Inside Van Dahl Manor
Once we entered the large home, I was able to see that the architect took great pride and care in the construction of the building. The floors had a black and white pattern like a large chess board throughout the space. The walls were covered in elaborate paintings, some reminiscent of the Orient while others were portraits of long dead aristocrats dressed in their finest. There were many different fine knick-knacks that made me afraid of walking too quickly and causing them to break. There were also many beautiful windows that had metal elaborately curved and twisted to make them works of art in themselves. Though the light was soon fading, I was still able to see some of them in the front door and at the end of the hallway. There was a staircase in front of me which reminded me of a Victorian style home.
While I was admiring these details, I was also surprising myself with the amount of knowledge that I seemed to have about architecture. This must have been one of my interests... And another book in my mind started to fill its pages with words and images, mostly of old cathedrals and historical books. This suddenly gave me memories of incense, of beautiful voices echoing in an enormous space, of praying to God. And as these comforting memories continued, suddenly they were interrupted by a deep and menacing voice whispering, "Did you give my message to Penguin?". I gasped suddenly as I felt a rush of dread in my heart. "Fee? Fee? What's wrong?" Oswald was looking at me with a worried look on his face as I returned to the present moment. I nodded as I fought to regain my normal breathing. I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze and smiled at him. Remembering that I shouldn't speak, I gestured to our surroundings. I was hoping that he would believe that my reaction was due to being overwhelmed by the beautiful home. I did this not only to keep him from asking me questions, but also to appeal to his obvious pride in his opulence.
Fortunately, it worked and he said with a slight chuckle, "Oh, yes, it is beautiful isn't it? I remember that you love fine craftsmanship. Even as children, you would go on and on about how amazing your church was and how you wanted to live in a castle just like it when you grew up. I'm glad you like it, my father had great taste, didn't he?" I again nodded and he led me closer to the staircase, when a large woman emerged from one of the rooms in front of us. She was wearing a black and white maid outfit and had her bleach blonde hair in a tight bun at the top of her head. Her face looked perpetually disapproving and her thick makeup extenuated her frown. "Ah!" Oswald said in an almost relieved voice, "Olga! I'm glad you're here. This is Felicity James and she'll be staying with us for a while." She looked at me and barely tilted her head in acknowledgement without changing her expression. "Can you please find her a room and help her get settled? She's been in the hospital for a while and I'm sure that she would like to clean up and change."
She said with a deep voice, "Пожалуйста, пойдем со мной" I didn't understand what she was saying, but by her body language, I could tell she wanted me to follow her up the stairs. "We're working on finding an ESL class..." Oswald whispered with an embarrassed tone, "Just follow her and she'll take care of you. I'll see you for dinner in the dining room in an hour, okay?" He gave a gentle tap on my hand and I left his side to follow Olga up the stairs. I had to hold the railing since the climbing caused my leg to ache a bit and I didn't want to fall. Once we reached the top of the stairs, she led me down a long hallway that was lined with more portraits and artwork on the walls, but the floors were now a deep brown wood covered with damask rugs. We reached the end of the hallway and she opened a door to lead me into a remarkable bedroom with a large posted bed lined with crimson curtains. The room had large french doors leading out to a balcony and allowed me to see the final rays of sunset. Fortunately, this light allowed Olga to find the lamp on a small table and turn it on before we were engulfed in darkness.
I looked around the room for a moment and then my guide cleared her throat and said, "Туалет там. И здесь есть шкаф. Столовая внизу, вторая комната справа. Не ходите в третью комнату, иначе вы увидите неприятный сюрприз." While she was speaking, she gestured to the two other doors in the room. Unfortunately, I didn't understand what she was saying, but I thanked her anyway. She left me and I was able to take a deep breath, relieved to have a place to call my own; even if it was temporary. I was grateful to have a safe place where I didn't have to worry about being experimented on, a place that I could sleep comfortably, and peaceful silence. This was something that was new to me and I relished the feeling. I grinned a little as a childish idea popped in my head, and I kicked off my shoes, walked to the side of the bed and leaped onto the lavish covers. I couldn't help but giggle as I rolled on the bed, back and forth over and over. I finally stopped on my back and looked up at the ceiling and sighed in contentment. After a minute of relaxing, I got up again and walked toward the two doors that Olga gestured to before.
The first one led to a nice bathroom with a claw footed bathtub and a modern looking shower. While the other door led to a huge walk-in closet. There were countless beautiful and tacky looking dresses as well as some higher quality suits and casual clothes. Not to mention the enormous shoe collection. My first reaction was that of confusion, whose clothes are these? I couldn't believe that these clothes were for me, so I started to wonder if Olga was saying to stay out of there, that they are off limits. I suddenly felt guilty for ruining someone else's bedcoverings. I walked out of the room to find Olga walking in the hallway. To get her attention, I knocked on one of the walls; which worked. She looked at me with the same expression, except for her eyebrows being raised. I gestured for her to come back to the room. When she came back, I did my best to try to communicate that I was confused about the room. It took a few frustrating tries, but she finally seemed to show her understanding.
She used her hand to gesture to the entire room, then she pointed at me with purpose. To me, she meant that the room was mine. Which to this, I gently took her arm and pulled her to the closet. I again gestured that I was confused, and she again gestured to the clothes, and then pointed to me. This time, I shook my head. At this, the corners of her mouth lifted a small bit and she walked to one of the racks. She took out a dark, maroon dress with a high neckline and no sleeves. It was made of velvet and had subtle damask texture that reminded me of the rugs in the hallways. Olga had to hold it up to keep it from dragging on the floor too much, when she held the hanger up to my chest; she seemed to be suggesting that I should try it on or wear it. I again shook my head and took a step back. She must have seen that I wasn't trying to be difficult, but that I was worried that it wasn't mine. She reached out with her free hand and took my hand. I looked at her and she smiled a little and nodded her head in an encouraging way, seemingly to reassure me that it was alright. It took me a moment, but then I returned her expression and then she again held the dress up to my chest. "Я думаю, что это платье будет хорошо выглядеть. К сожалению, эта шлюха, которая владела им раньше, выше тебя. Но это будет работать на сегодня."
