Beauty
“I must return to the castle,” I said once again.
“No, you must not,” said Simon. He turned to David. “I don’t know what you were thinking to let Elizabeth go there, either.”
“I didn’t know she was going anywhere,” David protested. “None of us did. I would have gone with her if I had, if she would have let me.”
“Let you!” Simon exclaimed.
“Like everyone else in this family, Elizabeth does exactly what she wants, when she can,” David said. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to stop her.”
“Well, you ought to,” Simon said.
“Independence is an integral part of her personality,” David said. “Why on earth would I want to destroy that? She presumably knows what she is doing; all we can do is wait.”
“Wait?” Simon said. “Very well, wait until Elizabeth returns. If she brings Hob back with her, then there will be no need for you to go to the castle as well, and then we can just forget about all this.”
“It has nothing to do with Hob,” I said. “I must return to the castle-“
“Certainly not!” said Father, walking into the library and looking in some surprise at the three of us stood in a combative triangle in the middle of the room. “I will not allow all three of my daughters to disappear at once – I am not at all persuaded that I would ever see any of you ever again! You at least are staying put and that is final.”
All three of them glared at me in a way that suggested that further argument would not be welcomed, but I disagreed.
“I must return to the castle,” I said again and raised a hand to forstall them before any of them could think of anything new to say, “for the sake of my self-respect.”
“For your what?” said Father. He sank unsteadily into one of the low comfortable chairs that were scattered around the room.
“What do you mean, Beauty?” asked Simon.
“I have to face the beast again or I will never regain my self-respect,” I said.
“Helen…” David said. He knew what I meant, of course. I had hoped that I would not have to tell Father or Simon what I had done, but I could see no other way to persuade them to let me go into the forest. Since Elizabeth had secretly slipped away, Father had locked all of the outer doors, and so I had been arguing with David and Simon for nearly three hours to convince them to help me get outside to the forest, and then to the castle.
I wished I had simply followed Elizabeth in the first place, but then Hob would have been at the castle when I arrived. I simply couldn’t face her until I had met with the beast, so I hoped to miss them in the forest while I was coming and the were going. Needless to say, this required more cooperation from my remaining family than I was currently receiving.
I acquainted Simon and Father with the pertinent details of what I had done, finding that it did not become easier to tell with repetition; I stared at the pattern on the carpet all the time I talked. Somewhere in the middle of my speech David left – I was grateful for the privacy, which, I think, is why he did it.
“Oh, Beauty,” Father said when I had finished. He sounded simply sad – there was no accusation or reproach in his voice, which I could have coped with better. He rose from his chair and came over to me. I did not raise my eyes from the carpet. He kissed me gently on the forehead and left me alone with Simon.
At last I dared to look up, but I could not read his face at all.
“It will be all right,” he said at last. “Elizabeth will fetch her home and she will not hold a grudge. You know she never does. She will forgive you, and all will be well. Things will be just as they used to be.”
