An Unnatural Beanstalk Read online

  Jack turned to study the girl from across the room again. He still couldn’t believe that no one had asked her onto the dance floor. Her thick golden hair flowed down her shoulders like a waterfall of sunlight, and her dark eyes were wide and innocent. Of course, this summer festival was the first town dance that he’d been able to attend all year. Perhaps other men had asked her at prior celebrations and found her to be boring, or maybe she’d stepped on their toes. But the longer he watched her, the more he doubted those possibilities. She was unusually tall, but surprisingly, her height only seemed to add to her allure, making her look long and graceful, like one of the willow trees that grew around the creek. Whenever she moved, she seemed lithe, her movements confident and sure, and judging by the gentle smile that would light her face every now and then, she looked to be anything but dull.

  Jack folded his arms across his chest. “It’s not odd to be living with a relative, particularly when you’re a girl of her age. She’s what, eighteen? Nineteen?”

  “Eighteen. But it doesn’t matter.” Kayden frowned. “When your relatives are Tamra and Davies, living with them is very odd. Those two make your old lady look like a fairy godmother who flies around all day and grants wishes.”

  Jack handed the mug back to the tavern keep. “Well then, it shouldn’t be too difficult to sweep her off her feet.” He turned and gave his friends a bow. “Now, if you scoundrels can bear to part with me, I have some wooing to do.”

  “Good luck,” Kayden said doubtfully.

  As he crossed the room, dodging children and stepping carefully around the open floor full of couples twirling to the musicians’ tunes, the girl turned toward him, and he found himself staring into the biggest golden-brown eyes he’d ever seen. For a long moment, they stayed that way, Jack rooted to his spot on the edge of the dance floor. But then, her lips were suddenly mashed together tightly, and those beautiful brown eyes grew fierce. She stood abruptly and marched away.

  Jack tried to ignore the laughing he could hear coming from his friends behind him. What had happened? Had she not wanted to speak with him? Jack took a moment and tried to remember doing anything that might have offended her. They’d never actually spoken before, but she had to at least recognize him. Again, he regretted not attending more of the recent village dances.

  Just as he was about to return in shame to his friends, however, he spotted her walking quickly over to a corner where the children were playing. Jack followed at a distance, watching as she looked around for a moment before darting into a crowded corner and then reemerging a moment later with a small child in her arms.

  As he got closer, he could see that the squirming little girl she carried appeared to be quite . . . naked. He tried to smother a chuckle as he spotted the toddler’s missing dress crumpled under a nearby window. He went and retrieved it.

  “Looking for something?” He held out the little girl’s dress.

  The young woman stared at him blankly for a moment before relief flooded her face and she grabbed the dress from his hands. In one smooth motion, she’d wrestled the wriggling child into a sitting position and had the dress back on in less than a minute. Once the little girl was dressed again, she let the child go, turned to him, and sighed.

  “I can’t tell you how grateful I am. I wasn’t sure where she put it, and my cousin would be more than put out with me if I . . .” She stopped and pursed her lips. “I’m sorry. I’m rambling. Thank you so much, Mr. . . .” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

  “Oh, just call me Jack. That’s what everyone else does.” He knelt down beside the toddler, who was now beginning to kick and scream again. “You want to see something?”

  The toddler continued to protest, not even giving him a second glance until he pulled a bright red handkerchief from his pocket and held it in front of her face. When he’d caught her attention, he folded it carefully into his sleeve. Then he whipped out a small pink sugar candy in its place and handed it to the little girl.

  She took the candy in her little chubby hands and stared at him in awe before hopping up and screaming for her mommy to look at her gift.

  The young woman turned to him. “Well, I’m impressed. Most men wouldn’t get within twenty feet of a screaming child if they could help it. But your timing is impeccable.” Her brown eyes sparkled as they swept over him. When she smiled, he noticed that her right cheek had a dimple while her left had none.

  Jack nodded to Ray and Larry, who were in another corner with the older children. “It’s always good to be prepared. Those two keep me on my toes, so I’ve learned never to be without some sort of bribe.”

