Chapter 1 Desperate times

She knew that the flower shop overwhelmed the senses as soon as you walked into the place-for as little as the square footage as the building boasted, it seemed that every flower known to man was crammed into the tiny space. She noticed that the man who just walked in pulled his handkerchief out of the pocket of his pristine suit to block a few of the smells.

'Mr. Gold?'

Belle was not shocked Mr. Gold had arrived that day-of course he had. Superstition claimed that bad things came in threes, and this would be only the second bad thing to happen in the last twenty four hours, and both things were the result of the same problem.

'Miss French-is your father here?' the words came curtly and his lips were set in a thin line once they were spoken.

Belle set down the arrangement she had been working on, and came over to the counter where Mr. Gold was. She tried to control her feelings, tried to put on a cloak of professionalism as she addressed the intimidating man.

'No, but he ought to be back soon from his deliveries. I imagine I know what this is about though, let me get out the books.'

'What do you think this is about, dearie?' The way he dismissed her sent a shiver down her spine and made her square her shoulders more. She might not be very old, or very tall, or very big, but she was an adult, and didn't feel like being spoken to as though she were some sort of child. Perhaps the feeling itself was childish, but she simply did not care, and pushed her chin out a bit in defiance.

'The debt-the new load Daddy got from you, though I don't know why you loaned it to him, his credit has got to be terrible.'

Mr. Gold's brown eyes looked at her as though they knew everything, and were surprised at nothing. At least with her last words, they were looking at her with something akin to acknowledgement of her, so she kept his gaze, hoping he would supply her with the answer.

'Well, he seemed very-desperate, when he came to me last month.' Mr. Gold's hands crossed over his cane, his legs spread in a confident stance-he wasn't very large, himself, but his whole body oozed power. 'And I do like a desperate soul.'

'I wish you wouldn't have given him the money.' She sighed. This was the most she had ever spoken to 'the town monster' as he was often viewed. She had always brushed off the moniker, and had always given him a smile and a wave, or a 'how are you, Mr. Gold?' because she thought it was the right thing to do and hated that he acquired such an unfortunate title. Mr. Gold never gave more than a nod or a grunt to acknowledge any of it. She didn't even speak to him on rent days, as Mr. Dove, his assistant, always came 'round to collect it. Belle had made sure that the bills were paid on time, and only last night understood that her father had decided to borrow money from Mr. Gold, when things had gotten tight last month. He had done so without telling her and though she understood it was from his love for her, and not wanting to burden her with the news, she was still hurt and disappointed that her father didn't think it was worth telling her.

'Well, I did, and it's been thirty days, and now I want it back, with the interest we agreed upon.'

Belle knew before she had taken her books out that there wasn't going to be quite enough for the entire bit. Her father acted like there might be some sort of payment plan that could be agreed upon, but he had never spilled the amount, though Belle had tried to coax it out of him.

'My father was under the assumption there was some sort of payment plan?' Belle cringed at the metallic taste in her mouth, no doubt from her bad habit of biting down on her lower lip. Her father always got on to her for it, but it was something she hadn't quite been able to break.

'That was before-he was on a payment plan, until he decided to get behind on them, and then ask for an amount that he assured me, with notes and plans and everything, that he would be able to make back because you both were going to have such a good month. I hoped for the best but made sure that I would have my share if the worst were to happen.'

All the time Belle had been trying to get a response out of Mr. Gold when she passed by him, she had never seen him smile. Now he was smiling, but it was calculated and cruel.

'How-how much does he owe you?' Belle's stomach was in knots, but she wasn't going to let it show.

'More than twenty thousand dollars at this point.' The tone told her that Mr. Gold had no sympathy, no recognition for the gravity that the words caused.

Belle's legs were about to buckle and she grabbed the counter for stability. Perhaps if she would have been more observant, she might have seen something other than coldness from the landlord right at that moment, but she was then distracted by her father entering the floral shop.

'Oh Daddy!' She was upset, seething, angry, distressed, hurt, so many emotions rolled through her. 'Mr. Gold is here, he says that…'

'What are you doing here?' Her father interrupted, agitated, distressed. 'What have you told her?' Mr. French looked like he aged another decade in the span of the few short seconds that had passed since he entered. Mr. French was looking at Mr. Gold as if he was seeing the grim reaper, coming to take him to his eternal destination.

'I guess I was wrong in supposing that Miss French would be aware of your financial ventures.' was Mr. Gold's only reply, still so calm, still so cool-seemingly cruel, seemingly enjoying the sort of pain and panic that was happening in the wake of his words.

'Yes you were wrong! I'm sorry, Bluebelle.' He was wiping his brow with the back of his arm now, the circles under his eyes seemed to darken where he stood. 'Mr. Gold, I don't have all of it. Valentine's day is normally so good for us, but with this economy, people are just not buying as much as they normally do. You've got to understand! I-I was just not able to make what I thought.'

Betrayal flashed in Belle's eyes as she looked at her father, but more than the hurt there was worry, and concern.

'So now what happens, Mr. Gold?' Belle asked, not wanting to know the answer, yet needing it all the same.

'You. lose. everything. ' His cold brown eyes roamed the shop, as if each item were throwing up dollar signs to declare their worth. 'The van, the shop, the inventory, the room upstairs-everything.I throw you out as tenants, I gain anything of value and you'll have nothing to your name.'

