How eager she was.
He was being nice, he reminded himself, to reward her for cute behavior. And also for the sake of being nice. As he so often was.
Jean hummed the Ode to Joy as he walked toward the stairs, matching each step with his cane. Stairs could be irritating, but his leg wasn't bothering him as terribly as it sometimes did. Even as much as it had been earlier. He pulled his keys out of his pocket once they were upstairs until he found the one for his office, and opened the door with no fanfare whatsoever, assuming she'd be following along.
His office was far tidier than the storefront, though books lined the shelves on the walls to the right and left. His desk was to the right, an enormous piece of furniture that looked as if the room must have been built around it to have fit it. Old and well-cared for, with an inkwell built directly into it. There was a worn leather chair behind it, smaller chairs near the wall as a precaution for guests. Little potted plants dotted the shelves, ferns and vines and violets and succulents. Photos and daguerreotypes and impossibly old little statues. The books visible up here were often more esoteric, sometimes dangerous, bound in skin and gold and horrors. Grimoires and forbidden knowledge and secret diaries.
The far wall was mostly windows to the backyard and garden below. There was a book sitting on a window seat, a violin discarded on another.
The safe was to the left, built into the wall and taller than he was. The lock was intricate, too many moving pieces and none of them marked in anything but geometric shapes, and he unlocked it faster than most people could catch the trick. The entire wall panel opened, revealing the thick metal behind the wood.
Cash on the top shelves. Gold at the bottom. Miscellany in between, doubloons and emeralds and threadbare stuffed animals and dolls with the paint worn off their faces. He located a box full of books, and pulled it out, holding it to be visible.
"One of these, yes?"
He was being nice, he reminded himself, to reward her for cute behavior. And also for the sake of being nice. As he so often was.
Jean hummed the Ode to Joy as he walked toward the stairs, matching each step with his cane. Stairs could be irritating, but his leg wasn't bothering him as terribly as it sometimes did. Even as much as it had been earlier. He pulled his keys out of his pocket once they were upstairs until he found the one for his office, and opened the door with no fanfare whatsoever, assuming she'd be following along.
His office was far tidier than the storefront, though books lined the shelves on the walls to the right and left. His desk was to the right, an enormous piece of furniture that looked as if the room must have been built around it to have fit it. Old and well-cared for, with an inkwell built directly into it. There was a worn leather chair behind it, smaller chairs near the wall as a precaution for guests. Little potted plants dotted the shelves, ferns and vines and violets and succulents. Photos and daguerreotypes and impossibly old little statues. The books visible up here were often more esoteric, sometimes dangerous, bound in skin and gold and horrors. Grimoires and forbidden knowledge and secret diaries.
The far wall was mostly windows to the backyard and garden below. There was a book sitting on a window seat, a violin discarded on another.
The safe was to the left, built into the wall and taller than he was. The lock was intricate, too many moving pieces and none of them marked in anything but geometric shapes, and he unlocked it faster than most people could catch the trick. The entire wall panel opened, revealing the thick metal behind the wood.
Cash on the top shelves. Gold at the bottom. Miscellany in between, doubloons and emeralds and threadbare stuffed animals and dolls with the paint worn off their faces. He located a box full of books, and pulled it out, holding it to be visible.
"One of these, yes?"
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Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-24-2017, 10:33 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-25-2017, 09:40 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-25-2017, 10:58 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-25-2017, 12:50 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-25-2017, 01:03 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-25-2017, 02:15 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-25-2017, 02:29 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-25-2017, 11:20 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-25-2017, 11:37 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-26-2017, 01:31 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-26-2017, 01:41 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-26-2017, 02:16 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-26-2017, 02:23 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-26-2017, 02:48 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-26-2017, 02:56 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-26-2017, 04:18 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-26-2017, 04:26 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-26-2017, 07:13 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-26-2017, 07:24 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-27-2017, 12:24 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-27-2017, 12:42 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-27-2017, 12:58 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-27-2017, 01:09 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-27-2017, 05:03 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-27-2017, 05:14 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-27-2017, 07:44 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-27-2017, 08:23 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 03-28-2017, 10:59 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 03-28-2017, 11:25 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-01-2017, 05:15 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-01-2017, 05:24 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-02-2017, 06:29 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-02-2017, 07:49 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-05-2017, 05:02 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-05-2017, 10:31 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-05-2017, 01:58 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-05-2017, 02:21 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-05-2017, 03:09 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-05-2017, 03:20 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-05-2017, 10:15 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-05-2017, 10:46 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-06-2017, 03:33 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-06-2017, 04:12 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-06-2017, 05:28 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-06-2017, 11:20 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-07-2017, 03:30 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-07-2017, 09:25 AM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by Tindome - 04-07-2017, 06:22 PM
RE: Warm Reunions [Closed] - by SolitareLee - 04-07-2017, 06:34 PM