that looked a bit like a castle, this was an actual castle.
“Wow.” I leaned forward in my seat as we pulled up. A turret along one of the corners had arched windows and a flag flying on top. Much like Rousseau, there was a circle driveway with a garden in the center. Unlike the home that was now mine, there were a lot of extra buildings nearby.
“What’s that building?” I pointed at the one closest to the house.
“The people who work here have rooms.” He parked at the front door. “Then there are a few storage buildings and work sheds. The stables are behind the house.”
A butler opened the front door for us with a bow. I realized that here would be a lot more people who might possibly sell us out to the press. I stepped away from the hand Alex had on my back and smiled at the people who greeted us. I tried to ignore the look Alex shot me and focused on seeing everything around me.
The house was amazing. The stone walls from outside were also inside and I was reminded of a fancy hunting lodge. Where my home was large, I could still find all the rooms with a quick search. Here, I had no idea where a kitchen would be, much less a bathroom. I stood in the grand room and turned in a circle, taking it all in. Alex watched me as I surveyed the splendor that was his life.
“You grew up here?”
“We have a few other places, but most of my childhood was spent here and the palace.” He motioned for me to follow him up a large staircase. “There is a smaller family area upstairs. These areas are more like a pass-through for us, unless we’re having a special event.”
I thought about the tiny house I had lived in with my mother before she married my dad. The house we had moved into together was larger and newer, but still nothing fancy. Despite all the family portraits hanging along the wall, it felt impersonal and I couldn’t imagine being a child here.
“I bet you never got to watch TV with dinner.”
“Not true. My grandmother used to let us eat with those little tables in front of the sofa.” He smiled at me over his shoulder. “She was addicted to The Price is Right.”
“You guys get The Price is Right here?” I laughed.
“I think they were reruns, but she didn’t care.”
He showed me the family room upstairs and the small kitchen. There was a separate TV room, which amused me. In the States the family room was typically where everyone gathered to watch shows or movies. When he showed me his room, I was ready to be wowed. He opened the door and stepped inside. There was a large four-poster bed along one wall, but the rest of the room felt very modern.
“I’m jealous.” I looked around.
“Why?”
“There’s not a stitch of wallpaper in here.”
He laughed and pulled me toward the bathroom. “Wait until you see the tub.”
“That’s a pool.” He was right. I coveted the tub.
He laughed as we left his room and headed outside. I was so excited to see his birds I practically jogged down the stairs. He led me around the stables, which housed ten horses, and around to the mews. The cages were much more elegant than what I’d worked with at school, but it was familiar all the same.
The hawks were gorgeous. Alex retrieved gloves for us and brought me a bird.
“What’s her name?” I looked over her feathers and feet.
“Tweety.”
I looked over at him and smiled. “Tweety?”
“Remember the little boy you met the first night? Leo?”
“Ah. He named Tweety?”
“I named her Talon, he disagreed. You can see who won.”
I snickered. Remembering how Alex had looked with the kids that night convinced me Leo hadn’t had to put up much of a fight.
“Want to take them out?” He closed the mew and stepped out with his own hawk. “Tweety and Sylvester work together really well.”
“By all means.” I looked at Tweety. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”
We spent hours out with the birds and I could have stayed longer. There was something spectacular about watching the birds fly, their wings spread as they rode the currents and searched for game.
“My father loved birds.” Alex watched as the birds swept the area. “I can’t remember a time when we didn’t own any.”
“There’s a freedom that comes with flying.” I looked over at him.