Page 32 of To Ride the Wind

“I think even the strictest matron would find it acceptable for a bride and groom to sleep beside one another on their wedding night.”

“What?” Charlotte gasped. “What are you saying?”

“I am your husband,” he said with more solemnity. “I am Henry in my true form.”

“You’re human?” Charlotte asked, dizzied. Part of her wanted to protest that it couldn’t be true, but this latest shocking revelation was no more extraordinary than anything else that had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours.

“Yes, I am human,” the voice that apparently belonged to her husband said. “I was once quite an ordinary human, in fact. But now I’m under an enchantment. At night I am allowed my true form, but during the day I become a white bear.”

“You should have said as much!” Charlotte cried, and he was silent for a moment.

“That too is part of the enchantment,” he said at last. “I cannot speak of my enchantment while in my bear form. I thought you would know of it anyway, however. From certain things your father said, he seemed aware of such enchantments.”

Charlotte wanted to protest hotly, but the words died in her mouth. Her father had been so insistent that the bear was a person, and Master Harold had spoken of secrets that couldn’t be shared. Clearly her father knew something—something he had been sworn to secrecy over.

“What is your business with the valley folk?” she asked, some of her anger at her father’s secrets tingeing her voice. “What do they know of you?”

“Nothing,” Henry said. “Your family is the first I ever talked to there. Whatever your father knows of my enchantment, he didn’t learn it from me.”

Charlotte frowned, but it was too late to pry the truth out of her father or Master Harold now. She felt the bed shift slightly and tensed, but Henry stilled again.

“In truth, I don’t like to speak of my enchantment anyway,” he said in a low voice. “It is because of my own foolishness that I’ve found myself in this situation, and though I hope to gain my freedom again, I cannot guarantee it. Even if I had been free to do so, I don’t know if I would have spoken to you of my true identity. I needed a wife of strength and courage, and I didn’t want to marry someone under false pretenses. After all, it is possible I’ll spend our whole marriage as a bear.”

“Except at night,” Charlotte said softly, glad for the darkness that hid the warmth in her cheeks. Henry had promised her a legal marriage and nothing more, but now it turned out he became a man at night, and he had come here to her bed. Was he expecting a proper marriage between them after all?

“Don’t worry,” Henry said, once again picking up on her emotions. “There are other reasons for my silence. The same reasons that bring me here to this room. But while there are things I can’t fully explain to you yet, I meant the promises I made. All I ask is for you to accept my presence beside you at night. I will not harm you, and neither will I impose any further upon you. You may go all day without seeing my bear form if you wish, and we can sleep side by side in silence at night. I ask only for you to stay true to the promises you have made and to endure it.”

Charlotte let out a relieved breath. There was no doubt the request was strange. But was there anything about the entire affair that hadn’t been strange?

Even the bed they slept in was large enough that two could occupy it without ever coming into contact. It occurred to her that the size of the bed hadn’t been a mistake by the bell, after all. Apparently her husband had gifted her the use of the silver bell, but ultimately it still belonged to him and obeyed the parameters he had set.

She wished Henry could have explained it to her ahead of time, but she couldn’t help but soften now she knew he had done his best to consider her comfort despite the oddness of the situation. Touched to once again see the signs of her new husband’s consideration, Charlotte spoke, her voice coming out quiet and shy.

“I thank you for your kindness, and I have no desire for you to stay away from me or to stay silent. I’m sure I should be lonely if you were to disappear.” She gathered her courage. “In fact, if you give me a moment, I will relight the candles. I should like to see your true face, and we will be more comfortable talking with a little light.”

“No!” he said so sharply that Charlotte started and nearly fell out of the bed. “You can never turn on the light. You will find, in fact, that you cannot. None of the candles or fires here will permit such a request.”

Heavy silence wrapped around the room for nearly a full minute before Henry sighed.

“I’m sorry. I know this is a strange marriage, and I have done little to earn your trust. But I must ask that you give it to me anyway.”

Charlotte lay there, her heart beating erratically in her chest. She couldn’t even see his face? He did ask a lot.

And yet, did he really? So far, he had met every promise he had made. If she had carried different expectations, that was her error, not his. He had given her a vast mansion for a home and even gifted her the use of a godmother object that would grant her every whim.

And in return, he asked only that she allow him to sleep in the same room as her at night without the comfort of illumination. Technically, they shared a bed, but it felt wrong to think of it that way when he lay so far away. She could thrash around in her sleep, or even reach for him on purpose, and she wouldn’t make contact.

No, his demands were strange, but not onerous. As her husband, he could have expected far more and provided less.

“I don’t understand,” she said at last. “But I can accept it.” She hesitated. “You said you can’t explain the situation to me yet. Does that mean one day you will?” Once I have gained your trust, she added in her head.

“If you will trust in me, it will be a greater gift than any I have been given,” he said, not quite answering her question.

She sighed quietly. He had said he couldn’t give further explanations, and obviously he meant it. Was the enchantment physically restraining him from speaking? At least one of her cousin’s stories had included something of that nature.

Silence fell between them again, but it was laced with awkwardness, and Charlotte couldn’t imagine sleeping in such a strained environment.

But just as her nerves were stretching taut, Henry laughed. A rich chuckle that pulled an answering smile from her, although she didn’t know the source of his amusement.

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