When Adam turned to face Belle, it was with an odd lump of anxiety in his throat. She was shivering, and her jeans were wet up to her calves. But despite the cold, she looked most worried about his presence. There was a hesitance in her eyes that he’d seen around town the few times he’d been out and about. He’d shut himself away from such stares, but hers had wandered into his home without warning. She seemed at a loss for words, so the two just stared at each other for a few beats, taking in the anomaly that was a woman standing in the long-forgotten castle.
Adam cleared his throat before he finally spoke to her. “I’m Adam,” he offered, but his voice was so froggy that he wondered if she understood him at all. Then it dawned on him that of course she knew who he was. Everyone knew of him, but few actually knew him.
The woman’s chin remained level with the ground, no signs of cowering in Adam’s presence. “I’m Belle. It’s nice to meet you, though I wish it wasn’t like this. I’m sorry about all that. It’s not your problem, and we brought it literally to your doorstep.”
“Yes, well,” Adam didn’t argue, which made the awkwardness compound until the few feet between them felt like an ocean of difference. “Your father is downstairs.”
Light flooded Belle’s eyes, highlighting emotion Adam hadn’t permitted himself to indulge in for so very long. She had such an expressive face, which made her a captivating woman to watch. “Oh, thank you! He’s been through so much. He always forgets to take his meds, and this morning was just…” She held up her hands. “Not your problem.” She cast around for the stairs, but the house was so massive, she knew she’d be lost if she wandered off in search of the stairwell.
“The poor darling’s freezing. Be a gentleman, Adam! Offer to take her coat for her.” Audra had moved from the office upstairs to the top of the steps, and looked down on him with disapproval.
Adam shot the nosey teapot a glower that told his mother figure to back off.
Belle glanced around in confusion. “Oh, I’m alright. You don’t need to go to any trouble.”
Adam quirked an eyebrow at Belle, wondering if she often spoke out of nowhere. It was only he who could hear the objects in his home speak. “I won’t. Your father’s just that way.”
Audra huffed with indignation. “Oh, you are insufferable. Would it kill you to pretend like you were raised with manners? You can expect your tea to be lukewarm if you don’t at least offer her something warm to drink. Poor thing’s frozen through!”
Adam ignored Audra, but Belle craned her neck up the steps in confusion, calling up in the direction of the voice. “You really don’t have to worry about me. I’ll just be collecting my father, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Who are you talking to?” Adam inquired, glancing up the steps in Audra’s direction. Sure, it was odd to have a teapot perched at the top of the stairs, but it was his home, and he wouldn’t be judged for his eccentricities.
“I’m not sure. Whoever’s upstairs.”
Adam frowned. “There’s no one up there.”
Belle opened her mouth to argue, but shut it when a shiver rolled through her from the lingering cold. “Can you show me where my papa is, please? This place is enormous.”
“This way.” Adam led the path to the dungeon. With every step, he began to regret throwing the old man down in the dank, unlit space. He’d been called a monster many times before, but when the candelabra clutched in his fist revealed Fabrice huddled in the corner rubbing his hands together, he truly felt like one.
Belle gasped and pushed past Adam, crying out in horror when she saw the state of her father. “No! Did you shut him in here? My father is not a criminal!” She rattled the bars with a passion she expected could open the irons, but the cell remained firmly locked.
“You might need these. Here.” Adam jangled the keys. He couldn’t venture a look at her disapproval, but he refused to shrink under her outrage.
“You imprisoned my father in a dungeon?” she seethed. “Get him out now!”
Fabrice moved like an old robot toward his daughter, his limbs stiff from old age, coupled with the cold. “It’s okay, Belle. He was just following orders. Sheriff Aston put out a warrant for my arrest.”
Belle closed her eyes, steadying herself from coming undone right then and there. “I can’t stand this anymore! First the eviction notice, and now he’s trying to get you locked up?”
Fabrice was shaken, but his kindly demeanor was never compromised. After Adam shoved the key in the lock, Belle flung herself into her father’s arms, though he looked to Adam more like he could be her grandfather. “There, there. It’s alright, Belle. See? Nothing’s wrong at all. We can’t let things like this bog us down.”
