How to Tame a Beast in Seven Days

by Kerrelyn Sparks

  No gasp of pain. He sat beside her, wondering if he dared touch her bare skin. But if he ended up hurting her, then he really would feel like a Beast.

  “I enjoyed our luncheon together,” he whispered to her.

  She glanced at her father, who was busily slurping down soup, then whispered back, “I enjoyed it, too.”

  “Really? I was afraid I might have shocked you.”

  Her gaze flickered to his lap before bouncing back to his face. “I’m quite all right.” She grabbed a loaf from the nearby basket and tore off a hunk. “Would you like a piece of bread?”

  He accepted it. “Shall we share it like before?”

  Her cheeks bloomed a pretty pink as she tore off a second piece. “Not now.”

  “Later then?” He leaned closer. “Shall I come see you?”

  “I—” She stiffened suddenly, her eyes wide and focused in front of her. “Chris—” She glanced quickly at Leo, then tore a piece of crust off her bread. “Crispy.”

  What the hell? She was staring again at an empty space in front of the table. Chilly air wafted toward Leo.

  He tensed. “Ana?”

  Her hands flinched, crushing the bread. “D-don’t eat the soup.”

  “What?” He glanced down at his bowl.

  She jumped up from her chair and grabbed her father’s hand as he brought another spoonful of soup to his mouth. “Stop.” She looked at General Harden. “Please stop.”

  The duke set his spoon down. “The soup?”

  She nodded. “It’s only the tureen for our table.”

  Leo rushed over to her father and the general. Their faces were turning ashen. The general’s hand trembled as he dropped his spoon on the table.

  Dammit. Leo was grateful that Ana was safe. But he wasn’t so sure about her father and the general. They had halfway finished their bowls of poisoned soup.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  “Men,” Luciana muttered to herself as she paced across her small room in the tower. At the first sign of trouble, they always wanted to isolate her here like she was some sort of delicate flower that might wilt at the first sign of danger. Very aggravating, especially when she was the one who had alerted them of the danger in the first place. Now she didn’t know how her father or the general was faring. She didn’t even know what Leo was doing.

  She stopped at the window that overlooked the wall walk. I should be out there helping Leo catch the assassin. The next time she saw him, she’d let him know that when it came time for them to marry, she would not accept the role of a do-nothing, know-nothing, say-nothing wife.

  And if he was afraid that touching her might hurt her, she’d just take the matter into her own hands. The next time she saw him, she’d touch him wherever she wanted.

  “I’m not going to live my life afraid.” She winced as soon as the words came out because she was afraid. Afraid that her father was dying. Surely, if he was, he would ask her to be by his side?

  With a groan, she started pacing again. How could she bear to lose her father? She’d known him for only a few weeks.

  After she’d stopped her father from finishing his bowl of soup, he’d stood up to make an announcement to all the people in the Great Hall. An important matter of state had suddenly come up, and he needed to confer with the Lord Protector and general. Everyone else was to remain and enjoy the feast. Then he’d ordered Jensen to take her to the tower while he and the other men rushed off to his private rooms.

  “Men,” she grumbled once again.

  “Does that include me?” a young voice asked.

  She whirled to find Christopher standing by the window. Smiling, she rushed toward him. “How could I be angry with you? You’re my hero!”

  Christopher grinned. “Well, you did make me a knight.”

  “That’s right, Sir Christopher.” She curtsied, which made him grin even wider. “I am deeply indebted to you. Thank you so much.”

  He ducked his head, blushing.

  “Do you have any news? Is my father all right?”

  Christopher nodded. “He has a stomachache, but the physician says that he’ll live.”

  “Oh, thank the goddesses.” Luciana made the sign of the moons.

  Christopher gave her a curious look. “Tatiana told me you’re from the Isle of Moon?”

  “Yes.” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I was sent there as a baby. I didn’t even know I had a twin sister till a few weeks ago.”

  Christopher stuck out his bottom lip. “I was a little mad at first that you had tricked me. But Tatiana said you and the duke would be killed if anyone found out.”

