“Well, he should know. After all, he is the Duke of Iver, the very county you are in right now.”
I gasped a little, taken by surprise. I knew there was a county in Aldayne called Iver, I had simply assumed that was the right one.
No wonder everyone on the island treated him with such adoration. He belonged to them.
“Just like his father,” Edwinna added with a smile. “Just like Abyleen before him, Roan fell in love with this island and rarely wanted to leave.”
I glanced around. “I can see why,” I said. “It’s truly charming.”
“Wait until you see Luz de Mar,” she winked.
Given that I could already see the massive dwelling looming on the horizon, I was already certain it was going to be one of the most magnificent places I’d ever been.
“Construction on Luz de Mar began in 1656, but the building wasn’t complete until years later. In fact, some say it has never been completed. Many modifications have been added to over the years,” she explained. “Some of the original architecture still stands.” She pointed to the tall, stone towers on either side and a huge, elaborate hedge maze to take one at least a mile from the road to the entrance.
Both Auggie and Edwinna insisted we walk it. I was in awe of its grandeur and the massive amount of upkeep it required to maintain the fastidious gardens.
“The hedge was Abyleen’s idea. She served as the first Duchess of Iver.”
As we emerged from the maze, there was a large stone fountain across from the entrance to the palace. It was Abyleen, standing like a proud swashbuckler on a ship. “She commissioned that, too,” Edwinna grinned.
Forget Auggie. I needed to write a book on Abyleen.
We walked up the steps towards the entrance. My breath caught when two uniformed guards, armed only with their swords, opened the double doors for us with a whoosh.
We entered the Great Hall, decorated in royal blue on the walls, in the curtains and in the rugs. A large oak staircase arched towards the second floor, where a large stained-glass window was designed once again in Abyleen’s image.
On the first floor, there were portraits of every monarch since King Iver, including his wife Sorcha who had reigned after he died.
We entered a large room to the left, a stark white room with purple accents. A pristine white piano sat under a domed glass ceiling. This was the music room, they told me, rather unnecessarily. Then we passed into the next room, a multi-story library that took my breath away. It was in one of the towers, so this round room spiraled up several floors, containing so many books my reader heart burst with excitement.
We returned to the main hall, crossing through another large hallway with exquisite art on the walls and ceiling above me. The walls were draped in a regal red, with pristine white detailing. We crossed through a courtyard, filled with lush foliage and stone benches, towards another set of double doors with two more armed guards. They bowed both to her and to Auggie, and I guess a little to me as well. They opened the door and we entered The Throne Room.
This room was the deep amethyst purple of Aldayne. It was rich and regal in tone, with gold detailing and priceless artifacts displayed around the room. My eyes felt as big as saucers as I tried to take it all in, including the two purple and gold thrones that sat at the opposite wall, under fine black silk drapes. Unlike the throne at Fifty Oaks, this had served as a legitimate seat of power, and therefore it still commanded respect. The coat of arms was projected on the drapes from one of the stained-glass windows showing the same.
Auggie pulled me towards them, though I was almost too intimidated to move.
“Are you kidding?” I breathed. “I feel like if I even look at something it will shatter and break.”
He snatched up a vase nearby. “You break it, you bought it,” he agreed as he spun the beautiful black vase between his fingers. “What do you think your penance should be?” he asked as he stepped easily onto the elevated platform and casually perched on one of the thrones. “A good flogging, perhaps? Drawn and quartered? Maybe a lifetime spent at my side as my wife?”
He punctuated the question by tossing the vase my direction. I was so stunned by what he had said that I