turrets providing the highest points. The long straight avenue from the main road was rough and untamed. Wild foliage seemed to sweep in and engulf the car entirely at some points. Finally they reached a wide cobbled courtyard with a circular fountain set in the middle. Crumbling statues stood haphazardly all around, some missing their heads, some missing entire limbs.
Dara stepped out of the car and craned her neck to look up at the majestic stonework that decorated the entrance. This close, she could see the complete disrepair the castle had been left in. Chunks of stone had fallen down from the walls in some places. The windows seemed black with dust, and grime and weeds grew from every crevice. All the same, it was a powerful feeling to be surrounded by so much history.
‘This place is breathtaking.’ She sighed, busy taking in every tiny detail of the facade. She pointed to a wing that stretched out at an unusual angle from the main square tower. ‘This part isn’t medieval, is it?’ she asked curiously. Her knowledge of architecture was pretty basic—she generally left historical details to the experts.
He rounded the car to stand next to her, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning casually against the door. ‘The whole place is just one big patchwork of various eras. I never thought it was particularly beautiful.’
She shook her head with disbelief. ‘How can you say that? It’s the imperfections that make it so eye-catching.’
He was wearing sunglasses, but she could still see the sardonic tilt of his brow as he turned to face her. ‘So your Hollywood actress is booking it based on all its eye-catching imperfections, is that right?’
‘Actually, I think she wants it because her first film was about a Sicilian prince. They filmed in Palermo, but that particular castle was demolished. This one is apparently quite similar.’ She shrugged. ‘Either way, I don’t argue with good publicity.’
He made a grunting sound of accord and took a set of keys from his pocket. He didn’t speak another word, still in the same distracted mood as the night before.
They made their way inside the main entryway to a great hall with a ceiling that had to be at least three storeys high. The windows were so filthy, barely any light could get in.
Leo had told her that the housekeeping team consisted of a local woman, Maria, and her husband, who took care of basic tasks. From what she could tell they had just done their best to stop the grounds from being overrun with weeds and keep the dust as minimal as possible with the castle closed up for so long.
‘Right, let’s get this over with,’ Leo said roughly.
Dara took out the clipboard she had brought with her to take notes, shrugging when he looked at her curiously. ‘I thought I might as well jot down my ideas as we go.’
‘Always so efficient.’ He sighed. ‘Don’t fall behind. Believe me, you will get lost.’
Their voices echoed loudly off the high stone walls as he showed her around the lower level of the main wing. The place was huge, and already she knew she really would be lost in a moment if she didn’t follow closely behind him.
She ran her finger along a dusty sideboard, looking upon a row of small framed photographs of a young Leo. He was curly-haired, with emerald-green eyes, smiling mischievously into the camera.
Dara couldn’t help but smile down at the photos. ‘I cannot believe you lived in a place like this as a child. It must have been one big adventure, day after day.’
He followed her gaze, his eyes narrowing on the photos of his childhood self. ‘It wasn’t anything like you would expect.’
He carried on down the hallway, naming each room in a bored monotone as they passed through.
They made their way up the sweeping staircase and Dara began to amble down the corridors more slowly behind her grumpy guide. She wanted to look at the place properly—not just power through at lightning speed.
She stopped as they passed right by a set of large double doors. She knew from the rest of the castle that it would lead to yet another private wing.
‘You never said what’s through this way,’ she called to him as he continued to stride down the hall ahead of her.
‘That one is off-limits. Keep moving.’ He stopped at the top of the hall impatiently.
She frowned. They were supposed to be inspecting the entire castle in order for her to arrange the renovations. How could any area be off-limits?
‘This is beginning to sound like a scene from a really lame fairy tale. Is that where the beast lives?’ She chuckled, hoping to lighten the mood.
She could see his silhouette, unmoving at the end of the hall, one hand resting on a side table as he waited for her to follow him. She felt frustration bubble to the surface. He had been extremely irritable all morning, and since arriving at the castle he had stopped interacting with her completely. He clearly wasn’t up to doing this job properly, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t get it done.
‘I need to get a look at the whole place. No exceptions.’
She turned the handle of the door to the wing slowly, watching to see his reaction. He didn’t budge as the sound of the hinges creaking open echoed through the hall.
Well, he could suit himself, then, she thought stubbornly. He could stay out here in his bad mood all he wanted.
Clutching her clipboard, she threw the doors wide and continued through to the mysterious forbidden wing.
* * *
Leo stood frozen in the hallway, listening as Dara’s footsteps echoed through his past. He’d told her not to go there. Of course she hadn’t listened. She was hell-bent on dredging up every memory this godforsaken place had to offer.
His initial view of the castle hadn’t bothered him as much as he had thought it would. After twelve years he still remembered every window, every crack in the facade. He had vowed to remain emotionless and logical. It was a building—not a demon. He would show her around in a practical fashion, get the building work arranged and then make an effort to apologise for last night.
After his meeting with Umberto, and all their talk of this place, he had found himself momentarily regretting his pursuit of Dara. His uncle’s deal was tempting, but agreeing to it meant lying and double-crossing.
He shouldn’t care about hurting her. He should have just taken what she had clearly been ready to offer. But something in him had stalled, and he had spent the night driving furiously up a myriad of coastal roads, then returning to the palazzo once he’d been sure she had gone to bed.
He turned back towards the doors she had disappeared through. He wasn’t going down there. There was only so much he could take in one day. This castle housed more than just his own cold childhood memories.
A loud bang came from down the corridor, and a woman’s scream. Damn it, Dara, he thought angrily as he took off through to the largest wing of the castle, down the long carpeted corridor and into the grand master bedroom where his parents had once slept.
Dara stood on one of the ghostly covered chairs, her eyes darting around the floor wildly. ‘Sorry, there were rats on the bed!’ she squeaked, holding her battered clipboard like a shield in front of her. ‘Bloody huge
