Adeline

Chapter 4 - Friend

Arthur had wanted to get home and bath since they had emerged from the canal the night before. He felt dirty, soggy, disgusting ever since. There was probably human faeces in that water and he had waded in it for god knows how long. No one had seen him take Adeline up into the elevator to go to his flat. And she hadn't been paying attention to their surroundings for some time now. It was mid afternoon now and she had just kept her head down for the whole journey, thinking about the events that had just occurred – what Arthur had just done for her.

The elevator opened directly into Arthur's apartment and he led her inside. He had been holding her hand for the entire journey back for fear that he might lose her in the crowds on the underground or the stops on the bus on the way here. This was the first time that she looked up and around the apartment to just look at all of the things that he had in the immediate room. Her dress had been torn at the hem as a result of all the running. Arthur took her coat off of her shoulders and she didn't resist, only letting him undress her of her covers. His apartment was a high-ceiling, beautiful French-designed room with open windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. The floor that they were stood on was a cold, hard but shining tile floor with a design like mosaic from roman baths. Arthur put Adeline's coat on the mahogany coat hanger that stood by the door, as he did with his own. The hallway that they stood in was an open, square room that opened up to the sitting room. The sitting room was surrounded by doors that lead to the bedroom (and its subsequent on-suite), a door that let to the kitchen and dining room, the gaming room, the guest bedroom, the guest bathroom and also Arthur's office. The place was more like a mansion than an apartment, it was beautiful.

The walls were cream with decorative golden floral patterns all over the room that made them almost glow. The high, white ceilings were lined with beautiful golden, decorative and engraved cornices and the dark mahogany floor in the sitting room shone and reflected with the dim afternoon sun that crept in through the voile that covered the windows, hanging silently. The furniture was also beautiful. With golden edges and soft dark green, plump cushions, the seats cradled the fireplace. On every wall there was an electric lamp sitting in a golden fitting. A soft, deep red rug spread out across the room and directed the eye to the balcony in the centre of the row of windows. This small balcony looked out over the rooftops of London, overseeing all that was going on and above the mess and traffic of a busy working day. On almost every wall, there was a huge painting, but above the fireplace there was a painting that outshone every other. It was a family portrait, like one that Adeline had of her own family, but with Arthur standing next to his mother and father, and his little sister standing in the foreground.

As Arthur was tidying her clothes away, Adeline wandered slowly into the vast sitting room, her neck almost breaking from looking up around that the room. Her mouth hung open as she circled the furniture, caressing everything. This was until she stopped to look up at the painting. It was so big that it consumed the room, with a huge, thick decorative gold frame. It looked like it would bring the wall down with its weight. Arthur seemed to be about 19 in this image, not old enough to be in his twenties, but not young enough to be unattractive. He stood smart, hair smoothed back and wearing a shining cravat. His sister in this photo must have been around 12, and she was a great beauty. Her hair was a shining gold, and her face was covered with the perfect amount of freckles. In this painting, she wore a bright baby blue dress with plumage and fabric that seemed to spread in almost every direction. She was the object of the painting; the artist's treasure.

Adeline didn't notice Arthur walk up from behind her and stand next to her. So much so, that when he spoke to her, he almost made her leap three feet into the air. "Would you like a bath?" He offered.

She nodded slowly, "Yes please." She said quietly, "I'd love one."

Arthur began to walk to the guest bathroom to run the bathtub that sat in the centre of the room. Adeline hadn't bathed in warm water in so many years that she looked forward to this immense luxury. She called to him just before he shut his own bedroom door to go and bathe in his bathroom, "Your apartment is beautiful." She said quickly.