Page 37 of To Ride the Wind

The overall effect was still stark and cold, though, and she remembered Henry’s words from the day before. He had told her to restyle the castle to her taste, and with the bell, the task was simple. She didn’t even have to worry about making mistakes, since she could easily fix them later.

Dashing back into the room, she retrieved the bell before gazing up and down the corridor, considering her options. Finally, she gave a decisive nod and rang it.

“Give all the corridors a central runner of thick red carpet, and add tapestries to the walls. Also some comfortable chairs.”

Instantly, the space around her transformed. She gazed up at a stunning tapestry of geometric shapes in complementary shades of red and gold. It matched the carpet beneath her feet and the red upholstery on the elegant wooden chairs that had appeared beside the tapestry.

She smiled. Practicality and beauty. She could get used to having the bell at her disposal.

“Lottie?” The sound of her new nickname in the rumbly voice of the bear shot straight through her heart.

She had been afraid that in the light of day, seeing his enchanted shape, she would lose the sense of him as Henry. But the sound of the single word was enough to tie the two together. He might be wearing a different shape, but he was still her husband underneath.

“When I suddenly found myself walking on carpet, I realized you must be awake,” he said with amusement in his voice.

“Do you like it?” she asked, knowing her tone made it clear she was proud of her initial effort.

“It’s an instant improvement,” he said promptly. “I don’t know why I didn’t do it a long time ago.”

A draft sent shivers through Charlotte, and she lifted the bell again. “Warmth please, as well.” She glanced at Henry as the crackle of a distant fire reached her ears and the air temperature rose around her. “I suppose you don’t feel it with that thick coat. Please let me know if it gets too hot for you.”

He shook his large head, his eyes intent. “I’ve taken you away from your home and your family. I want you to be comfortable here. Please don’t worry about me.”

“But how can I not?” she asked softly. “You’re caught in a terrible enchantment.” She straightened her shoulders. “I don’t have any particular experience or skill, but we’re family now. There must be some way I can help you.”

“You are helping me. More than you know.” His intent gaze speared into her, and she felt a flush of warmth that had nothing to do with the change in air temperature. Did her presence and companionship mean so much to him?

“I can do more,” she said stubbornly. “Surely there’s something more I can do.”

Henry blinked and looked away, as if considering. Finally he nodded and turned back.

“If you really mean it, then there is something.” He hesitated again, a smile spreading over his head. “Come with me. There’s something I want to show you.”

Holding back her curiosity with difficulty, Charlotte followed him down several corridors and up a flight of stairs. He stopped in front of a set of double doors that rivaled the front doors of the castle in size.

When he looked at her, she realized he wanted her to open them. Hurrying forward, she had to exert her full strength to pull them apart.

“I suppose having paws must make lots of things difficult,” she said, breathless from the effort.

“I’ve worked out I can manage door handles. But it’s difficult and awkward.” He took several paces into the room and then turned to look at her. “But I can’t handle books.”

Charlotte gasped when she saw what filled the room inside. Despite her best efforts, a laugh burbled up inside her.

She turned to Henry. “That’s a lot of books for someone who can’t even pick them up.”

Everywhere she looked, stacks of books were piled haphazardly, many of the piles taller than her. It was a large room—large enough she couldn’t see its far reaches—but the entire thing seemed to be full of books.

Henry grinned ruefully. “I asked the bell to lead me to the library, and then I asked it to fill the room with a copy of every book found in any of the royal libraries. This is what I got.”

If there was furniture in the room, it was too covered in books to be seen, with a single exception. The lone clear spot stood out like an oasis in the mess. A circle of lamps surrounded a small but thick rug, and the piles of books scattered around its edges were a much more manageable height. Realization filled her, followed by a pang of sorrow.

“This is where you usually spend your time at night,” she said. “When you’re a man.”

The space was already cramped and unwelcoming, but she could imagine it was even more so at night. It pained her to think of the many solitary hours he must have spent there.

He nodded. “As I said, large paws with even larger claws aren’t ideal for holding books and turning pages.”

“So you spend your nights reading and your days sleeping—or roaming the forest and valleys.”