‘Yes.’ She turned to him, her face shining. ‘Do you like it?’
‘I love it, but...’ It hadn’t been quite what Jon had had in mind when he’d said they’d find somewhere to stay.
‘It’s my treat.’ Chloe shot him a warning glance as he opened his mouth to protest that she hadn’t needed to do this. ‘Don’t argue. You’ve done so much for me, and this is just to show you how much I appreciate it. I hope the inside is as nice as the outside.’
That would be difficult. The chateau stood in rolling countryside, dominating the landscape. It looked as if the one and only cloud in the sky had landed here, depositing this elegant, fairy-tale castle just to give ordinary mortals a blueprint for the proportions that they should build in.
But somehow the inside was even better. A soaring hallway that managed to be both grand and welcoming, its relaxed elegance extending to the other rooms they passed as their hostess led them up a sweeping staircase and along a wide corridor.
Right at the end, the woman opened a door, speaking in French to Chloe. ‘She says she hopes we don’t mind a climb.’ Chloe responded in French, shaking her head and smiling.
The stone steps wound around a stairwell. Above him, Jon could see layer after layer, like the swirling, ever smaller spirals of an ancient sea creature. Here, the elegance of the rest of the building had been left behind in favour of white-painted stonework, which seemed older and much more utilitarian.
They were both out of breath by the time their hostess unlocked a door that led off the stairs a couple of turns before they got to the top. She beckoned them inside and Jon caught his breath.
The room was enormous, the square back giving way to a huge curve, which must follow the shape of one of the turrets he’d seen from the outside. High windows gave a spectacular view of the countryside, and on this side of the room a stone fireplace, big enough to roast an ox in, was stacked with logs. The bed was big enough to overpower almost any room, but here it looked almost insignificant, standing to the side of the curved space.
‘This is amazing. I feel as if I’m in a castle...’ Jon dropped their bags, wondering whether Chloe had booked just the one room. That thought sounded even better than their surroundings.
But their hostess beckoned to them again, leading them up to the top of the spiral staircase outside. ‘This is your room.’ Chloe grinned at him.
It was much the same as the room below, with an even more spectacular edge. In the centre of the curved space a domed glass ceiling let sunlight flood downwards, right onto the bed that was placed beneath it. Jon imagined that its occupant would be able to see the stars at night.
‘This is...’ He shrugged, smiling. ‘Words fail me.’
Their hostess laughed, dropping the keys into Chloe’s hand. An exchange in French and she left them alone.
‘It’s better than the pictures.’ Chloe was smiling broadly. ‘Our very own castle for the night. You said it would be good to get away for a couple of days.’
‘I’m not sure I was imagining we’d do it in this style.’ He walked to one of the windows, looking out. ‘If any of our troubles try to get at us we’ll be able to pour boiling oil on their heads as they scale the walls.’
‘Or you can plunge a sword through them as they make a rush for the stairs.’ Her laugh sounded as if she really had left the world behind, and that nothing could assail her here. ‘Madame says that we can get up to the roof from here.’
An alcove by the door gave way on one side to a shining bathroom, the large bath standing right in the middle of the room. On the other side, another set of winding stone steps led up to a door that opened onto a flat roof, the glass dome sitting at the centre of it but leaving more than enough space around the edge for a table and chairs, sheltered by the high stone ramparts.
‘We can have dinner up here if we like. Although the dining room looked lovely in the pictures.’
‘Here. Definitely here.’ They only had one night to enjoy this and they should make the most of it. Chloe had made him a make-believe king of a fairy-tale castle, and she was his queen. Her hair was loose at her back, her dress moulding her legs in the breeze. Her honey-brown eyes were bright with excitement. All he really wanted to do at this point was kiss her.
Maybe that would happen. It seemed as if almost anything could happen here, but for now he was content to stand with her, looking out across the gardens at the back and the sweep of the drive at the front. The road seemed a very long way away at the moment, toy cars buzzing back and forth along it. Tomorrow his would be one of them, but that seemed such a long way away that it wasn’t even worth considering.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE CHATEAU HAD exceeded her expectations. But best of all was Jon’s reaction. She could see that he loved it, and more than that he seemed to have left behind the urgency of the road, and that was exactly what she’d wanted. He needed a break as much as she did, if only he’d admit it.
They still had the rest of the afternoon, and they’d decided to walk down to the village together. Three kilometres of sunshine and birdsong. The scent of flowers in the hedgerows and the quiet buzz of insects. He took her hand, winding his fingers loosely around hers, and everything in the world seemed right.
Sitting on a bench in the village square, watching the world go by, was the only thing on their to-do list. Until Jon suggested hot chocolate, which posed a whole new set of important questions. They took their time answering them, inspecting each of the three cafés set around the square and finally decided which was best.
‘It’s a long walk back to the chateau.’ His smile was delicious, warm and relaxed. ‘Do you think we should force ourselves to have a pastry as well?’
More decisions. Chloe had already been eyeing up the choice on offer, and didn’t know which to pick. She pushe
d the menu card across the table towards him.
‘You choose. Something that’s rich and sweet and really, really bad for us.’
He grinned, beckoning towards the waitress. ‘I see you’re coming around to my way of thinking...’