Fairytale Beginnings Read Online Free Page B

going to get a happy ending and decided that relationships simply weren’t for her. For over four years she had barely even glanced at a man and that had worked out great for her as being single meant there was never a risk of getting hurt, but now Cameron was pushing at the barriers she had built without even trying and she didn’t like it one bit.
    He leaned round her and pointed to the external wall and the battlements below that stretched towards the other tower. ‘The banqueting hall is down at the bottom and the portrait gallery that overlooks it is where those windows are, on the second floor. The library and study are on the floor above that.’ He pointed to the smaller windows. ‘The eight bedrooms, including this one, are on the two top floors in the four towers, two in each tower. The only other rooms are the servants’ quarters which are all the modern rooms at the back of the banquet hall, near my kitchen and bedroom.’
    ‘It’s not a conventional castle,’ Milly said, tentatively.
    Cameron sighed, and his warm breath on the back of her neck made her heart gallop. ‘No, it isn’t.’
    ‘What about all these turrets, are there not rooms in there?’
    Cameron shook his head. ‘I think these were the four original towers, everything else was just added for show about a hundred and fifty years ago. My great, great Uncle Boris Heartstone was outrageously rich and held banquets and parties that were legendary. He wanted a castle that would be seen for miles around, one that everyone would talk about, so he had all these turrets put on. I believe the entire family fortune was spent on this renovation, leaving his descendants struggling to make ends meet over the last hundred years. I’m sure it looks quite ridiculous to someone like you.’
    She turned to look at him. He was standing very close but he didn’t move back. Sparks crackled between them. There was an air of tension; of waiting for an explosion to happen.
    ‘It’s wonderful,’ Milly said.
    His eyes crinkled with confusion. ‘Really? But it’s not historical at all?’
    ‘It’s fanciful and silly and it makes me smile.’
    ‘It’s arrogant.’
    ‘I think it’s the most beautiful castle I’ve ever seen.’
    He smiled down at her. ‘You’re full of surprises, Milly Rose.’ He stared out the window over her head, trying to see it through her eyes. ‘I think it looks a bit Disneyish.’
    ‘Exactly, that’s probably why I love it.’
    ‘Miss “I’ve got a Doctorate and Master of Science” doesn’t strike me as the Disney princess type.’
    ‘I do love a fairy tale happy ending. They never happen in real life, at least not for me. Other people seem to get theirs. I think this – sleeping in a four poster bed, in a tower in a real Disney castle, is the closest I’m ever going to get.’
    He stared down at her and for a moment his eyes drifted to her mouth before he quickly stepped away.
    She blinked and cleared her throat, silently cursing herself for having opened up to him. Her professional façade had slipped again. She quickly straightened her shoulders.
    ‘Any dungeons?’
    His face fell. ‘They’re very dirty, I’m sure you don’t want to see them.’
    ‘I don’t mind a bit of dirt.’
    ‘It’s muddy and wet. I could take some photos for you if you like, save you the trouble of going down there.’
    What was he hiding down there?
    ‘I’d really like to see them. The foundations of the building will give me a good clue as to how the building was made and I should be able to see the square footing of the original structure too.’
    He sighed. ‘I’ll show you the way.’

Chapter Four
    S hould he tell her ? She might not notice anything amiss, in which case if he’d already spoken about it, he would look a complete idiot. Some days were very quiet. Maybe today would be a quiet day. But maybe he should prepare her. He didn’t want to do anything that might scare or upset her. In fact, he would rather she