. Had he been so sure he could convince her?

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