By the time Puppy led her downstairs, dusk had fallen. The rosy sunset cast strange shadows over the musty old house, increasing Hilary’s feeling of unease. She knew there had to be something to Jeff’s disappearance and those dreams last night…and she was going to get some answers from this…thing…if she had to pound him until he had two black and green eyes!
The living room was just off the main hall, a few doors down from the kitchen…and it was beautiful. Hilary’s breath caught in her throat. The long antique table was covered with a fine white linen tablecloth set for two with glistening antique china and cut crystal goblets filled with bubbling champagne. Mr. Rabbit served roast beef, buttery carrots, luscious little peas with snow white pearl onions, mountains of fluffy mashed potatoes dripping with butter, and baskets filled with crusty rolls.
“There you are!” The Troll stood at the head of the table in the tallest cherry wood chair. His formal black tuxedo hung off his bony frame like a shroud, obscuring his knobby chest. No amount of fussing could make those coarse mousy curls do anything but hang off his too-big head. “I thought you weren’t going to join me for a minute.”
“The dinner smelled too good to miss.” She chuckled as Mr. Rabbit hurried around to pull out her chair. “Thank you, sir. At least you have manners, which is more than can be said for some monsters around here.”
“Mr. Rabbit,” Troll growled as his cheeks turned bright red under the twitching whiskers, “tell the others that we are not to be disturbed under any circumstances. And I mean any!”
“You know,” Hilary added as she started cutting into her roast, “you need to learn how to handle the servants better. Yelling at them is not going to produce results. You’ll just frighten them.”
Troll glared at her as he nearly destroyed the basket of rolls trying to get one out. “I know how to handle my own valet, thank you.”
The roast beef was so tender, it melted in Hilary’s mouth. “My compliments to Mrs. Fox, by the way,” she added. “No matter how big of a mouth that sly fox of a housekeeper has, she can cook.”
Troll, however, barely looked at his food. “Yes, she is an excellent cook. I really have been contemplating giving her a raise.” He sighed. “I wish I could do more. For all of them. They don’t deserve this.”
“Mr. Troll…” She looked up…and that was when their eyes locked. Those eyes…those beautiful, almond-shaped eyes, like molten chocolate. The electricity that went between them was sudden, like a jagged bolt of lightning. She knew those eyes. That memory earlier…they were almost…like someone she’d lost. She caught her breath, then went on. “Mr. Troll, I want to know what this curse is all about. Why did you make such a fuss over a rose? Why did you ask for me specifically? Certainly, while I’ve had,” she patted her curls with a smirk, “my own share of suitors, hundreds of them, the beasts usually want to paw one of my sisters.”
“Those roses are special to me. I grew them myself. They were a present for…” He choked on the words, gasping for air. He had to gulp champagne before continuing. “They were intended for someone who used to mean a lot to me. Someone who still does.” Those beautiful almond eyes narrowed, glaring at her. “And what’s this talk of a curse?”
She rolled her eyes. “My sisters and I aren’t stupid. We’re being served by a rabbit and a dog who walk and talk like humans. There’s a cat sweeping the floor in the hall. We all had the same dream last night, about three men who were kidnapped by a woman I wish I never had to see again. One of those men was my hu…ex-husband. I keep hearing music I can’t explain. I can hear it…” That dreamy organ music had started again. She caught her breath. “Roses of Yesterday,” she murmured, her breath quickening, her bruised heart skipping in waltz time. “This was one of our favorite songs.”
She pointed her fork at his sunken warty chest instead of trying to get her peas on it. “All right. Talk. I want to know more about this curse. Who did it, why did they do it, and how can it be removed?” Hilary focused on those slippery peas. “And who damaged Bear’s mind? Even I can tell he’s not usually as dumb as he tries so hard to act.”
Troll’s furious roar nearly cracked the crystal glasses. “It’s not his fault that he’s as dumb as he is now, Miss Booth. He wasn’t born like that. He used to be…” Troll coughed again before letting out an even louder roar. “He just wasn’t! It’s not his fault!”
“Now we’re getting somewhere.” Hilary shook a fork at him. “There’s something going on. Stop denying it. I’m talking to a troll, in a house larger and more lavish than most movie palaces. It all revolves around you. What’s happening here?”
“Damn it, Miss Booth!” He slammed his fist on the table. “Look, I just…I want you to marry me.”
Now she was the one choking on her champagne. “You what?”
“Marry me.” He grabbed her hand, squeezing it hard with those bony claws. “Please, just…I could provide for you. For your sisters. Give you everything you want. Everything you ever wanted. Get your career back.”
Hilary yanked her hand away. “I’m not interested in marriage with anyone, especially a monster I’ve known for less than a day. My last marriage ended with my heart trampled on and my career in worse shape. I will never marry again. Besides,” her voice dropped softly, wistfully, “someone else already has my heart.”
“Damn it!” Troll pounded at the table, his claws scratching the surface with a loud screech. “I asked nicely!”
“No, you demanded.” She glared at him. “I will not sit here and be told what to do by a gruesome leftover from a bad penny press horror novel. You’ve behaved badly since we arrived. You’re nothing but a monster.”
“And you,” Troll roared, “are too caught up in appearances to see what’s going on right in front of you! Miss Hilary, I’m offering you stability! Stop being stubborn and just listen, for once!”
“I’m not going to get it with a…a horror movie monster whose heart is as disgusting as his face!”
Troll’s roar nearly broke every piece of china on the table. “Damn it to hell, Hilary! Stop behaving like a spoiled brat!”
“And you’re an ugly idiot.” Hilary had enough of rude creatures. She slapped those slimy green warts hard as she possibly could, and she didn’t care that her fingers felt like they’d fondled a frog afterwards. “I’m leaving, and the girls are coming with me. I don’t care what you’re doing. You obviously only care about yourself!”
“So do you!” Troll’s roar nearly split her ears. “Damn it, listen! Just listen!”
“I’ve had enough.” She turned to the rabbit cowering behind her. “Mr. Rabbit, would you find my sisters and tell them that we’re going home?” She glared at the seething Troll behind her. “I’ve suddenly found that I’ve lost my appetite.”
“Good!” Troll snarled. “I have, too!” He was still breathing hard as she followed the quaking human bunny out the door. Hilary wasn’t surprised to hear another roar, along with what she suspected was a raging Troll taking out his fury on the china and glassware, as she headed for her rooms to change.
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