“Things like you being thrown in a dungeon? Things like losing our home for no reason?”
Adam watched the two embrace with fascination. He couldn’t recall the last hug his father had given him, or his mother, for that matter. While they had been kind enough, they had never been all that openly affectionate.
When footsteps echoed down the stairwell, Adam rolled his eyes. “I should’ve known you couldn’t leave.”
Prince Henry’s indignant expression matched his tone. “You should know I know you well enough not to let you unleash your temper on an old man. On my drive back to the freeway, I saw cop cars coming to your place, so I turned around. What’s going on?”
Adam pulled Henry aside and explained everything as best he could, so as not to intrude on the father-daughter moment.
Henry’s face went stony. “I’ll look into the Sheriff’s books first thing. All because he wants to get with this one?” He motioned to Belle, who was still holding onto her father.
“I guess so.” After spending barely five minutes with Belle, Adam could see clearly the madness that would lead a man to risk his career for this woman. It was more than her captivating eyes that could drive a man to bend the law to be near her. Belle had a firmness to her soft demeanor that intrigued him. Most people were one or the other – strong or soft – but she seemed to have a handle on both aspects. His eyes kept finding their way back to her, studying her expressions carefully while she talked with her father and warmed his fingers. There was a strangeness to the stirring in him that made his eyebrows knit together in consternation.
Belle turned to Adam, her slender nose scrunched with temper. “How could you put my papa in a dungeon? I didn’t even know these existed anymore!”
Adam stiffened, drawing up his posture so as to make good use of all six-and-a-half feet nature had blessed him with. “I can do what I like with suspected criminals in my own home. I let him go once I figured everything out. You’re welcome.”
Belle drew in a long drag of annoyance. “If I thought the police force had an ounce of integrity to it, I’d tell them to lock you up!”
Henry’s eyes widened when he saw Adam’s hands raise in surrender. Usually Adam loved a good fight. It didn’t matter if he was right or wrong. When anyone else lost their temper with him, it was usually his green light to unleash all of his acerbic wrath. “You’re right; I shouldn’t have taken him down here. It was a misunderstanding, Fabrice.”
Henry’s jaw dropped at the sudden stroke of humility exhibited by his oldest friend.
Fabrice waved off the apology. “How could you have known? You were only doing as the law ordered. Though, the next time the sheriff wants to lock me up, I wouldn’t say no to a nightlight and a pillow.”
Adam’s mouth tightened, but he didn’t bite back. “Let me get your coat,” he said before he left the three.
Henry saw how carefully Adam watched Belle, and the unprecedented respect he doled out for her father. “Take your time, Adam.” Henry put his hand on the old man’s elbow to steady him as they walked slowly down the stone corridor toward the steps. “Tell me about yourselves. You live in the West Village. You make music boxes.” Then he turned his attention to Belle. “How about you?”
“He’s an inventor, too,” Belle chimed in. “He’s a genius.”
Henry inclined his head to Belle. “I was actually asking about you. I already had a pleasant chat with your father earlier.”
Belle brushed the cobwebs off her father’s back. “Oh. I’m a caretaker. I do in-home nursing.”
Fabrice coughed three raspy times before puffing his chest out with pride. “My Belle is the best nurse in all the villages in all of Avondale, even though she’s vastly underpaid. She treats sick folk with no health insurance on the weekends, but she’s too modest to tell you that.”
Belle rolled her eyes with a small smile. “Oh, Dad.”
Henry’s gaze was thoughtful. “I’m sorry to hear you’ve fallen on tough times.”
Belle held tight to her father’s hand. “They wouldn’t be so tough if the sheriff didn’t tax us to pieces. People can’t afford in-home care as much, so my hours aren’t enough to get us through anymore.”
A smile danced in Henry’s blue eyes, as it always did when he was scheming up mischief for the greater good. “Are you available to take on a new patient?”
Belle paused, her chestnut eyebrow arching. “I am. What do you need?”
