dare burst his bubble, though.
Finally, we climbed the hill towards Castlewick. It was a giant stone behemoth of a palace that stood three stories tall, with a giant white statue of a king out front. “Birthplace of King Riordan,” Auggie explained, pointing to the statue.
I already felt such a connection with King Riordan, I instantly felt more at home.
The feeling was fleeting.
As soon as the car parked, Sean walked around to let us out. More uniformed guards waited to greet us as we approached the terrace. All the staff, uniformed in black and white, stood waiting for our arrival. As we passed, they would bow. A stern woman waited at the top of the stairs. “Welcome home, Your Grace,” she greeted with a bow.
“Hedwig,” he smiled. “So good to see you again.”
“You as well,” she replied formally.
“This is Peaches McPhee,” he introduced. “My fiancé.”
Hedwig bowed to me. “Very nice to make your acquaintance, ma’am,” she said.
I had no idea what to do, so I mirrored Auggie. “You as well.”
Done with me, she turned back to Auggie. “We’ve prepared the private apartments upstairs for your guests. The King’s apartments have been prepared for you and your fiancé as requested.”
“Excellent,” he replied. “We will retire to our quarters until our guests arrive. Have you prepared everything for this evening?”
“Indeed,” she affirmed.
“Thank you, Hedwig,” he said, dismissing her as he took my arm and led me into the palace.
I had been impressed by Luz Del Mar, but it was a castle in the sand compared to Castlewick. Ornate paintings of past kings and queens reached all the way to the vaulted ceilings as we entered the Grand Hall. He pointed them out to me. “King Iver and Sorcha,” he said. “The ones who built Castlewick and the very first Quinn royalty to rule here.” We moved down the ostentatious hallway, decked out in regal gold as he rattled off names familiar to me, like King Keane, King Whitley and finally King Riordan. I stared up at his portrait in awe. He looked so much like Auggie that I fell in love with him at once.
That he was born and raised here blew my mind. I couldn’t imagine a little boy running these halls, traipsing over the priceless carpet. “Want to see his childhood room?” Auggie asked.
I gave an enthusiastic nod. I wanted to see all of it.
There was a lot to see. In addition to an impressive three-story library and music conservatory that looked out over the lake, there was a gallery filled with priceless art, some of which I recognized at once, including a Van Gogh. There was a domed cupola room, the round room linking the library to the gallery. We passed through a Guard Chamber into the Presence Chamber, which housed the purple velvet thrones underneath a black and purple canopy.
“Guests would bow to it, even if it was empty,” he said, bowing to demonstrate. I dutifully followed suit.
He took me through a hallway with portraits of the Royal Court towards the Privy Chamber, with angels and kings carved in wood on the walls around a magnificent fireplace. “Only those closest to the king were permitted,” he said, pointing to the portraits on the wall. I recognized Abyleen immediately. He stopped us in front of another portrait of an important female figure from their history. “Duchess Eliza,” he said of the stunning, regal brunette.
If I’m honest, I fell in love a little with her, too.
Above the fireplace was a portrait of two medieval women who danced together, happy and laughing in the sky. “Riannon and Marion,” I deduced at once.
“The reigning queens,” he grinned.
He led me up a grand staircase to lead me through the living chambers next, starting with King Riordan’s childhood room. It wasn’t as ornate as the rest of the palace, but that was what endeared me to it. The walls were a pale blue, with a large window facing the lake. The sitting bench there was covered in old stuffed animals, a virtual zoo a little boy could call his own. The black marble fireplace was the grandest part of the room, and in front of it sat an elegant bassinet… almost as if it was waiting for another child to fill it.
I found myself cupping my belly unconsciously.
The portraits on the wall were the royal children in various poses. I couldn’t help but wish they looked happier, rather than stiff and posed. It made me think back to that picture of Auggie I saw at