Belle's heart dropped further down with each word, and if she wasn't so worried over her father's now pale face, she might have been tempted to faint herself. She ran forward to wrap herself around her father, trying to see if his face held any form of plan. But it was white, sheet white, his body was trembling. He had known what was going to happen-that's why he was so snappish with Belle the day before when she found out about the newest loan. Being his forever optimistic self, he most likely figured on Mr. Gold setting up some sort of way that they could pay more monthly and still survive, but the coldness that the news was offered told him that he had been much, much too optimistic.

'Your father bet the collateral on all his loans on the assumption he could make back with interest the amount of this last loan I gave him.'

Belle pulled her shaking father to the chair behind the counter, him muttering 'it's all gone, I failed and it's all gone, everything'. Belle walked back around to the quiet but ever observant man who held everything they used to own in the palm of his hands.

She pulled herself up to her full height of almost five feet, and forced herself to face the cold as stone man in front of her. She had always thought that perhaps the gruff exterior hid something else underneath. She was wrong. This man was taking everything away from them without even a pitied expression. This man was a beast.

'Can't you see that my father is not strong? This would kill him, Mr. Gold-have you no heart?'

Mr. Gold shrugged, as though he had no heart, that her words had no weight on him at all.

'Perhaps your father should have thought of his…health…before he borrowed so much money without the means to pay it back.'

No matter if the thing he said was true, she refused to be cowed. If this was her last stand before destitution, she would put up the fight of her life. She loved her father, for all his faults and difficulties with money, and besides, this was all they had left. Could this man, more stone than human, could he not see it?

'I might be willing to offer you a deal.' Mr. Gold's voice broke through Belle's frantic thinking.

A cold sweat settled on her. As if their situation wasn't bad enough, she knew the third bad thing was about to happen. They were desperate, and Mr. Gold did love a desperate soul.

'My housekeeper retired about a month ago, and I find I am in need of a new housekeeper.'

Belle crossed her arms and looked at him curiously, even her near to fainting father seemed to perk up a little at his words.

'And you want me…'

'I would like for you to be my housekeeper.'

'And in exchange, you'll…'

'Cancel all your father's debts, and you'll not have to pay rent for the building.'

Belle gasped and her heart was racing. It seemed too good to be true, really, even if he would be a tyrant of an employer.

'Of course, I have some…stipulations.'

'Of course you do.' She whispered.

'First, you will come and live with me.'

Her father's color changed from white to red in a moment.

'What did you say? What has this to do with Belle, it's with me you've made the deal, she shouldn't have to come to your home, your bed…' Mr. Gold held up a hand to shush the bellowing.

'You misunderstand me, Mr. French. There is a maid's room joining the kitchen, my home was built some time ago. She will be at one end of the house, I'll be at the other end, on a different floor entirely. Everything will be above board. However, in addition to being the housekeeper, I want her to cook as well, and that will be much easier done with her at my house.'

'So I cook, clean…for how long?'

'You cook, clean, stay at my house, abide by my rules (I'll provide you with a contract to sign, of course), for a year and no less.'

'Will I be able to visit my father?'

'You are in no position to negotiate terms, Miss French…'

'Be that as it may, you seem to have put some thought into this.' She was surprised to see Mr. Gold's face cringe a little at these words. ' If you want me to come work for you, then you are going to have to let me see my father sometimes. He needs me.' She knew how little a position she did have to negotiate, but she pleaded, her hands rung together and her eyes begged him to see how much her father needed her.

'This is nonsense, Belle, you can't be seriously thinking of accepting this, can you?'

'I am making my own decisions. I may not have been able to prevent this mess, but maybe I can get us out of it.

Mr. Gold ignored Mr. French's outburst and looked at Belle seriously. 'You can come by once a week, I'll allow a day off and you'll be able to come to check on your ailing father.' Belle bristled, Mr. French looked like he was about to explode and have a heart attack at the same time.

'Alright.' Her once squared shoulders were starting to sag dejectively. 'As long as 'your stipulations' aren't outrageous when it comes to signing the contract, I'll agree.'

'No Belle, I can't let you do this!' Mr. French screamed.

'What other choice do we have, Daddy?' She whimpered, the bravery that she had drawn from had been depleted. 'Destitution or this. I'll sign the papers, Mr. Gold. It's a deal.'

The cruel smile was back.

'It's a deal. Mr. Gold repeated. His cruel smile was not as large as it had been before-as if he was shocked that it had gone the way it had. Good. She surprised him, and saw that in a moment his mouth was drawn in a line once more.

Mr. Gold limped out of the shop and the thump of the door reflected the thump of resignation of Belle's known world. She sighed, and started repeating to herself that it was just for one year-she could do anything for a year, before turning to her father, and hoping she could convince him it wouldn't be that bad, that it would be for the best, that the time would go by so quickly that it would hardly seem a burden at all. And to just think! That all that time, he would not have to pay the loan payment, or the rent, and their debts would be erased. It would be worth it, she said again-trying to make her heart believe what her mouth was saying.

Author's Note:

Well, I lasted three whole days before starting a new story, lol. I actually have two rolling around in my head, but this one seemed the most fleshed out, as far as plot, so I am starting with this one. If you like what you read, comments are wonderful encouragement :) thank you, and happy reading!