The Eerie Castle E-Book

Leslie Garber

• Herausgeber: Alfredbooks
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Seitenzahl: 104

Beschreibung

The Eerie Castle Leslie Garber A young woman falls in love with the descendant of an old noble family. But the castle of the family seems to be filled with a dark curse...

Leseprobe

The Eerie Castle

Leslie Garber

A young woman falls in love with the descendants of an old noble family. But the castle of the family seems to be filled with a dark curse...

Copyright

LESLIE GARBER IS A PEN-NAME OF ALFRED BEKKER

A CassiopeiaPress Book

© by Author  /COVER TONY MASERO

© of this issue 2018 by AlfredBekker/CassiopeiaPress, Lengerich/Westphalia

www.AlfredBekker.de

[email protected]

1

The sand-coloured walls of Schloss Eichenbach towered high.

The milky glow of the evening sun bathed the imposing manorial building with its oriels and towers on a hill in a soft light.

If you looked up from below, you couldn't help but feel a certain reverence.

From up there, the surrounding countryside had been ruled for centuries. The castle had lost nothing of its sublime charisma until today.

So this will become your home, thought the young Baroness Susanne von Radvanyi not without a slight shiver.

She was sitting in the back seat of a large Mercedes limousine, with which the driver of the Prince of Eichenbach had picked her up to take her to the castle of her future fiancé Wilfried von Eichenbach. He wanted to introduce her to his parents. Susanne's heart beat faster when the limousine turned into the narrow road leading up to the castle in serpentines. On both sides were terraced parks.

Wilfried's face, framed by dark hair, appeared before her inner eye. She had met him at the wedding celebration of a distant relative. It had been love at first sight. His dark grey eyes, the even features and the restrained, sympathetic smile - all this had enchanted her from the very beginning.

A spell that had not abated at other meetings.

And now she had come here at Wilfried's invitation, to the ancestral seat of his ancestors.

She was looking forward to it. She and Wilfried already had plans for an engagement...

A feeling of happiness came over Susanne at the thought of Wilfried and the future that lay ahead of them. She could well imagine one day leading the Princely House at his side and becoming the mother of a future generation of Eichenbachs.

The limousine reached the magnificent arched gate, in which an expert stonemason had carved the von Eichenbach family coat of arms centuries ago with remarkable craftsmanship. The car entered the spacious courtyard of the castle. There was a parking lot and park-like green areas. Everywhere there were magnificent flower beds and accurately planted shrubs. The flowerbeds had the form of triangles, between which paved paths led.

The flowers bloomed in the colours red, white and yellow - the coat of arms colours of the house Eichenbach. the fountains were splashing.

They were held in the same, slightly yellowish sandstone as the masonry of the parapet that surrounded the entire estate. The castle consisted of an imposing, multi-storey main house and several smaller buildings in which the servants' apartments were located.

There were also stables for riding horses and a chapel.

"Here we are, Baroness Susanne," said Ferdinand, the chauffeur who had turned grey in the service of the Princely House of Eichenbach. He had steered the car with a steady hand, so that you could almost feel as if you were carried by a litter.

Susanne smiled.

"Thank you, Ferdinand."

Wilfried's father, Prince Friedrich von Eichenbach, had insisted on picking Susanne up in his limousine and not letting her arrive in her own car. And Wilfried had advised her not to turn down this sign of friendly affection. The lord showed nothing else but that the young baroness was very welcome to him.

Ferdinand got out and opened the door for Susanne.

"Your luggage will be taken care of by our valet Johann," he said.

A pretty two-seater sports car rushed through the sublime castle gate at that moment and stopped next to the Prince's dark limousine. The hood was folded back on this beautiful sunny day. Susanne recognized the man at the wheel immediately.

"Wilfried!" she shouted enthusiastically.

Wilfried got out and came up to her. He looked good, found Susanne. As one could only imagine a fairytale prince! The double-breasted blazer with the discreetly attached princely coat of arms and the elegantly worn handkerchief sat like a glove.

The family coat of arms was also found in the decoration of the precious tie pin.

Wilfried took Susanne's hand, kissed it perfectly and then said with a charming smile on her lips: "Baroness Susanne, I would like to welcome you to Schloss Eichenbach..."

And he winked at her happily.

She decided to play the game. But just for a moment...

"That formal?" Susanne asked with a smile.

Wilfried held her hand a nuance longer than should have been necessary.

Both of their glances met, fused together for a few moments. Susanne sighed happily. A pleasant shiver ran down her spine and her heart jumped.

"I'm very glad you're here, Susanne," Wilfried then said. "And I managed to get back to the castle just in time to greet you..."

"Where have you been?"

"You know I have a lot to do with running the family business... who wished to see the books of our winery."

"I hope there hasn't been any trouble..."

"No, our books are fine. But that's all secondary now... Now that you're here!"

Meanwhile, the valet came down the stairs of the mighty portal. Ferdinand opened the trunk and carried Susanne's luggage - a suitcase and a bag - a piece of it.

"Your premises are ready, Susanne," Wilfried said. "I hope that everything will be to your satisfaction..."

"Certainly, Wilfried..." Susanne smiled contemplatively and hakte herself with her lover under. "And it doesn't actually take much. No gorgeous rooms or anything like that. When I'm around you, Wilfried..."

He looked at her.

His face had now taken a serious turn.

"I feel the same way," he replied.

For a short moment Susanne had the impression that a shadow lay over Wilfried von Eichenbach's face.

That the future lord seemed slightly melancholic from time to time, Susanne had already noticed at her earlier meetings. Like something from the past was pressing on his soul now and then. Susanne didn't know what that could be. And when she once asked directly about it, Wilfried's answer had been more or less evasive.

