Page 74 of Once upon a Summer Night

Gwen made a gurgling sound in her throat.

“Excuse me. I’ve got to get back to the kitchens. I was justchecking on my mother. She lives here at the castle, too.” With a quick curtsey, the cook was gone.

Gwen turned to Ellie, her hand still on the open chamber door. “This is bizarre.” She craned her neck to watch the woman disappear around the corner and noticed the guards lined up against the wall. She closed the door and frowned. “What kind of men dress like those guys out there? The weird kilt-like thing wrapped up all around a cottony shirt, and the shoes have no support in them at all. And their hair is so long! They tie it back with a piece of leather? I mean, come on. How difficult is that? Why not just use an elastic?”

“It’s definitely medieval.”

“I thought so, too! What years are they practicing for, I wonder? Is it some sort of epic miniseries? You know, my bed is made of straw.”

“As I’m currently sharing it with you, I know.”

“Should we try to leave now instead of tomorrow morning?”

Ellie shrugged helplessly. “It’s getting dark out there. Yesterday when we left the castle grounds, those men on horseback were rather scary. I don’t know how to get around them. And I don’t think they got the message that we’re not enrolled students.”

They’d left the castle, hoping to either find a phone or walk to a main road and flag down a car to take them to the nearest city, but they were waylaid by a trio of men on horses. They didn’t speak any English, but they kept calling her Claire. One of the men even went so far as to grab her arm, but Ellie got him off her.

Well, the MacWilliam guards who followed them from the castle did, but Ellie would have if she’d been given more of a chance.

The sword fight that ensued was entertaining, and was perfectly choreographed. One of the trio actually had his léine split right down the front by one of the guards. It wasexhilarating to watch, but the whole time Ellie felt a little breathless. What if one of them messed up? The swords were not fake—the sound of metal on metal was quite real, as were the sparks that sometimes flew. But no one made any errors, and the three men fled on their horses, the thudding hooves fading as the riders galloped further away.

Reilly’s sword-fighting school was definitely the real deal.

Gwen snapped her fingers in Ellie’s line of vision. “Well, we’re safe enough, I guess. I mean, the woman who plays the cook knows Aidan and Emma, and everyone seems to know Reilly.”

“I wonder if he personally saw to their orientation to the castle,” Ellie mused.

“Come on, let’s go outside. I’ve had enough of these walls.” Gwen turned and stomped out of the chamber.

Ellie followed, though a bit slower. She ran her fingertips lightly over the stone of the wall, and an inexplicable chill raised goose bumps on her arms.

Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to this story?she wondered.

“Claire,do you know where we can find an umbrella?”

“A what?” The confusion in Claire’s deep gray eyes was the best acting Ellie had ever seen. The young woman’s performance was worthy of an Oscar—she almost had Ellie fully convinced that she’d never heard of such a thing.

“An umbrella. I know it’s still raining out there, but we’d like to take a walk around the garden,” Gwen whispered. “I know we’re supposed to stay in character, but I don’t want to ruin our costumes. It would also help with this.” She tugged at her long hair, her face twisting in irritation.

Claire took one look at Gwen’s frizzed hair and nodded. “I see. Put aside your walk for a moment, and come withme.” She led them to her chamber, stopping only once, to call her lady’s maid. “Your hair. You’ve gone too long without this.” She pulled a small jar of cream from a drawer in the bedside table. “Come, sit. Let Barre do her magic.”

“The highest-end salon in New York City wasn’t able to fully tame this beast,” Gwen said wryly, “but she’s welcome to give it a go. Hi there, Barre.”

The young woman gave a quick curtsey, then sat Gwen down in a chair next to the fire. She gently began combing the long red strands.

“Reilly will come soon,” Claire said conversationally.

Ellie started. “Did he call you? We don’t get cell service here.”

“I’m unsure of your meaning.” Claire quickly got up and dropped the bar across her door. She gave a conspiratorial wink to Ellie, then reached under her mattress and pulled out a book.

The Encyclopedia of the World, Sixth Edition.

“That’s the first normal thing I’ve seen since we arrived,” Gwen remarked, peering through the hair Barre was systematically combing over her face. “I knew someone had to be stashing something, though I expected something a little more electronic than that.”

“I also have this—” Claire produced a handheld mirror “—and this.” She pulled out a jar of Nutella with a flourish.

“Bring to Mama!” Gwen exclaimed, reaching her hands out.

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