The house was huge. Bigger than the one I used to work in. When I thought about it though, it seemed to be the appropriate size for a rich person who raised a son and owned a company. I was so awestruck by the mere size of the house that I didn't notice Keith holding my shoulder talking to me.
"Is something wrong?" was all I heard. I shook my head and didn't bother to smile. "Well from here on we have to act like we love each other" he said to me quietly and I was refocussed on the situation.
"How exactly am I supposed to do that?" I asked. He smiled at me and grabbed my hand. I couldn't think of a reason why but it made my heart feel as though it melted a little.
"Just follow my lead for now, we can work out the details a little later" he said, using his other hand to move my hair behind my ear. He slowly led me to the door and I was even more struck by the beauty of the inside; all the warm timber tones, and golden filigree and edging on railings for stairs and picture frames. It felt overly spacious and empty, but homey at the same time. I wasn't sure I liked it.
He led me through hallway after hallway, talking to people as we went; apparently organising a room for me was now top priority. He continued to drag me along to a door where he knocked and entered without waiting for a response. There was a man inside that only had the same brown hair, though it was now greying. It was a huge study filled with books I'd never seen before.
They all seemed so old and I wanted to read every page of them all. While I had been looking around the man had sat in the large desk that faced the door and was talking to Keith.
"Is this not the same Sarah that has caused a disturbance in my business?" his father said; he seemed rather intimidating. He leaned forward as if expecting me to react but I didn't.
"Yes she is. I met her after one of the petitions had occurred, though at the time I didn't realise she was THAT Sarah. To be honest it doesn't make a difference to how I see her, I still want to marry her" he stated, trying not to waver as he spoke. His father sighed and seemed to give up a little.
"Who am I to say no? If you want to marry her then I won't stop you" he said in a defeated tone, "But if she makes you unhappy you cannot blame me" he warned as Keith dragged me out.
He dragged me upstairs into what seemed like a bedroom. It didn't have the same empty feel as the rest of the house. The bedframe, drawers, side tables, bookshelf and desk were all dark timber. The bedspreads were off-white, as were the curtains. He finally let go of my hand and locked the door behind us.
"We should be able to talk a little before dinner because no doubt father will ask questions" he stated, he mumbled something about this being more work than finding someone who actually loved him but seemed to shrug off the thought.
"I think the first thing we should do is talk normally and work out HOW we met" I stated as I walked around the room, trying to work out why it didn't feel empty. We both went silent. I kept looking around wondered how I could have met him. All we knew so far was that it was after one of my petitions... I looked over the bookshelf and my eyes stopped when I saw one of the titles. "This was my favourite story when I was little. The idea of such an adventure coming from a simple task appealed to me" I said quietly as I picked up Little Red Riding Hood.
"My mother used to read it to me. She used to tell me to think about it from different character's view points and what could happen next for them" he said, now standing directly behind me. I suddenly had an idea as to how we met.
"Sometimes after my petitions and protests I'd go to the library" I stated and he didn't catch on "I would read stories to the children and ask them questions about the story. They loved it because I'd give each character a voice and make them sound how they're portrayed. Perhaps you approached me after I'd read this book" I handed him the book and he smiled.
