Ice shot through Belle's veins at the man's words.
Another man spat on the floor. "I don't think he'd want to take this slut back after she'd been sullied by the prince."
"He's really upset you know," said another man. "What he sees in you, I don't know."
"Oh, I wouldn't mind having her in my bed," said the first man. "Even if she's been sucking the prince's —"
"That's enough," said Adam, emerging from the crowd, wrath in his eyes. "I invited you here out of good will, but if you're going to talk like that to my guest of honor, I'll have you expelled."
The three men cowered as they saw the prince. "We were only joking," the first man said.
"Villager humor," the second said.
"We apologize," said the third.
"In my castle," Adam said, his voice brooking no argument. "That kind of talk is not permitted. If you cause one more problem, you will be expelled."
"Of course," said the first man. "You are most gracious, Your Highness."
Adam extended his hand towards Belle. "Will you take the first dance with me?" he asked.
Belle nodded, grateful for his intervention. Adam took her hand and nodded at two men Belle recognized as part of his guard. Immediately, the guards went to Paulette and Laurette and stood beside them, glaring menacingly at the three ruffians.
Belle still felt shaken as she grasped Adam's hand and followed him not to the dance floor, but through a set of doors that led to an outdoor patio that surveyed the grounds.
"Are you all right?" Adam asked Belle, looking at her.
Belle wrapped her arms around herself. "The things they said…" she said staring at the ground. "Is that what they all think?"
"Of course not," Adam said. "Those men are troublemakers. If I were still a beast, their heads would have been ripped off already."
Belle shuddered at the violent talk. Unable to prevent herself from shaking, Belle said, "I'm trying to be brave like Claudette and the others. But everywhere we go, the villagers stare and whisper. I never imagined that might be what they were saying though…"
"Those men are filth. I wish you hadn't heard that. As for the rest of the villagers, many of them are jealous of you," Adam said. "That you're living here, under my protection. They've always been jealous of you and your charmed life."
"Jealous of me?" Belle asked amazed. "What makes you say that?"
"I have my sources," Adam said. "My spymaster has been gathering all sorts of intel ever since the enchantment was lifted."
"Your spymaster?" Belle asked. "Why am I even surprised that you have a spymaster?"
Adam chuckled. "My father was paranoid," he said. "And I'll admit that having a spymaster has proven to be useful time and time again."
Belle sighed. "I don't know how I can face them."
"Like you always have," Adam said.
Belle shook her head. "Like I always have won't cut it," she said. "They deserve more compassion from me. I never bothered to try and understand them. Claudette helped me see that. And now they won't give me the chance."
"You might be surprised," Adam said. "That's what this ball is all about, remember? Re-establishing connections with the village and gaining good will."
Belle smiled slightly at the memory of them talking about it in the village before things went so horribly wrong. "What about your good will?" she asked. "After what I did?"
"What you did?" Adam replied, stunned. "What do you mean, what you did?"
"You know, running off and getting myself captured and forced to marry—" Belle broke off. "And everything that happened after."
"That wasn't your fault," Adam said. "It was my fault."
Belle stared at him. "How could that possibly be your fault?" she asked. "I'm the one who went off on my own and got myself into that mess."
"I failed to protect you!" Adam cried. "I let you get caught."
"Let me?" Belle demanded. "Let me? Were you controlling my steps? Did you intend for me to get captured?" When Adam shook his head, she continued. "I made the choice to investigate the tavern. And then Lefou found me and I agreed to go with him. It was my fault and mine alone."
Adam continued to shake his head. "Did you want to get married?" he asked.
"Of course not!" Belle said. "I couldn't see another way out. But you can't blame yourself."
Adam sighed. "So you're not mad at me?" he asked.
"Mad at you?" Belle said, perplexed. "Why would I be mad at you?"
"For failing to protect you!" Adam cried again, putting his head in his hands.
