‘No.’I thought of Yann nailing the shutters, Father’s suggestion I take a bag.‘I think he planned this.’
‘Well, then.It sounds like it’s my turn to play the part of your doting fiancé and help you escape.Feeling familiar?’
‘If you’re going to be like that, I might just stay here.’
Raleigh fell silent.‘Would you prefer to?’With his face turned away, it was impossible to tell whether he was taunting me.
‘Is that a genuine offer?’
‘The option is yours, but know that our deal will still persist.’His fingers traced the heavy fabric of my quilt, eyes raking over my mother’s careful needlework.‘If you think you can lift my curse from here, I shan’t prevent you from staying.’
It wasn’t much of a choice.We both knew I wouldn’t be able to do so from here.With a tremor, I realised he was offering me freedom, a lease on life for my final months before I allowed myself to be cursed for eternity.
I could run.Raleigh would always find me if I remained in the valley, but what if I went further?Six months was long enough to go anywhere.I could go to England, or another continent altogether.Could he really find me if I left everything behind and started afresh?I didn’t think so.Not for a long time, at least.
I would be free.
And I would live the rest of my life knowing that I had a debt to repay and that the collector could come knocking at any moment.Eternal darkness waited for me if I stayed, so I could only imagine how horrible the punishment would be if he caught up with me.Death would be a mercy.
I couldn’t do it.I had to see through my bargain.The odds were stacked against me, but so had they always been.I’d survived this long through drought and famine, I could survive this too.
‘I’ll return with you,’ I said.
Raleigh’s hand stilled on the bedspread.
‘I’ve barely made a dent in my research,’ I added, before he made the mistake of thinking this was for him.
‘Very well, but know the choice to return is yours this time.’He stood and stretched, as though he had been sitting for hours and not mere minutes, then made his way to the door.‘So you can stop insulting me every time we meet.’His fingers closed around the doorknob.‘Get ready to run.This may be loud.’
He wrenched the handle and the lock gave way with a metallic crunch.We both tensed, waiting for the frantic thumping of panicked footsteps, but there was only silence.
‘Quickly,’ Raleigh whispered.‘Juri could wake at any time.’
‘I need a candle first,’ I hissed back.On the other side of the door, darkness pooled like an entrance to the abyss.There were no windows in the hall, and no fireplaces to light the way.
‘There isn’t time.Just follow my step.’
‘I can’tseeyour step.’
This gave him pause.He furrowed his brow, and I wondered if he’d forgotten how darkness looked to humans.It had been so very long since he was human.
‘Then let me guide you,’ he said.‘I ought to be able to protect my bride.’
And suddenly he was right beside me, close enough that the lack of body warmth was disarming.He placed a guiding hand on the small of my back.To protect me?Control me?I couldn’t decide whether to lean into him or push him away.In my indecision I did neither, but fell into step with him as he crept from the room, allowing him to guide me through the sludgy darkness.
‘Left here,’ Raleigh whispered, ‘and be careful, there are stairs ahead.’
I knew there were stairs ahead: I’d climbed them nearly every day for the past twenty-five years.But I bit back my retort lest our whispers wake my father.
We crept painfully slowly down the narrow stairway.Raleigh could have easily scooped me up and carried me down.I almostwished he had.Somehow, his hand on my back felt more intimate.I could have pulled away, increased my stride, but I let him stay.The gentle pressure was there by my choosing, and so the friction that built with every step was all the more stifling.
Mercifully, Father hadn’t anticipated I would find a way out of my room.When we reached the bottom we found the front door was locked only from the inside.I waited for Raleigh to deal with the latch, then followed him out into the yawning dark.
But it wasn’t freedom waiting on the other side.Nor was it an eternity of marriage to a monstrous prince.His facial features were little more than a blur in the dark, but I’d recognise his silhouette anywhere: Yann.He stood barely yards from the door, his uninjured hand half concealed behind him, hefting something heavy I couldn’t make out.
‘Clara.’He said my name softly, stepping closer as he spoke.
‘You again,’ Raleigh said.‘How’s your hand, boy?’
