“Aren’t you afraid? You said in confession that you’re afraid of me. And I saw the panic on your face when you learned we would marry tonight.”
“I was caught by surprise.” She glared at him. “And it occurred to me that I’ve known you only five days. There is too much I don’t know about you.”
He snorted. “There is even more that I don’t know about you.” He lifted a goblet as if to make a toast. “To the beginning of our life together, and to the end of our secrets.”
Her face grew even more pale. Now he really had frightened her.
“Gabriella,” he addressed the maid. “Please bring some extra blankets.”
“Yes, my lord.” Gabriella ran for the exit to her small room.
Leo drained his goblet. “I will not be sharing your bed. Even an accidental touch might kill you.”
Ana approached the table. “Why are you acting like an ogre?”
“Because I am one.” He refilled his goblet.
She shook her head. “You’re a man, and a terribly confusing one at that. On one hand, you try to frighten me and push me away. But at the same time, you claim you want to bed me, and you press my hand against your—” She motioned toward his breeches.
“Cock?” He took a drink.
She narrowed her eyes. “Lightning rod.”
He choked. After a minute of coughing and sputtering, he wiped the moisture from his eyes and found her calmly filling two plates with cold chicken, cheese, and strawberries.
“Ana, you should be afraid of me.”
“Why? You’ve told me over and over that you’ll never harm me. Shouldn’t I believe you?”
He winced. How could he explain that he had two warring factions going on inside him? One that longed for her to trust him and love him, and another that feared if she did, he wouldn’t be able to resist her. And then he would end up hurting her or even killing her.
He was the one who was afraid, dammit. And the only solution was to keep her at a distance.
He sat at the table. “Tomorrow morning I will investigate the poisoning.”
“Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you. A scullery maid in the kitchens did it. She was the second assassin’s lover, so I believe it was an act of revenge on her part and not even related to the third assassin.”
Leo sat back, staring at her as she nibbled on a piece of chicken. “You know all this for a fact?”
She nodded. “I have an eyewitness who saw her. You needn’t worry about her. My father told me after the wedding ceremony that he would take care of the matter so we could relax and … enjoy ourselves.”
Enjoy? Leo snorted. He couldn’t imagine a wedding night more awkward than this. “I would like to question your eyewitness.”
She winced, then gulped down some wine. “He’s not available at the moment.”
Leo tapped a gloved finger on the table while he studied her. “Is he one of your spies?”
She nodded and bit into a strawberry.
“And he works in the kitchen?”
She nodded again.
Leo thought back. Hadn’t Brody told him she had talked to the ghost of a boy who had died years ago in the kitchen? He had to be the ghost who had warned her in the Great Hall.
She ripped a small loaf of bread in half and offered him a piece. “May I ask you a question now?”
“Yes.” He topped his bread with a slice of cheese and took a bite.
“Why are you so determined to keep my father and me safe? Why are you endangering yourself in our stead and risking the wrath of the king?”
Leo swallowed hard. Because it was the right thing to do. The noble thing. Because she deserved to live long and be happy. He could give her countless reasons, but deep in his heart he knew the truth.
The Beast wanted to be loved.
And it had to be her. He cared about her.
He snorted. He wasn’t even sure who she was.
The dressing room door opened, and Gabriella eased inside, giving him a fearful look.
He stood and motioned to the floor between the table and the bed. “While you lay out the blankets, I’ll put away my clothes and check on the guards.”
“Yes, my lord.” The maid scurried out of his way as he brought his knapsack into the dressing room.
He tossed it in the corner next to the knapsack he’d brought from camp, then headed through the maid’s room to the servants’ corridor. There he found Jensen and three more guards.
After they bowed and swore they would be extra vigilant, he returned to the dressing room. As he opened the door, he spotted Ana and froze. She had moved close to an upholstered chair. She glanced quickly over her shoulder at the maid whose back was turned to her as she spread blankets on the floor.
Ana leaned over to peer closely at the upholstery. Her fingers skimmed over the fabric, then with a look of relief, she straightened. As her gaze lifted, Leo stepped to the side out of view.
More secrets? Dammit.
He poured fresh water into the basin to wash his face and hands, then dried off with a linen towel. His gaze drifted around the room, taking in the shelves lined with Ana’s gowns, a stack of folded white shifts, another stack of nightgowns, a basket filled with ribbons and pins for her hair. In the middle of the room, a large copper tub sat with a spigot for draining the water into buckets.
He smiled to himself. This was where she took her infamous long baths. Nearby, a small table stood with more baskets containing scented soap, lavender, and rose petals. He lifted a glass bottle and uncorked it to take a sniff. Scented oil.