“Of course you are. But it will be alright. Udolpho is … I won’t lie, it’s dismal. But we’ll be together.” He reached out and grabbed my hand. “I believe we can weather anything together, you and I.”
I did smile at that. “I agree.”
“Good. Then there’s nothing to worry about.” Henri sighed. “But I will miss my creations.”
“Creations?”
Henri nodded. “Surely you’ve seen them. I take an interest in taxidermy.”
My eyes widened. “Those are your doing?”
Henri chuckled. “Of course. Who did you expect created them?”
I pursed my lips, unsure. They weren’t to my taste, but I’d come to enjoy the scenes over time. “They’re dead animals. Isn’t that rather morbid?”
“I suppose you could see it that way. I prefer to think of it as giving them a second life.”
We slowed as we approached one such scene. A fox sprang from tall grass, upon an unsuspecting hedgehog. The fox’s paws were outstretched, its mouth open in a snarl. I reached out and ran my hand through the red and white fur of its tail. “Yes, but you’re posing dead bodies.”
Henri sighed. “I know it’s hard to understand, but creating these makes me feel … I don’t know, closer to the natural world. I think sometimes we forget that behind teatime and etiquette and fancy dresses, we’re all animals, a part of nature. This grounds me.” He set a hand on the fox’s head, almost affectionately. “I’m honoring their lives by preserving them. It makes me feel good to do something for these creatures. They’re beautiful and deserve to be admired in death, not just thrown on a rubbish heap after their meat’s been cut away.”
I nodded slowly. I didn’t want to make Henri feel like he had to defend himself. If this was a hobby he enjoyed and it gave him some satisfaction, I wanted to support it. “I like the bats in the library. I think they add a touch of whimsy.”
Henri glanced up and smiled. “Thank you. I’ve always liked bats. Very misunderstood creatures.” He sighed as he straightened. “Most of the animals I work with are misunderstood.”
For a moment, I imagined that Henri looked rather sad, but I wasn’t sure why. Was it because he would be leaving them behind? They had to trust the family leasing the château would respect them and not disturb them.
We began to walk along the hall once more.
I cleared my throat. I hated to bother Henri with something so personal, but I didn’t see any other way around it. “I wonder if you could do a favor for me?”
Henri lifted an eyebrow.
“I would like to write to Monsieur Valancourt, to apprise him of our plans. He has a right to know.”
Henri breathed in deeply and let it out with a sigh. He squeezed my hand. “I suppose it’s only fair.”
I blinked. “Really?”
“Well, he doesn’t have much of a chance now that you won’t be living in the same country soon.” Henri pulled me to a stop and drew me to him so that we were face-to-face. “And anyway, haven’t I earned your heart by now?”
I put my free hand on his chest. “You may be getting closer.”
“Yeah?” he asked, inching his face toward mine. His eyes glanced down at my lips.
“I mean, I do like it when you hold me.”
“Is that all?”
I swallowed hard as his lips brushed against mine. My body leaned into him, and I nearly gasped when he pulled away and continued up the hall without me.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, casually.
I glared at his back. “Tease.”
“Oh,I’mthe tease?”
“I’ve got that for you, my lord,” a handsome man in his early twenties told me, grinning as he lifted my heavy trunk with ease and handed it up to the carriage driver.
