Beauty and Her Beast

Anna entered the study and her breath was taken away. The walls in this room were lined with more books that she had ever imagined had been printed. All her fear evaporated, and only wonder remained. Seeing no one else in the room, Anna moved to the nearest bookcase and using her finger as a guide, began reading title after title.

Some of them were printed in English, others in French and German, and several in languages that she could not identify. On and on the titles ran, many of which she had longed to read, but had never thought she would get the chance. Her breath caught in her throat when suddenly, from a dark corner of the room a hoarse voice interrupted her revelry.

“Good morning,” the gravelly voice said.

Stifling a scream, Anna stepped away from the shelves and clasped her hands over her mouth. She looked into the dark corner where the voice had come from, but couldn’t see anyone.

“Good morning sir. Would you be Lord Beauchamp?” she asked with a slight courtesy.

“Yes, I am,” the voice said with a slight animalistic purr. “And you, Miss Farnsworth, do you not approve of my taste?”

“I’m sorry my lord?” Anna replied in confusion.

“Your dress. That is not how it was given to you,” the voice said.

“Yes my lord, I mean no my lord,” she stammered, touching her breast and stomach where the decorations had been. “I did not feel comfortable in such splendor. I am a very plain person sir, and all of those beautiful pearls and crystals made me uncomfortable. It would be like glittering a goose.”

“So, I should dress you in sackcloth and wooden peasant shoes then?” he asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“If that is what you choose sir, then yes I will wear them,” she answered deprecatingly.

“Are you always so quick to agree with people?” the voice replied, wondering why she’d felt the need to alter it at all. He’d chosen the gowns in her room especially for her, but instead of appreciating them, she’d taken it upon herself to alter them.

Anna began to shake slightly, fearful she’d angered him.

“I… I… do not know sir,” she answered, her voice betraying her fear. “No one has ever asked what I wanted.”

“Truly?” the voice said, sounding incredulous.

“Yes sir” Anna replied, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

“Don’t cry,” he said in a softer voice. “I did not mean to frighten you.”

She heard his chair creak as he shifted his body, rather than saw him for the corner he was in was very dark.

“As you can tell, I have been out of society for quite some time and my manners are not what they should be,” Christian said, knowing that she hadn’t meant to insult his taste. “That is why I have brought you into my home. I am in need of company, company that will reacquaint me with my manners. Do you feel up to the challenge? For a challenge it will be.”

Regaining control of herself, Anna wiped the tears from her cheeks and squared her shoulders.

“I will do my best, my lord,” she answered, forcing a small smile to her lips.

“Very well,” he said. “Let’s begin again. I am Lord Christian Beauchamp, and you are?”

“Miss Anna Farnsworth, my lord,” she replied with another courtesy.

“Well,” he said, still not coming into the light, “I think I will call you Anna instead of Miss Farnsworth. And you will call me Lord Beauchamp or My Lord, understood?”

“Yes Lord Beauchamp,” she said, nodding.

“Well Anna, do you play the spinet or the harp?” he asked.

“Not well, my lord,” she replied.

“Do you draw or paint?” he asked.

“Not well, my lord,” she said, her head lowering slightly.

“Do you play cards?” he asked, beginning to sound annoyed.

“No, my lord, not at all,” she said, her voice hardly loud enough to be heard.

“Well, perhaps you were not the best choice to make for a companion,” Christian said, harshness returning to his voice as he realized that despite his initial thoughts she was not the one he needed.

“You do not play well, you do not draw well and you do not play cards at all. What can you do?” he asked, barely hiding his disgust.

“My lord,” Anna tried to explain, “I was born the year my father’s business began to fail. When I was old enough for lessons, there was no money to be spared for such things. Instead I was put to work in the house, replacing servants that my father had let go.”

“So, your skills run to the domestic?” Christian asked. “Can you do anything besides cleaning and polishing?”

“I read sir,” Anna said quietly.

“I can read for myself. What else can you do?” he asked, not really wanting the answer.

“I can sew sir.”

“I have servants for that,” he said, sounding angrier.

“I can cook and clean….”

“My god, you really are good for nothing besides being a servant are you?” he interrupted, standing so quickly his chair scraped the floor. “What a fool I was to think of taking you on as a companion.”

Tears returned to Anna’s eyes, and there was nothing she could do to stop them. While she had not expected an easy life here as a servant, she had never dreamed it would be a wretched life as a useless companion to a lord who didn’t want her. Not knowing what else to do, she just stood there crying and waited to be dismissed.