2. In the bowels of the loathsome castle
Lea POV
"What…?" I stammered with a shaky voice, feeling my throat suddenly getting dry. The man was still looking at me with his eyebrows slightly furrowed in some sort of confusion.
"Your eyes, I remember them brown… argh." He suddenly groaned as if he were feeling discomfort and took his hand, which was still in my hand, to his forehead, creasing as he visibly gasped in pain.
"Sir? Are you feeling well?" I wanted to help him, was he sick?
"Don't worry so much about him; he just got too much sun today." Another shorter and thinner man with an older appearance approached with a big smile; he immediately put his arm around my back and practically pulled me away from the man who was still standing there, curved. "You have finally come, my dear. How you remind me of your late mother. I hope you had a great trip." He looked sympathetic despite how sudden he acted, like he didn't want me to see anything else as he pulled me away from the man who'd questioned my eye color. It was impossible for me to look like Crystal's mother since I wasn't her daughter and I didn't even look like Crystal, but maybe Crystal was right and for men, all blonde girls look like each other.
"The journey was tiring but bearable. Thank you for your kindness, my lord." He laughed loudly and openly when I spoke, the way he was light and so at ease, a stark contrast to where he was taking me.
"Is your father still a kinda boring? When we were young, we were never close." He told it all humorously, and I remembered to laugh elegantly to get into my character.
"He is a good man, he gave me an education and taught me the noble ways." I said, trying to sound like someone from the nobility, that I had grown up with Crystal, so I ended up learning something of what she learned. It was just hard to fake a smile when the place the man was taking me was so terrifying.
Everything was so dark, but I could see the gardens around the castle, which looked more like an abandoned scrubland, as if they had given up hiring a gardener a long time ago. There were very few lights in the windows of that old stone and marble building in front of me. As well as the dirty and dusty carriage that took me to this place, it looked like the castle itself was in the same condition: there was thick moss covering most of the castle walls; dry leaves everywhere in the courtyard and even on the stairs; the front window panes were sort of broken and dirty, as much dust as if no one had lived there in decades.
"I see you don't like long trips; I'm just like you." The older man, who still had an arm around my back, was talking, leading me to the entrance of the house. "I'm Edoardo Moretti, I want to welcome you to Moretti Castle." He pointed to the place that was almost falling apart, there were sounds of night creatures everywhere. A flock of venomous bats broke free from one of the gargoyles and flew across the dark, overcast sky, their shadows drawn on the clear moon that was almost hidden behind the black clouds. I gasped, this place was so terrifying… my senses were screaming for me to turn around and run away…
Don Moretti had a lustful look now as he opened the door that creaked loud and slow, as if the castle was complaining. When I took my steps inside the place, I thought it would be warm inside despite everything, but after I crossed the line of the door, my arms all shook with cold and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up all over. I looked at that interior in a frenzy. I felt as if the furniture, the portraits, the tapestries, and even the walls were looking at me. Furthermore, I felt very observed and studied, it's as if the castle had gained a new attraction. "I hope you never leave this place, Miss Allen. After all, you will become the lady of the Moretti castle." The man was smiling from end to end with his lustful gaze on me, his eyes even sparkled, I definitely needed to escape.
Suddenly, a loud and thick thumping sound was heard behind me, which made me jump to my own feet and scream in fright. I turned around to see the handsome man who greeted me; he was in front of the door, indicating that he had it closed (only without any kindness). "By God, what a fright!" I had both hands on my heart like I was holding the muscle to keep from jumping out of my mouth, my heart was racing so hard.
"Lucca, you brute! You're going to scare your bride away!" Don Edoardo laughed out loud and moved closer to me. "You already met your fiancé, my son Lucca." He pointed at the man still standing in the doorway, and I nodded, still bewildered. "He's not very talkative, but he'll make an excellent husband for you! Now let's go to the dining room. I had the servants prepare a nice dinner to celebrate your arrival in Northumberland." Then he walked away while continuing to laugh and talk loudly. I turned my face to look at the man who would be my husband; he now had his gaze lowered, but when he looked up at me and our eyes met, he quickly looked away and looked back at the floor, I sighed not understanding the reason for the act, and then I followed his father through the wide stone corridor to the dining room.
Lucca came silently behind me, but when I thought he wasn't going to say anything, he got close enough to say
"I'm sorry for the scare. I hope you don't run away from me, my bride."