Authors: Shirlee Lewis
Searching around the last place I saw Tony for a clue, I heard him scream with tremendous agony. “TONY,” I screamed and took off running down the trail when a black
, cloaked body stepped out from behind a tree.
My eyes opened. Looking at the ceiling, I tried to think of good things and prayed the dream wouldn’t return. When my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room, I looked to see if Tony was beside me. His snoring stopped when he turned toward me putting his hand on my waist. Scooting closer to him, I wrapped my arm around him. Lightly kissing his chest, he started snoring again. I lay with my head against his chest concentrating on his snoring and it wasn’t long before I was asleep.
The clock on the nightstand read nine in the morning when I glanced at it. The castle would be open in an hour. I couldn’t wait. Hurriedly I swallowed down my breakfast and took my shower; I was ready to visit the castle.
Tony was lying in the bed looking up at the ceiling. “Tony, we are going to the castle today aren’t we?”
“Hum,” he said, cocking his eyes toward me.
“The castle, today, we’re still going aren’t we?”
“We’re going, but first I need to ask you about your dream last night.”
“
My dream? What about it? It’s just a dream I’d rather forget about.”
“You screamed out my name.”
“I couldn’t find you and I screamed for you. It was just a dream” I said calmly. “Not like it’s going to happen anyway.” I was hoping Tony didn’t push to know what I dreamt.
“True,” he said, and then paused. “Now let’s go to the castle,” he said getting up.
Tony showered and dressed. Grabbing a flask from the icebox, I handed it to Tony as he was putting on his shoes.
“You’re running low on flasks,” I stated.
“Father’s shipping me more. They should be here today or tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
Going into the hall, I bumped into the couple from the cantina and the lobby.
“I’m sorry,” I said, but the couple didn’t reply.
Exiting the elevator, I saw the couple sitting in the dining room as Tony and I went to the lobby. They both turned too look toward us, and then got up after we were in the lobby. I wasn’t a suspicious person, but my suspension was growing with them. Thinking back, they were at the cantina and staying at the same hotel. No matter where I looked they seemed to be exactly where Tony and I were at the same time. Still thinking they were an odd couple, I shrugged it off. I had no time, really, too think about them anyway. I was on my way to see my first castle.
Right i
n the middle of town was the castle. It covered a city block. A parking lot, a block away, was reserved for castle visitors and free as long as you had a parking voucher from the booth at the entrance of the lot.
Walking to the entrance of the castle, I was in awe. Business
es lined the streets with windows dressed for window shopping. A colorful Italian dress caught my eye, but the castle was first on my agenda.
The castle walls were stone and chipping away from time
. Moss grew up the sides. Double doors were open at the entrance with a tour guide, Judy, taking our vouchers for parking. Just inside the door, we paid at a counter to see the castle.
Walking into a large room on the first floor
; there was a painting hanging on the wall with a table from the fifteen hundred’s below it. The painting was a king and queen with their family. They seemed to be sad.
Judy told us the painter painted to his feelings and not the actual facial expressions of the subjects he painted.
Following Judy to the courtyard, the couple from the hotel was coming into the castle.
Surely they aren’t following us
, I thought. It seemed so odd they were exactly at the same place Tony and I were since the first time we saw them at the cantina.
The courtyard was rectangular with a stone floor open to the sky. Marble pillars connected different entrances of the castle. Archways were mossy with the stone walls chipping away. We had to be careful as we toured the courtyard.
Our next adventure was the basement. It was used as the wine cellar. Entering the basement, I was chilled and had an eerie feeling. The sooner I could get out of the basement the better. Racks which held the bottles could be purchased, but Tony and I weren’t avid wine drinkers so we didn’t purchase any. My first wine was at my honeymoon dinner and my last. It was good, but I wasn’t a
big
drinker.
The next room Judy took us to had a hole in the middle of the floor. Looking down the hole, swords stuck out the walls every so often to the dungeon floor. Several bones from medieval times could be seen at the bottom leading to the dungeon. No entrance to the dungeon was allowed, but you could look down the tunnel and see the bones.
Judy explained the dungeo
n was full of torture devices one which the arms of prisoners would be strapped to, then device was suspended thirty feet in the air until the prisoner’s body detached from the arms. I shivered as Judy told us. I couldn’t imagine anything as horrific as torture.
An altar beside the tunnel leading to the dungeon was used for praying for forgiveness after the pr
isoners were put into the tunnel. Chills ran up my spine as Judy told us.
The last place Judy took us was the top of the castle. Archery towers surrounded
it so arrows could be launched at the enemy trying to attack the castle. Looking out across the landscape, I could see the tops of trees.
Exiting the castle Tony asked, “Did you enjoy the castle?”
“I sure did. I tried to imagine everything that went on in medieval times, but I couldn’t. Guess you would have to live it to know.”
“Guess so,” Tony laughed.