“It’s not me. It’s your father’s prison warden.” Henry glanced up the stone steps to make sure he wasn’t overheard. “Adam is my oldest friend, but he’s got some quirks.”
Belle narrowed her eyes at Henry. “That’s a nice way to put it. In the village, we call it being an entitled jackass.”
Henry snorted, taking in her sass with a measured dose of humor. “Yes, well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. You know of his curse?”
“Sure. Everyone knows what Malaura did to him.”
“Adam’s isolated himself here. Won’t let anyone in to clean. And he hears voices. Thinks his household staff were changed into teapots and coatracks and such.”
Belle’s eyebrows rose. “And were they?”
Henry blinked at her, his arms folded over his chest. “No, miss. Of course not. Adam is unwell. He needs someone to take care of him. He has medication he refuses to take. He has only me in his life now, and my patience isn’t what it used to be, nor is my available time enough to look after him as he needs.”
“You want me to work for Adam?”
“Actually, I beg of you to work for Adam, and I’ll pay you a ridiculous sum of money to put up with him.” He motioned around the castle. “This place is unsanitary, so it wouldn’t be just for nursing, but for housekeeping duties, as well. I know that isn’t in your normal job description, but he won’t let a cleaning service in the front door. Believe me, I’ve tried.”
“Well, I used to clean houses when I was working my way through school.” Belle dropped her father’s hand, a lump forming in her throat. “How much money?”
“If you’ll promise to stay even when he’s difficult? Name your price, then double it. That’s what I’d pay to get my best friend the help he needs.” He glanced between Fabrice and Belle, noticing how they were constantly taking turns guarding each other. “Wouldn’t you do the same for your father?”
Without skipping a beat, Belle replied, “I would do anything for my family.” Then, taking a breath, she nodded. “Even take on a more challenging patient like Mr. Fontaine.”
Fabrice shook his head. “No, Belle. We’ll find a way. We always do. He’s rough, and there’s anger there that’s set in deep. You shouldn’t have to be around someone like that.”
Her hand slipped into her father’s and squeezed, but she didn’t drop eye contact with Henry. “I want a contract, and I need the first payment up front. There’s no point in working to pay the bills if our home is taken away from us before the first paycheck comes in.”
“Fair point. He needs round-the-clock care. I can’t be here all the time, and I’ll sleep easier if I know someone is here to watch him.”
Belle kept raising and lowering her chin – her constant battle between bravery and decorum. “If you’re asking me to give up my other clients and move in, you’ll have to replace my wages.”
“Try me,” Henry challenged playfully, a smile teasing his sculpted lips.
Belle’s voice came out quiet but unwavering, with a hint of both shame and pride. “I make twenty-seven grand a year right now.”
Henry rubbed the nape of his neck. “I shouldn’t have told you to double it.”
Belle swallowed hard and touched a lock of her hair that the wind had knocked loose from the sloppy bun. “It’s alright. We’ve gotten by so far just fine with the job I have now.”
Henry shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “I meant I should’ve told you to triple it. You can’t get by on that. How does a hundred thousand grab you?”
Belle stood stock-still – a deer caught in headlights. “You can’t be serious. What are you expecting me to do for him for a hundred grand? I only do in-home care. Cleaning and cooking is fine, but I’m not a geisha on the side.”
Henry chuckled at the firmness of her frown. “I never assumed otherwise. It’s for in-home care plus housekeeping duties. It might seem like a lot of money now, but after a week dealing with Adam, I’m sure you’ll demand a raise.” His eyes grew serious. “Ask me for a raise before you up and quit on him. I mean it. He’s gone through fourteen housekeepers in less than ten years, and I’m not sure how many in-home nurses. He’s… difficult. But I’ve got a feeling about you. I think you might be just what this house needs.” Henry extended his hand to Belle, willing her to release her father’s grip to take him up on his offer.
Belle stared at the prince’s hand for a few moments, weighing the sizeable pros and cons. The thing that tipped it was when her father coughed into his sleeve. He needed medicine they couldn’t afford.
Belle rolled her shoulders back and gripped Henry’s hand. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”