Depravity, A Beauty and the Beast Novel(39)

“Then tell the man at the door I’ll be back with food for you.” He opened his mouth to protest. “I won’t go in. I’ll just hand it to him. Eat it all.”

Before he could object, I spun away toward the market district. There, I bought three pastries with the coin I had left from the prior day. I ate one pastry myself and handed two to the very stoic looking guard at the back door.

“The second one’s for you if you’ll ensure my father eats his portion,” I said.

The man’s lips twitched slightly, and I hoped that meant he agreed. I thanked him then went on my way.

The walk through the market street was peaceful so early in the morning with only the scents of baking bread to keep me company. The mill lay silent as I passed it and started my trek over the bridge.

When I reached the edge of the estate, I checked the traps I’d left overnight and was disheartened to see they remained empty. The bait I’d placed was gone. I took them down and headed into the estate.

Instead of a note, a large stag waited on the butcher block, along with an empty barrel and a burlap bag of salt. I frowned at it all. I’d watched Bryn put up salted meat when I was younger but had no idea about the particulars.

Going to the office, I paged through the books for over an hour before I found one talking about salted pork. Shrugging, I used that as a guide to butcher as best I could. I was used to skinning and cleaning small animals. A larger one proved more time consuming and messy. Blood dotted my clothes and smeared my forearms. Before I was halfway through, I lit the fire to start water heating. I would need to wash out my shirt.

Soon the barrel was full of meat, salt, and brine. I tapped the lid in place and strained to move it to the food pantry. There I found waxed cloth which I used to package the remaining meat I meant to carry home. The large carcass glistening on the butcher’s block daunted me. I had no idea what to do with it. I couldn’t just dump it outside the door as I had with the ash and debris.

“Sir,” I called politely, thinking the title better than beast. “What am I to do with the remains?”

A dark mist swirled into the kitchen almost immediately, and I listened to the scrape of his feet on the floor. I wondered if he’d been so close all along. A few rustles of movement and then silence. The mist only lasted a moment and when it cleared, the carcass was gone, leaving only the bloodstained block.

I scrubbed the surface with a brush I found then rinsed the top thoroughly. My arms grew tired from all of the water I needed to pump. Finally, I moved to the heated water and poured it into the large tub along with some cold water. Having been foolish once, I wasn’t about to bathe again. Instead, I stripped from my shirt, knowing my bindings hid the important bits, and washed my arms and face. My shirt went into the dirty water. As I was rinsing it, the mists returned. I wasn’t surprised.

“Tell me you’ll stay,” the beast said softly. I could feel his eyes on me as I rose and set my shirt over the back of a chair near the fire.

“Tell me why you want me to,” I said, bending to scoop the used water from the tub with a smaller bucket. He remained silent as I moved from the tub to the door several times. I rinsed the tub and turned it over to sit on. He moved up behind me and touched my hair.

“Will you return tomorrow?” he asked instead of answering my question.

“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, thinking of my father. I needed to speak with him about why he went to the Whispering Sisters. I felt certain it was in a teaching capacity, but why hide it?

The beast growled behind me.

“The next day, then.”

I nodded, knowing we needed the food, and I would not be able to stay away for long.



When Father left the next morning, I didn’t pretend to sleep. Instead, I rose with him. There were no oats left. I’d only been able to purchase a small amount, and Bryn had salted the meat to put in storage for hard times. I wondered how much harder our time needed to be before we could eat the meat but didn’t protest her decision. However, the storage left Father and me with nothing to eat. He didn’t say anything, and neither did I.

We left together, and I walked with him all the way to the Whispering Sisters then told him I would return with a pastry. He nodded and went inside.

Using my last copper, I bought him the pastry fresh from the nearest baker’s oven. The glaze ran on my hands, and I quickly licked it off as I walked back to my father’s place of employment. The guard didn’t offer to take the pastry. Instead, he opened the door and nodded for me to enter.

My stomach dipped with excitement. To see inside the house was something I’d never imagined. They catered only to male guests, and the only females allowed were those employed there. I kept my enthusiasm from my face as I stepped inside.