The gypsies opened doors for my parents, then May, who did not want to sleep alone. I was not about to put up with her snores all night.
“Please, Glynis, let me sleep with you,” she whispered softly, her eyes pleading.
“Oh, please, May, what are you afraid of? Ghosts?”
She clutched her bonnet to her chest tightly, gazing into the candlelit room that had been prepared for her. When her gaze returned to me, I could see the fear in her eyes. “Yes, yes, I am. ”
I felt rather bad for her, but I just could not stand a night of her snores and thrashing about. Taking hold of her hand, I kissed her cheek softly. “Don’t fear, little sister, there is nothing here that can hurt you. ”
She looked at me hopefully. “Do you really believe that? You are not afraid?”
With a wild laugh, I twirled away from her down the shadowy hallway. “Of course not. ”
The two gypsy women exchanged furtive glances, and I caught their dark expressions out of the corner of my eye. I gave them a sharp look, warning them to keep silent, then rushed back to shower May with kisses as I pressed her firmly into her room.
“Tomorrow will be a grand day. Now rest up!”
I made a great show of blowing her kisses, then shut the door firmly. I shall never forget the expression on her delicate face. She was afraid. Later, I realized she was afraid for me.
“Now, don’t you go frightening my sister with heathen concepts of ghosts and other horrible creatures,” I said to the gypsy women.
One laughed softly as the other crossed herself.
“There is more in this world than you English know,” the somber one said, brushing past me.
The chortling gypsy followed, holding her lantern high.
I frowned, following, quite perturbed by their behavior. There was a certain part of me that was quite taken with the castle. It seemed like the dreary, gloomy setting of a gothic romance that was found in the sensationalistic penny dreadfuls. I could easily imagine all sorts of ungodly creatures roaming the shrouded hallways and lurking in the darkened doorways.
I shivered as my thoughts strayed to the Prince.
No, the true danger was the Prince. The way he had gazed at me had unnerved me. I had had a few men look upon me with desire before. I could tell they were wondering what the caress of my lips would feel like against theirs. However, I was certain the Prince had been imagining something much more lascivious.
I noticed that the gypsies were guiding me deeper into the castle, leaving my family far down the hall.
“Why is my room so far away from my family?”
“Many of the rooms are not very good. We are giving you the nicest room,” one gypsy woman said as she opened a door for me.
The spacious room was fairly clean, but smelled odd. There was a large bed with beautiful, rich bedclothes that were showing their great age, and I wrinkled my nose with distaste. My luggage was already open, and a nightgown was laid out for me on the turned down covers.
I frowned. “This is the nicest room?”
Disregarding my rather rude question, they shut the door solidly behind me.
This was such a horrid place. Yes, the décor was ornate, but it was so old. So worn. So ancient.
In the corner, steam rose from a small basin set out so I could freshen up. I quickly discarded my traveling clothes, washed my face and limbs, and changed into the nightgown. I longed for a proper bath, but that did not seem likely. After making sure that the shutters were drawn tight over the windows, I climbed reluctantly into the musty bed. I snuggled down under the cover, attempting to relax.
The wind sang outside the window and thunder boomed in the distance. Faintly, I thought I heard wolves howling. Except for the fire raging in the fireplace across the room, there was nothing to give me comfort.
I thought of ghosts and goblins, entertaining a moment of fear, but then I laughed aloud at the ridiculous concept. As I did every night, I said my prayers and settled down to sleep.
Again, I thought I heard whispers just beyond the edge of my hearing. My eyes snapped open, and I glanced about the room. It was empty, yet I could still hear the hushed voices.
“Who is there?”
There was no direct answer to my question, but the voices continued to linger just on the edge of my hearing.