  Luciana nodded. “I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you. But I’m glad you know the truth now and that you’re friends again with my sister.”

  Christopher smiled shyly. “I have two new friends now.”

  “That is true. Is the general all right, too?”

  “Yes. His son took him back to his tent. I don’t think they liked our physician.” Christopher wrinkled his nose. “I don’t like him, either. His stuff is nasty. It made the duke throw up.”

  Luciana grimaced. It did sound bad, but perhaps it had been the best way to get the poison out of her father’s stomach. “Do you know where the Lord Protector is? Is he hunting down the assassin?”

  Christopher shook his head. “He was busy talking with your father. But he doesn’t need to do any hunting. I know who poisoned the soup. I saw her. That’s how I knew—”

  “Her? The assassin is a female?”

  “It was Rowena. One of the scullery maids. I think she did it because she was angry. Dax was her boyfriend.”

  “Oh, I see.” So the assassin who had killed himself was Rowena’s lover. Luciana bit her lip. The poisoning could have been an act of revenge. Rowena might not be the last assassin after all.

  “I’ll let Leo know.” Luciana smiled to herself. “It’ll irritate him no end that my spies are better than his.”

  Christopher grinned. “Yes, we are!”

  “Another excellent spy reporting in,” Tatiana announced, and they turned to find her standing by the bed.

  “Hi, Tatiana!” Christopher bounced over to her.

  She patted the boy ghost on the back. “You saved my papa’s life, you know.”

  Christopher blushed once again.

  “How is Father doing?” Luciana asked.

  “He’s expected to make a full recovery,” Tatiana said. “Mama wanted me to tell you so you wouldn’t worry.”

  “Thank you.”

  Tatiana gave her a sympathetic look. “And I’m supposed to warn you that the physician is on his way here.”

  “Why?” Luciana asked. “I didn’t eat any of the soup.”

  “Papa doesn’t know that. He’s afraid you could be sick, too.”

  Luciana groaned. “If they would just let me see him—”

  A knock sounded on the door, and Jensen called out, “My lady, the physician is here to see you.”

  Christopher shuddered. “He’s nasty. I don’t want to see him again,” he whispered, then vanished.

  Tatiana grimaced. “Prepare yourself.”

  “How bad can it be?” Luciana’s only experience with a healer was the sister at the convent who was renowned for her expertise and pleasant manner. But the gagging face her sister was making seemed to indicate a different story here at Vindemar. She swallowed hard and unlocked the door.

  Jensen regarded her with a look of sympathy. “The physician is here. Master Wormwood.”

  “I have no need of a physi—”

  “Stand aside, man,” a gravelly voice ordered Jensen. “This is a matter of life and death.”

  “I’m not dying,” Luciana began as Jensen stepped aside to reveal a portly man in a filthy tan robe that ended in tatters above dirty feet encased in leather sandals.

  His eyes were black beads, embedded in a puffy red face. Beneath his red button nose, his greasy mustache descended into a long, scraggly beard. Long hanks of hair were pla
stered across the top of his balding head. His looks were bad enough, but the stench emanating off him nearly bowled her over.

  She coughed, her eyes watering.

  “Aha! A sure sign the poison is at work,” Master Wormwood announced. He strode toward her, his smell wafting ahead of him like a sulfuric cloud.

  Instinctively, Luciana reeled back, but that only gave him access to her room. He marched inside while Jensen hovered by the door, frowning.

  “I’m not sick!” She rushed over to the window to inhale some fresh air.

  “Ah, but you are.” Master Wormwood studied her, nodding his head knowingly. “I can tell that the poison has taken effect. Your complexion is turning green.”

  “I didn’t eat any of the soup!”

  “Of course you did.” He waved a hand dismissively, and she cringed at how dirty his fingernails were. “How else would you have known the soup was tainted?”

  Luciana winced. She couldn’t very well say that a boy ghost had warned her. “It didn’t look or smell right. I really didn’t eat—”

  “Luckily for you, I have brought a special tonic that will save your life.”

  “I’m not dying! Jensen, take me to my father now.”

  Master Wormwood put up a hand to stop Jensen. “She will see His Grace after she has taken the tonic. Those were the duke’s orders.”

