19
Later that night,Grace and Kilian made the next leg of their trek to Ross Castle. The structure was enormous, opulent, and towered intimidatingly over the countryside surrounding it. The two hopped out of Kilian’s Volkswagen Tiguan and looked on at the stunning architectural feat.
“Wow,” Kilian remarked, his eyes widening at the castle’s magnificence. “This place looks even more incredible than it does in the postcard.” He held the postcard up in the air, holding a flashlight to it, and glanced from one to the other, as if comparing them. Dim lighting surrounded the castle, illuminating it almost eerily as it stood imposingly before them.
Grace was just as thrilled, her jaw dropping at the sight. “Yeah, wow,” she added, her face frozen in an amazed expression. “Can’t wait to see what the bed and breakfast looks like.” She was exhausted but remained in good spirits, simply thankful the death-defying cliff climbing portion of their adventure was over.
They walked up the long cobblestone pathway leading to the entrance of the castle; Grace seemed to almost skip gleefully as she did so, much to Kilian’s amusement.
“We’re here for a reason, you know,” Kilian said after her. “This isn’t a romantic weekend getaway or anything,” he added playfully.
Grace looked back at him, rolling her eyes. “Oh, relax a little,” she huffed. “We’ll find the next clue and move on. But can we at least enjoy the scenery a bit?”
“Of course,” Kilian replied, his expression softening. “This place is pretty incredible.”
As they neared the entrance,a large pair of double doors stood before them. The two entered the enormous grey castle as the doors opened into a massive lobby with an impossibly high ceiling and extravagant decor from top to bottom.
Grace stood frozen in the entryway for a moment, her eyes huge with reverent admiration. “Look at this! Amazing,” she said, her voice barely above a stunned whisper. A brilliant chandelier hung above them while a long, luxurious, patterned carpet spread beneath them, leading to a front desk with two attendants.
One of the staff, an older, portly gentleman with a greying moustache, greeted them kindly as they approached the antique wooden counter. “Welcome,” his voice echoed. “Come, let’s get you both checked in.” He gestured for them to come closer, smiling brightly.
The lobby was mostly empty, with a young couple sitting and reading travel pamphlets in a corner nook near a large stone fireplace. Aside from them and the two reception staff, the lobby was empty and quiet, with only the gentle crackling of the fireplace punctuating the silence.
“Hi,” Grace greeted the older man as she and Kilian approached the front desk. “This must be a wonderful place to work every day, huh?” she asked, offering him a polite smile.
“It never gets old,” the man replied. “What can I do for you two on this fine evening? Are we checking in for the night? We’ve got some wonderful offerings on both our tower and ground floor rooms this time of year, depending on the price point you’re looking for.”
A thin older woman next to him sat at the desk, seemingly working on a stack of unidentifiable paperwork. She looked up and smiled briefly at Grace and Kilian before resuming her work, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose.
“Oh, I don’t know,” Grace replied, looking to Kilian for advice. “Should we split the bill and just go for a single room?” She glanced at the receptionists behind the desk. “Uh, with two beds, if possible, please.”
Kilian rolled his eyes at Grace’s clarification. “I’ll take care of it.” He pulled a leather wallet out of his back pocket, rifling through a few cards before pulling out what appeared to be a debit card. “Just give us your best room.”
Grace’s eyes widened a bit at Kilian’s suggestion, but she couldn’t resist the possibility of getting to stay in one of Ross Castle’s finest accommodations. “Are you sure you don’t want me to--?” She reached for her own wallet, but Kilian held up a hand.
“I got it. You’ve been through enough today. And you were right, we both deserve to relax a little, yeah?” he asked, his voice taking on a lighthearted tone.
“Our tower rooms are one-of-a-kind,” the chubby old man behind the counter piped up, placing a map and a pamphlet advertising the rooms on the counter. “Here’s an example of one of them.” He pointed at the luxurious room pictured on the trifold pamphlet. “Of course, you could opt for our ground floor rooms if budget is an issue, but--”
“No, we’ll take the tower room,” Kilian said resolutely, to Grace’s amusement and surprise. “We’ve had a rough day, and she especially deserves a break.” He wrapped an arm around Grace comfortingly, and she softened a bit in his embrace.
She nodded in agreement, looking down at the photos of the tower rooms in amazement. “These look really beautiful. And if Kilian’s paying, then I can’t complain,” she shrugged, chuckling.
“Well,we’ve got just the perfect room available for you two,” the man replied, turning to grab a room key and an extra map for them. He took Kilian’s card and ran it through the card reader, smiling affirmatively as it was promptly approved. “Thank you, sir.” He handed the card back to Kilian, who stuffed it back in his wallet.
“The room number is 104. You’ll follow this staircase over here,” the old man pointed at the map, tracing a finger along the image of a staircase to a long hallway. “And it’s the second one on the right. It’s a bit of a ways down the hall. If you have any issues, here’s our front desk number for assistance.” He jotted down a phone number on a scrap sheet of paper and handed it over to Kilian.
“Wonderful,” Kilian replied as he and Grace started off towards the grand spiraling staircase that led up to the tower rooms. “Thanks, uh, Walter.” He read the man’s name tag, nodding.
“Thanks so much,” Grace agreed before eagerly heading off in the direction of the stairs. “I’m sure the room will be great.”
The staircase was tall and seemed to wrap around itself as it neared the floor above them. Grace walked ahead of Kilian as he tiredly followed behind. “Come on, jeez,” she called out to him. “I should be the tired one here. You didn’t have to dangle off the edge of a cliff,” she teased him, finally reaching the top of the stairs.
“Yeah, yeah,” he groaned, following her down the long, winding hallway. The rooms were spread out considerably, as if to offer their guests plenty of privacy. They passed the first four rooms--100, 101, 102, 103, before reaching their destination, room 104.
Grace put the key in the door, turning it with great anticipation as she slowly opened it and peered inside. “Woah,” she whispered in surprise, “this is gorgeous.” She walked in, dropping her backpack on the floor, exploring the expansive room’s layout. “Ah, hell,” she sighed upon noticing there was only one king-sized bed in the room. “Probably should have pressed the two beds thing a bit more.”
“If it isn’t a big deal to you, it’s actually your turn to sleep on the floor,” Kilian remarked, sitting on a couch in the room. “I did it last time.”
