Page 10 of Roses in the Dark: A Beauty and the Beast Romance

I should be terrified, but I’m not.

I’m not.

“Come.” Forwal beckons for me to follow him and I trot obediently after him as we leave the room. The mansion looks just as intimidating in the daylight as it did at night. Perhaps more so. Dark paintings line the wall. I didn’t notice them before.

“Did you paint these?” I point to the walls.

“No.”

“Did someone make them for you?”

“Yes.”

I bite my tongue and remain quiet as I follow him through the maze of hallways. Eventually, we reach a kitchen, where he introduces me to his household staff members.

“Mrs. Paughts runs the house,” he tells me. A round, smiling older woman steps forward.

“It’s lovely to meet you, my dear,” she says. She takes my hand and smiles at me, and my heart warms. If I had a mother, I imagine she’d be something like Mrs. Paughts.

“The pleasure is mine,” I murmur.

I was convinced the entire mansion was empty, save for me and Forwal. I’m surprised to discover over a dozen household staff members, and I struggle to remember their names.

Once the introductions are complete, Forwal turns to his staff.

“She’s not allowed outside,” he says.

“Yes, Master,” the staff murmurs in unison, and I frown. I’m not allowed to go outside? Why on Earth not? It’s not like I have anywhere to go, anything to return to. It’s not like I have anything waiting for me.

We leave the kitchen and as soon as we’re out of hearing distance, I take Forwal’s hand and squeeze it.

He looks down at my hand, as if he can’t quite believe that I’m touching him. He doesn’t get angry, but he is obviously very surprised by the gesture.

“What do you want, Evelyn?” He asks me.

“I…I can’t go outside?”

“No. You may not go outside.”

“But why not?”

He sighs and brushes back a lock of my hair. Then he brings me close to himself and holds me for a long minute.

“I don’t know if I can trust you,” he says finally.

“I haven’t run yet. There were plenty of chances last night, sir.”

“You were in shock, and I had someone watching you. You wouldn’t have gotten very far, darling, even if you had tried to run.”

“I won’t run.”

“The woods are dangerous,” his eyes darken, and he shakes his head. “You have no idea what lurks there, and you must never know.”

I search his face, trying to discover the truth. Surely there must be some there, lurking beneath the surface, but when I stare at Forwal, I only have more questions.

Why has he brought me here?

What does he want from me?

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