Chapter 3

Elizabeth had no trouble finding Will's house. She knew the area well enough to follow the description he gave her when they had lunch at BeadmansCafé. Even though he had mentioned the house's size, she was speechless when she first saw it. It was by far the largest building in the neighborhood, but it didn't quite deserve the title of a manor. There was a modest garden in the front, and she assumed probably in the back as well. It looked as if it might have three floors, and there were numerous windows all around the house. She immediately noticed its most striking feature – an American Southeastern farmhouse wrap-around porch that started at the front door and wound its way around the left side of the house. She shook her head as she thought about how Will probably chose this house specifically for its unusual architecture. It was apparent that the years of traveling had somehow been very generous to Will's bank account.

There were only a few steps leading to the porch, and it didn't take her long to cross it to reach the front door. It wasn't quite noon, and Elizabeth hoped she wasn't arriving too early. She knocked loudly and was pleasantly surprised when Will opened the door a few seconds later.

"You're here with minutes to spare! Well done, Ms. Collins."

"As always. Thank you."

He stepped aside to let her in. "Would you like a tour before we leave?"

"That would be lovely. Where are we going this afternoon?"

"I dunno," he said and paused comically, pretending to think. "We could go for a swim."

Elizabeth looked at him incredulously. "Are you mad? It's the middle of January!"

He laughed. "I'm only winding you up, Liz. How about a stroll around downtown? I'd like to see a bit more of what's changed around here."

"Now that's more practical. Sounds brilliant."

He led her away from the door to show her the front room, but when she saw it, she stopped him.

"Will, how did you get moved in so quickly? It's only been four days since I saw you at Beadmans."

"Oh…well, I actually had all this brought from London last week."

"Last week? You're saying that you've been here since last week and didn't tell me?" She punched his arm.

"Technically I wasn't here! I mean, I supervised the move, but I wasn't able to leave London until the beginning of this week."

"You should have called!"

"I was going to! Really I was! I just ran into you first is all."

Elizabeth grabbed his arm and squeezed fiercely. "You're just lucky Andy found you when he did. If it had been much longer before I knew you were here, I'd have had to set you straight."

"Is that a fact?"

She just smiled. "Let's have the tour then."

"As you wish."

They leisurely walked through the downstairs area, which consisted of the front room, a large kitchen, a dining room, a small washroom, and a study that held its own little library in the back. Elizabeth commented on all the furniture, and Will explained the story behind every piece. It seemed as if he had collected each one as he made his way through his travels, and it amazed her that he had the ability and funds to send them back to London. There were photographs displayed prominently in every room, and each room had a theme to its pictures. Images of France filled the kitchen. Spain engulfed the dining area. Tokyo settled the study. African landscapes and wildlife completed his sitting area. As they began their ascent to the second floor, Elizabeth stopped to stare at the pictures hanging from the wall along the stairs.

"What are these? I can't recognize…" she trailed off.

"Oh, those are close ups of various objects," he said. "This one is an old rusty automobile. You can see where the paint's peeling and how the rust is poking through there. And this is actually just a small section on a piece of driftwood I found on a beach in Spain. I liked the pattern on it. The last one here is my favorite. Can you guess what it is?'

Elizabeth stepped closer to the last photograph and squinted. 'It looks sort of like…I really have no idea."

"It's my thigh."

"What?"

"Look, you can see all the hair and skin and stuff – a result of boredom while waiting for some lions to do something other than sleep."

Elizabeth looked at him incredulously, much to his amusement, before moving along. There were three bedrooms upstairs, including two full washrooms – one adjacent to the master bedroom and the second connected to the other two bedrooms. There was also a small staircase hidden behind a door one might mistake for a closet.

"It leads to the attic where I've stashed a bunch of junk," he explained.

"I'd hardly call anything you own 'junk'."

"That's because all of the junk is hidden in the attic."

Elizabeth laughed. "Where are your elaborate collections we discussed?"

"I don't usually display them. They're in my bedroom."

"Let me see."

Will quietly led her into the largest room upstairs and directed her to a display case off to the side. It was filled with coins and notes from dozens of countries. There were labels beside each group that identified the home country of each piece. She read them all as he busied himself behind her.

"Have you been to all these places?"

"I'd say I've set foot in at least half. Most of them I didn't stay very long. A few days perhaps. All the rest were given to me by various people."

Elizabeth turned to face him. "This is an amazing collect–"

She stopped short when she saw him standing behind his bed with a metal case open in front of him. There was a very large hunting knife in his hand.

"This, my dear Lizzie, is my very large – very masculine – weapon collection. Mostly consisting of knives."

She crept towards him slowly, weary of the sharp object he was holding. Even though she knew there was no reason to fear him, she didn't like the uneasy feeling that washed over her when she saw the massive numbers of various knives contained in the humongous case.

"What is so fascinating about knives?"

Will returned the one he had been holding back to its place. "I dunno. I've always thought swords and stuff were interesting. It's easier and less dangerous than collecting firearms. At least, that's how it goes in my mind. I've also got some spearheads and slingshots in there if you'd like to take a look. Do you want to hold one?"

"God, no. I'd probably stab myself to death."

"If you managed to do that, it would be pretty impressive. Most of these are really dull. I only keep them for display purposes."

