Let it Snow!

❄Thirty-Five❄

It took a couple of hours to set up the two market stalls to Clelia and Mary's wills but, finally, Nora was free to leave. She said goodbye to her godmother and her friend and left them chatting in the middle of the ancient square that was gradually filling up with more vendors setting up their stalls for the weekend Christmas market.

She directed her steps first to the florist's, to buy the potted Christmas tree as tall as herself she had set her eyes on previously, and happily agreed when the man promised to deliver it to her doorstep, after she explained where she lived.

"I'm delivering a few to the hotel in the castle anyway. It will cost me nothing to bring one to you as well. How are you settling down? You are Nora, right? I figured you must be Barbara's granddaughter. You look so much like your grandmother."

The town was really small, Nora mused, smiling, spending a few minutes talking to the friendly man, succeeding to recall his children, a son and a daughter a few years younger than Nora, from the past.

Then, finally, she headed home. Seeing that her hands were unexpectedly free, she patted the pockets of her coat and when she discovered Albert's keys deep inside one of them, she walked to the parking lot and took a book-filled bag from his back seat. There was only one left to carry to the cottage now, and her moving would be completed, Nora thought, brushing a layer of snow off Albert's roof. If only she found a long-term job that would allow her to stay...

It was only lunchtime when she got back home, which meant that six long hours separated her from the interview, six long hours during which she would torment herself with self doubts. Why should they accept someone like her? The castle guides were generally younger, people straight from their studies, just like the few employees of the hotel she had glimpsed... Frowning, she told herself that this really wasn't the best moment to start doubting this move. She would drag herself to the castle at the appointed hour and see.

To distract herself, she cooked, cleaned and tidied up, opened, yet again, the book about the castle she had been perusing since she got the interview and knew by heart at this point, and even took a long shower that was supposed to make her relax. However, nothing helped. She found herself in front of her wardrobe, attempting to choose a suitable set of clothes, two hours in advance.

Nora felt that this interview was important. Her future might well depend upon getting this job-- she only had Daniel to look after until mid-January. You can always go back where you came from, you lived happily enough abroad for ages, and never had trouble finding a job, she reminded herself as she observed herself critically in the mirror once she was dressed. She didn't get many occasions to wear her floor-length, burgundy skirt made of thick, glossy velvet, but coupled with a simple black woollen cardigan it seemed perfect for tonight. The thought of meeting Martin for dinner later warmed her heart; it would help her pull through the interview.

Even her face glowed with the impatience to see him again. Nora sighed at the sight as she applied a touch of make-up to her warm cheeks and bright eyes. Falling in love wasn't what she was expecting to be doing so soon after her arrival to this town. She wasn't expecting it to happen at all, actually. Shrugging at her reflection, she ran her fingers through her hair, deciding to leave it loose.

She would get this job, Nora promised to herself, or some other. Should they not like her in the castle, then she would look somewhere else. She wanted to stay here; this was her home. Daniel was here. And Martin, and Clelia... This was her world now.

After one last glimpse in the mirror, she switched off the lights upstairs and descended the staircase. Making sure that the fire was safely banked, she put on her coat and shoes, and then, casting a loving look around her cottage, she grabbed her handbag and switched off the remaining lights. She locked the door and checked the time on her phone-- she had half an hour to get to the castle.

It was a slow walk down the hill because the pair of boots that matched her clothes best wasn't the most suitable for the walk across the snow-covered meadow in the dark. To her surprise, she reached the castle without slipping once, still ten minutes early.

Nora met no one on her way; the stables, the drawbridge, and even the castle's Entry Hall were deserted, the freezing wind keeping most people inside. She assumed that someone would meet her in the courtyard where the guided tours normally started, and so she followed the weak light spilling from the glass door of the hotel out of the Entry Hall again. The courtyard was empty, too, apart from a small group of people talking in front of the door where Nora was expecting to meet whoever was supposed to interview her tonight.

As her eyes adjusted to the insufficient light, she saw that the group was composed of three people-- two women listening to a tall man whose back was turned to her.

He was dressed in a long black coat Nora had noticed the castle employees wore in winter, his shoulder-length hair, the same colour as the coat, was tied into a pony tail at the nape of his neck. Nora had to look away to suppress a giggle. She had never seen him with such a hairdo, but she was sure it was Martin.

All mirth abandoned her again the instant when she realised that it was him, most likely, who was here for her interview... How was she to do this with him, and why? How come he was in charge of so many things in this castle? Did the Count trust no one else?

Unless... Oh. Martin was the Count then... Just why didn't he tell her??? Was he afraid... of what? And how was she supposed to accept this job if it meant that she would become his employee, yet again?

Closing her eyes and shaking her head unhappily, Nora resolved that she wouldn't make the reveal easy for him. Martin knew everything about her; it was his turn to finally fill in the gaps in her knowledge about himself tonight.

And if he was really the Count...? What should she do then? Just why did everything in her life have to be so complicated?!

She inhaled deeply, trying to compose herself before he could notice her.