  Immediately, a guarded look swept her face, and the bright curiosity that had been there moments before was gone. To his disappointment, polite interest took its place.

  “Oh,” her voice was distant, “so those are your children.”

  Jack stared at her blankly until understanding dawned on him. “Oh! Oh, no, no, no.” He felt his cheeks turn red as he laughed in embarrassment, running his hand through his hair. “No, those are my brothers. Ray! Larry! Come here and meet . . .” He realized he still didn’t know her name.

  “Eva.” She tucked a tendril of blonde hair behind her ear. “My name is Eva.” Then she knelt to meet his brothers eye-to-eye. “It’s nice to meet you both. How old are you?”

  Jack couldn’t help but watch in awe. Usually, the few girls that he’d ever made any sort of progress with in the past had taken off the moment they discovered that he was practically a full-time nanny to his siblings. But judging by the grateful smile on her face when he had produced the candy, and the seemingly genuine interest she was now showing in his brothers, Jack couldn’t help but wonder if this girl just might be different.

  “They’re sweet,” she said as they scampered away. Then her grin fell a little.

  “What’s wrong?” He instinctively stepped closer.

  She gave him a sad smile. “Oh, nothing. Well, that’s not true, either. I suppose I miss my family.”

  “I take it you have a big one?”

  She laughed, the sound like the song of a robin. “You could say that. After my sister, Rynn, I’m the second oldest. Then comes Sophie, then the twins, Martin and Elisette. Then the other twins, Anneliese and Penny.” She smiled again, more to herself, it seemed, than him, but it was pretty just the same. “It’s not talked about, but I think we all knew my parents never meant to have quite so many children. I always liked it, though. We took care of each other.” She wrapped her arms around herself and hunched over a little bit. Despite the girl’s impressive height, as she was nearly as tall as Jack, the posture made her look vulnerable. Jack decided that this bothered him more than he would have expected.

  “So,” he looked back and forth between Eva and the dance floor and wondered how to close the gap in-between, “I suspect you watch your younger cousins quite often?” What was wrong with him? Couldn’t he make better conversation than that?

  To his surprise, however, her smile became tight-lipped, and her brown eyes gained a fire to them. “Every single day,” she said, enunciating every word with disgust.

  Now his interest was truly piqued.

  “And that’s not what you wanted?”

  Eva sighed and closed her eyes. “It’s not so much that I dislike my cousins, because I don’t.” She looked at the dancers wistfully as they spun around in the center of the floor. “I suppose it’s more that I never imagined myself here in this place. I do what I’m told day in and day out, and there’s never an end in sight. I’m stuck.” The more she talked, the harder she glared in the direction of where her cousins were sitting, chatting happily away with their neighbors.

  How did one respond to that? Jack found himself more than curious about what kind of situation could have driven Eva away from the family she loved so much, when he remembered what Kayden had said about her family being strange. Was this why none of his peers or even the older single men had been actively seeking this girl? Because t
hey were afraid of her past?

  “I’ve been here nearly a year,” she said in a louder voice, as though trying to distract him from their present conversation, “but this is the first dance I’ve been to. Tamra’s always kept me at home. What exactly is it?” She paused before laughing and adding, “And why are we in a tavern?”

  “Sulta Springs is a farming town through and through,” Jack said, “but we enjoy a little fun here and there. So we try to see how many community events we can fit in during the year. This particular dance is held once a month. And we hold it in the tavern because it’s the biggest building in town.” But not to be deterred, he pitched his voice a little lower. “Going back to what we were talking about earlier, I hope you don’t mind me asking, but were you in danger of any kind back with your family?”

  Eva shook her head, wearing a slight frown. “Not directly. I suppose you could say—”

  “Eva!”

  Jack and Eva both turned around to see Eva’s cousin, Tamra, leading a well-dressed gentleman behind her. Jack didn’t miss the little sigh that escaped Eva as she donned what looked like a false grin where she had been thoughtful just a moment before. But before her cousin arrived at their sides, she leaned over toward him and whispered, “Thank you so much for talking with me tonight. I’ve really enjoyed it. Truly.”

