Beastly Beauty

Twenty-Seven

Beau had seen fancy needlework before.

He’d seen lace collars that cost more than most people earned in a decade. Silk frock coats embroidered with roses so lifelike, it looked as if petals would fall from them. Gowns embellished with gemstones and pearls. But he’d never seen anything as beautifully made as the needlework before him.

Using a variety of stitches—some small and straight, others swirling and twining—the embroiderer had created a diabolically detailed architectural drawing. In the center of the dark blue satin stood an elegantly columned city hall, with wide stone steps and a soaring tower. In front of it was a tree-lined square with a fountain in its center. The glimmering silver city also boasted a university, with domed and spired buildings, a hospital, a school, a market hall, shops, and cafés.

Beau knelt down and ran his hand over the stitches. Who made this? he wondered. Arabella?Why would she want to hide it?

At that instant, a movement caught his eye. A flash of blue from across the room. Beau froze; he lifted his gaze. The mirror stood there, propped against a wall. He looked directly into it.

There was someone in the glass.

Standing right behind him.