I took a tentative bite. It was every bit as savory and delicious as it smelled. The purple potato dumpling was crisp, and herb crusted on the outside, but quickly soaked up all the savory dark gravy flavored with earthy mushrooms, sweet onions and a stout kick. “It’s perfect,” I managed to mumble with a mouthful of food.
He laughed. “Good to see you have an appetite.” He served himself a bowl. “Seriously, though. How are you feeling? Are you all right? Is everything… all right?”
He was asking about Jack. It touched me that he was so concerned. “We’re fine,” I assured. He looked visibly relieved. “I think I just needed some rest. I still might,” I corrected. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this tired.”
“If you need to take another day to rest, I have plenty of activities to keep the family busy.”
I shook my head. “I want to spend time with them while they’re here. Just in case we decide to relocate to Aldayne permanently. I’d never forgive myself if I squandered a single minute.”
He studied my face. “You think you’d want to live here permanently?”
“Isn’t that the job?” I shot back.
He said nothing. He took a bite of the porgelagh. “They don’t have to go back to the States if they don’t want to.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re caretakers, right? They can pick up and move if they choose. We have a number of homes where they could reside most comfortably.”
I chuckled despite myself. “Like what? Another castle?”
“Why not?” he shrugged. “It’s not like they can ever return to a normal life on the farm.”
I set down my spoon. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of,” I muttered as I scooted away from the table and walked to the railing. I heard his chair scoot backward before he walked up behind me, pulling me against his body.
“Even if you leave here without me, life will never be the same for you.” He reached around to cup my full belly. “For any of you. You know that, right?”
I sighed and closed my eyes. It was what I feared most. “I’m scared,” I admitted in a whisper.
He wrapped his arms around me. “Me too,” he murmured against my ear.
I scoffed. “What do you have to be afraid of, Auggie?”
His voice was soft “I’m scared that I’ll fuck up and you’ll leave me, too.”
I turned into his embrace. Those green eyes were so sad. “What happened to your parents wasn’t your fault, Auggie.”
“And yet they left anyway,” he muttered. His grip tightened. “I can’t lose you too, Pea. You or Jack. Or Dash, or Dallas. Fernie. Your mom and dad. I’ve waited a very long time to have a family,” he said softly, and I now knew it to be true. “I can’t lose that again.”
I slipped my arms around his neck and held him close. “You won’t,” I promised. I cupped his face, that dark red beard tickling the palm of my hand. “I’m not going anywhere without you.”
He lifted me up into his arms until my legs straddled his waist. He kissed me hard before he carried me back to the bed.
Chapter Thirty-One
Because I was still unsure about so much, not the least of which was how long I’d stay in Aldayne, I decided to go out with the family the following day. Fern performed another makeup miracle, although I caught my mother watching me throughout the two-hour drive to Greystone Castle, the Gothic castle that served as the first royal residence in Aldayne. It was erected in the shadow of Grandpa Charlie, near Midnight Falls.
“When the sun hits the light just right, it glows purple,” Auggie said.
Dash could barely contain his excitement as the elegant metal gates swung open and we drove the long road leading us to the centuries’ old stone castle, which we could see in the distance. Majestic trees stood guard alongside, as well as stone statues of every monarch, reminiscent of Fifty Oaks.
The castle, however, made Fifty Oaks look like some Americanized cartoon equivalent to an actual medieval castle nestled within the 15,000-acre estate. Greystone was a monstrosity of a home, with arched windows with panes of beveled glass windows, towers, turrets, both round and pepperpot. Crosses were carved into the stone and tall spires pierced the sky above it, right into shadow gray clouds that hung low.
It looked like a scene from a movie. I could practically hear the foreboding music in the background.