Page 91 of Once Upon A Haunted Castle
There was something tense in the air for a moment.
Gavin narrowed his eyes. “Ours are.” He slid Senara a glance she couldn’t read and then set off with Renny and the horses.
Lady Edana ignored their departure and turned toward Senara. “I’ll show ye to yer room. Ye are expected to unpack after I’ve been put to bed.”
Senara nodded. It seemed a hasty request, especially when Lady Edana had been so obviously displeased with her early arrival. Regardless, Senara bobbed a quick curtsey in reply and followed Lady Edana into the massive castle.
Inside, the sun was entirely blotted out and left Senara momentarily blinded until her eyes adjusted to the absence of light. The air was cool and spiced with the scent of cooking herbs. Large tapestries hung from the walls and picked up flecks of the scant light coming in through the windows with their gilt thread.
Senara tried to discreetly observe her surroundings while still keeping up with Lady Edana’s quick, gliding pace. After all, she’d have plenty of time to study the rich interior’s beauty in the coming months of her employment.
Three flights of stairs later found Senara on the uppermost floor. Gone were the fine tapestries and pieces of heavy furniture and resplendent paintings which had flavored the rest of the castle. A plain hallway stood in front of her with several simple wooden doors. They made their way to the one at the far end.
“Ye’re fortunate to have yer own room,” Lady Edana said. “For now, at least.”
She pulled a great ring of keys from her pocket and unlocked the door.
Inside, the room was barely wide enough to hold two small beds with a narrow table set between them. Senara felt a smile grow on her face.
Her own room.
Her very own room. Even temporarily, it was a luxury beyond anything she’d imagined possible. A single window glowed on the opposite wall, with a beam of golden sunlight shining through. Senara walked toward it and set her traveling bag on the bed while peering out.
The land stretched as far as she was able to see, all green treetops and splashes of purple heather.
Had she ever seen the world from so high up?
Giddy excitement sped through her to observe such beauty, all for her personal enjoyment in her very own room.
“If ye’re done with yer things…” Lady Edana’s voice was impatient, and only then did Senara realize she’d frozen in front of the window.
Senara spun around toward her new mistress. “Forgive me, my lady. I’m ready now.”
Lady Edana gave an approving nod and beckoned Senara to follow.
Senara pulled in a deep breath and held her smile. Life on her own was about to begin and, so far, it all looked magnificent.
Why, then, did a sudden shiver of trepidation squeeze its way down her spine?
*
“Will there bea wedding to celebrate soon?”
Gavin lifted his head from where he’d been reviewing some correspondence he’d received in the time he was away to find Edana standing in front of his desk.
How was the woman so damn silent?
Irritation pressed at him, but better now than when she finally pestered the reply from him later. “It isna to be. Her father wouldna hear of an alliance.” Gavin folded the parchment in front of him, following the thickly indented seams of how it’d been folded previously.
Edana’s mouth disappeared in a hard purse. “Ye’ve put this off too long already. Ye should have listened to me when ye were younger and wed then.”
Gavin said nothing. She had been right, something he hated to admit. But there was no sense in discussing the topic further when it couldn’t be changed. He could not undo the past.
“Ye need an heir.” Edana’s sharp tone further pricked at his ire.
“I know that.” He gave her a hard look, which she returned in equal measure.
She’d never looked at his father thusly, spoken to him thusly. Gavin wondered for the countless time if his father would have made the request he did had he known.
