Page 212 of One Eye Open (The BlackWater)

“You want to be a farmer?” She teased.

“Not me, I’d outsource it, but the amount this place takes just for upkeep.” He shook his head.

“Would you ever sell it?” She asked.

“No. It’s my family seat. As much as it costs me, and as much as I’m frustrated by all the pomp and grandeur, this is my legacy, my family’s history.”

She smiled at him, at the sincerity in his voice too.

“Let me show you this…” He said taking her hand and leading her on down a small lane.

“Where are we going?” Maddie asked.

He just grinned and shook his head.

“You know I hate surprises right?” She added.

“That’s not true Maddie. You hate other people’s surprises. You said before that all mine are worth it.” He said.

“Urgh.” She muttered.

They walked further on and she narrowed her eyes at the building ahead of them.

“Is that…?”

“Yes. It’s our family’s chapel.” He said.

“You have your own chapel?” She teased.

“It’s where my ancestors are buried.”

“So you mother…” She began.

“She’ll be interred here in our family crypt.”

She nodded scanning his face for any hint of what he was thinking but in that moment she couldn’t read him.

“Can we go inside?” She asked.

He smiled. “Be my guest.”

She walked ahead, through the archway, and along the uneven stone cobbles. There was a huge wooden door and she wondered how heavy it would be to open but when she pulled up the latch it glided as if the hinges had been freshly oiled.

Inside the light was filtered through beautifully stained glass windows and she couldn’t help but gasp at it. There were ten wooden church pews split evenly with a walk way through the middle and on the floor where flagstones with engravings that told her some of Cole’s distant family were buried beneath it.

Above her she could see coats of arms, Tudor roses too, heraldic emblems that no doubt dated back to when this chapel was built. It was small, intimate, she doubted the villagers would have ever come here to worship in medieval times.

At the end was a stone altar, with intricate carving around the lip and the top was covered in pillar candles, all lit and flickering in the light.

“Wow.” She said looking back at him.

“What do you think Maddie?”

“It’s beautiful.” She said.

“This is where my family have held every significant event in their lives, every christening, every marriage, every funeral too. Every one has been celebrated and mourned in this space for centuries.”

She sighed look around. What would it feel to have such a history? Such a legacy, she wondered.

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