Page 56 of Slippers and Thorns
Guilt stirred inside her when she considered the fact that by rights, there should be plenty of human noise around them, even if they weren’t speaking to each other. If the travel had gone as it technically should have, they would be surrounded by servants, guards, and the requisite horses and supply carts. But they weren’t…because Michael had gone to the trouble to arrange something special.
She still hadn’t made up her mind regarding his motivation. But regardless of his reasons, she appreciated the outcome. Well, parts of it, anyway.
She should acknowledge what he’d done, but that might encourage him, and she was trying to avoid that.
Finally, bolstering herself with the reminder that they would have their normal separate rooms that night, Ella worked up the courage to say something. Clearing her throat, she said, “I don’t think I ever thanked you. For arranging this.”
Michael looked up quickly. “You mean vacationing at the castle? I’m afraid I can’t take responsibility for that. I was only a little involved in the negotiations, and Father completely blindsided me with this trip.”
Ella shook her head. “No, I mean how we traveled. I truly did enjoy it more than the way we usually do it. So, thank you, Mike. It was very thoughtful of you.”
He smiled faintly. “You’re welcome.”
They fell back into silence, the sounds of the forest gently filling the background. Their guards filtered out of the trees and dropped into a loose formation around them shortly before the brighter light of a clearing appeared in front of them, signaling their imminent arrival at their destination.
The sun was nearing the horizon as they trooped through the gate. The outer wall was still in disrepair, although there was a crew working on it; apparently, King Phillip didn’t consider that a critical element for his heir to visit, but Ella didn’t blame him. The area wasn’t known for bandits or other crime, and they had a guard contingent to protect them against surprises.
Inside the gate, a small group of servants was waiting. Once they dismounted, their horses were quickly shuffled off to the stables, while the few belongings they carried were spirited off to their rooms. By the time the guards filed off to the barracks, the only remaining occupants of the courtyard were Michael, Ella, the housekeeper, and Ella’s maid, Jackie.
“Welcome to Reineggburg, Your Highnesses,” the housekeeper said briskly. “I trust your journey went well?”
Michael graced the woman with one of his more mischievous smiles. “Quite well, thank you, Mrs. Nickelby,” he replied.
Mrs. Nickelby sniffed. “I imagine you will want to freshen up before dinner.” Encompassing both of them with her look, she continued, “If you follow Jacqueline, she will show you to the suite prepared for you.”
Michael narrowed his eyes at her while Ella simply blinked when no further statement was made. “I’m sorry,” Ella said into the semi-awkward silence following the housekeeper’s words. “I think I’m missing something. What about Michael?”
The maid hid a giggle behind her hand. Mrs. Nickelby, on the other hand, frowned. “King Phillip specifically instructed me to prepare a single suite for the both of you,” she huffed. Apparently, she considered it scandalous for a married (royal) couple to share sleeping quarters.
“But…” Ella trailed off, turning her eyes to Michael with a slightly stricken expression. He’d been smirking at the housekeeper, but he scowled when he saw Ella’s face.
“Don’t look at me.” He raised his hands in a disclaiming gesture. “I didn’t have any more to do with this than I did the trip itself.”
He was right, of course. Ella knew Michael hadn’t finagled a month of sleeping in the same room as her. That didn’t mean she had to be happy about it, though.
“Very well,” she said in her best regal tone. No need to feed more grist into the servants’ gossip mill than necessary. “Lead the way, if you please, Jackie.”
As she and Michael followed Jackie into and through the castle, Ella compared the new reality to how she remembered it. The oppressive wrongness that they had encountered on their original arrival was gone, but she thought she could sense a slight heaviness that couldn’t be attributed to humidity. Despite her determination to maintain her distance, she found herself shrinking towards Michael, seeking the comfort of his presence.
The physical aspects of the castle were greatly improved. No longer were the rooms and furnishings dusty, nor was any of the stone broken. She could see a few places where repairs had been made, but mostly because she remembered what it looked like before; if she hadn’t been looking, she wouldn’t have seen it due to the high quality of the work.
“Have the workers not reached that part of the building?” Michael asked, breaking into Ella’s thoughts. Looking ahead, she saw they were approaching the back tower, the one that had been covered in thorny vines, even inside the building and over the door.
The one that wasstillcovered in thorny vines, even inside the building and over the door.
“I think they’re waiting on one of the gardeners to clear it first,” Jackie replied airily. She leaned back towards Ella, assuming a conspiratorial posture. “I heard the construction workers think the tower is haunted.”
“Haunted?” Michael laughed. “There’s no such thing.”
Given the uneasy feeling in her spine, Ella decided not to be so dismissive. “Why would they think that?”
“Well,” Jackie stated with obvious relish, “aside from the fact that they’ve supposedly cut out the vine around the door several times – only to come back later to find it completely covered again – every few mornings, the men all fall into a trance.”
“A trance?” Ella repeated.
Jackie nodded with solemn glee. “That’s right. Someone will walk by and find them all sitting or standing with their tools limp in their hands, just staring in the direction of that tower. The cook had to bang a couple of pots together, she told me, to get her male assistants to snap out of it.”
That sounded uncomfortably familiar. “It affects all of them?”
