Page 20 of Of Shadows and Death

Raúl grins. “Of course.”

Carmen nods approvingly, and he offers me his hand. “Come on, Penny. You’re going to love this.”

Raúl leads me down the tower stairs and into the hall again. I cover my mouth with my other hand as a yawn takes up most of my face. We enter a large room with hardly any furniture and an enormous stone staircase at the end. Two thrones are at the top, and Raúl tugs me toward them. My legs are wobbly from exhaustion, but we make it to them with no problem. The thrones are made of gold, with crowns carved into the top of each of them. Raúl turns right and heads into another hallway. This one, thankfully, is much shorter, and in no time we arrive in front of a door. It is one among a handful of doors lining the hallway, save for a small crown carved into the top, so tiny it could be easily missed.

Raúl opens the door and pulls me inside. My mouth drops at the grandeur, stopping me in my tracks. The ceilings are high, with a gorgeous crystal and gold chandelier hanging down from the ceiling. A fireplace big enough for a person to walk in is on one side of the room. In the middle is a plush meadow-green carpet with four sofas, one on each side. The sofas are a soft, velvety fabric of a pale blue.

In the center is a low table made of a dark wood. A desk stands against one wall, with empty bookshelves lining the other. Raúl motions for me to follow him, and with my mouth still open, he opens one of the two doors connected to the room.

The first leads to a beautiful tiled water closet. The entire floor and halfway up the wall is tiled in black, with a giant white porcelain tub in the middle of the room. There’s even a porcelain sink next to the most interesting toilet I had ever seen, with an intricate brass mirror above it.

“You have a toilet?”

Raúl folds his arms, observing the contraption. “Of course, they’ve been around for a while now. We had it installed a hundred years ago.”

My mouth gapes as I stare at him. Raúl chuckles at my expression and says, “Come on, there’s another room to see.”

We walk to the last door and I hold my breath as he flings it open. The room is so inviting and gorgeous that I want to cry happy tears, possibly for the first time in my life. A large bed made of the same dark wood is in the center of the room, close to another fireplace. The bed has a soft, dark purple blanket with matching pillows.

Raúl pushes me toward the bed, urging me to climb inside. Once I am snuggled under the sheets, he pulls the comforter up around my shoulders. “Good night, Penny.”

He turns around and starts toward the door.

“Wait,” I say, my heart pounding. He turns back and raises an eyebrow, his mischievous smile spreading across his face.

“Yes, milady?”

Quickly, before I lose my nerve, I hop out of the bed and step toward him, standing on my toes. I kiss him on the cheek, close to his mouth. The short hairs of his stubble tickle my sensitive skin. His scent, one of copper and chamomile, fills my nose as I whisper, “Thank you, Raúl.”

I climb back into bed, and he leaves after closing the shades on the windows. I can’t help but grin, though, at the surprised expression that doesn’t leave his face. If Mother saw that, she would be appalled. Kissing is for married couples only. But she isn’t here. I am. And I wanted to.

I touch my lips, feeling a strange mixture of pride and excitement. For the first time, I wonder what it would be like to kiss him on the mouth. The thought thrills me, my heart racing. I try to stay awake, wondering if I should go after him, but sleep overtakes me.

Chapter Eighteen

I wake up and stare at the ceiling, the thoughts from yesterday swirling in my head. I get up and explore the bathroom and debate whether to take a bath. It is way too big to fill by hand, and I see no bucket. Instead, I turn on the sink water. It is only seconds later when I hear a knock on the door. Quickly, I answer it. Raúl stands at there and his grin widens when he sees me. “I thought I heard the pipes moving. How did you sleep?”

I smile back at him and move aside so he can enter. He sits on one of the sofas and watches me expectantly. “It was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had,” I say honestly, then quirk an eyebrow. “I mean, day’s sleep?”

Satisfaction crosses his face briefly before he laughs. “I’m glad. Now, I know you have none of your things here, so we’re bringing in plenty of outfits for you to wear.” He rubs his chin. “It was my mother’s idea, and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it.”

I laugh and sit next to him, close enough that our legs are touching. An outsider may have thought nothing of it, but I do it on purpose, wanting to see what it feels like. I wonder how he would react if I asked him to take his shirt off. He clears his throat. “As for food, we already have a chef in the kitchen. It’s no trouble for him to make one plate extra. We always have plenty.”

“That is very kind of you,” I say.

“And of course, you have free rein in the castle. No one will bother you. Unless you want them to, that is.” Raúl stands up. “Let me show you how to use the bath.”

I tilt my head in confusion. We have a small tub barely big enough for me to sit in. “Don’t I just fill it with hot water from a bucket?”

He grins. “Yes, but why would you do it by hand?”

He opens the door to the bathroom and walks inside. I follow him and he reaches for knobs above the bathtub, attached to the wall. He turns the handles and water pours into the tub from a copper pipe. I put my hand on his arm, my mouth open in awe.

“How do you drain it?” I ask.

Raúl points to the chain at the bottom of the tub. “Pull that and the water flows down the pipes and out of the castle.”

“Fascinating,” I say, eager to try it.

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