Heart of the Beholder

9

EDGAR ENTERED THE STUDY WITHOUT knocking. He looked slightly disheveled, which was very unusual for him.

“My lord, I have to warn you that I am going to be blunt for a minute,” he said.

Thane sighed heavily. “You don’t have to tell me anything. I heard what she said. She called me a monster.” He chuckled humorlessly. “She didn’t even have to see my face to know that. If your little plan was for her to break my curse, I am sorry to tell you it failed.”

Edgar walked abruptly to the window and threw open the curtains. Thane hissed at the light that flooded the room. “I did not hire her to break the curse. I hired her to help me run this manor. I am your butler and valet. I take great pride in my work, and I am only satisfied when things meet my high standards. I, unfortunately, am an old man and cannot do it by myself, as I have told you. Miss Bridgette has made it longer than any other maid I have hired in the past several months, and she has done an exceptional job in the tasks I give her. She is not lazy nor is she disrespectful. And, dare I say, she had made this shell of a building brighter and happier to live in. I know you are too wrapped up in your pride to have noticed the good she brought here, but I have to say I am disappointed. As your mother’s former butler, I had the opportunity to see her grow from a little girl into the queen she eventually became in this very manor, so I have no hesitation to think that she would have enjoyed Miss Meadowbrooke’s company and most certainly would have been ashamed with your treatment of the girl.”

Thane bristled. This was a new level of stubborness for Edgar. Who did he think he was? “I can’t look at her portrait, Edgar. I need it taken down.”

“Why? Because it brings you pain? I think you can’t bear to look at her because you feel guilty about what you have become. She could be a source of healing if you let her. I am leaving the portrait on the wall,” he said with perfect composure.

Thane stood and stalked around the desk. “I can’t bear the pain of the reminder of what I don’t have anymore. She is gone and can no longer help me. I am destined for misery, and I cannot change that.”

“You have already decided not to change, so nothing will,” Edgar said. “No one can break the curse, unless you are willing to forgive yourself,” the valet said lightly. He casually walked to the small table near the window where the black and white marble chess set was laid out. He carefully picked up the black king piece and inspected it. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t want the curse to break.”

“Of course I want it to break,” Thane growled.

Edgar set the chess piece down and faced Thane directly. “You close yourself off from the world.” He motioned to the window. “You wrap yourself up with darkness, where the curse seems most comfortable. It is the only thing that keeps you company while you sit in here for hours. You embrace the character of the curse instead of trying to distance yourself from who the sorceress said you would become.”

“Edgar,” Thane warned.

“I am sorry, My Lord,” Edgar said. “I told you I could serve you for the rest of my days, but I cannot stand by and watch you waste the life your mother gave you.”

Thane glanced away with shame. “You are not a prisoner here. You are free to leave.”

“I know. I just wanted to warn you that if you continue down the path you are on, I will leave. But if you start showing me you prefer the light over the dark, I am willing to stay and help you through it.”

They stood in silence for several moments.

“I just can’t see how it could ever get better.”

Edgar looked at him with warm eyes. “Usually, when you are at the bottom of a deep valley, it is near impossible to see the way out, but there is one.”

“Did Miss Meadowbrooke leave for good?” Thane asked. He was a little curious, but mostly wanted to change the subject.

“I hope not. But we will see what she decides.”