Page 49 of Harpy of the Ton
“Papa—Papa! Billy tied me up, and Bobby put a frog in my bed!”
“Jonathan, don’t tell tales, you nasty sneak. Not in front of our”—Bobby glanced at Bella—“ourmother.”
“Mama!” The whirlwind let out a cry, then flew toward Bella. Before she could prevent it, the creature flung its arms around her legs. “Mama, you’re back! What’s for supper?”
The Beast caught the child by the shoulders. “Let your mother catch her breath.”
“But you said we should—”
“Yes, and you’ve given her a lovely greeting, son. But she’s a little tired. She can’t cook supper tonight.” He glanced at Bella and raised his eyebrows. “Unless she wants to?”
“I donotwant to,” Bella said.
Who the devil did they think she was—some sort of housemaid and cook?
The Beast sighed. “Never mind—we’ll make do. I can fetch something from the Oak for tonight.”
“The Oak?”
“The Royal Oak—the inn in the village. Perhaps a bit of mutton stew? You can resume your chores tomorrow.”
“Chores again!” Bella scoffed. “What do you mean, I can resume them tomorrow? I’ve never heard anything so ridiculous!”
“I’ve no objection to your resuming your chores tonight, love, but I thought you’d be tired from your journey.”
“Iamtired!”
“Then you can start tomorrow,” he said, “once you’ve walked the children to school.”
“Once I’vewhat?”
He let out another laugh. “It’s an easy enough task, and, tell you what, I won’t ask you to make breakfast tomorrow—how about that?”
“You’ll prepare breakfast?” she asked.
“Heavens no!” He laughed again. “What self-respecting husband would prepare breakfast? We’ll make do tomorrow without it. But the day after tomorrow, we’ll be hungry, won’t we, children?”
“Yes!” two voices cried in unison, but the red-headed creature let out another wail that sliced through the air. Bella winced at the pain in her head. So much noise!
“I’m hungry!” the red-headed creature cried.
“Don’t be such a baby,” one of the other children sneered.
“Stop it, Roberta,” the Beast said. “Don’t tease your brother. He’s missed your mother, haven’t you, Jonathan?”
The creature nodded once more and reached for Bella again. She recoiled at the sight of his dirt-covered hands and the notion of where they might have been.
She glanced about the hallway, at the walls that closed in around her, and her chest constricted as she struggled to draw breath. The hallway shifted out of focus, and her legs began to give way. But before she pitched forward, two strong arms took hold of her. For a moment, a ripple of need threaded through her body.
But she ignored it.
“Let me go, you vile peasant!”
“As my wife commands,” he said, his voice thick with amusement, and he released her. She slid to the ground, landing legs akimbo. As she hit the floor, a puff of dust erupted from the carpet, and she convulsed into a volley of coughs.
However dreadful a nightmare might be, it came with one consolation—freedom through the inevitability of waking up.
But this…
