Heir Untamed - By Danielle Bourdon Page 0,46

some paranormal experience.”

“Are you calling me a liar?”

“I'm saying that you probably thought you saw or heard something. People's minds go into overdrive in those situations.” Chey absolutely did not believe in ghosts. She couldn't decide if that look in Sander's eyes was a spark of mischief or challenge.

“I think that even if a ghost walked up and smiled right in your face, you would deny that you'd seen it,” he said, bending down to the cooler he'd set on the ground. Opening the lid, he took out two bottles of cold water and handed one to her.

She accepted it with a disbelieving snort. “That's not true. But it won't happen because they don't exist, like I said.”

He twisted the lid off the bottle and tipped it back, draining it to half. “All right. How about we put the theory to the test?”

“What do you mean?” She sipped from her own bottle.

“You, alone, in the abandoned castle. I'll wait outside nearby so when you start screaming, it won't take me long to get there.” He looked as smug as he sounded.

Chey's eyes widened. Recapping the water, she glanced out at the vista of woods and rocky terrain. She couldn't see the castle from there, more was the pity. Catching a quick denial on her tongue, Chey rethought her initial reaction. Why say no? She was almost sure the old castle wasn't on her list of places to visit while she was here, which meant an extra photo opportunity.

Not only that, but how many people would love to wander an ancient ruin steeped in so much history?

“Tell me first why you think it's haunted.” She wanted all the details.

Sander set down his water on a nearby rock and started unpacking their lunch. He'd gone to some trouble to bring everything they needed, right down to napkins and toothpicks. He unloaded deli style sandwiches, pickle spears and small baggies of berries and almonds. While he passed hers over, he answered her question at length.

“The King and Queen had nine children. Six boys, and three girls. The youngest girl was known as a handful, very willful and hard headed. She taunted her older brothers, the house staff, even her parents. As she grew older, none of the most prominent, well suited men wanted anything to do with her. They'd heard the stories of her devilry and coupled with the fact that she was so difficult to please, they steered clear. There were plenty of other, less tiresome women to choose from, even though they weren't as titled. Anyway, she became unbearable to live with, blaming everyone else for her lack of a beau or husband. She threw tantrums daily and made life hell for everyone in the castle. One day, when she was twenty-three, the staff realized no one had heard or seen Andra since the evening before. Two maids went up to her room—in the south tower—and found her hanging from a high beam. Dead.” By the time he'd reached that point in the story, Sander was sitting atop a low, flat boulder, sandwich in hand.

Chey sat on the other end, caught up in the tale of Andra. The position brushed her side against Sanders now and again. “So she killed herself out of sheer misery?”

“Mm, no. No, she was murdered.” He took a bite of his sandwich.

“Sounds like suicide to me.”

“It does, until you know that she was hanging from the middle of the room—and there wasn't anything close by for her to stand on. The only chair was sitting against a wall near a chest of drawers and the bed wasn't either high enough nor close enough to provide a launching off point. It was just Andra, hanging from a rope in the middle of the south tower. She couldn't have thrown the rope over the beam and hauled herself up, couldn't have jumped up and touched the beam itself for that matter because of how high the ceiling is.” He glanced at her eyes and took a bite of his sandwich.

Chey used a napkin to dab at the corner of her mouth. Every time the breeze gusted by, she could smell the scent of his cologne. Masculine, appealing, sensual. It was distracting.

“But who would have murdered her—well that's a silly question. Everyone in the castle probably wanted her dead.” Chey frowned and took a drink of water.

“Exactly.”

“Did they ever find out who did it?”

“No. It's remained a mystery all this time. Everyone was appropriately distraught and upset, so no