THIRTY-FOUR

 

The warmth of her hand in his sent Vardan's heart racing like never before. No one touched him willingly, but this was so much more. She'd given him her hand. It might only be for a dance now, but he vowed it would be more if he could persuade her to accept him. Once the curse was lifted...

The music changed, signifying that it was time to break the chain they had woven around the room and form up into couples. Without thinking, he placed his hands at her waist and lifted her, spinning around like everyone else in time to the music.

Her laughter swirled around him, the most joyous sound he'd ever heard. Her hands landed on his shoulders, perhaps to steady herself, but he would never drop her. Instead, he set her gently on her feet, and led her through the steps of the couples' dance. Though her brow creased occasionally when she made a misstep, her delighted smile never left her face. Heaven, this was surely heaven.

Yet the song ended and Vardan bowed to his partner. She dipped a curtsey, keeping her laughing eyes level with his.

His voice was hoarse in his throat. "Another dance, Lady Belle?"

The room fell silent, so her breathless answer rang out through the hall, "Oh yes."

The musicians struck up a country dance tune, a lovers' dance that played almost nonstop on the May Day festival, when the winter ended. It should have sounded strange with the island still shrouded in snow, but tonight it was perfect.

Whispers spread like wind through the hall as people shuffled toward the walls, leaving space for the dancers. For the master and the lady he wished was his, Vardan realised.

In a room full of invisible people, he and Lady Belle danced alone. Her skirts flared out as she spun with the steps, before whirling back into his embrace. Every time he released her, his heart died a little, until she returned to him a moment later as the dance brought them back together.

He heard the village women sigh each time, echoing the burst of feeling in his own heart. Country dances were for peasants, not royalty or nobility, but right now he didn't care. The stateliest court dances were dull compared to the sparkle that lit her eyes as she danced in his arms. If the members of the court were ever to dance with such abandon, they would never agree to arranged marriages with people they'd never met.

Vardan would never agree to any woman but Belle after this night. Every moment she spent in his arms, he wanted to extend into forever. Could she...would she ever be his?

The song ended far too soon, and Lady Belle drew him toward where servants stood with trays of drinks.

"I have a thirst that must be quenched, your Highness. I have never danced quite so...energetically before. When my sisters spoke of court dances, they always sounded so...sedate. Not something I wished to take part in. Yet this...this...I feel like I could dance all night, though I shall quite wear out my slippers." A silk-clad foot peeped out from under her skirt, and she clutched at his shoulder to keep her balance.

She might have clutched at his heart, the touch jolted him so much. Vardan covered her hand with his. "With you, I, too, could dance all night, and all day, too. But the curse..."

Her eyes seemed to glow with violet fire once more. "I will find a way. There must be something in my mother's library. If – "

Her mother's library was nothing compared to the collection here, most of it illuminated in the monastery's own scriptorium. And this library held something far more valuable than books. "I have a better idea," Vardan interrupted. "Come with me."

This time when he took her hand, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

"Won't the others notice?" she asked, glancing back. Another song played and from the sound of feet on stone, Vardan guessed that the dancers had returned to the floor.

"Perhaps, but this is not court. We don't stand on ceremony here. This is a feast to celebrate a victory – a victory they won, not I. We shall return before they have finished this dance."

"All right."

She allowed him to lead her out of the hall and into the part of the house that used to be a monastery. He bypassed the monks' cells without a second glance, but Lady Belle slowed.

"Are these...prison cells?" she asked.

Vardan laughed. "No, the monks slept here when it was a monastery. They are sleeping cells, much like in a convent, I imagine. None are held here against their will. Their faith compels them, or so the brothers say. I used to sleep in one when I was studying with them as a boy. For all that they have no fire, they are still warm, for they are above the scriptorium. A fire burns there year round to help preserve the books. I will show you."

"You are taking me to your library," Belle said slowly, her smile dawning once more. "I should like to see that."

"Then come." He tugged at her hand, and she came willingly, her steps quickening to match his. Ah, a lady who liked books. If Vardan wasn't in love with her already, he would have fallen a second time. She was perfection itself.

He threw the doors open and led her inside. Candles lit the room, as always, but Belle's gratifying gasp as she surveyed a library that rivalled the great hall for size made him examine it anew. Even the king did not have so many books in his palace in the capital.

"It would take a lifetime to read them all," she breathed, reaching for the nearest shelf but stopping before she touched anything.

Vardan grinned. "A few years, yes, but not a lifetime. I know from experience." He coughed. "If you wish it, you may stay here as long as it takes you to read them all. A lifetime, if that is your wish." Oh, how he longed to kiss her. The way she looked at him now, as if he was a man and not a beast. First, they must break the curse. "But I have something I must show you."

He drew her to the window, where a chest held his most prized possession. He drew out the well-wrapped bundle, then paused with the heavy thing in his hands. "This is a magical object, but it will not hurt you," he promised. "You need only look at it, if you wish. I will not ask you to touch it if you don't wish to."

Vardan expected to see fear in her eyes, but Lady Belle merely nodded as she turned expectant eyes on the bundle.

He folded back the cloth, revealing a mirror as shiny as the day when Sir Ryder had first handed it to him. Before the curse. Now, it was his only view to a world he could never be a part of.

"Have you ever seen its like?" Vardan murmured.

To his surprise, Belle nodded. "My mother owned just such a looking glass. She kept it in her library, too."

"This is no ordinary looking glass, for it shows far more than the beauty of its owner. It was a gift from my brother on my name day. I check it every morning and every night for pirates and approaching ships, so that my people might be prepared for the hunt. It shows more than ships, though. This glass can show you whatever you desire, wherever it might be in the world." Vardan grinned at her surprise. "So you see, it is nothing like your mother's mirror. I only have to fog it with my breath, like so –" he breathed on the glass "– and focus on what I desire to see. Once the fog clears, the mirror reveals what I ask." Vardan moistened his lips. "What I long for most right now is to find a witch who can break the curse, as she slayed the pirates. If I am not wrong, it will show the crew of the Trinity in their boat, and among them...the witch." He held the mirror up so Zuleika could see. "What do you see, Lady Belle?"