Page 81 of The Beast of Ashwood Manor

Gil stood beside me and looked at them all. “Thank you,” he told them, “for your loyalty. I wish I could do more for you, but I can’t in this place.” He glanced back at the abandoned manor. “However, I have been holding onto some money for the past fifteen years, and I’d like to give some to each of you to help you on your feet wherever you go.”

They all looked at him in shock as Gil distributed small pouches of coins into each of their hands.

They all thanked him, each of them hugging him, and he shook his head. “I owe you all this. Much more, actually. But I’m afraid it’s all I can give right now.”

“We hope you find solace, Gil,” Eugenia said for them all. “Both of you.”

As they turned to go, Gil said, “Mary!”

She turned, blinking at him, and when he opened his arms wide, she smiled and ran to him, her small frame almost enveloped by him. He looked down at her and said, “When you get to Tolburg, send a letter to Cale in Briar Glen, his village. We will keep in touch.”

“Yes, my lord,” she said, smiling at him before moving away and walking on with Annie.

“Take care of her,” Gil said, and Annie bowed her head at him before taking Mary by the shoulders and walking along the path out of Ashwood.

I stood there with Gil for a moment as he looked over the manor, moving my moon charm on my necklace. When I looked at Gil, his eyes were distant and his face unsure of something.

“Gil?” I asked. “What is it?”

Coming out of his stupor, he shook his head. That’s when I saw him looking at Dyna in the window, and I clicked my tongue for her. She meowed and jumped down and rubbed her head against my legs, then she did the same to Gil.

He bent down and picked her up, scratching her head, and she licked him twice on the cheek. They stared at each other for a moment, as if they understood one another. Then Gil put her down, and she bounded back up to the window.

“Dyna, come on, we’re leaving!” I called.

“She wants to stay here,” Gil said.

I looked at him funny. “How do you know?”

He smiled. “I just know. She’d follow us otherwise.”

My shoulders drooped. “Goodbye, Dyna.”

Gil grabbed our small suitcases, then he grabbed my hand, lifting it to kiss my knuckles.

“Are you ready, my love?” he asked.

“Yes,” I replied.

He looked back at the manor one more time, then he drew in a breath and said, “In a way, I’ll miss it. But I’m glad to be somewhere safe, where nothing can harm you or the others.”

I smiled at him, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “You have me, and I’ll never let you be cursed again.”

His brows lifted. “That’s a mighty big promise. But I do have to say . . . as much as I hated it, I’d do it all over again if it means I get to have you in the end.”

I grinned. “So mushy.” I intertwined our fingers, and we left the manor behind, following the overgrown trail out of Ashwood. The main road wasn’t far away, and when we came out into the open, Gil looked around, as if he was seeing the world for the first time.

“My mother’s home is that way.” I pointed to the left. “H-O-M-E.” I chuckled and glanced up at him.

Gil looked confused, dazed as he watched a horse pull a cart down the road.

“Gil?” I started, tugging his arm.

“It’s just odd to see open land instead of trees,” he said. “And other people.”

“Are you afraid?”

“A little.”

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