Page 4 of Of Curses and Beauty

The cloying scent of patchouli and clove clung to her mother like a second skin. Alaine detested the fragrant oil that her mother frequently applied. There was no reigning in the cough that dispersed some of the powder from her mother’s hair in a cloud of fine dust.

Alaine pulled away, both overwhelmed by her mother’s nearness and desperate for answers. Though she tried to put distance between them, her mother’s hands continued to linger on her shoulders, a solid weight likely intended to comfort her, but it only added to the mounting pressure already stacked there.

“It would seem your grandfather had some substantial debts when he passed.” Alaine could hear the quavering in her father’s voice though he spoke from across the room, still seated at the dining table. He pressed his shaking hands to the solid wood, throat bobbing as he swallowed once. Twice. “And so the responsibility falls upon this family to settle the debts owed.”

Tears pooled in her mother’s eyes as Alaine met her gaze.

“I don’t understand.” Her eyes flicked back and forth between her parents. “How much do we owe? Surely, with the coming holiday, you’ll have commissions coming in. I saw a small group gathered to admire Lady Faraday’s new necklace. I’m sure they’ll all be flocking for something equally amazing.”

Her father shifted in his seat, looking everywhere but at her. “Unfortunately, the sum is far more than our meager earnings could cover. The debt is so long-standing that it has been called due in three months’ time. We would be bankrupt.”

She gasped, unwilling to accept the truth of what her father said. They would lose everything; not only the money, of which she cared little, but his business, their possessions, and their home.

Her thoughts churned as she grasped for a solution. There had to be options available to them. Surely, her parents would not accept bankruptcy so quickly. She nodded, as though reassuring herself. Her father still wouldn’t look at her, but she refused to smother the kernel of hope that flared in her chest. “What can I do?” She didn’t have much, but she would gladly sell everything she owned to help her family.

Seeking aid, she turned beseeching eyes on her mother whose guarded expression gave Alaine pause. If there was more bad news, she wasn’t sure she could handle it.

Her mother, sensing Alaine’s distress, offered her a half smile that she didn’t return. “Lord Baxter has generously offered to settle the debt in exchange for your hand in marriage.”

The words took time to hit their mark and she stared in silence until they struck true. The quiet stretched as Alaine experienced every emotion from shock to rage.

At the age of eight, she’d fallen through thin ice while playing with friends. She’d screamed as she plunged until the freezing water stole her breath. She recognized the sensation now, the feeling of helplessness as her lungs seized, knowing the chance for rescue was slim and fading.

The chiming of the grandfather clock called her back to the present, but she couldn’t shake the anxiety that quickened the blood in her veins. Her hands shook with the restless need to do something—anything—demanding that she move.

She speared her father with a glare that conveyed her full disappointment at this betrayal. He winced at the anger she directed at him and raised both hands in mock surrender.

“You cannot mean to marry me off to that man to settle a debt. You know him. You know what kind of man he is. You told me I’d have a choice.” Her voice came out strangled and she struggled to breathe around the lump in her throat. “We can figure this out. We’ll get the money another way. There are other wealthy families with eligible bachelors. Just let me think. I’ll pick someone before the week is out!” She was rambling, but she didn’t care. She refused to be sold like cattle, to Henrik Baxter of all people.

Alaine felt the world tilt as her legs crumpled beneath her. She sank to the floor, her mother unable to support her weight as she collapsed into her. Fabric pooled around her, a tranquil sea of blue that mocked her rising panic. She forced herself to take a deep inhale and closed her eyes as she blew out the breath. Her parents said nothing as she worked to calm her racing pulse.

There were ways out of this nightmare. There had to be.

Her mother patted her back and Alaine fought the urge to slap her hand away, burying her anger as she always did.

“Don’t pout, Alaine, you’ll wrinkle. You could do worse than Lord Baxter,” said her mother, a hint of disdain in her voice. “Not all men have the resources and wealth of a family like that. He’s not bad to look at either,” she whispered conspiratorially.

Her father cleared his throat, but Alaine refused to look at him. “Baxter has graciously given us until the first snowfall to make our decision. I will stall as long as I can, but as of now, he is the best hope we have of making the deadline.”

She nodded in acknowledgment that she had heard him, but she was through letting others dictate her life. There was nothing in this world that could make her want to marry Baxter. She would find another way to save her family.

“I am sorry, Alaine.”

She didn’t acknowledge her father’s apology or her mother’s stoic calm as she dusted herself off and walked out the door. Though her heart begged her to slam it, she gently pulled the door shut until the latch caught. The damage was done. No good would come from her throwing a fit.

The sun greeted her as she walked outside, the cheerful light a slap in the face after such a bleak conversation.

No one called after her.

No one chased her.

They knew she’d do this for them. It was an easy sacrifice to make—her freedom for their security—and the time had come. She’d been running from her duties for too long and now it was too late. Had she accepted one of the other offers for her hand earlier, she wouldn’t be facing the prospect of marrying Baxter now. She knew without a doubt that he would attempt to sabotage any chance she had of finding another suitor. If it came down to it, she would do what she needed to do to save her family, but she would exhaust every other possibility before that day came.

For now, she needed to clear her head. She needed to strategize. Most of all, she needed to get away from other people. This time when she came to the fork in the road, she turned toward the forest. Just this once, she told herself, she’d follow her heart. Just once, before she surrendered to expectations.

Chapter 4

The Witch

---