He laughed. “Bloody hell, not again.”
“How lucky for you I am an expert at writing the most persuasive adverts, and they have been known to entice the least distractible and most unyielding of men.”
“Allow me to let you in on a little secret, darling; it was not the writing that did it.”
Willow laughed. “It brought you to Leland Park, didn’t it?”
“Oh, you mean the vagueness and half truths? Perhaps. But these are not the reasons I remained.”
She gave him a playful shove. “We’ll not need any vagueness when we describe Caldera. The authentic beauty of the castle cannot be overstated. The advertisement will practically write itself. Then we’ll print it in the London papers and post it in exclusive districts like Belgravia and Mayfair. We can challenge the city of Bath for its title as England’s premier restorative holiday retreat.” She paused, smiling at her ambition. “Why not?”
“I can think of a dozen reasons,” he said, but the words came out slowly, haltingly. He took her into his arms. “If I know you, there are answers for them all.” He kissed her deeply while his mothers and sisters looked on.
In her ear, he whispered, “I’ve done wilder things and won in the end, haven’t I? Why the bloody hell not?”
EPILOGUE
Five years later . . .
In the summer of 1836, Lord Brent and Lady Willow Cassin welcomed the king and queen of England to Caldera Castle.
His Majesty King William IV and Her Royal Highness Queen Adelaide, along with a retinue of courtiers and five of the king’s illegitimate daughters, made the journey to soothe the king’s troublesome joint pain in Caldera’s Roman baths. After two years of society’s enthusiastic talk about the castle, they also came to see what all the fuss was about.
Willow could not have been more pleased. Her goal for the refurbished Caldera Castle had been regal and majestic, with a colorful dash of drama and magic thrown in. The result seemed to please even the most discerning guests. Some came to take the waters, others would come to explore the Roman ruins, but still others, she knew, would thrill to simply spend a few nights in a romantic stone castle, with bright pennants snapping from the turrets and a cavernous great hall. Never did she dream that the king and queen, both in full possession of their own romantic castles, would be curious about the stunning but small (if she was honest) Yorkshire estate. But certainly she did not complain.
The trickle of curious local gentry who patronized the castle in the early days had eventually turned into a steady stream of wealthy patrons from all over England; London especially, with a few guests traveling from the world abroad. Perhaps it was only a matter of time until they were patronized by the king and queen.
“Willow, Willow, Willow,” called Cassin’s youngest sister Marietta, skidding into the castle library in the family wing. Willow, Ruth, Cassin, and his middle sister, Violet, were bent over a checklist, going over last-minute protocol for the royal visit.
Willow smiled at her sister-in-law. “Oh, look at you, Marietta; how lovely. Your mother and I were right about the green dress.”
“The dress is pretty,” conceded Marietta, “but what about my hair?”
Willow gave her a dismissive wave. “Perry will do everyone’s hair.”
Marietta looked incredulous and began to tick off Perry’s current burden. “Mama’s headdress, Juliana’s bun, Violet’s chignon, Ruth’s funny hat, and your . . . your . . . ” She crinkled her nose. “It’s far too much, even for Perry,” she exclaimed.
“No amount of hair is too much for Perry, I assure you. Seek her out upstairs, and ask her to begin.”
Marietta began backing away. “Butwhenwill King William arrive?”
“We won’t know until the Royal Guard sends a herald ahead,” Cassin sighed, “a condition that has already been explained to you. It’s impossible to say, exactly. Go away before we give you a job to do.”
Marietta made a face and then darted away.
The role the family played in Caldera’s new identity had been strange to navigate. Even Cassin complained that he was the only earl in England who also worked as an innkeeper. In truth, the finances of managing the hotel had appealed to him, and inviting curious outsiders into his beloved Caldera was an unexpected source of pride. It did not hurt that Willow’s restoration of the castle took his breath away. The grandeur of the great hall, combined with Willow’s signature dash of whimsy and quirk, made a dazzling impression on every guest. He was eager to share the majestic splendor of his home.
And while two of his sisters, Marietta and Juliana, showed no particular interest in the day-to-day running of the hotel, his sister Violet had been almost immediately drawn in. Before they could hire a steward to oversee bookings and guest relations, Violet stepped up to prove her own proficiency at soothing rumpled feathers and making certain every guest received unrivaled service.
This, taken with Ruth’s popular guided tours and lectures about Caldera’s Roman ruins, meant the title of “innkeeper” was well worth any perceived humility. Meanwhile, Cassin’s mother, along with Juliana and Marietta, carried on very much as they always had in the family wing, only they enjoyed a steady stream of London visitors, which now included the king and queen.
“I’ve prepared a brief and lengthy version of all of my lectures and walks,” Ruth said, pulling Cassin’s and Willow’s attention back to the list. “It’s impossible to guess what may interest the king and queen or what their courtiers may want, but I can make changes as needed.” She bit her lip. “I do hope they’ll wish to sit in on at least one lecture.”
“I will encourage them,” Violet assured her. “His Majesty was a military man before he became king; surely he will be interested in the conquering Romans.”
“One thing is certain,” Willow cut in. “They will all wish to take the waters. I’ve had the bathhouse cleaned ahead of schedule, so the mosaic and pools will appear second to none.”
Perhaps the most satisfying part of transforming the castle into a resort was the countless jobs provided for tenants. Mining coal was soon forgotten when Cassin provided steady, well-compensated work for bathhouse attendants and repairmen, farmers to grow food for the lavish resort menu, and kitchen staff to prepare it. The resort required countless footmen, grooms, stable hands, laundresses, maids, porters, and even nursery maids. Instead of risking their lives in the underground danger of damp coal mines, the tenants now worked together to share Caldera with the world.
