Depravity: A Beauty and the Beast Novel (A Beastly Tale Book 1) (3 page)

“I’ll give the coin of every third sale to Father just like I did when that fat cow paid me.  I still can’t believe she said she couldn’t afford to keep me on.  I sew better than she does.  She’ll lose business fast now, I swear.  I hate this town and refuse to be stuck here for the rest of my life.”

“At least you can save decent coin to leave.  What I’ve put aside in change from Father’s food allowance is nothing in comparison,” Bryn complained.

How could they withhold any coin from Father?  He provided us with food and shelter and love.  I didn’t understand them.

“I told you, if you marry Tennen, you won’t have to worry anyway.  Their mother is one of Mrs. Stinich’s best customers.  They obviously have money.”

Although the news that they were hiding coin away annoyed me, I refused to act on my emotions as impetuously as they did.  Turning away from the window, I quietly walked around the house and entered through the front, making plenty of noise.  Both came out with smiles and asked what I’d found.  I didn’t feel too badly when I admitted there was nothing.

“What about the web?  Surely you could have taken that if the spider was gone,” said Blye with a hint of reprimand.

“The spider took the web with him.  There was nothing left.”

She glowered at me for a moment before smoothing her face into a sympathetic expression.  “Thank you for trying.  The estate is fickle.  Perhaps tomorrow will be better.”

“Could you take some of the carrots to the bakery and see if you can trade for bread again?” Bryn asked, changing the subject.

“I’d rather not.  It’s hard to catch Mrs. Medunge, and the baker refuses to trade.”

“I heard from Tennen that the baker looks kindly on you.  I think you just need to ask again,” Bryn said.

I really didn’t want to approach the baker again.

“Is there nothing left of the coin we set aside for food?” I asked without a hint of recrimination.

“No,” Bryn said, turning away.  “I’ll make do with a soup tonight, but meat and bread would be appreciated tomorrow.”

I forced myself to approach the baker after three days of little game or harvest from the estate.  Taking my time, I walked to town with my bag slung across my chest.  The wilting carrots thumped against my hip with each stone-kicking stride.  Because of my musings and lack of concentration, I didn’t see Tennen and Splane idling against the tinker’s building until they spoke to me as I passed.

“Well, hello, Benella,” Tennen said.

Startled, I turned to face him instead of ignoring him.  His eyes narrowed on me.  I looked around at the light foot traffic and saw no one near enough to help me.  The baker’s side door opened and Sara, looking flushed, stepped out with a loaf of bread.

My eyes darted from her to Tennen.  He shook his head slowly.

“Bad timing,” he said harshly.

My first instinct was to run, but I knew they would catch me before we cleared town.  While trying to think of a way to avoid a beating, I gained the baker’s attention, and he called to us.

“You boys walk your mother home.  Benella, come inside and let’s see what goods you have to sell.”

Run and risk a beating or face the baker?

“Not so much better than the rest of us, now, are you?” Splane said softly.

His statement confused me.  How had I ever given them the impression I thought of myself as better?  I had crouched, hiding behind the crates by the baker’s shop for hours, cold and hungry, waiting for Mrs. Medunge to appear.  The whole village was poor with the exception of the baker.  Shaking my head, I turned and walked toward the horrid man.

Sara didn’t meet my eyes as I passed her, not that I blamed her.  I hoped for her sake, the baker’s price wouldn’t climb any higher.

The baker grinned at me in welcome and held the door open, but I stopped a few feet away, reached into my bag, and offered him a carrot for inspection.  From the corner of my eye, I watched the Coalre family walk away.

“Come now, Benella.  There’s no reason to do this outside.  Come in.”

“I’d rather not.  Are you interested in trading carrots for bread, today?” I asked bluntly.

“We’ve enough carrots.  Perhaps we can come to some other arrangement.”

Swallowing a gag, I took a moment before answering.

“I think not.”  I placed the carrot back into the bag and turned to leave with the hope that both Tennen and Splane would be well away already.

“Benella,” the baker said.  “I’ve always thought you a pretty thing.  My mother commented the other day on how pleasant you are to talk to and reminded me of my very unwed status.  Perhaps, it’s time to change that.”

I ran and didn’t look back.

I caught up with Father on the path to our cottage.  At the sound of my thumping feet, he turned with a smile on his face.

“Anything interesting from the estate today?”

I slowed to walk beside him, heart hammering and stomach heavy.  How could the baker even hint at marriage?  The thought of his heavy body pressed against mine sickened me.

