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“Um…sure.” She glanced at Nate again. It wasn’t that she minded getting Nana Holmes’ jacket, it was just that she wasn’t sure why she wouldn’t ask Nate.
“Oh, he’ll never figure out which one is mine. You know men.” She nodded towards Josh, who looked as confused as Eliza felt. “It’s the floor length, black mink. The young lady that checked it has left her post. All the coats are in the second door to the left off of the foyer.”
“Second door?” Eliza made sure she’d heard her correctly. This castle was easy to get lost in.
“That’s right, dear. Oh and you’re not claustrophobic are you?”
Eliza shook her head. “No. Why?”
“No reason.” Nana smiled brightly but then covered her arms. “Can you hurry, dear? I’m freezing.”
It struck her as strange that Nana Holmes wouldn’t just go get the coat herself. Unless maybe she was claustrophobic and the space was tight. Whatever the reason, if Nana Holmes wanted Eliza to get her coat, of course she would.
***
Nate had always respected and even looked up to Seth Sloan. Seth was eight years older than him and he’d grown up idolizing him. He’d always seemed so smart, cool and mysterious. When Nate’s enlistment in the Army had ended Seth had offered him a job, he’d gotten to know him as a man, and the more he got to know him the more he admired him.
Seth was one of the few people that when he talked, Nate listened. But right now, he just wanted him to shut the hell up and leave so he could speak to Bailey. Alone.
“It was William Stone, he built this castle. He was an English Duke that was banished to America in the late 1800’s,” Seth assisted his wife who had been telling them the history of Stone Castle.
Amber nodded. “Right, so he got banished for refusing to marry the woman his family had chosen because he was in love with his chambermaid Emilia. Which in those days, of course, was very scandalous. So, he smuggled his love on the cargo ship he sailed over in. They were married and lived together happily as husband and wife for over a decade. Then, one day, he returned home to find the gruesome discovery that she had been brutally murdered.
“Legend has it that he went mad with grief. He searched the woods, the town and the lake surrounding the castle day and night, looking for her killer, until he finally dropped dead from malnutrition and exposure. When news made its way back to England and William’s mother, she was consumed with guilt for sentencing William to exile. She bought the land and the castle in order to keep the last piece of her only son. For over a hundred years it sat vacant. Except, of course, for the ghosts of William and Emilia, who roam the halls searching for each other.”
Bailey sighed sincerely. “That’s so tragic.”
Nate had heard the story before. He spent the summer between ninth and tenth grade up at the lake. The castle was empty then, and the local kids used to say that at night you could hear the ghosts wailing. Logic led Nate to believe that it was teenagers who were taking advantage of the private, remote and dark spaces.
Amber’s face grimaced slightly as she rolled her neck from side to side. Nate saw the immediate concern register on Seth’s face. He placed his hand on his wife’s lower back. “You’ve been working too hard. Becca could’ve ordered dresses.”
“Oh stop.” Amber waved her hand dismissively. “I loved doing it. I would’ve cried if she’d just ordered dresses.”
His brow furrowed deeper. “Are you really planning on going to the sleepover? What if there’s not a comfortable bed for you to sleep in? You’re already sore—”
Amber closed her eyes in frustration, as if this was a conversation they’d had several times. When she opened them, she smiled widely at Bailey and Nate as she grabbed her husband’s arm. “Excuse us. I have to go have a word with my husband.”
Nate nodded. He’d wanted to have a word with Bailey for two hours and had been unable to get her alone, which he did not think was an accident.
He and Bailey may not be in love with each other, but he knew her. All night, every time he managed to corner her, she would start a conversation with whoever passed by. Like this last conversation with Amber and Seth about the history of the castle. They’d just stepped by the fire, most likely to get warm, and Bailey had bombarded them with questions about its history.
Her curious act wasn’t fooling him. This was Bailey Rossum. She’d probably researched the venue the second Becca had told her that was going to be the wedding destination.
As soon as Amber had dragged Seth out of ear shot, Nate turned to Bailey and asked firmly, “Why?”
Bailey shrugged her shoulders and shook her head looking in the direction Amber and Seth had gone. “I’m guessing she needs to talk to him about him being too over-protectiv—”
“Not them.” He interrupted calmly. “Why did you ask Becca to put me with Eliza?”
“Who said I did that?” Her eyes widened with innocence.
Nate just continued staring directly at her. He remained silent. Since Bailey never played games, she wasn’t good at them and he knew she’d crack.
“Fine. It was me.” She broke within seconds, lifting her hands in mock surrender. “But, I didn’t ask Becca to put you with Eliza, I asked her to put me with Josh. News flash, the whole world doesn’t revolve around the great Nate Holmes. Sometimes people do things that have nothing to do with you.”
Bailey had never been defensive with him before. Or frustrated. Or flustered. This situation had obviously hit a nerve. Josh was a sensitive subject and Nate had no idea why.
She crossed her arms and turned her attention to the flames burning in the fireplace. The light danced across her face as she sighed with resignation. “You being paired with Eliza was just an ancillary benefit.”