  Jensen gave her a pitying look.

  Master Wormwood retrieved a vial from his filthy robe, along with a wooden cup. He pulled the cork out with his yellow teeth, filled the cup with his tonic, then spit the cork onto the floor. “Here, my dear. You are fortunate to benefit from my years of extensive scientific study and remarkable skill.”

  Next to the bed, Tatiana was pretending to choke herself.

  “I’m perfectly fine,” Luciana tried again. “Once I see my father—”

  “After the tonic.” Master Wormwood offered her the cup.

  She took it, and the smell alone made her gag. She covered the top with her hand and leaned against the window to inhale some fresh air. “What is in the tonic, if I might ask?”

  “Some medicinal herbs, along with desiccated chicken gizzards, bull testicles, and my special ingredient to make it extra potent—cat urine.”

  Luciana coughed. No wonder her father had thrown up and the general had run back to the army camp. She couldn’t do this. There had to be something …

  With a gasp, she pointed at her sister. “A ghost!”

  Master Wormwood scoffed. “You think to fool me? I’m a man of science, and I can tell you without a doubt that ghosts do not—”

  Tatiana knocked the candleholder off the bedside table, and it went flying across the room to land on the floor with a clatter.

  “A ghost!” Master Wormwood turned to stare at the bed in horror.

  Luciana emptied the cup out the window while Tatiana gave a shout of victory.

  Down below on the wall walk, a voice yelped. “What the hell?”

  Jensen snorted, then glanced warily at the candleholder rolling on the floor.

  Tatiana spun in a circle, laughing. “Oh, that was fun!”

  Master Wormwood turned to look at Luciana. “What is going on here?”

  Luciana shrugged. “Haven’t you heard the rumors that this tower is haunted?” She handed him the empty cup. “Now I would like to see my father.”

  He eyed the cup and her suspiciously. “You don’t feel a need to purge?”

  “Oh, yes!” She ran for the door. “I’ll be in the privy!”

  Jensen followed her down the stairs. “I’m not sure how you did it, but well played, my lady,” he whispered.

  “Thank you.” She shut the privy door, then took her time relieving herself. Afterward, she poured fresh water from the pitcher into the bowl to wash her hands and face.

  When she emerged, Jensen told her, “You’re safe now. I told the physician you were throwing up, so he left.”

  “Thank you. Let’s go see my father now.”

  * * *

  The Duke of Vindalyn was sitting up in bed, looking pale and tired, when Luciana entered his bedchamber.

  “Father!” She ran toward him. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes, my dear.” He reached a hand out to her. “How are you?”

  “I’m fine.” She took his hand and perched on the side of his bed. On the far side of his bed, her mother, Ariana, smiled at her. Another form appeared. Tatiana.

  Luciana released her father’s hand as she quickly surveyed the room. Across the room, close to the fireplace, the duke’s secretary was seated behind a desk, reading some papers. Leo was nowhere in sight.

  “Father,” she whispered, then angled her head toward her mother and sister. “We’re not alone.”

  He glanced to the side. “I thought it was chilly.” With a louder voice, he addressed his secretary. “Percy, you may bring Father Grendel now.”

  “Yes, Your Grace.” Percy bowed and headed for the door.

  “Father, are you sure you’re all right?” Luciana asked. “Why do you need a priest?”

  “For the ceremony.”

  “What cere—”

  “I’ll explain later.” Her father waited for the door to shut, then whispered, “Is Tatiana here?”

  “Yes.” Luciana motioned to side. “And my mother.”

  “Ariana?” The duke’s eyes filled with tears as he extended a hand. “Ariana, I have missed you so much.”

  She smiled sadly at him, her eyes glistening. “Tell Lucas that I’ve always been by his side.”

  As Luciana repeated her mother’s words, Ariana touched her husband’s hand.

  His fingers curled, reacting to the cold. “Was that her?”

  “Yes.” Luciana blinked away tears.

  He dragged in a shaky breath. “Ariana … I love you so much.”

