Betty slowly drove the SUV over a stone bridge about fifty yards in length. Beneath the bridge, about twenty yards below, a sea of rough, angry water roared. Giant waves splashed up against the rocky shore and then flowed back out into the massive sea that people called Lake Ontario. Candy wasn't sure why the Great Lakes were calledlakes? The bodies of water were tremendous in size. Each lake resembled a small ocean in Candy's view. And while the lakes were consumed with wonderful beauty—the lakes were also filled with countless dangers. Candy knew if the stone bridge Betty was driving over failed, the SUV would plunge into a deep, icy abyss, or so she believed. The deepest part of Lake Ontario was about 802 feet—too deep for Candy's liking. Surely the waters below the bridge were very deep.
“We're almost across,” Betty promised Candy, sensing the woman was growing tense.
“Don't worry,” Chris spoke in a calming voice, “the waters that surround the island are relatively shallow. There's a land rise in this part of the lake. Think of it like a...bump on your skin. The land rise is made of hard ground, and the water aroundthe island gets no deeper than about eight feet. You have to boat out...oh, about a mile...to reach deeper water. The island sits in the middle of the land rise.”
“Chris loved topography when he was younger,” Betty explained.
“I still do.” Chris smiled and then added, “Well, maybe not as much as I used to, but I'm still very familiar with this area, Aunt Betty.”
“I'm just grateful I remembered the right security code.” Betty focused on driving across the bridge. She was forced to come to a stop when she reached a security gate. “We're not getting off this bridge until that gate is open.”
“I'll go put in the code.” Chris jumped out into the heavy snow and screaming wind.
Candy watched him run up to a cast iron gate. A gray pole was attached to the gate, and Chris focused on the green, glowing box attached to the pole. Candy quickly looked away from Chris. An angry sea of water stood off to her left and right. Lake Ontario was a gorgeous body of water...during the warmer months. But winter storms had a tendency to turn this body of water into an icy monster. The sound of thunderous waves striking the shoreline caused Candy to tense up. “Dear, are you okay?” Betty asked.
“Oh sure. I just never cared for water that much,” Candy confessed. “I don't mind the water...and I find the Arctic Ocean to be somewhat romantic...but when the water is rough, I tense up a little. It’s probably because I went out with my mother on the lake when I was a little girl with a man she wanted to marry. We got caught in a storm and nearly died.”
“Oh, you never told me that. If I had known—”
“No, no, it's okay, Betty. I promise.” Candy forced out a brave tone and then decided to put Betty at ease. “I can swim like afish. My mother forced me to learn to swim when I was five years old. I think I could swim across Lake Ontario if I had to.”
“I believe you could.” Betty waited until the gate started to open and then drove forward some. Chris happily jumped into the front seat. “Here we go!”
“Let's hope there's some coffee around.” Chris blew into his hands. “I forgot how strong the winds are on this lake.”
Candy leaned forward and watched as Betty drove off the bridge. The SUV encountered a narrow road surrounded by snowy trees. The road went straight for a few yards and then hit a little curve, hit a straightaway, another little curve, another straightaway, another curve...and then...the trees cleared and then the land opened up. “Oh my...”
The first thing Candy saw was a massive stone castle sitting up on a hill. The castle was bathed in snow...like a dream. When Betty said the mansion on the island resembled a castle, she had not exaggerated the fact. The castle just wasn't covered with snow. The entire castle was glowing with Christmas lights. Not one single inch of the structure lacked a cheerful light filled with Christmas wonder.
“Will you look at that,” Chris said.
“My...” Betty took a breath. “I know my cousin said he was going to leave us a surprise. I thought he meant a box of donuts. My goodness.” Betty drove up to a circular stone driveway that was covered with snow. The snow was deep and prevented the SUV from reaching the front door of the castle. “We're on foot from here. Everyone out. Candy, dear, don't forget your purse.”
Candy felt the hard wind shake the SUV. The wind coming in off the lake was powerful. She prepared herself to encounter a wave of icy air. No matter. She adored the cold and the snow. “Here I go!” Candy grabbed her white purse, then quickly crawled out of the SUV and stepped down into snow thatcovered her ankles. She locked her eyes on the castle. “It's like a dream,” she whispered. “I can't believe what I'm seeing.”
The castle Candy was staring at was massive in size. Even though the structure was termed amansion, all Candy saw was a castle. “This place was built in the year 1778 by a man named Matthew Andrew McOwens,” Chris' voice floated into Candy's ears. “Most of the original structure was destroyed by a massive storm before its construction could be completed. Matthew gave up on building a castle and built a massive mansion. In 1820 his son, Peter McOwens, fulfilled his father's dream by turning the structure into a castle...well, at least the outside. Peter McOwens died before he could renovate the interior. I don't think that matters too much because both the outside and inside are incredible beyond words.”
“Betty said the castle was massive in size...but it's like looking at...ten giant castles at once,” Candy spoke over the howling winds—winds that most people shunned.
“I've gotten lost quite a few times.” Chris laughed, battling the cold by keeping his chin tucked down some. He was shocked to see Candy holding her head up. “Doesn't the wind bother you?”
“I love the cold and snow...I'm just that way,” Candy explained as Betty made her way out of the SUV. “The cold has never bothered me. In fact, I prefer the cold and snow over warm, sunny beaches.” Candy quickly looked around. She spotted a brick building off in the distance. “Is that the airplane hangar?”
“It is...and there's a little runway just big enough to land a private plane behind it,” Chris confirmed. He lifted his hand and pointed at three other buildings sitting across from the airplane hangar. “Those buildings are storage buildings.”
“They look like mini castles.”
“You should see the guest house behind the castle,” Betty called out as she fought her way through the snow. “The guest house is almost as big as the castle...but we'll talk about that later. Let's get inside. I need some coffee.”
“We're standing right in the middle of the island on high ground,” Chris explained as he took Betty's hand and helped her walk up to the front of the castle. A set of towering stone steps draped with large Christmas bulbs greeted everyone. Chris helped Betty up the stairs and then stopped at two wooden doors that stood ten feet tall and seven feet in length. The face of a powerful lion was carved into each door. Someone had placed a Christmas wreath over the faces of the lions. “I'll put in the code.”
“The code is 888798,” Betty called out and then added, “I think...”
Chris stepped up to the green, glowing security pad situated to the right of the front doors. He put in the needed code. A loudclickingsound erupted into the air, followed by one of the front doors slowly opening on its own. “Away we go.” Chris smiled. He hurried everyone into a foyer that could have fitted an aircraft carrier and closed the front door.
“My goodness...” Candy gasped. Her voice echoed out of the foyer and began wandering through the castle.
“Aunt Betty, your wealthy cousin is a relative of Peter McOwens,” Chris explained. “He inherited this island. I think that's why the man decided to give the island over to you and Candy instead of selling it. I don't know much about Peter personally, but from what I do know about the man, he seemed to be a good guy who loved kids. He turned this island into an orphanage until he died at the age of seventy-eight. I guess running the orphanage took up most of his time, restricting his ability to complete the inside renovation the way he wanted.”
