stone fortress perched high above them. If Ennsway Castle had been bigger and grander than anything Moira had ever seen, then Baesland Castle, as they drove closer, was breathtaking..
Chloe couldn't help herself; she craned her head by the window for a better view. This was a castle straight out of a fairy tale. This was surely where Cinderella had ended up.
"Do you like it?" William asked softly, even with a bit of uncertainty, as if this were a very important question for him.
"What's not to like? Other than I'm being brought here against my will."
He smiled, not the result she'd been hoping for.
The final approach to the castle was a long, straight drive, giving Chloe a remarkable view. She suspected she'd seen this castle on calendars.
"You have a moat?" It circled the curtain wall, which had all the requisite battlements and towers, just more of them than seemed possible.
"It is the same moat that you tried to swim across as a child."
Mentally she slapped herself upside the head. Careful! "I don't remember it being so wide."
"How odd. Adults normally remember things as being larger than they actually were in their childhood."
"Uh, yeah, I usually do, too."
"Now that you are all grown up—"
She was pleased to hear a catch in his voice.
"—you will understand why our mothers were so upset. Imagine, a little girl who thought she could swim farther than a cannonball could fly."
Chloe had sudden insight into Moira as a child, and it didn't quite mesh with the reserved young woman she'd met at a charity horse show ten years ago. Cool, collected, soft-spoken Princess Moira had hooked a two-foot-long blue ribbon to the bridle on Chloe's borrowed horse, shaken her hand and congratulated her. At the time, Chloe had been pretty darned impressed that she'd shaken hands with a real princess.
When they ran into each other again on UCSB's campus, they'd struck up a conversation. The rest was history. Even though, as their friendship solidified, Moira had proposed that they trade places a couple of times for an occasional weekend, Chloe hadn't thought of her as adventurous.
That image was up for reassessment.
The chauffeur drove through a stone gatehouse, complete with portcullis and murder holes, across the one-lane bridge over the moat and through another gatehouse. If she'd been a princess of old, she would have worried that escape from here would be impossible. That didn't bother the modern her in the least, because she wouldn't have to escape; if she succeeded in annoying him enough, William would eventually send her away.
Though finding him in such a monstrosity might be difficult. So much for her idea of leaving clothes and dirty dishes strewn all around the place. Even if the servants didn't pick them up immediately, the chances of William coming across them in the next six months would be slim indeed. And she had no intention of being here that long.
"This is much larger than my father's castle."
"There are three hundred rooms here, more if you want to count the others."
She'd been right; he couldn't have any concept of needing space. "Others?"
He shrugged. "The greenhouse, the aviary, the indoor pool, the theater—"
"Oh, those."
In the bailey, the tires crunched on gravel as they rounded the reflecting pool, complete with a pair of white swans paddling about. A curved, double staircase, obviously added after the threat of castle-storming was over, led up to a stained-glass doorway that would have done any cathedral proud. On either side were pots of ivy-shrouded sculptures.
The chauffeur hopped out and held Chloe's door open. William, she noted, was quick to round the car and hold out his hand. Though her fingers itched to touch his again, she pointedly ignored the gesture.
"What possible use could anyone have for three hundred rooms?"
"It will not seem like so many when our children are grown. Please, come this way."
"Our children?"
"I must have an heir. Surely you did not think we would
Chloe couldn't help herself; she craned her head by the window for a better view. This was a castle straight out of a fairy tale. This was surely where Cinderella had ended up.
"Do you like it?" William asked softly, even with a bit of uncertainty, as if this were a very important question for him.
"What's not to like? Other than I'm being brought here against my will."
He smiled, not the result she'd been hoping for.
The final approach to the castle was a long, straight drive, giving Chloe a remarkable view. She suspected she'd seen this castle on calendars.
"You have a moat?" It circled the curtain wall, which had all the requisite battlements and towers, just more of them than seemed possible.
"It is the same moat that you tried to swim across as a child."
Mentally she slapped herself upside the head. Careful! "I don't remember it being so wide."
"How odd. Adults normally remember things as being larger than they actually were in their childhood."
"Uh, yeah, I usually do, too."
"Now that you are all grown up—"
She was pleased to hear a catch in his voice.
"—you will understand why our mothers were so upset. Imagine, a little girl who thought she could swim farther than a cannonball could fly."
Chloe had sudden insight into Moira as a child, and it didn't quite mesh with the reserved young woman she'd met at a charity horse show ten years ago. Cool, collected, soft-spoken Princess Moira had hooked a two-foot-long blue ribbon to the bridle on Chloe's borrowed horse, shaken her hand and congratulated her. At the time, Chloe had been pretty darned impressed that she'd shaken hands with a real princess.
When they ran into each other again on UCSB's campus, they'd struck up a conversation. The rest was history. Even though, as their friendship solidified, Moira had proposed that they trade places a couple of times for an occasional weekend, Chloe hadn't thought of her as adventurous.
That image was up for reassessment.
The chauffeur drove through a stone gatehouse, complete with portcullis and murder holes, across the one-lane bridge over the moat and through another gatehouse. If she'd been a princess of old, she would have worried that escape from here would be impossible. That didn't bother the modern her in the least, because she wouldn't have to escape; if she succeeded in annoying him enough, William would eventually send her away.
Though finding him in such a monstrosity might be difficult. So much for her idea of leaving clothes and dirty dishes strewn all around the place. Even if the servants didn't pick them up immediately, the chances of William coming across them in the next six months would be slim indeed. And she had no intention of being here that long.
"This is much larger than my father's castle."
"There are three hundred rooms here, more if you want to count the others."
She'd been right; he couldn't have any concept of needing space. "Others?"
He shrugged. "The greenhouse, the aviary, the indoor pool, the theater—"
"Oh, those."
In the bailey, the tires crunched on gravel as they rounded the reflecting pool, complete with a pair of white swans paddling about. A curved, double staircase, obviously added after the threat of castle-storming was over, led up to a stained-glass doorway that would have done any cathedral proud. On either side were pots of ivy-shrouded sculptures.
The chauffeur hopped out and held Chloe's door open. William, she noted, was quick to round the car and hold out his hand. Though her fingers itched to touch his again, she pointedly ignored the gesture.
"What possible use could anyone have for three hundred rooms?"
"It will not seem like so many when our children are grown. Please, come this way."
"Our children?"
"I must have an heir. Surely you did not think we would
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