“You do it well. I am sure his mother would have been pleased to know her son was left in capable hands.”
Lucien studied her for a long moment as a clearing came into view.
“We are here,” he said.
Marianne looked up, realizing that their conversation – deep as it had become – was now at an end.
CHAPTER 16
MARIANNE
The building that rose up before them was truly impressive. Marianne looked up at it, craning her neck. It was ruined—that much was clear. The stone façade still stood, but the inside appeared mostly gutted. Some of the walls had crumbled, and the wall was blackened.
“It was almost palace-like,” she murmured, “at least it must have been once, when it stood in all its glory.”
“You seem quite taken with it,” Lucien said with a smile. “Perhaps you are an explorer. And you didn’t even fall off your horse once.”
“That is because we moved at a snail’s pace. I do believe I heard that this property was only a twenty-minute ride, yet it took us almost two hours.”
“Well, you can try galloping back if you like,” Lucien said with a wink. A jolt went through her as he did it. There was somethingso roguish, something so beguiling about the way he winked at her.
She forced her attention back onto the ruin in front of her.
“You said a fire happened here?”
“A fire, yes. And then a storm and a lightning strike, I believe. My grandfather used to take me here and tell me all manner of terrible stories—to frighten me. He said it was haunted by the lord who used to live here.”
She shivered, but this time it was not a pleasant shiver. “Do you think it is haunted?”
“I used my grandfather’s example and told Henry it was haunted, also. so he wouldn’t wander off in this direction,” he said. “But I doubt it is truly haunted. The gentleman who owned this place died during a sea voyage to France more than a hundred years ago. There were no descendants, I believe, which is why it fell into disrepair. Much of the stone was carried away to build a small village near our home.”
The wordsour homesent a rush of comfort through her.
“Goodness,” she said, “so that’s why it looks the way it does. Can we go inside?”
He nodded and walked forward. There wasn’t a front door to speak of anymore. The front façade was still there, but wherea door had once hung was only half an archway and crumbling stairs. She hastened forward and stepped up, pausing when she felt his hand on the small of her back.
“Careful. These rocks are very unstable. You could easily fall. I’ve done so more than once.”
“You come here often?” she asked.
“I used to. I haven’t been here for several years now, but I used to come almost every week. I built myself a little library in the back—a small shelf with a few books and a comfortable chair.”
“A hiding place,” she said, looking up at him. “I wonder if it’s still here.”
“I imagine so, although some vagabond may have taken whatever was worth taking. I wouldn’t imagine much. I kept some glasses here and bottles of wine—nothing of quality. I usually drank ale.”
“That is not exactly the drink of a nobleman.”
“That’s what my father used to say,” Lucien replied. “My grandfather drank it, though, and I always strived to be like him. Although I believe the last time I came, I brought whiskey.”
The interior of the building was light because there was no roof and most of the walls had fallen in, but Marianne could stillsee the marble flooring that once upon a time must’ve been beautiful.
“This must’ve been a great entrance hall,” she said, looking up. “You can still see the staircase over there.” She pointed to two pieces of wood sticking up.
“You can tell that from here?”
“Well, yes,” she said. “You must only imagine it as it might’ve been at one time. I think there was a grand winding staircase right here.” She walked over to what she thought must have been banisters, pleased to find herself correct in her assumption. “There would have been a landing up here leading to more rooms. And to the right here, you can still see the doorway. I am certain this used to be the dining room.”
