Page 38 of To Ride the Wind
He nodded again. “I hope that somewhere in this vast trove of knowledge is a secret that will break my enchantment or aid me against the person who trapped me in it.”
Charlotte raised her eyebrows at the mention of his enchantment—it was the first time he had spoken of someone else’s involvement. But she was more immediately struck by a different aspect of his words.
“Except now you’re spending your nights with me,” she said. “You can’t continue your research.”
“Unless you’re willing to help me,” he said, sounding boyishly hopeful. “Not that you should feel any obligation to spend your days here. Even an hour or so would be an assistance.”
“Of course I’ll help you,” Charlotte said quickly. “The bell meets all our practical needs, so there’s nothing else demanding my time. Of course I should help my husband.”
She gazed around the room again, her nose wrinkling. “But I think we need to make some changes first.”
She paused, looking at him for permission, and he made a gesture of encouragement. Wrapping her hand around the bell in her pocket, she took her time shaping what she wanted in her mind. Once it was clear, she shook the bell.
From one blink to the next, the library in front of them transformed. The full length was now visible, the long space larger than any ballroom and stretching to enormous heights about them. Tall windows let in plenty of light, but every other inch of wall was covered in bookshelves, and at least three levels could be seen, accessed via a series of delicate stairs and layered balconies. The piles of books were gone, all the titles in neat rows on the shelves instead.
Charlotte’s eyes lingered on the brocade curtains on the windows and the cozy reading nooks scattered around the main floor, many of them lit by lamps.
“That’s better, don’t you think?” she asked with satisfaction.
Henry’s mouth had fallen open. “Infinitely!” He shook his head. “I think the godmothers like you better than me. Look what I got when I asked for a library, and you got this!”
Charlotte’s lips twitched. “You should have been more specific in your request.” She wandered to the closest shelf. “I directed that the books be arranged according to their piles, with the ones closest to your reading space at the front. So hopefully I haven’t destroyed whatever organization system you were using.”
“That was clever,” he said approvingly. “I spent many weeks just finding titles of interest, so I’m glad all that work isn’t lost.”
“Do you know where I should start then?” she asked, gazing at the multitude of shelves and feeling overwhelmed at the task, despite the more welcoming environment.
Henry padded over to the closest shelf and examined it. “These are all the titles I had chosen to review next,” he said with satisfaction. “We should start here.”
Charlotte winced to see the number of books he was indicating.
The bear grimaced in response. “It’s a wide range of topics. I didn’t want to risk missing anything that might be of use.” He gazed down the long room. “Although I’m sure I have. There are just so many books.”
“To say the least.” Charlotte ran a hand along one of the shelves before adopting a positive tone. “So it’s a good thing you have me to take over for you.” She glanced sideways at him. “Will you stay here with me?”
“If you’ll have me.” He gave her a look that seemed almost as uncertain as her own. “I don’t wish to make you uncomfortable, but I would love to be part of the search still. Perhaps you could even read aloud if you find anything that might be of interest. Even if it’s only distantly related. There might be some clue hidden somewhere that will mean something when combined with what I’ve already read.”
Henry was clearly as uncertain as she had been as to whether his bear shape would change the rapport they had started to build the night before. She smiled at him as brightly as she could, hoping to convey that he was welcome to stay at her side no matter what his outside appearance was.
As she looked from the shape of the enormous white bear to the closest reading nook, her smile grew. Nothing about this scene fit her vague expectations from their wedding, but it was all so much more appealing than she had thought the evening before.
Logically, she was even more isolated than she had been in the valley—her company reduced to a single person. But it didn’t feel the same. Being around Henry made her nerves fizz even as it filled her with a sense of contentment. There was no comparison with the presence of her sisters who had so obviously wished her elsewhere.
Soon they were settled in place, her in a comfortable armchair, and Henry curled up on the rug at her feet. He asked her to look particularly for any mention of people transformed into animals or the mythical mountain kingdom. She wanted to tell him that her cousins considered the mountain kingdom to be nothing but legend—as befitted a place that was supposed to lie east of the sun and west of the moon—but she couldn’t scold him for seeking fairy stories when he was apparently living one. Those tales might be the exact ones that would hold a hint to his current situation.
The day passed easily, especially given the bell’s prompt provision of requested food. It even cleared away the dishes.
“Where do you think they go?” Charlotte asked Henry from where she sat, her legs tucked beneath her.
He lifted his head from his place on the rug beside her.
“Are you afraid there’s some hardworking soul somewhere receiving a steady supply of our dirty dishes?” he asked with a grin. “I’m fairly sure it’s not anything like that. I think they just…cease to exist. They’re not real plates. They’re all part of the bell’s power.”
“Does that mean this isn’t a real castle?” Charlotte wrinkled her brow. “That hurts my head.”
“I recommend not giving it another thought,” he said cheerfully. “Real or not, the castle keeps out the rain and wind.”
“And it provides enough reading material for a lifetime,” Charlotte added, gazing around them.