Winter's Bees Read Free Page A

present if you like."
    "Oh." Something seemed to occur to Gilbert, who looked guilty now. "I should pick you up something for the engagement as well. I hadn't thought ..."
    "It's all right." Marcel gave into temptation and reached out, giving Gilbert's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I don't need anything, you know."
    "Well, if we are to be engaged we should do it properly." Gilbert looked up at him through dark lashes all serious and earnest.
    Marcel let his hand fall fighting down the too familiar urges. Maybe it would be best for them not to think about the marriage for a while. Not that he wanted to, the desire to suddenly cling to Gilbert, confess everything that Marcel had felt since they'd been children was strong. Maybe if Gilbert knew he wouldn't treat this marriage like the burden he obviously thought of it as. If he knew maybe he'd let Marcel try at least to make him happy, maybe … maybe he was just a colossal idiot when it came to the entire affair. "Do you want to show me your newest specimens?" He gave Gilbert a cocky grin that was only slightly forced. "I know you do."
    "If you want."
    Marcel let Gilbert lead the way out of the study and down the hall again, heading deeper into his wing of the palace.
    Pausing in front of one of the door Gilbert unlocked it and led the way inside. There were long wooden tables that ran the length of the room, on which were cases of Gilbert's living collection of insects. Not only did Gilbert have thousands of different species native to the local area, Marcel knew, but he also had insects from all over the world.
    At the far end of the room were another large desk and two floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto Gilbert's botanical garden. There were rows upon rows of beds, each plant labeled with a tiny metal plaque with the plant's scientific name and properties. Now most things were dead, dusted with frost and snow. Inside, though, the laboratory was kept warm year round to allow Gilbert's insects to thrive even in winter.
    "These are new." Gilbert walked over to a large glass case containing pieces of old decaying wood and a nice bedding of leaves at the bottom. He took the mesh lid off of the top and stuck his hand into the class case while Marcel stood warily a few paces behind.
    Gilbert had always been fearless when it came to insects, more intrigued and curious than anything else, even when faced with creatures capable of killing him. Marcel didn't mind the bugs—they did not disgust him as they did many others—but he had learned to be cautious over the years.
    "They're called hissing cockroaches, and they are biggest roach ever recorded."
    They certainly looked horrifying enough, Marcel saw as one crawled onto Gilbert's hand. It was three inches long, its shell mottled brown and black.
    "They are wingless," Gilbert said gently, lifting the roach out of the case. "But they can climb almost anything. I have to coat the inside of their case with a lubricant to keep them from escaping. They eat vegetable material and prefer to live in rotting or wet wood. They're harmless and very friendly." He offered his hand with the roach to Marcel, expression eager to share this roach holding experience with Marcel, who fought hard not to take a step back.
    "If it's all the same, I'd rather not." Just the idea of touching roaches or beetle like insects turned Marcel's stomach, but Gilbert was so enthusiastic over every creature that crawled that he often forgot which ones Marcel held a particular aversion to.
    Gilbert shrugged with a small smile. "Suit yourself." He lowered the roach back into the case and secured the lid again. "Oh, I have gotten more beetles, but nothing you haven't seen. My old batch died, unfortunately. Let me see, what else do I have? Oh! I know."
    He turned and headed across the room to one of the cabinets and opened it, taking out a display case. "Unfortunately, you are too late to see them still alive, but look." He turned the case for Marcel to