Chapter 17
ELLA
MAIER MANOR
My body won’t stop trembling as I trek home.
What had I been thinking, going out into the forest alone like that?
It was foolish. Hunters, Jacob said they were.
But they’re so much more than that. I just hope no one saw me with them.
I can’t imagine what Father would do if he knew. Scandalous, the whole business.
My flesh burns like it’s on fire, a thousand prickles stabbing, trying to poke through my skin as I enter the house.
The whole experience is enough to make me want to crawl into bed and try to forget every moment of it.
I slip inside the manor through the kitchen door and pour myself a cup of cool water.
“You all right, Ella?” Cook asks, not once slowing down as she kneads her dough. She has been working twice as hard ever since Stepmother threatened to find a replacement.
“I don’t know,” I say, sinking onto the wooden bench at the table.
“You look flushed…and what’s all over your dress?”
Slowly, I set down the mug, the cool water clearing my thoughts. I forgot about the beast’s blood—Scarlet’s blood—staining my clothes. My pulse starts pounding all over again. What do I say? No one will believe me. I hardly believe it myself. What if the servants think I killed someone?
“I fell on a rocky section by the forest edge,” I lie, rising from my seat just as the head housekeeper, Gertrud, enters, giving me a raised-eyebrow scowl.
“Scratched myself up dreadfully. Think I’ll clean up.
There are some men who should come by soon.
Gertrud, if they call, make sure they’re comfortable with refreshments, and let me know the instant that they arrive. ”
“As you wish,” she says. “I wouldn’t let the mistress see you in such a state, though.”
I duck out of the kitchens and race to my room, closing the door behind me.
I’ve always been the perfect daughter, followed the rules, and never had a reason to lie or hide the truth.
Mother’s last request to me was to promise to be good, and that has never been hard until now.
Everything is changing and changing fast.
I yank off my dress and toss it into the fire. I don’t need anyone questioning where the blood came from. Especially my new stepmother.
I pour fresh water into a basin on my dresser and wash myself down. Then I quickly brush out my long hair and slip on a new dress, robin’s-egg blue with gold ribbon edging along the sides. I stare at myself in the reflection glass. Pale skin and blue eyes stare back at me.
I look like I saw a ghost.
Except what I saw is far worse.
A flash of fingers stretching out of talons shudders through my mind. Scarlet transforming back into the beast. Jacob slicing off its head.
Those brothers are hiding something. But what?
As I head downstairs, a million questions chase me, begging for answers. I gather bandages and ointments from the kitchen pantry and ask Cook to prep refreshments for my visitors. I’m hurrying down the corridor when I find Marianne coming out of Father’s study.
“Where are you going, looking so fine?” she asks. “Expecting someone?”
I bite my lip. What was she speaking to Father about? A knock on the front door interrupts us.
“Well, well.” Marianne grins, brown eyes glittering. “You are waiting for a visitor. Who is it?”
I ignore her and hurry to the front parlor. I barely sit down when the footman ushers the two brothers inside.
My eyes are drawn to Jacob. There’s a rugged dangerousness to him.
Blood stains his shirt and trousers. Strands of his hair hang over parts of his face, and those eyes, they’re piercing blue, sharp as the tip of his sword when he focuses on me.
My chest stumbles for a heartbeat, screaming to tell him to leave and shut him out of my life forever.
But the stronger part craves to be near him.
I stand and curtsy politely as if we hadn’t been out in the woods slaughtering beasts that should never exist.
“Greetings,” I say in my most dignified voice.
The brothers bow as Marianne comes in to join us. She smiles sweetly, curtsying.
Once introductions are made, I explain the situation. “My father recently returned with the great news that he has wed, and through it, I’ve gained two sisters.”
“Congratulations are in order, I see,” Wilhelm says, while Jacob merely scowls at Marianne, looking anything but congratulatory.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Marianne says.
“If you will excuse us,” I tell my stepsister. “We have some business to discuss privately.”
She lifts her eyebrows at my audacity to be unchaperoned with two men, but then a mischievous smile breaks across her lips. “Don’t be too naughty,” she whispers into my ear and squeezes my hand before leaving.
I want to call her back and explain this is purely a non-romantic meeting, but I can’t tell her the true purpose of why they’re here.
Wilhelm settles into the chair opposite me while Jacob wanders, studying the paintings and bookshelves.
Two servants slip into the room, depositing slices of cake and coffee.
