Beauty and the Beast (Faerie Tale Collection) (6 page)

“Prince Alexander, since you’ve been speaking of the weather, it’s made me long for the outdoors. Would you perhaps mind escorting me while we stroll among my mother’s rose garden?”

Mrs. Hammerstein-Smythe gasped in shock. She was stunned her daughter could be so presumptuous and forward to invite the prince for a stroll.

Cecelia did feel a momentary stab of guilt for being so brazen, but she could not think of another way to get him alone at the moment.

However, Prince Alexander was more than pleased to oblige, so there was no lasting damage done in her mother’s eyes. “I would be delighted to do just that very thing. In fact, I had been contemplating how to ask you, so I am grateful you thought to do so yourself.”

Cecelia did not believe a word he spoke, but was satisfied he was willing to play along so well. With a small smile to her mother and a nod to William, she stood after such a short time, and was escorted out on the arm of the prince to the entranceway of the great house. There she was met by her maid, with a matching blue bonnet and pelisse. She quickly slipped both on, and allowed herself to hang upon the prince’s arm a moment more until they were out in the garden at last, before pulling away from him.

“Do you feel better?” he asked before she’d begun her questioning.

“No, I do not feel better.” She ducked behind a high rosebush, away from the window’s view and planted her hands upon her hips and hissed, “What are you doing here?”

Alexander joined her, and smiled. “Irritating you, of course.”

“Well!” Cecelia’s jaw dropped briefly, before she gathered her wits about her. “You’re doing a very fine job of it.” When he laughed in response, she asked, “No, honestly, why are you here? It is no secret how we feel about each other, and you know what this will do to the village. Already tongues will begin wagging before you’ve been here an hour. They will all wonder why you have come to see me and what your intentions are.” She folded her arms and agitatingly tapped one small foot upon the cobblestone path.

The irksome man grinned a very dashing grin while raising an eyebrow and said, “What if I want them to wonder? What if I’m hoping they see me here and they talk about us?”

Her heart dropped, she felt almost ill. “Please, my prince, please.” She took a step forward and laid one hand upon his arm. “I entreat you, I beg of you, don’t. I could not bear to be the laughingstock of this town.” Not again. She glanced down, frantic not to meet his gaze. She had simply no pride left. “If you must have your sport, can it not be with another girl? I know you feel nothing for me. I know you detest me as much as I detest you. Please, I beg of you, do not do this.”

“Miss Hammerstein-Smythe,” the prince tucked a finger under her chin and gently brought her face to meet his dark brown gaze. “I am different now. I would never do anything to harm you. I assure you with all my heart, it is the least of my intentions.”

Bewildered, she asked, “Why are you here, then?”

CHAPTER EIGHT

THE PRINCE LOOKED DOWN at her delightful features and reluctantly removed his finger from her chin. He placed his hands behind his back and took a couple of steps forward and away from the girl, pleased to see her following. “It would seem you and I have a mutual friend.”

“We do?” asked Cecelia, not certain how this could pertain to his delight in tormenting her.

Alexander peeked around a few of the bushes surrounding them, making certain no one was listening, and then stepped toward her, his deep baritone whispering in her ear. “A magical friend.”

Cecelia gasped, not sure if it was from the close proximity of the prince, or from what he had said. Either way, it took a few moments to catch her breath. When she was finally able she hesitantly whispered back, “Do you mean an animal friend?”

Prince Alexander swayed under the onslaught of her sweet warm breath just below his ear. Before he realized what he was meaning to do he’d grabbed her shoulders for support. Clearing his throat he answered, “Yes. A wolf who can speak.” Good great grief, he was dizzy. The girl merely asked him a question and near enough brought him to his knees. What had come over him? He’d never before felt such an attraction, and he wondered briefly if he was falling in love with her.

“Prince Alexander?”

Cecelia’s voice brought him back to the present. He looked down at her rose-colored lips and watched as her teeth tugged and pulled at the bottom one. “Yes?” he asked a bit mesmerized.

“You’re holding my shoulders very tightly.”

“I am?”

“Mm-hm…are you all right?”