  “Eva, I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Tamra and the gentleman stopped in front of them. Then Tamra turned an unimpressed eye upon Jack. “Hello, Jack.” She sounded about as enthusiastic as a cat preparing for its bath. “I hope your mother is better.”

  “As well as she’ll ever be.” It was Jack’s turn this time to grow rigid. How Eva put up living with Tamra and Davies for an entire year without losing her mind, Jack would never understand.

  “Well,” Tamra gave a sly grin and hooked her arm around the gentleman’s elbow. “It seemed she let you out tonight at least.”

  Jack bristled. “I let myself out.”

  “I’m sure you did. Now, if you’ll excuse me, Duke Carlton here was asking about Eva. Duke, this is my younger cousin Eva.”

  The gentleman, who looked to be just a few years older than Jack, and had an uncanny resemblance to a pigeon, bowed low and took Eva’s hand. Bringing it to his lips, he kissed it. The kiss wasn’t quick though, and after several seconds, became the most awkward greeting Jack had ever seen. He shifted uncomfortably as Eva’s eyes flickered to his and then back down to her hand. Just as Jack was considering saying something—anything—to distract the duke, the man himself stood and grinned, not letting go of her fingers.

  “My dear, my name is Duke Carlton Rafael Sebastian the Third. I am the Duke of Monte David.”

  “I am honored to meet you.” Eva kept her eyes away from his but made a slight curtsey.

  “He owns the land west of town.” Tamra’s gray eyes gleamed as she looked at Eva. Jack could tell he was being dismissed. He took a few steps back but refused to retreat to the other side of the room. Not just yet. He could already see that the duke was sizing Eva up. As though the flabby little man had any right to judge another based on looks. He looked as though he hadn’t seen a day of hard work in his life.

  And Jack didn’t like it.

  “I am told by your most gracious cousin,” the duke began, “that you are from Astoria. Though I was born here in Guthward, I had the supreme privilege of attending the university in Astoria, and was of no small consequence there myself as I became purposefully familiar with your systems of magic and general familiarity with fairies and other sorts of inhuman creatures.” He took a step forward, to which Eva responded by taking a step back. Jack wanted badly to laugh. He wasn’t sure why, but this made him feel somewhat triumphant. He might not be a duke, but she hadn’t backed away from him.

  “Eva, why didn’t you ever tell us that you play the harp?” Tamra said in a loud voice. “A whole year of living with us, and you haven’t once sat down to the instrument.”

  Eva’s face went completely white, and for a moment Jack was afraid she might pass out then and there. “Where did you hear that?” she whispered.

  “The duke apparently had the high privilege of hearing your name over and over again in the music community in Astoria.” Tamra fairly glowed, her usually pink cheeks nearly the color of strawberries.

  “Indeed,” the duke said. “I cannot play myself, but I consider myself quite a student of music. Particularly,” he looked straight at Eva, “the harp.”

  If Eva had looked wary at the duke’s introduction, she looked downright terrified at these words.

  “I was hoping,” the duke continued, seeming completely unaware of Eva’s discomfort, “that I might have the vast honor of hearing you play tonight.”

  “I . . . I don’t think that would be a wise idea,” Eva stammered.

  “Eva,” her cousin bristled, “Duke Carlton is our better. If King Eston doesn’t sire a child before he dies, Duke Carlton will inherit the throne. And he has just done the honor of asking you to play.” She turned and pointed at the instruments in the corner of the room where the musicians were taking a brief rest. “I want you to go up there and play. Now.”

  Jack couldn’t stand it any longer. Duke or not, this was not acceptable.

  “If Eva doesn’t want to play,” Jack fixed Tamra with his fiercest glare, then the duke, “then she doesn’t have to. There is no law—”

  “You stay out of this, farm boy!” Tamra pointed a finger in Jack’s face.

