Beauty’s Beast(61)
Author: Amanda Ashley

Taking a deep, calming breath, he looked at the wizard. “How long will you be staying?”

Caddaric glanced at Edith before answering. “I’m not sure. Do you wish me to leave?”

“No. If it would not be an imposition, I should very much like for you to stay until . . . until I can no longer take care of my own affairs. When that time comes, I would consider it a great favor if you would make certain that my wishes are carried out as planned.”

“You needn’t worry,” Caddaric said. “I shall stay as long as necessary.”

“My thanks.”

“I only wish I could do more for you.”

“Nothing can be done for me. My only worry now is for my family.”

Caddaric looked over at Edith again. She met his gaze, a faint smile curving her lips, and then she nodded.

“You need have no fear. I have asked your mother to be my wife,” the wizard said. “And she has accepted.”

“Oh, but that’s wonderful,” Kristine exclaimed softly, and then she looked at Erik, wondering how he would take the news.

“I hope we can have your blessing,” Caddaric said.

“You have it,” Erik replied. He took his mother’s hand in his and gave it a squeeze. “I hope the two of you will be happy.”

“Thank you,” Edith replied. “We had thought to wait until . . . to wait, but now, if you have no objection, we should like to be wed tomorrow afternoon.”

“On Christmas Day,” Erik murmured. He felt a rush of guilt at having denied Kristine and the household the chance to celebrate, but he’d been so caught up in his own misery, he’d given no thought to the holiday.

Edith nodded. “And I should very much like for you to give the bride away.”

“I would be honored to do so.” Erik lifted his mother’s hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “I hope you will be happy this time.”

“I shall take good care of her,” Caddaric promised.

Erik nodded. “I know you will.” He gave his mother a hug, then stood up and crossed the floor to shake the wizard’s hand. “It will be easier for me, knowing they have someone to look after them,” he said, his voice gruff, and then, without another word, he left the room.

Edith stared after him, tears running down her cheeks. Kristine blinked back tears of her own when Caddaric knelt beside Edith and took her hands in his, and then she hurried after Erik.

She found him in his room, staring out the window. “Are you upset?” she asked. “About the marriage?”

“No, I am glad of it. My mother deserves some happiness in her life.”

“What do you mean?”

“She never loved my father, nor did he love her. It was a marriage arranged by their parents.”

Kristine placed a hand over her belly, grateful for the child she carried, for the love she felt for its father. She understood now why Lady Trevayne’s eyes had once held such sadness. She had been wed to a man she didn’t love, had seen her oldest son killed in an accident. And now Erik . . . Erik.

She crossed the floor to stand behind him, slid her arms around his waist, and laid her cheek against his back. “I love you.”

He swallowed hard as he placed his right hand over her arm. “And I love you. More than I’ve ever loved anyone else. More than my life.”

Slowly, he turned and drew her into his arms. “You are a most remarkable woman, Kristine. So lovely, so brave.”

“Brave? Me?” She shook her head. “I’m so afraid of losing you.”

He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “In spite of everything else that has happened, I am glad of this last year we’ve shared.”

It had been the worst year of his life, and the best. Before Kristine, he’d had nothing to live for, had been resigned to his fate. And then he had found her, and she had turned his life upside down. The thought of losing her was tearing him apart, and yet he would not have missed the time they had spent together. Because of her, he had known love for the first time in his life. Because of her, he had an heir. Because of her, he would not be forgotten.

“It grows late,” he said at last. “You should get some sleep.”

“In all the time we have been together, you have never stayed the night with me, my lord husband. Do you not think it is time?”

“Past time, perhaps,” he replied, amazed anew that she did not find him repulsive, that she did not turn away from the sight of his face, from the horror that was spreading over his body.

He watched her disrobe, his gaze moving lovingly over her slender form, lingering on the swell of her belly. She was beautiful, so beautiful.

She slid into bed, waiting for him to join her. Crossing the floor, he extinguished the light beside his bed, then slipped out of his shirt and trousers.

She was watching him, waiting for him, her eyes shining with love and acceptance.

He had never thought to hold her close again. With a sigh, he slid into bed beside her and drew her into his arms. She cradled him to her breast as if he were a child, her hand stroking his hair.

There were no bad dreams that night.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Erik sought out Caddaric in the morning. He found the wizard in the tower rooms he had taken for his own.

“We have more comfortable chambers than this,” Erik remarked, glancing around.

Caddaric shrugged. “Surely you must know I can make this as comfortable as I wish.”

Erik nodded. At the moment, the room was furnished with only a large desk made of dark red wood and a matching chair. The white raven perched on the windowsill.

“Have you come to speak of my marriage to your mother?”

“No.”

“It does not displease you, then?”

“I think you will be good for her,” Erik replied. He regarded the wizard a moment. “And that she will be good for you.”

“She told me of her marriage to your father, that it was not a happy one. That he was, on occasion, unkind to her.”

“Unkind? He beat her when he was angry. And when he was young, he was often angry.”

“And yet you vowed to give him an heir.”

“It was his dying wish,” Erik said flatly. “I could not deny him.”

“So, what would you have of me this day?”

“When I am fully a beast, will Charmion still have power over me?”

Caddaric frowned. “I’m not sure I understand your question.”

“You said your magic would not work on me because I was under her power. Will I still be under her power when her spell is accomplished?”