Walking back to the car, I stopped at the shop with the colorful ,Italian dress hanging in the window. It was very pretty. An array of bright colors designed as a triangle from small to large with three, quarter sleeves and above the knees.
“Would you like to have it?” Tony asked.
“Not really. I wouldn’t have any place to wear it back home.”
Tony and I drove to a different parking lot. We walked to a restaurant
for lunch. The waiter sat us at the front of the restaurant facing the street. From the menu the only thing I could read was the salad and that’s what I ordered.
“Shall we tour the town this afternoon since we’re here?” Tony asked.
“I’d love to.”
After lunch, Tony and I walked around the center of town looking at the cathedral, bell tower and town hall taking our time. The same couple was in the restaurant and toured the center of town at the same time we did.
Enjoying the city, I was ready to go back to the hotel. Getting back to the car, I couldn’t wait to sit down, my feet were killing me.
Laying my hand on the back of the seat, closing my eyes I thought of the couple who seemed to be everywhere Tony and I were.
Surely we weren’t being followed or were we?
It must have been the dream causing my suspension. The lady was very beautiful. Her blond hair flowing down her back and her tan was something I wished countless times my skin would have. Maybe, the simple fact, I never got out much when the sun was shining in Mayville.
The man I wouldn’t have thought twice to notice. His build was slender
. He reminded me of a bean pole, but he was also tan.
This couple must have loved the sun and saw a lot of it.
“Did you have a great time today?” Tony asked.
“I loved every minute of it. Thank you, honey.”
Tony rubbed my cheek with the back of his hand. Moving to the middle of the seat, I laid my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes trying to forget how badly my feet hurt. A good soaking would help.
We sat in silence the rest of the
drive back to the hotel. Trying to stand on my feet getting out of the car, I nearly fell down. Entering the hotel the desk clerk sat a package on the counter.
“Mr. Mureaux a package for you.”
Tony helped me to the nearest chair and then went to the counter. With the package in one arm, Tony helped me stand up. Wrapping my arm around him, we went to our room.
Setting the package on the dresser, Tony ran warm water in the bathtub, and then he helped me with my shoes. Looking at my feet they were swollen and red. He carried me to the bathroom sitting me on the edge of the tub. Easing my feet
into the tub, I smiled. “That feels good,” I said. The warm water helped ease the pain a little.
“Jess, I’m going to town and get you Epsom salt and an ice bag,” he said, and then hesitated. “Your feet have never swelled before….wonder
why they did today?”
“I don’t know. Could be because I’m not used to all the walking we did today.”
Tony kissed me and said, “I’ll be back soon. I love you.”
“I love you. Hurry back.”
Tony ordered a pizza to be delivered to the room for me before he left. My feet were feeling better so I decided to try and make it to the bed. Easing my legs over the side of the tub, grabbing onto the sink counter, I tried to stand up. Taking a step my feet hurt, but not as bad as before.
The pizza was soon delivered. Tony returned with the salt and had me soak my feet again. Twenty minutes of soaking my feet
made them resemble dried prunes. Tony wouldn’t let me walk. He carried me to the bed.
“We’ll stay in the rest of the week.”
Tony took all the pillows and put them under my feet. Gently he rubbed them making them feel good. It wasn’t long before I was asleep.
Chapter Eleven
All week we stayed at the hotel. The swelling took a little over two days to completely go down, Tony didn’t want me on my feet for fear they would swell again so he confined me to bed.
What a way to spend a honeymoon
, I thought.
Tony found his favorite program, inventions, as he was going through the channels. He couldn’t understand a word of it so he watched it and I watched along
; with him with my feet stuck up in the air on several pillows. It wasn’t my choice for a program, but it interested Tony so I acted like I was enjoying too. I could tell it was about making trains. Only because it showed the blueprint of a model for one and after the commercial the train was halfway built.
A knock at the door interrupted our program and for one split second I was glad until I saw who it was. The couple who appeared to be following us everywhere we went.
Tony opened the door. “May I help you?”
“I’m sorry, I have the wrong room,” the man said. The woman peeked around his shoulder slightly behind him making eye contact with each other.
“No problem.” Tony closed the door and came back to the bed.
Usually I wouldn’t have thought anything about it, but something about that woman gave me the creeps. Her hair was sitting slightly toward the back of her head with her
hairline showing black. She was either wearing a wig or it was a bad dye job. I giggled silently. She only talked and smiled to the man she was with. She didn’t stare at us. She glared and was always on her phone after she glared talking to who knows who. Then Mildred came to mind. They both acted the exact same way; Mildred sneaking around our house, especially at odd hours of the night, back home in Mayville and this woman here, always in the same place we were. Surely they weren’t connected. The longer I thought about it, I wondered if they were connected somehow. I did catch Mildred on the phone with someone and they were discussing Tony and me, but it just couldn’t be. No matter how hard I tried to shake the oddness; it kept coming back especially when I saw this woman.