After Eden had retrieved a duffel bag filled with clothe, Jack proceeded to take her to Doctor Lecter's office. The journey was quiet. Jack attempted to lighten the mood by putting on the radio but the sound of Abba coming from the speakers was enough to take their mood to a new low, and he switched it off again.
"I think you'll like Hannibal's office." he mused aloud.
She grunted but didn't reply, so he continued to talk alone. "It's rather extravagant; mahogany desks, sculptures, expensive paintings...He even has his own library on the floor above his room."
Eden's ears perked up, "A library?"
Jack glanced towards her, carefully not to take his eye off the road for too long, "Yes. He has quite a collection."
Another pause, "You like to read?"
She nodded and allowed the conversation to drift to favourite books, authors and genres until they arrived at Lecter's office.
Jack Crawford, it turns out, was an avid reader as well. But he didn't have a particular favourite.
Jack knocked on the door of Hannibal's office and it swung open to reveal a room that Eden had only seen in home design magazines. She mumbled a reply to Hannibal's "Hello." and began marvelling at the decor.
Extravagant was not the word. It was more like royalty to her.
"Do you like it?" asked Hannibal, gesturing to it all.
She almost laughed, "Like it? This is amazing."
He smiled at her response, "Come, I'll show you your room."
He led her to the door at the back of the room.
When he opened the door, he let Eden step inside and look around.
"I'll let you get accustomed. Jack and I have things to discuss." he told her.
She smiled and thanked him as he gently closed the door behind him.
A small extension of Lecter's office had been refurbished to resemble a bedroom and, as simplistic as it was, Eden was rather fond of it.
A desk sat in the corner of the room with an antique oil lamp perched on top of it. The bed was placed at the other corner and had a lovely white and teal duvet with matching pillows. Beautiful paintings were hung on the pale blue walls and another door led onto a small bathroom that was even equipped with its own shower.
Eden sat her beg down on the bed and smiled. Maybe her stay wasn't going to be so bad after all.
When Eden returned to the main office, Jack and Hannibal were deep in conversation and so as not to disturb them, Eden continued to look around the office.
The sudden memory of Jack mentioning a library flashed through her mind and so she immediately to look for it.
She slowly raised her eyes to the ceiling and saw a circular level above her, simply lined with bookshelf after bookshelf.
Eden could feel a small grin spread across her face as she looked in awe at the wonderful collection.
She wasn't even aware of the fact that both Jack and Hannibal had finished their conversation and we're now staring at her.
Jack laughed, "I think she'll be fine."
He waved a goodbye, placing a card with his contact details down on the desk and left.
"I'm going to ask you something Eden and I think I already know the answer; would you like to see the library?" asked Hannibal.
She smiled, "Yes please."
He nodded and indicated to the steel staircase to his left, "After you."
Eden claimed the staircase and halted at the top, she hadn't seen the full extent of the library. There were at least ten bookcases surrounding her and she couldn't help but chuckle, "Doctor Lecter, I think you may be my new favourite person."
Hannibal laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment to my personality and not my book collection Miss Lake."
Eden walked around in a daze, occasionally lifting a book from its shelf, running her hand along the spine and replacing it before moving on to another.
Lecter watched her as she did so, placing a comment here and there on the book she had chosen.
They stood there for at least twenty minutes before a knock came at the door.
Lecter excused himself and descended the stairs to answer it.
Eden peered over the railings to see who was at the door.
"Ah, William, come in." beamed Lecter.
"Hey Will." came a voice from above his head. Will looked up to see Eden flipping through Romeo and Juliet and returned her welcome, "You seem in a good mood."
She smiled, "William, I am currently surrounded by a fabulous collection of books and will be staying within ten feet of them until further notice. Of course I'm in a good mood."
He looked at her, "Glad you're enjoying yourself."
He then turned to Hannibal, "Perhaps we should schedule our meeting for another time?"
Before Lecter could reply, Eden cut in, "It's alright Will, I was planning on going to bed now anyway." She climbed down to the office, book in hand, "You won't even know I'm here."
Hannibal smiled, "That is most kind of you Eden."
She grinned happily and said goodnight.
Will watched her close the door before looking at Hannibal, "With the amount of books you have in here Doctor Lecter...Eden won't be going anywhere for a while."