“Bini, what’s wrong?” Father asked, stopping.  His blue, watery eyes studied me with concern, really seeing me for a change.

“The baker hinted at marriage.”

“Ah...” he said enigmatically.  “And that upset you?”

“Yes.  I know I won’t be able to live with you forever, but I would choose a man I could care for.  One that wouldn’t smother me in my sleep with his girth.”

“Bini,” he chided.

“He’s not a good man, Father,” I said firmly, hoping he would understand.

“Then, don’t take his hint seriously.”

Having his support calmed me.  We walked the rest of the way home in silence.  Bryn had no supper waiting when we returned home.

“No bread?” she asked.  I shook my head and handed her the carrots.

“No worries, dears,” Father assured us.  “I wasn’t hungry, anyway.”  He drifted to his study, leaving me to face Bryn’s frown.

“Did you even ask?”

“Yes.  He was quite clear that he wasn’t interested in trading for carrots.  I told you, I only have luck with his mother.”  I didn’t like her tone, especially when I knew she had coin hidden aside that could have bought the bread.

She sighed.

“Can you try to set traps yet today?  Perhaps we could have something fresh for Father at breakfast, then.”

For Father, I nodded and headed back out toward the mist-filled woods.  The sun hung low in the sky, sending the already dusky woods into further shadow.  The dark didn’t bother me.  I set a few traps and walked toward the break in the estate’s wall, hoping for some type of bounty.  The ground sat barren, the same as it had for the last several days.

While staring dejectedly at the brown patch of dirt, I heard a faint scuffing sound behind me and turned in time to see Tennen step out from behind a tree.  He held a thick segment of a broken branch.  The determination in his gaze told me I wouldn’t go home without injury this time.

Pivoting, I thought to run away, but Splane stepped out from behind another tree, effectively blocking the route.  The hole in the wall mocked me.  It was the only open path, but I knew what waited if I dared take it.  No matter what I chose, I’d return home with bruises and most likely something broken.

“What did I ever do to you?” I asked Tennen, who I viewed as the bigger threat.

Instead of answering, he rushed toward me with the branch raised.  I waited on the balls of my feet until the last second, then ducked under his swing in an attempt to get behind him so I could run.  The movement hadn’t been deep enough though because the branch raked my back.  I hissed in pain, but kept moving.  The gate loomed ahead, but I knew I dared not enter.  I tried veering to the left toward the village, but Splane threw his rock and hit my left shoulder, effectively driving me toward the entrance.  Defeated, I acknowledged they meant to corral me into the estate and darted toward the gaping black iron gate.

They chased after me, panting heavily in their exertion to catch up.  As soon as I cleared the opening, the gate slammed shut of its own accord, the clang of the metal sounding my doom.

Skidding to a stop, I spun to stare at their disdainful faces a distance from the iron bars.  They weren’t stupid.  The bars didn’t guarantee their safety.  The beast had been known to venture out on occasion.

Splane saluted me in farewell and took off running.  Tennen waited, watching me.  When his eyes widened and the color drained from his face, I knew the beast had arrived.  I watched Tennen spin and sprint away then hung my head in defeat.  My back burned and shoulder ached.  Had I a choice, I wouldn’t have run through the gate.  I had known it would only add to my hurts.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Behind me, the beast’s growl clicked with his anger.  I kept my eyes on the overgrown gravel path at my feet.  I didn’t try to beg or flee.  It hadn’t ever ended well for those who’d attempted such methods before me.  Better to just accept the punishment quietly.

His growl grew louder as he crept closer, and his breath skimmed my back.  Tennen, the bastard, had ripped my shirt with his vicious swing.

Something warm and wet touched my abraded skin, eliciting an involuntary hiss from my lips and a quick step forward.  The growl intensified, and I froze.  Had the beast just licked me?

In all of the stories told of the estate, I’d never heard any where the beast devoured trespassers.  Fear of just that locked me in place, and he stepped forward and repeated his stroke.  The slow drag of his tongue hurt as much as it soothed.

Several times, he covered the area from mid-back to left shoulder.  The fabric of my shirt ripped further as he forced it aside with his face.  I didn’t move or make any further sound.  With each stroke of his tongue, the pain of the scratch faded as did the throb in my shoulder where the stone had hit.

One moment he licked my skin and the next I sailed through the air, somersaulting only to land gently in a pile of hay.  Coughing at the plume of dust my landing had stirred, I waved my hand in front of my face and looked at the empty place just inside the gate.

For whatever reason, the beast had spared me.

