he was a relative.” I suggested. What a mystery!
It was clear that people were not allowed into these rooms since there were no funds to repair them. The room was completely shabby; however, it held a charm of antiquity! Everything was historical here. There was a huge, man-sized fireplace and a narrow, lancet window. Next to the fireplace was a real spinning wheel complete with a spindle as though from a fairy tale and an armchair with rose print fabric. A flag of heavy, red cloth with an embroidered portrait of a clergyman rested against the wall.
There was a large bed with a wooden shelter, and a Catholic icon hung above the head of it. The bed itself was all dirty and had a blanket spoiled by mice. On the right there were a desk and a chair where apparently the owner of the room wrote his letters to the Pope… or maybe to someone else.
There was also a small room in the recess in case of a siege: it had a small, narrow slot for guns to shoot at enemies. In winter, of course, it would be difficult to stay in this room since cold air would have penetrated through the cracks into the room.
The rooms in the other towers were similar: each had a bedroom with a recessed room for protection from attacks. After all, their times were cruel. People might live peacefully, but suddenly some danger such as war or other misfortune could come. It seemed that everyone living in these buildings had always been on alert.
Then we went up to the third floor. The room there looked even poorer. The bed was without linen and without a mattress.
Then there was an exit to an open roof apparently. Unfortunately, it was closed.
11.09.2016
In the morning of our second day, the owner of the castle, Count Dupré, Jean, promised to give us a tour after breakfast.
He came out into the center of the courtyard of the castle. He looked friendly and quite cheerful.
“How did you sleep? Were you disturbed by ghosts during the night?” the count asked.
It seemed to me that some form of tricky or a sort of fear was hidden behind his gaze… as if it was him whom they disturbed.
“No,” Nora simply said.
This morning she was shining… and no surprise: her childhood dream was to stay in a real castle!
“Everything is fine,” Nora added.
“Well, I found out that you looked at some parts of the castle yourself,” the count offered as he smiled cordially again. “I think I’ll have to satisfy your curiosity and tell you everything about the castle.
“So, the part of the castle above the main entrance between the first and second towers are our family rooms. To be more precise, the second floor is entirely ours; we live there all year round.”
The count waved his long, thin hands as if he was a teacher in the classroom.
“On the first floor to the left is my cabinet… that is, to the left if you face the main entrance. Here I receive tourists and groups of schoolchildren who come for a tour. I also solve business issues there.
“On the right – again, if you are facing the castle – there is a lavish, 19th-century living room. We are very proud of it. One can get there through the second tower from the courtyard. We will definitely go there.
“So, to get to the other rooms, you need to go through the courtyard. This small, square spot of land serves as a lawn. It is the center of the castle. If you turn to the left after the main entrance, you will enter the first tower and the rooms between the first and third towers. In the left part of the castle – as you have already understood – is the entrance to our side, to the bedrooms, to the second floor, and to your room, as well. Also, on the ground floor there is our modern kitchen. To the right from the entrance and immediately behind it you will find the medieval kitchen in which is a huge fireplace with a boiler and a wooden table. This kitchen is maintained for exhibition. We will see it today. There were servants’ rooms on the third floor; they are now closed as they are ruined.
“You can see the same between the second and the fourth towers. All of them, including the bedrooms, were rebuilt in the 19th century. The entrance to the first floor is through the second tower.
“As I said, if you go to the right, you will find yourself in the front part of the castle with the lavish living room and a 19th-century grand piano. If you go to the left, you will see a large living room in an authentic style. That is where you already had dinner. Then there is a large dining room where we were served breakfast. Then there is a small kitchen, where the countess cooks breakfast for the guests. There’s nothing else… just a wall. On the second floor are the guest bedrooms; on the third are the servants’ rooms which are closed.
“The part of the castle between the third and the fourth towers is the oldest part. Here on the ground floor is an open veranda with a tiled floor and a utility room where we store garden utensils. At the top there is the castle chapel, which we will visit today. The rest is closed because it is ruined.”
“What are those trees up there?” Nora asked as she looked up. We did the same.
“Yes, the trees have miraculously grown up there. This happens with old castles, especially in abandoned parts.”
The count’s eyes became sly and sparkled when he told some kind of lie that he did not believe himself. Clearly, this man does not know how to lie. Why was he so worried as if something terrible was stored in those closed rooms? We were there yesterday and didn’t see anything. Although, as for the trees on the roofs of abandoned buildings, it seemed to be true… except that I have observed such things in absolutely inhabited buildings, as well.
“So, I hope now you will feel better in our castle,” the count continued. “Well, it’s time to see all the sights of our family home. Let’s start with the tower you examined yesterday. The towers are closed to the public. Frankly, most of them are just walled up. They are ruined. It is better not to go there; it can be life-threatening.”
It was already obvious that the count himself really believed in what he was saying because he repeated the phrase about being “ruined” a lot of times. This is the way children lie: focusing on a fact that should remain unnoticed in the dialogue.
We followed Jean to the original castle kitchen, the one open for exhibition. There was the huge fireplace with a cauldron, a large cooking table, and a lot of medieval, iron dishes and pots. Previously, food was prepared here for the owners of the castle.
“Now let’s go to the office of our famous great-grandfather, Count de L*. Notice the portrait of him, painted in the 18th century. In here, there is a library inherited from our valiant ancestors. You can look through it when you are free. All the books are authentic, written in medieval Latin or in old French. The weapons and mounted animals are also real. These hunting trophies have been accumulating since the time of the founder of our family, the Count de L*, the husband of the first owner of the castle. They loved hunting and started this tradition.
“What’s on the second floor? Are we going there?” my wife asked.
“The second floor is closed to exhibition, but we do not mind your looking at it yourself. It was a priest’s room. He occupied it back in the 15th century. We don’t know who he was, but we assume that he was a family friend or some ancestor of ours who went to a monastery and left no information about himself.
“This is mysterious. Wouldn’t you like to know more about your family?” Nora wondered why the Count spoke so coldly about the history of it.
“Nora, we have lived in this house since childhood; and, believe me, there is nothing mysterious here. We are sort of guards of a museum standing in the forest… nothing more. We would have sold this castle a long time ago; but it is impossible since there are a lot of inheritors, and they would receive nearly nothing. At the same time,