Her blue eyes were endless. Had he never noticed the color of her eyes before? “Better than I’ve ever been.” He leaned down and kissed the girl right on her perfect lips. They were as soft and as sweet as he imagined.

Cecelia quickly pulled out of his arms. “Prince Alexander! What in the world has come over you?”

He wanted to taste her lips again. “I don’t know. I don’t think I’m fully sound at the moment.”

She was surprised when a giggle popped out of her. Never had she seen him look so bewildered. “You simply cannot go about kissing girls in their mother’s rose garden during broad daylight. It is just not done. Especially ones you feel nothing for and could care less about.” Her hand unconsciously touched her tingling lips, marveling at the sensation he was able to create.

Appalled at how ungentlemanly she must think him now, he immediately began to apologize. “My dear Miss Hammerstein-Smythe, you must forgive me—”

Her blue eyes turned to steel. “If you say one more word I’ll box your ears.”

Alexander’s eyebrows rose.

“No, sir. You do not get to now tell me how deeply sorry you are for ruining my life. Indeed you did not ruin my life, you simply enhanced it.”

“Enhanced it?” He pursed his mouth together to prevent the grin from forming.

“Yes.” She bit her lip again to stop her own chuckle. “It was very nice, and I am not sorry it happened. However, you can never do it again.”

“Never?” He took a step forward.

She laughed and put a hand between them. “Never, ever again.”

“And why is that?” asked the prince coyly.

“Because you and I despise each other and always have. Besides, then everyone would assume we were engaged.”

Engaged.

To Miss Cecelia Hammerstein-Smythe.

Princess Cecelia.

His princess.

He had never wanted anything more.

While Alexander’s heart was learning how to beat properly again, Cecelia had obliviously and quite cheerfully continued to chatter as she began to search for the perfect rose.

“So how did you meet the wolf? Isn’t he simply astonishing? Did you know he can read? It was so inconceivable to see him lying down and reading a book when I met with him last night. I’ve never encountered a magical creature like him before, have you?”

She stopped and turned, a beautiful yellow rose in her hand. “Prince Alexander?”

He shook his head and stepped forward. “Uh, yes?”

“Have you?”

He sheepishly grinned, looking like a boy in a top hat and princely finery. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t attending. What did you ask of me?”

Puzzled, she glanced over him. “Did you hear none of it, then?”

Alexander put his hands behind his back and admitted, “None.”

“Oh.” Cecelia looked at him peculiarly for a moment and then said, “I guess what I wanted to know most was, how do you know the wolf?”

He’d been pondering that exact same question, knowing without a doubt she would ask it of him, so he was definitely prepared to answer it. “I came across him one evening in the woods a while ago. We’ve been friends ever since.”

“Isn’t he fascinating?”

Alexander shrugged and then nodded. “Yes, I guess that’s a good word for him.”

“Were you startled when he began talking to you?”

The prince chuckled. “Yes. I was grateful he spoke, actually. Because it proved he could communicate and wouldn’t eat me.”

Cecelia laughed and continued on down the path, the prince close beside her.

“Did he frighten you?” He watched her closely.

“Yes. He did a little.” She slowed and turned more fully toward him, her skirts swirling below her. “But then, I don’t know what happened, when I looked back and replayed the meeting over and over again, I just knew I could trust him.”

“Good. You can always trust him.” He touched the soft petal of a yellow rose next to him as he walked past. “Do not doubt he is the most dependable creature you will ever come across.”

It was interesting to see Prince Alexander so serious and calm. Honestly, she could hardly believe he was the same person she’d met previously. There really was something most decidedly different about the man. “I like that you know him, and can vouch for him,” she said as she followed his example and trailed her fingers lightly over the rosebushes as they walked.

“You do?”

“Yes. I do not understand why, but it makes me appreciate you more that we share the same friend.”

“Does he mean that much to you, then?” Alexander stopped breathing as he awaited her reply.

Cecelia paused, her fingers absentmindedly caressing a small leaf. “I don’t know.” She continued to step forward again, allowing the leaf to be plucked. “He has the potential to be someone I care about, yes. So maybe that’s it?”

