Page 37 of Beauty's Beast

“I promise.”

“I know you said I was not to ask about the mask, but I should very much like to know why you wear it.” She lifted a hand to silence him. “You needn’t tell me what you’re hiding. I should only like to know if … if it’s an affliction you were born with and if … ” Her voice trailed off.

“You need not worry, Kristine,” he replied stiffly, “your child will not be cursed with my affliction.”

Right or wrong, his words removed a huge weight from her mind. “I’m sorry, my lord.”

He shook his head. “Don’t be. You have every right to be concerned for your child’s welfare.” He spread his fingers over her belly. His hand was large and very brown against her pale skin. “Now I would ask you a question, and beg you tell me the truth honestly. Is this child something you want?”

“Oh, yes!” She placed her hand over his. “Never doubt that, my lord husband. I am happy to be carrying our child.”

With a sigh, he drew her into his arms and held her close.

“May I ask another question, my lord?”

He smiled at her. “Today you may ask anything.”

“You are in pain, are you not?”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No.”

“What of your physician? Can he do nothing to ease your suffering?”

Erik rested his chin on top of her head and stared into the distance, the sound of Charmion’s voice roaring like thunder in his mind.When my daughter forgives you, so shall I.

“No,” he said heavily. “There is nothing anyone can do.”

He had planned to see less of her now that she was with child, to gradually withdraw from her presence, thinking it would be less painful that way. Instead, he resolved to spend as much time as he could with her, to store up a wealth of memories against the day when he would no longer be able to hide his affliction and he would be forced to leave the castle for good.

True to her word, Kristine asked no more questions, but accepted the peculiarities of their life together. She grew accustomed to dimly lit rooms, to making love in the dark to a man who was fully clothed, to being unable to touch him.

As time went on, they took their rides after sunset, when the world was grey. He cherished the quiet times they spentriding together. He could see her clearly in the darkness, and he memorized every inch of her face and form, every expression, the happy sound of her laughter. She was radiant now, with a new life growing within her. Her eyes seemed to glow from within, her skin was soft and pink, her breasts were fuller, often tempting his touch. She never pulled away, never denied him.

Loving her was a mix of pleasure and pain. He delighted in touching her, holding her, caressing her, and ached because he could not accept her touch in return. And she wanted to touch him. He saw it in her eyes, in the way she sometimes forgot herself and reached out, only to have him stay her hand. Soon, he would not be able to share her bed. Soon, there would be no hiding what he was becoming.

Shortly after their attendance at the masked ball, Kristine began receiving invitations to other events—horse races and luncheons, card parties and afternoon teas. At first, she refused to attend, but he urged and then insisted that she accept. It was not good for her to spend all her time in the castle. She needed to make friends of the other women in the district, needed a life of her own.

Kristine argued at first, afraid to venture out of the house without him, afraid her manners would be found wanting. And so he had Mrs. Grainger and the mute women instruct her in every art of polite society he could imagine, and then he sat back and watched her blossom. Her hair, longer at last, framed her face with honey-gold curls. Her green eyes sparkled like the emeralds he had given her. The sound of her merry laughter filled the rooms of the once-gloomy castle.

He knew a sense of pride as he watched her accept invitations, watched her confidence grow. He gave her leave to have company whenever she wished, though he made himself scarce on days she was entertaining. In the city, it was unheard of for a pregnant woman to entertain or to accept invitations,but here, in the country, it was common for women to go out in society until their condition was quite pronounced.

Now, sitting upstairs in his room while she entertained a handful of new friends, he listened to the sounds of merriment rising from below, and knew that when the time came that he must leave her for good, she would not be alone.

Chapter Eleven

“Ishould like to have a party, my lord husband,” Kristine decided at dinner one night.

“Indeed?”

She nodded, her eyes twinkling. “A masked ball, such as the one we attended at Lord and Lady Gladstone’s.” She smiled at him, pleased with the idea.

“And when is this auspicious occasion to take place?”

“On All Hallows’ Eve.”

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