Chapter 17

“Christian,” Agnes said, entering his study finding him running his fingers over the keys of the spinet.

“Yes Agnes,” he said with a sigh. “What is it?”

“I wanted to ask you what you thought of the girl,” she ventured, feeling she already knew the answer.

With his fingers still caressing the keys he looked at her.

“She’s not worthy of me,” he said. “She’s so gruff and plain. Have you seen her hands? They’re disgusting, all chapped and scarred.”

“Oh Christian,” Agnes said, shaking her head. “You have spent one hour with her. How do you know she’s so wrong? If you close your mind to that and focus only on her looks then you’re handicapping yourself.”

“I know,” Christian yelled, slamming his fist onto the spinet keys, causing a disharmonious twang to echo throughout the room. “I know what I have to do! I’ve been doing it for almost two-hundred and fifty years!”

“I’m sorry, Christian,” Agnes said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I truly am. I don’t mean to carp and pester you, but to focus only on one aspect of her instead of the whole person you might as well send her home now and wait to be alone.”

Christian sobbed openly in front of Agnes, accepting her pity and comfort. Of all the servants still left in his house she was the only one he would ever allow himself to be open with.

Since the beginning of this curse, she had been his confidant; she had been the only one of them who did not try to run from it. She had stayed by his side, doing all she could to ease his suffering and calm his rage at being changed into this beast.

Those servants who had run had quickly found that like himself, they were cursed as well. The further they ran, the worse their pain. In the end they had to return, it was the only way the pain would end. When they did return, there were years of hatred towards him; hatred that manifested in attempts on his life, which only succeeded in proving that he could not die.

After the anger had passed, there had followed years of deep sorrow, eventually they had all accepted the curse as he had. Returning to their normal routines, existing day by day. As time wore on, servants began to disappear, first one at a time, then in groups.

“Christian,” Agnes said, looking imploringly at him. “Christian, what really went wrong?”

“Yesterday she seemed perfect, but today I found out she’s useless. She has no skills as a lady whatsoever, in fact the term ‘lady’ is wasted on her,” he sneered.

“Sir?” Agnes asked, confused. Christian had been so excited to meet Anna this morning. “Tell me exactly what happened.”

“It is nothing,” he said, turning away from her. “I just don’t think she is the right one.”

Knowing there was more to it, Agnes crossed her arms, a move he could not miss.

“Christian… what happened?” Agnes implored seeing tears streaking his fur.

“She read a passage from Thurlow that… that disturbed me,” Christian said, trying to hide his sadness. “It was like she knew everything about me already.”

“You know that is not possible,” Agnes encouraged, patting his hand. “She only just arrived last night.

“I think you are looking for a reason for her to be the wrong one,” she continued, “just give her a chance.”

“I don’t have time for a chance,” he said, anguish tightening his voice. “You know as well as I do that there is less than a year to find a woman to love.

“And that girl,” he said, his voice rising as he pointed at the door, “is most definitely not her! Send her home!”

“Christian,” Agnes said, her voice taking on the tone of an irritated mother. “You will give her a chance!”

She held up her hand to stop him from interrupting her tirade.

“You yourself just said that you have less than a year, and today a footman and two grooms slipped into nothingness. We’re all beginning to fade Christian, and soon there will be no one left to care for you,” she finished, wiping her own tears away.

“Fine,” he said, sounding resolved to a disgusting task, “I will give her a chance.”

“Was there anything else about her that bothered you?” she asked, wanting to know how to help.

“Anna is so plain and more suited to a kitchen than a drawing room,” Christian said. “I don’t know why you think she would be worthy of me.”

“You promised to give her a chance,” Agnes said in admonishment.

Christian sulked deep into himself.

“Now don’t do that,” Agnes said, feeling the magic tingle in the air. Whenever Christian was angry or upset, his magic would spark off a series of events that could become quite dangerous to the people around him.

“You need to take what little time you have and really get to know her,” she advised. “Your choice will not only affect you, but all of us. So please, please make the right one.”

“I will keep Anna here for now,” Christian said flabbergasted. “I’ve already said as much, I just wish she had more to offer.”