AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Then again, I also had manners. They were already kind enough to open their home to someone they’d never met, so perhaps I was going to have to suck it up.
“Can we talk now?” I asked as we walked down a long corridor.
“In a second,” he replied. “A lot of the family guests are coming on Thursday and are staying here, so the housekeeping staff are extra busy preparing all the rooms. They aren’t usually in use, so they need extra cleaning.”
“How many rooms are there here?”
“Bedrooms? About twenty-four.”
“Ah, yes, the average number for a household in modern-day Britain.”
He flashed a smile over his shoulder and stopped in front of a large door. “This is my room. Well, rooms,” he added, pulling a key out of his pocket. “Now I know why they gave me two keys.”
“You didn’t think to mention that when we were in the car? And I specifically asked what the setup was?”
“Actually, it completely slipped my mind.” He pushed open a thick door and wheeled my cases from the stone tiles onto some parquet wood flooring. “The castle is sometimes opened to the public in the summer when Grandma and Grandpa go on holiday,” he explained when I frowned at it. “They’re not allowed in the private rooms, but the guided tours walk through the halls, so apart from a small area, it’s all either original or restored flooring.”
“Oh. That makes sense.” I followed him inside and closed the thick door behind me, then paused.
This was not a room.
This was an entire wing of rooms.
“Nice… flat?” I offered, casting my gaze across the space.
He grimaced. “Yeah. Back in the thirties, my great-great-grandfather decided he wanted some of the castle turned into flats. To rent them out, I think, to help with income for the estate. But then the war happened, and he was never able to get the renovations finished. When my great-grandfather became the duke, he decided to turn the half-renovated flats into wings for family members. They consist of a living space, a bedroom, and a bathroom. These are actually the rooms reserved for the eldest son.”
I paused, frowning slightly. “So why aren’t your parents staying here?”
“There’s a very high chance my grandparents and my mother would kill each other, so Mum and Dad are staying at a cottage on the estate. So is my sister, but that’s more because Grandpa spent twenty-four hours with her in the castle and sent her away because he couldn’t handle her.”
“Couldn’t handle her?”
“She’s a prime bridezilla with his temper,” he admitted. “He threatened to cancel the wedding three times in two hours, she threatened to disinvite him, to which he replied, “What bloody wedding, I’ve cancelled it!” so Grandma decided it would be best if Freya stayed elsewhere.”
“Ah.” I nodded slowly and looked around. The door to the bedroom was open, and I could see another door I presumed belonged to the bathroom. “I thought you said there was no family drama.”
“I already told you I lied about that. Also, I thought you would have your own room, so I’m not the most reliable narrator.”
I put my bag down on the end table by the door and stared at him. “Yes. About that.”
CHAPTER SEVEN – GRACE
Fairy-tale Schmairy-tale
“I’m not sharing a room with you, never mind a bed,” I told him. “I don’t know you.”
“Okay, let’s talk about this.” William rolled my cases to the side and walked across the room to the window. “It’s one hundred percent my fault for not clarifying from the beginning that you were just a friend.”
“Yes. I know.”
“If you want me to go downstairs and tell them there have been some crossed wires, I’ll happily do it. Right now.” He turned around and perched on the thick windowsill. “Honestly, I’ll go now, and I’ll see if there’s a room close to me that you can stay in.”
“Why didn’t you just say something then?”
“Grandma blindsided me, I guess, and they both seemed to accept you without batting an eyelid. After the drama with my parents…” He shrugged.
I waved my hands and sat on the plush sofa. The room and fireplace might have been ornate, but the majority of the furniture was just regular furnishings, and I wondered if Will had a say in it.
