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“Well, I do really like romance. Okay, I suppose I’ll watch it. Just warn me when the dirty scenes come, and I’ll look away.”
“I’m gluing your eyes open,” Alice teased. “You don’t want to miss Jamie and Claire getting it on.”
“So hot,” Sylvie whispered with a swoon.
Before I could argue back that I didn’t want to watch naughty TV shows, the door to the taxi opened. Grant bowed as he stepped aside, and one by one, the Widows and I filed out.
“Welcome!” the woman said, her thick Scottish accent rolling over the word. “I’m Fiona, and this is my husband, Finley. We’re the owners of McCallum Castle. It’s our joy to welcome you to our home and invite you to step back in time with us during your stay here. We’ll take your bags, and escort you to your rooms where you’ll find closets of traditional clothing awaiting you. Just look through the closets in your room, choose your favorite outfit, then when you’re ready, you’ll come back down and join us in the Great Hall for a meet and greet with the other guests currently staying here.”
“This is so exciting!” I bounced up and down. “Thank you for having us!”
“Our pleasure,” Fiona answered. “Now, follow us.”
After exchanging excited looks, the Widows and I followed them into the castle. Every step of the tour on the way to our rooms, I oohed and aahed over all the beautiful décor filling every stone room. Rich tapestries. Beautiful candles. Gorgeous paintings. It looked like we had tumbled back in time, and I felt like a real princess being escorted to my room.
“These four rooms are yours,” Finley said as he pointed to the four doors along the corridor. “This one overlooks the gardens, though they aren’t filled with all the colorful flowers you would see in summer, but it’s still beautiful greenery even this time of the year. It’s been a very mild winter well above freezing most days, so we even have the fountain still running. The three rooms across the hall overlook the meadows. You can each choose your room, and then once you’re settled, come on down.”
“And the bathrooms?” Alice asked. “There are bathrooms, right?”
“Yes,” Fiona answered. “We tried to keep everything as authentic as possible, but there have been some updates for comfort. The bathroom for this floor is right down there. You’ll find a shower, a bathtub, and toilets.”
“Oh, thank God,” Alice breathed.
“Now, get settled, and we’ll see you in forty-five minutes for the welcome party. Let us know if you need anything.” Finley gave us a bow, then took Fiona’s arm and they left us standing in the hall.
“Since it’s Doris’s wish, I say she gets to pick her bedroom,” Sylvie said, gesturing to the four doors surrounding us.
“Oh, my.” I cupped my face, heart fluttering in my chest as I stepped toward the first door. When I opened it, I gasped at the beauty greeting my eyes, and those tears I’d been holding back started to flow.
“Are you okay, Doris?” Alice asked. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s just more beautiful than I ever dreamed of. You have no idea how much I always wanted to stay in a castle, and it feels too amazing that it’s really coming true. It’s so much better than I imagined.”
“I’m so glad you’re happy.” Sylvie slipped an arm around my shoulder and squeezed. “I think this is going to be a very fun wish. Now, let’s look at all the rooms and pick your favorite.”
“Okay.” I wiped my tears then took a breath and stepped inside the room. Everything looked exactly as it would have if I’d been born in the seventeenth century and called this place home. The candles, the fabrics, the four-poster carved bed. Everything. I walked over to the window and stepped onto the small stone balcony, the tears starting up again when I looked down into the expansive garden below. Tall hedges formed a maze around it, and a beautiful fountain in the center spewed droplets of water into the air.
“It’s magical,” I sighed as I leaned on the stone balcony. I envisioned it in the summer with explosions of colorful flowers twisted into all the greenery and hedges still thriving in the winter months.
“Okay, this is pretty freaking cool,” Marge said when she joined me. “I can’t imagine how much time goes into those gardens.”
“Wow,” Sylvie echoed our thoughts.
“Okay, I need a new gardener.” Alice slid up beside us. “My gardens don’t look anything like this. I wonder if I can swipe their gardener.”
“Alice!” I playfully swatted her. “Don’t steal away the person who makes this garden possible. We need to leave them here so they can continue the work that will make so many people who visit happy. People like us, happy.”
She sighed. “Fine, fine. But I’m taking pictures. I want my gardener to recreate this in my yard.”
“You’re on a one-acre lot,” Sylvie pointed out. “I think just that one small corner of the gardens takes up five acres. This will never fit on your property.”
She shrugged. “Well then, a miniature version of it.”
Alice pulled out her phone and snapped some shots.
“Let’s see the other rooms so Doris can pick her favorite,” Sylvie said, ending our gawking at the beautiful gardens and endless green lands surrounding them.
With one quick glance around the stunning room, I planted my hands on my hips. “I don’t need to see the other rooms. This one is mine. It’s perfect.”