  Luciana wiped her cheek as a tear escaped. How lovely it would be if she and Leo could have a love as enduring as this. But even though she knew she loved him, she had no idea if he felt the same way. He’d admitted to wanting to bed her, but that didn’t seem quite the same as love.

  Tatiana cleared her throat. “What about me?”

  Luciana motioned to her. “Tatiana saved me from having to take the physician’s tonic.”

  “That’s right!” Tatiana boasted. “You should have seen me, Mama. I knocked a candleholder across the room! Scared that nasty Wormwood to death!”

  “That’s amazing!” Ariana gave her an astonished look.

  “Well, yes, I am.” Tatiana smoothed back her hair.

  “You didn’t take the tonic?” the duke asked Luciana.

  She shook her head. “I didn’t need to. I didn’t eat any of the soup.”

  “Oh, thank the Light.” The duke heaved a sigh of relief. “I was afraid you would need a purgative. That is the only thing Master Wormwood is good at.”

  Luciana grimaced. “Why do you have such an awful physician?”

  “He is nasty, isn’t he?” Her father rubbed his sore stomach. “The king sent him here, so I dare not reject him. He’s a gift, according to Frederic, but I swear it’s just one more way the king is trying to kill us.”

  Luciana shuddered.

  “If you didn’t eat the soup, how did you know—”

  “Christopher told me,” Luciana explained.

  “Yulissa’s boy? He died years—ah.” The duke nodded. “I understand.”

  “He saw a scullery maid put something in the silver-plated soup tureen for the high table, so he came to warn me. Her name is Rowena, and she and the second assassin were lovers.”

  “I see.” The duke considered a moment. “So the poisoning was an act of revenge?”

  Luciana nodded. “And the last assassin is still unknown. Where is Leo? We should tell him.”

  “He’ll be here shortly. He needed to fetch a few things from his tent.” The duke leaned back against his pillows, studying her. “This latest incident made me realize just how vulnerable you are. If an assassin succeed
s in killing me—”

  “That won’t happen,” Luciana interrupted.

  The duke took her hand. “Hear me out. If I were to die, the king would become your guardian, meaning he could remove you from Vindemar, take you away someplace, and you would never be seen again. I spoke with Leo at length, and we came up with a plan to keep you protected.”

  Luciana pulled her hand away. “You made plans for me without consulting me?”

  “My dear, nothing has changed for you but the timing. You will still marry Leo. He was destined to become the duke when I passed on. We’re simply speeding that up. Tonight, he’ll become the Duke of Vindalyn and take responsibility for you. I’m signing over the title to him.”

  Luciana sat back, stunned.

  “What?” Tatiana screeched. “How can Papa give everything to the Beast? Luciana, you have to stop him!”

  “Father,” Luciana began, but he interrupted her.

  “I realize it comes as a shock, but while I lay here in pain, fearing I would die, I was reminded of what is truly important—you, and all the people I have been responsible for over the years. Leo will take the title, but I will continue to run the duchy as always, protecting the land and my people. I will simply be the steward.”

  “The Beast will take over and kick us out!” Tatiana yelled.

  “Father.” Luciana took his hand. “Vindalyn means everything to you. How could you—”

  “It means a great deal to me, yes.” He squeezed her hand. “But you mean even more. This is the best way to keep you safe, my dear.”

  “Safe?” Tatiana scoffed. “The Beast will kill you both!”

  “No.” Ariana shook her head. “I think Lucas is right. The Lord Protector will not harm them.”

  Luciana hoped her mother was right, but even so, her father’s solution seemed too drastic.

  “What does Ariana think?” her father asked.

  “Mother agrees with you. Tatiana doesn’t.” Luciana sighed. “I think you might be overreacting.”

  “Perhaps, but I still think this is for the best. Leo has been kind enough to agree—”

  “Why wouldn’t he?” Luciana asked. “He’ll have everything!”

  “Yes, including the king’s wrath.” The duke gave her a stern look. “Don’t you realize what he’s doing? The minute he acquires the duchy, he alone will stand in the way of what the king wants for himself. We will be out of the picture. Leo is protecting us by making himself the lone target.”