Could she really be saying what he thought she was? Could this sweet girl before him truly not judge a hideous wolf and see him as an equal, as a friend? As someone she could care for? The prince watched in wonder and silence for a few minutes as he absorbed all the magnificence that was Miss Hammerstein-Smythe. She was an even greater person than he could have imagined.

Cecelia’s thoughts naturally gravitated toward the enigmatic wolf. Never had she met someone so fascinating before, or so kind. A smile played upon her lips as she thought of the passage of poem he had had her read aloud. How had he known the precise thing to say to her when she needed it most? How could anyone, let alone a beast, know her so well?

She walked forward a few more steps and plucked another leaf before her feet stopped altogether. What did he mean when he said today would change everything in my life? Glancing at the profile of the prince she absentmindedly mulled over the cryptic comment from the wolf before she silently gasped. The beast sent the prince. He would not dare do such a thing! She began to walk again. And yet, it would seem he had done just that. Her hands grew cold as she realized that the dear creature she had begun to trust had indeed betrayed her.

“He told you about me, did he not?” she asked rather quietly.

Alexander glanced over. “The wolf?”

“Yes.” She took a deep breath and stopped walking altogether. The more she thought about it, the more bothered she became. Everything they had just been discussing, all the camaraderie she’d felt with the prince, vanished before her eyes. “He told you about me—about what had happened to me—which is why you have come here now, to rescue the poor damsel and make sure all the village believes you are courting her, and in love with her. The beast said before I left last night that today would change everything in my life. He meant you, didn’t he? He meant to come to you and tell you all about my wretched existence, so that way you would take pity and help.”

“Would it be so bad if he did?”

“Yes!” Distressed, she looked away.

He stepped in front of her. “Why?”

“Because—because, it’s you! Because you have never taken a moment out of your life to say one good thing about anyone, least of all me. Because I am humiliated beyond belief you know about my trials and heartaches. Someone who has only ever scorned and mocked me publically now comes in as my great prince on a white horse.”

“Miss Hammerstein-Smythe, please, you said so yourself just a few weeks ago that I have changed. I did not own it then, but believe me, my dear, I have. I know I have.” He shockingly knelt down in front of her, placed the rose she was holding on the ground near her feet, and took her hands. “Allow me this opportunity now, for if you will not accept my friendship, then please accept my apologies. My dearest, most sincere apologies for everything—all those cruel days of my past—I was a monster. I was a horrendous, horrid beastly monster, and I treated you abominably. I will forever be in your debt, Miss Hammerstein-Smythe, if you could but forgive me and see that I am and will always be a changed man.”

She squeezed his hands not quite willing to let the fight go. “You were brutal to me.”

“Yes, I was. And to many more people, as well. I would do anything to go back and change it all now—anything.”

She searched and wandered across his earnest attractive features. “How can I trust you?”

“Have we not had a pleasant time these past twenty minutes or so? Can this not prove that we can get along? That maybe I am not as ghastly as I once was?”

A lopsided grin formed upon her lips. “Perhaps not
as
ghastly.”

In all tender seriousness he said, “I am sorry. I am wholeheartedly, earnestly, profusely sorry. And I vow, if you allow me, to make it up to you every single day of my life.”

“Did the beast really send you?”

“Yes, he did.”

She sighed in frustration before stating, “You are forgiven. I will proceed to allow you to rescue me, and perhaps become your friend. However—” she raised an eyebrow to ward off his happy smile—“I’m pretty positive tonight I shall taste my first wolf stew.”

Alexander threw his head back and laughed, more in love with her than before.

It was at this exact moment, while the prince was kneeling before Cecelia— with a rose lying between them and their hands clasped tightly—looking like the happiest man on earth, that her mother happened upon them both.

“Cecelia! Cecelia, my dearest girl! You are to be married to the prince?! My daughter, the soon-to-be queen!” she exclaimed loudly, in all the ecstasies of a mother’s wildest dreams coming true, before she swooned and crashed gracefully upon the cobblestones before them.

CHAPTER NINE

PRINCE ALEXANDER WAS STILL chuckling over Cecelia’s shocked countenance at her mother’s announcement and then dramatic fall as he rode his horse, Sterling, home. You would have thought someone had slapped Miss Hammerstein-Smythe, she was so appalled.