"Why keep them hidden in this case then? Why not get another display case?"

Will shrugged. "I will eventually. I kept these guys with me during the move. I didn't want anyone stealing them or picking them up and hurting themselves."

"I thought you said they were dull!"

"They are. But just because they're not sharpened doesn't meant they can't cut you. Haven't you ever used a dull razor before?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Well, you've got a nice place set up here, Will. As much as I'd love to stay and play with your knives, I'd much rather appease my growling stomach."

"Heaven forbid we let you starve. Let's go. But first," he said, turning towards his bedside table, "I want to show you this. It's the lion I bought for Emma."

He held a ragtag looking stuffed animal in his right hand. It was obviously hand made, but Elizabeth felt her insides melt when she looked at it. She took it from him and was shocked to discover how soft it felt. The inside had been stuffed with some type of fluff, and the overall appearance was absolutely adorable.

"Will, this is so cute!"

"Is it? I was hoping it would come across as ferocious."

"You can't find this sort of thing in shops around here."

"That's because it's from Africa, Elizabeth."

She smacked him. "You know what I mean. Emma is going to love this."

"I hope so."

The two spent the afternoon visiting their old haunts from their university days. Their favorite places were all located close together, and they passed the time looking around the shops. When their feet felt tired, they stopped at a small café to rest. They each ordered a sandwich in order to reenergizetheir bodies, and as they finished, Will declared his pressing need to see Brighton Pier. It was in a reasonable walking distance from the café, so they decided to walk again. A short while later they arrived and were surprised to find it unusually crowded for a January afternoon. No one was swimming of course, but people were gathered in large groups scattered throughout the area, and Will opted to observe the famous pier from a smaller one right beside it. The two leaned and rested their arms against the rail as they watched the crowds.

They reminisced about the times they had spent at the famous pier. Their group of friends at university would join all the others at the bars at the end of the week to relieve some of the tension and stress that arose from their studies and exams.

"Do you remember that day during one of our summer hols when I jumped off the end of that thing with Benjamin and Edward?"

"I seem to recall a time when you three dove off the pier and didn't emerge from the water for about ten seconds, and the rest of us almost suffered a stroke because we were afraid you'd gone off and drowned."

Will laughed. "And when we made it to shore you were crying your eyes out, and then you screamed at us and hit me so hard it left a bruise on my chest for three days."

"You deserved it."

"It was a spontaneous decision!"

"It was stupid and completely unlike you."

"Ace."

Elizabeth regarded him out of the corner of her eye. "I also remember that we went back to the pier and stayed at the bar all night, and you kept trying to get me drunk."

"And you eventually fell for it."

"You kept putting drinks into my hand!" she exclaimed. There was a thoughtful pause. "That was also the night I met Paul."

Will laughed again. "No. I seem to remember that you begged me to, what was it?" he began speaking in a high pitched voice, "'Oh, please Will! Introduce me to that bloke you were talking to over there. He's so fit, and I want to shag his brains out.'"

"I did not! I might have asked you to introduce us, but you're making up the rest."

"How do you know? You were obnoxiously inebriated."

"Oh, shut it."

They quietly continued their observation until Will spoke. "Did the police catch the nutter who hit him?"

Elizabeth stared into the water below them for a moment before bringing her eyes up to meet his. "Paul was just on his way to sign some papers for his new job. Another car hit him on the side. I think the other man might have been on his mobile…I'm not certain. The man who hit him was rushed to the hospital, but he died two weeks later. Paul was killed on impact."

"I'm sorry."

She nodded silently, pausing before adding, "I'm glad he didn't suffer. I mean, I wish we could have said goodbye, but it's better it happened the way it did, you know?"

"I know."

"I've come to terms with it," she continued. "I still miss him, of course but...I feel as if things are finally where they should be. Emma's doing well. She had a hard time of it at first, living without him. She still talks about him every now and then, but she's as normal as any little girl I know."

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders for comfort. "Does she see any of Paul's relatives?"

"His parents are gone, you know. Apart from some distant cousins, there's isn't anyone, really."

"I'd forgotten that they'd passed. It must be hard…being by yourself, that is."

"Mum and Dad have been good to us. So has Andy. They've really helped me. We've all raised her, really."

Will gave her a small one-armed hug.

"I've tried to do the best I could," she whispered.

Suddenly her mobile rang. It was Andy.

"Hello?"

"Lizzie! We just wanted to let you know that we're on our way to see some old friends at the park, and then we'll be ready to come home!"

"Alright then. Have you had a good time?"

She heard him ask Emma, Your mum wants to know if we've had a good time. She also heard Emma shout her reply of Yes!

"Yeah, I'd say we've had a fantastic time of it. How's your afternoon been?"

"Brilliant."

"Wonderful news. Okay, so you'll be home in a while?"

"I'll be home by the time you're done at the park."

"See you then."

Elizabeth turned to Will. "That was Andy and Emma. They're making one last stop to see if they can find some ducks, and then they'll be home for dinner."

"So it's time to head back home is it?" he asked and started walking in the direction of his car. He was very close to her, and the sudden urge to accidentally-on-purpose brush against his arm surprised her.

"Well," she said, following him and quelling her flirtatious impulse, "you can eat with us if you'd like."

"Sounds delicious."

A/N: The sporadic updates have begun.