It felt like hours before they came back, and his throat was quite sore when Guinevere approached, her fingers trembling as she handed him another potion bottle. “I'm so sorry, my lord. That one must have been too much. Let's see if this one will work better.”
Alexander growled as he held his nose and drank the rest of the potion. This one, surprisingly, neither tasted like frogs nor made him want to vomit. It tasted fine, and as it settled in his stomach, there were no unpleasant side effects. Was it possible that this potion was just right?
He waited for a moment, taking a sip of tea now that he was no longer talking nonstop.
“Can you speak?” Beatrice asked after a moment.
“I believe so,” Alexander said, then closed his mouth and waited to see if the unstoppable stream of words would start again. But it didn't happen. He was able to control whether he talked or not.
That was something he hadn't taken for granted until the past couple of hours.
He never should have listened to Beatrice or Guinevere in the first place.
“Now, what was all that for?” he growled, turning to Guinevere. “It's not like it's actually going to let me talk about the sorcerer and the stupid curse he put me under.”
He stopped talking, his eyes wide. Beatrice and Guinevere grinned and hugged each other, and Dietrich clapped. “You did it,” Beatrice squealed to Guinevere.
Alexander looked at the women with an apologetic grin. “I'm sorry for doubting you,” he said. “I should have trusted you both.”
His wife shook a finger at him. “And don't you forget it,” she said. “I am almost always right, especially when it's something I find in a book.”
Alexander laughed and turned to Dietrich. “Is she always like this?” he asked.
“Unfortunately,” Dietrich said with a sigh.
Alexander stood as Beatrice approached him with a giddy grin and threw her arms around him.
“I'm so glad you can talk about it,” she said, her voice muffled by his chest.
“I am, too,” he admitted, wrapping his arms around her, leaning down, and taking a deep breath. Her hair smelled like flowers, and she fit into his arms just right.
He never wanted to let her go.
And for the first time in many years, he felt a bit of hope. Maybe he could win, and maybe he could enjoy the rest of his lifewith Beatrice. And maybe, just maybe, the feelings he had for his wife were turning into love. And that was more than he had ever dared to hope for.
Chapter twenty
Beatrice
Beatrice came down thestairs and made her way to Alexander's study. He was waiting for her at his desk, a frown on his face as he stared at the papers in front of him. They didn't have much time left, and she could tell the waiting was wearing on him. If only she could promise that it would be okay.
She sighed and made her way to him. “Hello,” she said when he didn’t seem to see her, completely lost in thought. “Are you ready for dinner?”
He looked up at her, and his eyes brightened for a moment. “Hello,” he said, running his fingers through his hair. “I would love to go to dinner with you. I need to get away from this for a minute.”
Beatrice smiled sympathetically and offered her hand as Alexander came around the side of his desk. She wasn’t sure if he would take it, but she thought maybe he could use the comfort. He stared at her hand for a moment before accepting it, his fingers twining through hers.
“I trust you had a good day,” he asked, “aside from the part where you tried to poison me?”
Beatrice giggled. “We weren’t trying to poison you,” she said. “I’m sorry that Guinevere is new at the illegal magic she practiced to try to break your curse, but really, she did the best she could.”
“I should be grateful that her best didn’t actually poison or maim me, I suppose,” Alexander said sarcastically.
Beatrice nodded in approval. “Exactly. It could have been so much worse.”
She chuckled at the look Alexander sent her way. “It’s true,” she protested. “You could have died.”
“Don’t remind me,” he said. “I’m never going to listen to you again.” But his fingers squeezed hers.