*    *    *    *

Bryn gasped when I walked through the door.  I knew I looked a mess but thought the gasp a bit of an overreaction.  She hadn’t even seen the back of me, yet.  Blye, hearing our sister, stepped out from our room just as Bryn asked what had happened to me.  Knowing Bryn wouldn’t want to hear of Tennen’s attack, I opened my mouth, ready to tell her that I had run into a branch.  But, Father stepped out of his study.  I snapped my mouth closed.

At that moment, I loved and hated my family because of the tangled web of lies that held my tongue.  Bryn hoarded Father’s coin in hopes of attracting Tennen’s “wealthy” hand, Blye hoarded coin to run away to a town with more prospects, and I had no doubt our intelligent Father knew of both their activities but said nothing because he was content in this poor village.  All of which put pressure on me to scrounge the countryside for food and trade with that pig of a baker.

I refused to add to the lies.  My anger couldn’t last, though, as I watched my father’s eyes soften.  They were my family, all that I had.

“Well, Bini?” Father asked.  “What happened to you, dear?”

“I’d rather not talk about it,” I said sullenly.

“Come into my study.”

Without a choice, I followed him and listened to another gasp as my sisters saw the damage to my coarse cotton shirt.  I’d be forced to wear my dress tomorrow, and that annoyed me.

Father held the door for me and shut it with a soft click after I entered.  I stood facing his desk while he circled around me, clucking his tongue.  Behind me, he lightly touched my back where Tennen’s branch had ripped into my skin.

“Looks like something scraped you, hard.  Luckily, it didn’t break the skin.  A branch, perhaps?”

He circled around me once more to sit in his chair, studying me as he moved.  I kept my face relaxed, even though I fought a growing tension.  The branch had cut me, I knew it had, but somehow father only saw a scrape.  The only explanation I could form was the beast’s tongue.  Had he really healed me?  If so, to what purpose?  And why throw me into the hay on my second trespass?  Everyone knew that being caught a second time meant some kind of injury.

“Tennen swung a branch at me, and Splane threw a rock while I was setting traps near the estate,” I said, speaking the truth.

“Why would Tennen do such a thing?  I thought he liked your sister.”

I snorted softly before I could stop myself and glanced at the door.  Father rose quietly and peered out the door.  I caught a glimpse of Blye’s skirt as she turned the corner to our room.

He shut the door and raised a brow at me, encouraging me to speak.

“I saw something I wish I wouldn’t have.  The baker is trading for bread, but has no interest in produce.  He...wanted something from Sara.”  A flush crept into my cheeks, and I couldn’t say more.

“I see,” my father murmured in surprise.  “And Tennen?”

“When I fled from the baker’s alley, Tennen and Splane were there, waiting for Sara.  They knew I saw something I shouldn’t have, and they have been making my life difficult since.  They said I think I’m better than them.”  I met my father’s eyes earnestly.  “I’ve never knowingly given them cause to think that.  We’re just as poor as the rest thanks to Bryn’s stealing and Blye’s hoarding.”

He didn’t act surprised by what I said.  Instead, he seemed saddened, and I knew then that I had been right.  Father was aware of both my sisters’ activities.

“I’m sorry you are the one to suffer for our failings.  I can begrudge neither Blye keeping the coin that she works so hard to earn, nor Bryn the coin she sets aside since she keeps my house.  I only regret there is nothing I can give you for your care of us.”

He looked away to stare out the window for several long moments while I squirmed under my guilt for thinking poorly of him.  Of course, he knew what went on in his house.  I should have trusted he had a reason to allow it.

“Perhaps there is something I can do for you, now,” he said.  “Blye. Bryn,” he called loudly, startling me.  He never raised his voice.

The door opened moments later, and they crowded into the study with us.  I wondered how much my sisters had heard.

“Bryn, your sister has suffered some injuries that require a hot soak.  I know it is an effort, but—”

Bryn waved away the rest of what he would say.

“I’ll ready a bath for her.”  She turned and left.

“Blye, your sister has so little in the way of clothes and cannot afford to lose a shirt.  Can you mend it?”

Blye stepped behind me, tisking.  “I could, but she’ll look like a beggar.  Better to take the shirt apart and use some of my spare cloth for a new back panel.”

“How long will that take?” Father asked.

“I should have it done tomorrow evening.”

He thanked her and waved her away before turning back to me.

“Go clean up and let your sister have your shirt.  Tomorrow you’ll have to suffer your dress.” He gave me a small grin, knowing I preferred my trousers.  “The day after, I will have an errand for you, so do not make any plans for that day.”  He stood and planted a kiss atop my head.