Belle reached towards his arm and hesitated, unsure if he'd welcome her touch. She let her hand fall and said, "I do not blame you for what happened."
He looked at her through his fingers. "How could you not?" he asked, desperation in his voice. "I came with you to protect you and I failed."
"I went off on my own!" Belle cried, protesting. "I won't lie and pretend that I didn't hope that you'd be able to find me, but I made the choice to leave by myself without letting you know about my plans." She sighed. "To be honest, I didn't have any real plans. I was just going to investigate and then I thought I could handle Lefou. I was wrong."
"I just can't shake the feeling that I let you down," Adam said, lowering his hands to look at her. "When Laurent found me to say that you'd disappeared into the tavern, we tried so hard to find you. We couldn't figure out how to get into the tunnels. There are tons of anti-detection spells and traps in place, we learned later. My guard who'd been tailing the sisters lost them. But, at some point, Paulette and Laurette found us. It took some time to convince them to help us. By the time they found us and they decided to trust us, it was too late. The wedding was over. You'd disappeared with…him. But we did come across your father and Mr. Levi while we searched for you. We decided to regroup outside and that's when we found Claudette. With her, we hatched the plan to rescue you."
He hung his head dejectedly. "I feel so sorry that I came so late and did so little for you," he concluded.
"Did so little? You got me out of that situation! You saw my father to safety!" Belle cried. "I probably would have done something desperate and gotten thrown into a dark hole somewhere."
He shrugged at her words, continuing to believe he'd failed her.
This time, Belle did put her hand on his arm and said, "Look, I don't blame you in the slightest. I made my own choices and suffered the consequences." Saying the words aloud, owning what had happened, brought a sense of peace that had been eluding her.
Adam winced at the word "suffered." He put his hand on top of hers and took it into both of his. "Belle, all I wanted was to keep you safe," he said.
Belle was touched by his words. "Thank you," she said. "I won't run off on my own again any time soon. Mistakes were made. There's nothing to forgive."
He kissed her hand, his lips lingering against her palm. His warm breath heated her. Unbidden, she imagined that night with Gaston and how she'd imagined being with Adam instead. What would his breath and his touch feel like against other parts of her body?
She shook her head to clear it. He stepped back, seeming to think she was shaking her head at him. "I'm sorry," he said, letting go of her hand. "That was too forward."
"Oh no!" Belle said, immediately missing his touch. "Don't— It wasn't—" she stumbled over her words. "I was trying to clear my head of…thoughts."
"Thoughts?" he asked, sounded startled. "What kinds of thoughts?"
"Dirty ones," she mumbled unable to think of a witty retort.
Stunned, a laugh burst out of him. "My ears must be deceiving me," he said. "Because it sounded to me like you said dirty thoughts."
Belle said nothing and merely shrugged. Adam stepped closer to her and ran his fingers through her hair, "I'd like to hear some of those dirty thoughts."
Belle shivered. "What would you think of me then?" she asked. "I suppose it doesn't matter," she continued in a dejected tone. "You already think I'm dirty after what he did to me."
Adam put his hands on her shoulders. "Look at me," he said. Belle did, unable to resist the command in his tone. "I could never think of you as dirty. Especially for something like that."
"You don't think I'm…impure?" she asked, thinking of lectures she'd overheard the village priest giving about women who'd had sex before marriage.
"I don't believe in that," he said simply. "I don't believe God makes those kinds of distinctions either."
For the first time since she'd entered in that dark maze under the tavern, Belle felt a lightness in her chest. Hope. "Truly?" she asked.
"Truly," he said. Belle smiled at him. With his hands still on her shoulders, Adam looked back into the ballroom through the glass doors. "We've been out here too long," he said. "The musicians are waiting on me to lead the first dance. I meant what I asked earlier. Would you do the honor of taking the first dance with me?"
"It would be my pleasure," Belle said, meaning it. She took his hand and walked inside, feeling happier than she had in a long time.
