Chapter 2
1516 Words
2
The voice was followed by a man who stepped out of a break in the wall I hadn’t noticed earlier. He was the same person Lina and I had seen peeking through the hedges at us, but now he wore a wide-brimmed hat. The rest of his attire consisted of a heavy tan overcoat and black shoes that looked like they belonged more on a dance floor than the mud bowl in which we found ourselves.
The stranger bowed his head and a stream of water flowed off the brim of his hat. “My sincerest apologies. I hadn’t meant to startle the young ladies.”
“Apologies my ass. . .” Lina mumbled.
Miss Livingstone stepped between the group and the man, and eyed him with all the trust of a hen at a fox. “And who are you, sir?”
“My name is David Merthyr, and I am the lord of Chwedlonol Castle,” he introduced himself as he gestured to the area beyond the hedge. “I saw your coach lights from the windows of my castle and thought I might be of assistance.”
At the mention of lordship a smile slipped onto Miss Livingstone’s lips. “That’s very kind of you, My Lord, and I’m afraid we do need some assistance. Do you know where we might find a mechanic?”
“Or a dry bed?” Lina added as she wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
Mr. Merthyr looked at us with a sympathetic smile. “You all are quite chilled, aren’t you? I have enough rooms to accommodate you all, if you’re so inclined to stay as my guests for the evening. I can have a mechanic fetched for you tomorrow morning.”
“If that wouldn’t be too much trouble,” Miss Livingstone pleaded.
He shook his head. “No trouble at all. If you would follow the dirt path beyond this hedge, it leads directly to my castle. Even in this darkness none of you will be lost.”
Miss Livingstone turned to our group. “Quickly now! Everyone grab what you need for an evening and hurry along.”
‘What you need’ turned out to be all of their possessions as the other bus passengers continued their struggle to free their hefty bags from the under-storage. Lina and I with our backpacks stood beside the hedge with the rain pouring down on us.
“Would you two ladies like some hats?” Lord Merthyr asked us as he reached into his coat and drew out two more broad-brimmed hats.
“Sure thing!” Lina agreed as she eagerly took her hat.
“That’s very kind of you,” I thanked him as I grasped the brim of the other one.
Lord Merthyr grasped my wrist in his hand and I looked up to find myself staring into his keen eyes. Even in the darkness they held a brightness that was almost akin to a glow. Those brilliant eyes studied me and a soft smile slipped onto his lips. “You have a gentle touch, Miss-?”
“Bradfern,” I told him as he released me.
He arched an eyebrow. “That is an unusual surname.”
“My mom told me it got pretty corrupted when my family came through Ellis Island,” I admitted as I set the hat on my head. “Apparently the guy taking the names that day couldn’t get through the Welsh accent.”
Lord Merthyr chuckled. “We are quite a rare people, by language and by customs.”
“And by weather,” Lina quipped as she shook her head. Droplets of water flew everywhere. “This is worse than any other part of the UK.”
“You arrived at a very opportune time,” he revealed as he looked up at the dark skies. “Such weather comes around only once every five hundred years.”
“Your weather records go back that far?” I asked him.
Lina wrinkled her nose as she shook out her map. “And you remember stuff like that?”
His smile took on a slightly slier look as he half-turned away from us. “You might say I have a rather good memory for such things, but come. The weather won’t let up for another few hours.”
Our fellow travelers gathered their trunks. I saw one particular elderly couple, each with their own ancient suitcases, linked arm-in-arm as the gentleman tried to help his wife across the ankle-deep mud that was the road.
I walked over to them with a smile and nodded at their bags. “Could I take those for you?”
“We would appreciate it,” the man answered as they both handed over their suitcases.
The woman set her wrinkled hand atop mine and returned my smile with one so kind that my heart melted. “You’re so kind.”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing. Now let’s get you across this road.”
The wife used my shoulder and that of her husband to steady herself, and we made it to the opening in the hedge. They went ahead, but I paused just beyond the threshold and beheld a sight not seen from the road. There, situated about two miles away from us, stood a castle of such majesty that I couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t on our trip. The stone castle was perfectly square with a parapet around all sides of the roof. The stones in the walls were as long as I was tall, and mocked the passage of time with their untarnished sides. Paned glass windows looked down on us with a gentle expression of welcome, and soft lights from inside bespoke comfort.
I grabbed Lina’s hand as she passed me and nodded at the castle. “Did you read up on this place?”
She shook her head. “Nope. It’s not in any of the guides I bought.”
Lina went on her way, but I stood for a while longer staring at the impressive sight. A gentle touch made me start and whip my head to my left. Lord Merthyr stood at my side. His kindly gaze looked me over with interest.
“Do you approve?” he asked me.
I nodded as I returned my attention to the stately home. “Very much so.”
“Come along, Miss Bradfern!” Miss Livingstone snapped.
I smiled at our host and adjusted my bag and the extra two suitcases I carried. “Duty calls.”
Lord Merthyr took both of the suitcases and offered me his arm. “Allow me.”
I reached for the suitcases. “I couldn’t ask you to do that.”
He dodged my hands with more energy than I gave him credit and shook his head. “The pleasure is all mine, Miss Bradfern. Now if you will follow me.”
He hurried away with the suitcases, and I joined the throngs of my bus-mates. The dirt path wound its way through a small open field and disappeared into a thick wood that surrounded the castle. Stepping into the shadows of those trees gave us some relief from the pouring rain, but I felt a strange tension in the air. It wasn’t a bad feeling, more like the excitement a child feels on Christmas Eve. The wooded path parted a long mile that was punctuated by the grumbling of my fellow travelers, and there it was. The castle.
The path stopped at an expansive yard that wrapped around the keep. A driveway with a circle looped in front of the castle and led out to our left to another road. Rose bushes stood against the stone walls between the tall paned windows, their flowers proud and tall despite the wretched weather. Large oaks surrounded their castle and their branches offered wonderful shade to the windows. On either side of the house were stone paths that disappeared to the rear and were sprinkled with ferns and wildflowers.
Lina sidled up to me. “I was hoping for a moat.”
“There is a wonderful garden at the rear of the castle,” Lord Merthyr spoke up as he passed by us. He walked to the front beside Miss Livingstone and turned to bow to our group. “Welcome, and I hope you find your stay here most pleasant.” I swear he raised his head just slightly and stared at me with a pointed look.
“That’s very kind of you, Lord Merthyr,” Miss Livingstone replied. She turned to us and clapped her hands. “Come along now! And don’t dawdle, Miss St. John!”
“Don’t dawdle, Miss St. John. . .” my friend mimicked as we followed the lord into his castle.
The interior was as majestic as the outside was imposing. The entrance hall was larger than my apartment. There was a polished stone floor and the walls were covered in colorful tapestries. The fireplace opposite the entrance was large enough to roast a cow with a couple of pigs on the side, and a warm fire crackled in the hearth. A wide staircase to the left of the fireplace led to the upper floors.
Lina’s bag bounced on her back as she hurried over to the fire and held out her hands. The fire hissed as she dripped water over its warm body. “Now this is a fire!”
Lord Merthyr set the suitcases beside the door. “If you would leave your belongings here, I will have my servants take them up while you dine.”
“We wouldn’t think of intruding any more on your hospitality,” Miss Livingstone protested.
He chuckled. “And I won’t consider anything other than a ‘yes,’ my dear woman. Now if you will come with me, I will have places set for all of you. My table is large enough.”
- Writer