“I need you to be honest with me,” I begin, forgoing formalities. After what we went through in the forest, protocol seems trivial. “What exactly do you do?”
Wilhelm starts heaping his plate with food. “We’re commissioned by the king to make your village safe again.”
“Jacob mentioned that,” I say darkly. “But something tells me that’s only part of the story.”
Jacob snorts in agreement. He picks a book off the shelf, flipping through the pages. I expect him to be rough with it, but he handles it with the touch of one who’s in love with the written word.
“You have quite the collection here,” he says. “Someone in your family reads?”
“Those were my mother’s and now mine.” I swallow, hating that I’m speaking about her in the past tense. It sounds so final, so real. “My parents met at a festival. She was a performer in the show. The two fell in love. They always said they were destined to meet.”
At the word destined, Jacob’s head snaps up. “Do you believe in destiny? In true love?”
My face burns at such a personal question. How do I respond to that? Earlier today, Father accused Mother of being a witch. Where is that love now?
“I want to believe in it. Even if it was only for a short time. And you?”
“Love isn’t part of my fate.” Jacob gently closes the book like he’s shutting away a dream. “Our father passed a while back. Maybe there was love in their life, but he left my mother penniless with Wilhelm and me to take care of the family. It’s a sorry situation. One I don’t plan on repeating.”
“How dreadful. I suppose I understand a little of what you’re both going through.”
Jacob nods, but moves to stare out the window.
“Well, this is getting uncomfortable.” Wilhelm clears his throat. “Let’s get back to the matter at hand.”
“Excellent idea,” Jacob says, coming round to sit next to his brother.
“You have our gratitude for your help in the forest. We have a list of creatures we’re trying to seek out that we believe are endangering your village.
If there was a time when we needed your assistance again, would you be willing? ”
I stare between the two. Ever since Father returned home with a new family, I’ve felt like I don’t have a place anymore. But these brothers are offering me something that sparks life in my chest again. “If it means I can save people, I want to help.”
“Wonderful.” Wilhelm grabs a slice of cake and devours it. He snatches up another, grinning. “For the road.”
“Of course.” I laugh, but then dare ask the question that’s been haunting me ever since the millpond. “Do you think this transformation process of human to wolf is contagious?”
“Absolutely not,” Wilhelm says. “We believe people are born with it.”
I let out a long breath. “That’s a relief.”
The two exit into the hallway, tossing on their cloaks. On a whim, I grab the book Jacob had been looking at and hurry after him.
“Jacob.” I touch his shoulder, trying not to notice the firm muscles rippling beneath his coat. “Would you like to borrow it? It’s one of my favorites, and well, you seemed interested.”
“It would be an honor.” He takes the book and then wraps his fingers around my hand in a reverence that has me gasping.
His lips brush my skin, lingering longer than is appropriate.
A shiver rolls through me, slow and sweet.
And I swear, for a heartbeat, it’s like the world is holding its breath with me.
Wilhelm clears his throat, shattering the silence. “Ready to go?” he asks briskly.
Jacob nods, releasing my hand, but his gaze never wavers from mine. With a bow, the two leave. Breathlessly, I peek out the window, watching them slip onto their horses and ride down the lane. Soft white snowflakes flutter from the gray sky.
“Ella, who was that?” my stepmother’s voice booms from behind me. Fear clenches my chest. Slowly, I face her, swallowing hard. “Did we have callers?”
“Just business I needed to attend to.”
“Business? What sort of business?”
“Hunting. I’ve been allowing the Grimm brothers to hunt on our lands in exchange for money. Herman collected it.”
“How utterly shocking. A woman isn’t to conduct business.”
Marianne slips in beside her mother. “I’m sure Cinderella didn’t realize what she was doing. After all, she’s been without a mother to guide her.”
“True,” Stepmother says, softening. “But from now on, I insist that your father take care of all business with those men. Your meddling has caused us enough problems.”
I want to scream at her, but manage, “Of course, Frau von Maier.”
“Call me Stepmother.” She lifts her chin, eyes running over my figure in a calculating gaze.
“Your father said you’re twenty years old.
” At my nod, she continues, “The perfect time to marry, and not to poor commoners like those two men. You’re pretty enough to do better.
Perhaps pretty enough to bring in a nice dowry. ”
“Marry? But—”
“Don’t vex yourself over trivialities,” she interrupts. “I’ll look into the matter. We can’t wait too long. You’re practically a spinster. Now go away. I don’t want to see you until dinner.”