“No, thank you,” Reyna said.
“Ah, well, I am certain you will want something while you wait.” Edgar snapped his fingers. A woman in a black dress and white apron glided into the room. “Prepare a tray for our guests.”
“Of course.” She curtsied—actuallycurtsied—and then disappeared.
Beckham didn’t blink. Reyna couldn’t stop blinking.
“This way,” Edgar said.
They headed up the enormous staircase to the second floor and turned to the left where giant wooden double doors stood closed. Elaborate whorls were carved into the frame in a design that felt almost alive with little strings of holly vines and berries. Over top of the doors held a bronze sign that readThe Holly Library.She and Beckham exchanged a look at the intricacy. Normal home libraries didn’t have names. Whowasthis guy?
“Here we are.” Edgar pushed the doors open and they followed into the most spectacular room she had ever seen.
“Oh my God,” she barely breathed as she turned in a stunned circle.
“Welcome to The Holly Library,” Edgar said with a small smile as if he knew what the weight of this room did to people. “He will be in soon. Make yourself at home and I’ll have refreshments brought in.”
“Thank you,” Beckham said brusquely.
Edgar tipped his head at them before departing.
Beckham frowned. “I don’t like this.”
“I do,” she whispered.
The Holly Library was the most beautiful place she had ever seen in her entire life. Bookshelves lined the walls and stacked high across the room going up as far as the eye could see until a glass opening revealed the moon beyond. While books covered every surface, it was thevinesthemselves that were fascinating. The name of the room made sense now considering holly vines covered the stacks and threaded down amongst the books. She didn’t know how it was possible to keep them alive and not harm the books, but they looked well-tended. They looked loved.
As did the books. Tables full of them, half-opened and abandoned. Just more books and more learning and more information trapped in here. Enough for a hundred lifetimes. Athousand lifetimes.
Her mouth watered with the desire to reach out and take a book from the shelf and dig in.
“I want one,” she told Beckham with wide eyes.
“I’ll get right on that.”
Reyna’s high heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked mesmerized through the room. Her finger landed on a tome and a hiss sounded above her.
Reyna jumped back to see a black cat slink through the shadows. “Hello, friend.”
“Careful,” Beckham said. “Cats are tempestuous.”
“It’s not like I’m a bird,” Reyna said, reaching her hand out. The cat batted it away and then dashed deeper into the dark. “Well, he can’t be that bad.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Cats choose their people,” Reyna said as it if were obvious.
She should have felt like the dark depths of the library were cold and unwelcoming, but all she really felt was like she could get lost in here for a good long while and never come up for air. It was with great will power that she retreated from the confines of the stacks and returned to the center of the room where a chaise and two chairs were laid out before a large square coffee table. What an incredible place to call home. To get to cozy up in here anytime they wanted. To forget the world and all its troubles in a story. Was there anything greater than losing and finding yourself in the pages of a book?
Her finger trailed along the spine of a book on the opposite table as her mind wandered over the owner. A lover of books. A lover of knowledge. A lover of wealth, also, obviously. What would a man like this, with all his many secrets, be like?
“Good evening,” a woman said, appearing at the entrance to the library. She whisked in a tray full of treats—little finger sandwiches, delicate desserts, and piping hot tea. “My name isIsolde. It’s a pleasure to have you here. Please, have a seat. No one wants to wait without having a spot of tea.”
Reyna took a seat as Isolde settled the tray of treats on the table, then poured both Beckham and Reyna a cup of tea.
“Thank you,” Reyna said with a smile.
“Anytime, dear. It’s wonderful to have you here. It’s not often we have guests.”
