Rose did wonder at his motives, but she was keen for some fresh air, too, and she was not averse to a walk in his company.
“I will get my coat and meet you at the front entrance.” She skirted around him, staying out of his reach but not missing his smirk.
“Take my hand,” Will said as they both attempted to scale the grassy mound at the end of the internal courtyard.
“I don’t think so,” Rose laughed. “You will have to get up there by yourself.”
“I was being chivalrous.”
“There are eyes that might not see it that way.”
Rose looked back at the front of the castle, with its dozens of windows overlooking this mound with the big stone keep on the top. Will’s eyes followed hers.
“Does Ernest’s room look this way?”
“No. His room faces town.”
“Well then,” he grabbed her hand and folded it into his much larger one. “I know full well the servants are all loyal to you anyway, and there is no one else here.”
“Even so….” She tried to say, but he was already hauling her up the side of the very steep grassy slope. She gave in and let him pull her.
“This is so steep,” he said, his breath labored.
“I think that was the point. It is one hundred feet up and was created two years after William the Conqueror invaded. One of his loyal barons was gifted this land, along with a third of the whole of Sussex, and he built this to keep the local people at bay.”
“It didn’t work then,” Will grinned as he panted his way up.
By the time they reached the thick stone circular wall at the top of the mound, they were both out of breath.
“It still feels strange, you know,” Will gasped.
“What does?”
“That we spent our entire childhood looking at this, and now we are standing right next to it.”
“Like a different life,” Rose said wistfully. He gave her a sideways glance.
“Can we go inside?”
“We certainly can. We can even climb the walls and look over the edge and imagine we are repelling the invaders,” Rose laughed, harking back to the games they had played as children. There was a smile on Will’s face for a moment which captivated her. But then, every time she saw a glimpse of the young Will Browning it always rocketed her right back to a time when she had taken his companionship and his laughter for granted.
* * *
Will stood inside the keep and span around with his arms outstretched.
“What a stunning place,” he said as he turned full circle, imagining his fingertips tracing the line of the wall.
“Do you want to go up and look at the view? It’s quite fabulous.”
“I know,” Will stopped spinning. “I am looking at it,” he said, looking at her.
“No, I mean it,” she chided him.
“So do I.” He stared at her intently, enjoying the blush he provoked as she looked away.
"They used to squash a whole army in here,” she told him.
“And yet, right now, we have it entirely to ourselves.” He was advancing on her. “And not a soul can see us.”