One day he will trust me enough to reveal his innermost being to me, Susanne thought. She was very confident in this respect. Because both her own love and that of her future fiancé, she was completely sure.

"Let's go in," Wilfried said. "I want you to meet my parents as soon as possible. I've told them a lot about you, but..."

Susanne looked down at herself.

"I don't know - shouldn't I put something more appropriate first?" she asked.

Susanne wore a simple, lime green summer dress. The brunette hair was tucked up and held together at the back with a clip. A discreet pearl necklace hung around her neck.

"You look lovely, Susanne," Wilfried thought. And the look he gave her spoke of sincere admiration.

Susanne shrugged her shoulders.

"If you mean..."

"I'm sure!"

Together they walked up the steps of the imposing stone portal. Marble lion heads were at the end of the handrails.

They entered a high entrance hall with baroque furniture and precious tapestries through the double-wing door.

Chandeliers hung down from the vaulted ceiling. The crystal glass glistened in the light of the sun's rays, which fell through the high windows. How splendid these candlesticks had to look only in the evening, when they shone in their stately splendour.

"Where are the prince and princess?" Wilfried asked a chambermaid who had just come down the stairs leading up to the upper floors.

"The Serene Highnesses are in the salon right now..."

"Thank you."

Susanne let Wilfried lead her through a long, high corridor.

How sublime and almost intimidating this huge castle looks, Susanne thought almost a little shuddering when she saw the large-format paintings on the walls depicting the ancestors of the princely family.

Great masters of different epochs had captured the respective princes of Eichenbach on canvas. And now they lined this high corridor as a kind of gallery. The frames were covered with gold.

Susanne, the daughter of the Baron of Radvanyi, was also used to generous conditions and grew up on an extensive estate. But the stately castle of the von Eichenbach family eclipsed what it had been used to until then. The burden of centuries seemed to lie on these ancient walls. Something that Susanne found depressing - as much as she enjoyed being around Wilfried.

They reached the salon. It was also splendidly furnished. The delicate chairs and the divan were decorated with precious embroidered upholstery. The artistic embroidery depicted romantic hunting scenes. And the noble chandeliers hanging from the ceiling glittered like diamond necklaces.

Prince Friedrich von Eichenbach was an imposing figure. He wore a double-breasted suit similar to his son's. The hair was already gray, but still full.

And Susanne saw that Wilfried was cut off his father's face.

Princess Margarethe had a kind, gentle smile on her face. Only her blue-grey eyes could tell that she was used to exercising authority. She wore a grey dress of simple elegance, a necklace set with red rubies, a matching brooch and a bracelet. The princess was several years younger than her husband, but her otherwise dark hair also showed the first silvery traces.

But Susanne found that this did not detract from her beauty. It even underlined the dignity and grandeur it radiated.

Wilfried greeted his parents very warmly. Then he said apologetically: "Forgive me if I did not have Johann announce our visit, but our valet is busy at the moment with the luggage of this enchanting young lady..." He gave Susanne a smile that warmed her heart. "May I introduce? Baroness Susanne of Radvanyi... Susanne, these are my parents, the Prince and Princess von Eichenbach!"

Susanne's heart raced as she paid homage to the princely couple with a traditional court curtsey.

But she had the impression from the first moment that the two were well-disposed towards her.

"My son has told us so much about you," said the Princess. "And we are very pleased to finally meet you face to face."

"I feel the same way, Your Highness," Susanne replied.

Princess Margarethe smiled mildly.

"I very much hope that you feel comfortable at Schloss Eichenbach. If you have anything on your mind, don't hesitate to contact me."

Now Prince Friedrich spoke up.

"I've been wondering whether we haven't met before, Baroness Susanne... After all, I know your father quite well, although I have to admit that we have lost sight of each other in recent years..."

"Not that I can remember," said Susanne regretfully.

The prince seemed thoughtful.

"It may have been more than twenty years ago that we were invited to the wedding of the Princess of Sarnheim. It was a magnificent celebration that has been talked about for years. I saw the Baron of Radvanyi leading a little child by the hand who was taking his first steps with shaky legs..."

Susanne smiled.

"It may have been me," she conceded. "But you may forgive me if I don't remember this moment..."

Prince Friedrich replied with a smile.

"Well, if I had known then that I might face my future daughter-in-law, I would of course have paid more attention to you."

Susanne heard footsteps in her back.

She turned around.

Everyone's eyes turned to the two-winged salon door, whose dark wooden frame was decorated with precious carvings. A young woman of Susanne's age had entered the room. Her dress rushed slightly. Her dark, almost pitch-black hair was combined into a strict knotted hairstyle. Her face seemed tense.

"Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting," said the young woman. She looked at Susanne in a way she didn't like.

"May I introduce you to Baroness Susanne of Radvanyi," said Wilfried, as the young woman approached with a suspicious, almost hostile gaze. "Susanne, this is Countess Christiane von Buchenberg-Selm. She also lives at Schloss Eichenbach..."

The smile that now appeared on Christianes face was icy.

"So you're Wilfried's new fiancée," she said with a disparaging undertone. "Oh, I'm sorry - future fiancées must be the word, because as far as I can remember, there hasn't been an appropriate celebration yet. Or was I just not invited?"

"Christiane, please!", the Princess spoke outragedly. Your disapproval of Christiane's remarks was unmistakable.

Christiane raised her eyebrows and pretended that she did not know what had aroused the princess's displeasure.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Christiane!"

"But it is true that Wilfried was already engaged once," Christiane added. She raised her chin a little. Then she turned to Susanne.

"Haven't they told you yet, Baroness?"

"That's enough," said Prince Friedrich, who obviously found it difficult to stay calm. "Baroness Susanne is a guest at Schloss Eichenbach. And I want everyone in this castle to treat her that way..."