11
Andy
“This is a literal castle,”I said, staring up at the stone walls and arched doors in front of me. The night air was cold, but the sky was clear this time after a few flurries of snow in the afternoon—snow that was still lying on the ground and clinging stubbornly to the hedges around the front of the…
Literal.
Castle.
Where Kit’s childhood friend apparently lived.
I’d never seen a castle before in my life, but I knew I was looking at one now.
The ruins of what I thought had once been a church in the yard only added to the surreality of it all. I’d knowntheoreticallythat places like this existed, but seeing it for myself was different.
Being invited to a party in it wasreallydifferent.
“Yes,” Kit said. “I believe it’s been loaned out to serve as one in a few films, too.”
“Your friend lives in a literal castle.”
“I wouldn’t go that far,” Kit said. “He’s more of an acquaintance. And he doesn’t normally live here.”
“But you admit this is a literal castle?”
“It is quite literally called Crestwick Castle. So yes, I would admit that it is, in fact, a castle,” Kit said.
“You know people who own castles,” I said, still staring up at the doors.
“I think they mostly rent it out to tourists and for weddings,” Kit said, as though that made a difference to the part where it was aliteral castle.
Every time I thought I was over how different his world had been to mine before we met, something else came up.
“Technically,” Kit continued. “You also know people who own castles. Or you’re about to, anyway.”
Yeah, my stomach was telling me all about that, too. I wasn’t normally a nervous person, but this was different.
What if Kit’s friends hated me?
What if I screwed something up, what if I made an idiot of myself? What if I made an idiot ofKit?
What if there was more mistletoe?
Actually, I couldn’t decide whether or not I wanted there to be. I was starting to like mistletoe.
Another car pulled up behind us, and I realized then that we’d been standing in front of the door too long to be polite. We couldn’t stay out here all night.
Just as I was thinking that, the doors burst open and a harassed-looking man in a tuxedo with shiny gold buttons stepped through it, his eyes widening as he saw us.
“My Lord,” he said, looking directly at Kit.
Another pang of discomfort hit me at hearing him called that. But it was true, wasn’t it?
“I sincerely apologize, there was an emergency in the kitchens. One of the girls fainted. I hope you haven’t been waiting long.”
“Not long at all,” Kit said. “Please don’t… don’t… think nothing of it,” he finished eventually, shifting his weight awkwardly.
“Come through, and I’ll announce you.”