  The duke held up his hands. Jack couldn’t help noticing how soft and round they were. A good indication of his kind of work. “No, the boy is right. I’ve seen all I need to see.” He bowed to Eva and nodded once at Jack, a strange small smile crossing his face as his gaze rested finally on Eva. “Enjoy the rest of the party.” And then he walked away.

  Tamra threw a livid glance at Eva before following the duke, apologizing profusely as she went. Only when they were gone did Jack realize that Eva was gripping his arm.

  He turned to her, all thoughts of fun aside. When he spoke, it was in a low voice that he hoped their neighbors couldn’t hear. “Are you well?”

  Eva stared at the duke’s retreating back until it was lost in the crowd, and even after that, several long seconds passed before she tore her gaze away and met Jack’s eyes.

  “I’m not sure.” Then she seemed to recover herself, removing her hands from his arm and taking a step back. Jack found that this disappointed him. He couldn’t explain why, but a voice inside insisted this girl needed help. He just wished she would tell him what was frightening her so.

  “You can tell me,” he said softly. “I want to help if I can.” He let out a small laugh and rubbed his head. “It’s just hard to do that when I don’t know what you need help with.”

  Her eyes lost their panicked shine, and finally a small smile appeared. “I believe you,” she said. Then the frightened look returned. “Unfortunately, this is something I need to do alone right now.” She looked at the window and then back at him. “Will you be here when I get back?”

  He nodded. “If you think that would be best, but I—”

  “Thank you!” And with that, she hurried toward the door, her skirts billowing behind her as she fled.

  2

  We Are Falling Madly in Love

  Eva left the crowded party and turned the nearest corner. Only when she was sure that neither Jack nor her cousin nor anyone else was following her, did she stop and press herself up against the town hall’s wall and look up to the sky.

  “Mortimer!” she hissed. “I need you!”

  The night stayed silent. Not even the clouds moved past the moon. She glanced over her shoulder and tried again.

  “I don’t have time to do your silly chant! Please, I’m in danger! I know you can hear me!”

  Three sets of heavy footsteps sounded around the corner.

  Eva looked back up at the sky, her heart racing as she tried to remember the chant. All the woodcutter’s children knew it, but she’d
never actually used it before.

  “Oh great and . . .” Wait. Was it great and powerful or just—

  A hand clamped over her mouth. Eva tried to scream, but her mouth was gagged, her eyes were covered with a blindfold, and her wrists and ankles were bound. Still, she tried to kick and fight her way free as she was lifted by a thick pair of arms that smelled like sweat and soil.

  As she was dragged across the gravel, she wished with all her heart that Jack had ignored her wishes and followed her out. Hopefully, he wouldn’t try to take three men on his own. He was strong enough for sure to take on one, maybe two. Though Tamra’s husband was decently muscled, the width of Jack’s shoulders put him to shame. Still, strong or not, she would hate it if Jack were injured on her account. Perhaps, though, he could at least sound the alarm or go get help.

  But by the time they had dragged her across the gravel, there was still no sign of Jack’s messy blond hair or his friendly gray eyes. There was no sign of anything, as she tried desperately, and unsuccessfully, to remove her blindfold. She despaired as her captor placed her on some sort of wobbly seat, and the wobbly seat began to bounce up and down. In her attempt to prevent anyone from discovering her secret, she’d prepared the way for the very people, it seemed, who did know.

  The soft cushioned seats and the lack of wind made Eva think she was in a carriage, but without being able to see shadows or the direction of the moon, it was difficult to tell how long they traveled or how far. Every few minutes, Eva would get up the nerve to try and loosen her bonds. But there were too many, and they were all too tight.

  What a waste. The entire year had been a big fat waste. Her parents had sent her away to her awful cousin who had absolutely no interest in her own children, in a kingdom that had nothing but hills and hills of rolling red clay dirt and sometimes tornados, with nothing to show for it but her abduction. She might as well have stayed in Astoria. At least her siblings would have made the kidnapping a challenge.