He watched her expression carefully as he finished his little explanation of their new location, waiting a bit impatiently to see just what she thought of it. When she finally spoke, he felt his heart flip-flop a little with excitement over the fact that he hadn’t been wrong in taking her here. “It’s a secret place,” he said, in answer to her first comment. “Most people don’t know about it. My mum’s father bought it as a wedding present for my grandmother and surprised her with it after they’d married.” He led her up the pathway, careful to avoid icy patches as he did so. “The only people who stay here constantly are, as I said before, the staff who look after the animals and the house. They’re actually people, though. Not elves,” he grinned then. “My grandmother was terrified of elves.”
He didn’t actually lead her towards the house, but rather to a gate in the wooden fence and beyond it toward the stables. “I know you aren’t a huge fan of big surprises, so mine is a tiny one,” he said, grinning. “I just realized it when I got home.” He opened the large door for her before lifting his hand to help her up the rather large stair that rested between the ground and the interior of the building. Closing the door blocked out the chill and he used a quick charm to light the building as they entered further within it.
“My mum’s brother breeds horses and trains them here,” he said to explain the creatures of varying ages that moved and shifted in the stalls as they passed by. As they neared the far end of the building, he stopped her with a bright grin before turning and whistling a little. The sound of movement could be heard before a furry head stuck itself around the corner and a large black and white dog moved out and bounded towards them. “This is Oliver,” he said, laughing a bit as he knelt to pet the excited dog. “My sister used to own her, but left her here with us when she went off to Paris. We just found out that she is a girl.”