We arrived earlier than I thought so we had lots of time to look around outside and make sure everything is okay. The cats wanted to run after being in the car so long, so I said yes, but they had to stay close to each other. Off they went as fast as they could run. The chateau was on top of a high hill so we could see a good long distance in every direction. The tallest tower which was 4 stories would really give a nice view. The other two towers were 3 stories and the chateau itself was just two stories, so it was a bit smaller than Linnea’s chateau. There was a ‘gardeners’ cottage also, fairly small, with 2 bedrooms. It looked to be as old as the chateau, perhaps it was. There was a pool on one side of the chateau and apple trees on the other side. At the back was a beautiful and large garden with stone paths and benches here and there.

This is a very nice place. I notice the cats digging at something so we go over to check. They found a metal door, now covered with grass. “Could be for an old bomb shelter,” I said, “or maybe a secret passage for getting into the chateau.” Meow!=Oh, let’s check, see where it go! “Not right now Mr. Cat,” I said, “we need to check inside the chateau first.” We all go inside the back door. The kitchen was very modern looking but the dining room was still in it’s original glory with a beautiful chandelier and a huge oak table with 20 chairs. Must have had a big family at one time. Most of the main floor had been redone to give it a modern look, unlike Linnea’s cottage. “Too bad they ruined the look of the place,” said Calanthe. “It won’t be hard to fix it up properly,” I said. Then we went to check upstairs.

There was a large old door at the bottom of the stairs and it was locked. “Hmm, none of these keys the lawyer gave me work on this door,” I said, “that’s kind of odd.” However, with Mr. Cat and I working on it we soon had it open. The upstairs was beautifully original and furnished with wonderful antiques. Just like at Linnea’s chateau, the upstairs is beautiful and yet it’s kept locked. There must be a reason for that, but what? Need to find out some history behind this one, there is a large library here just like the other place. We spent the night here and got a good rest and the next morning we were off to Linnea’s chateau. There were no vehicles around so I locked the gate with one of my locks, now no one is getting in without me knowing about it. “There’s actually another road too,” said Calanthe, “but it’s not finished yet so I’m not sure if it’s usable.” We go to take a look. It’s not only usable but it has been used a lot.

“This is how they get in without being noticed,” I said to Calanthe. We go down to the gate and I put one of my locks on it too, with a wire across the top of the gate. “What’s that all about?”,asked Calanthe. “If the open the gate or even move it, or try to climb over it, then an alarm sounds on my wrist band to let me know someone is here. I don’t want to be surprised anymore, I’m kind of tired of that. It’s time for us to do some surprises,” I explained. Calanthe felt better knowing about this. Back inside to the sewing room fireplace which leads to the passages below. “We all need to be very careful,” I said, “remember there are traps in here that are meant to stop us, permanently.” The cats walked first since they are too lightweight to set off the traps and they can find the traps easier, they are just very good at that.

Meow,meow.=Look, in floor here. I shine my flashlight down, looks like a wire of some kind going from wall to wall. That’s interesting. However, it didn’t do anything so we continued exploring different passages and rooms but we didn’t find anything of real interest. “We need to find a passage that isn’t on this map,” I said, “but we will save that for tomorrow.” So we all went back upstairs. Calanthe started making something to eat, I left Mr. Cat with her while Muffin and I went back to the library. Suddenly Muffins ears went straight up! I turned….

To Be Continued.

©2021 Steve McLeod.