3.
~ Ariadne followed Arthur down hallway that was lined richly in stained glass, more wood paneling and stunning art work.
"This way, please." Arthur said curtly as he held open the door to a secluded room.
It was more then just a study or an office. It was yet another library. The space was huge and uniquely masculine. Not a trace of feminine touches as all the furniture was dark and suited towards a by gone era in decorating.
"You have a computer." She said noticing the handsome desk top on an almost royal looking desk.
"Yes." Arthur said closing the door behind them.
"You have a computer, but no phone." She asked.
"The no phone rule is because of my cousin. Eames. There is no one we need to call anyway." Arthur told her as he sat behind his desk.
Without being asked, she took as careful set across from him. She looked around the elegant room. A large painting hung over the fireplace. A stunningly beautiful woman in a blue dress. Her clothing like something from a history book.
"If you are Ariadne, I assume you are here to discuss the terms of your adoption." He said folding his hands over his lap.
"You know about me?" She asked in stunned disbelief.
"I am aware of Mr. Archibald Blunt's business, yes." Arthur said.
"Mr. Blunt. He's your...?" She asked letting him finish the question.
"Great Uncle." Arthur said with a twitch to his jaw.
"I see." She said. "Why do all of you call him by his entire name?"
"Pardon?"
"You all say 'Mr. Archibald Blunt'. Never 'Uncle Archie' or anything like that." She said wondering where the gall to ask such a thing had come from.
"My family has their own ways." Arthur said stiffly as he unlocked a desk drawer and took out a metal box.
Ariadne watched in fascination as he skillfully unlocked the metal box and looked over some papers.
"I assume you found Mr. Blunt's name on your adoption records. As well as this address." He said looking up at her. His scowl was back and he looked angry.
"Yes. I was hoping he might be able to tell me who my real parents were." She said.
"Afraid not." Arthur told her slamming the lid of the metal box down and locking it once more. He slid some worn papers to her and put the metal box back into it's drawer.
Ariadne looked to him to see if it was alright to look at them.
"More of your adoption records." Arthur said not looking at her.
Her fingers made contact with the smooth, heavy papers. They were expensive and legal looking as she carefully unfolded them.
"My parents adopted me when I was six." She whispered. The records were almost identical to the ones her mother had. On a paper clip was attached a faded photograph of her mother and father. There were holding her in their laps. Something caught her interest. At the corner of the photo was heavy scroll work. The kind that was on the gate surrounding the castle.
"Wait, I was here? I was at Blackwood Castle?" She asked.
"I'm not sure." Arthur said looking away.
"My records list this as the address, and look." She said pointing out the gate's scrolling. "That is apart of the gate. What was Mr. Blunt's association with my adoption?" She asked.
"I couldn't say except that he found your mother and father and they took you home." Arthur told her.
"Is Mr. Blunt my father?" She asked.
Arthur snorted a laugh.
"Not hardly." He said with the first real smile she had seen on him.
"Then how did he become involved?" She asked persistently.
Arthur was shuffling papers on his desk and shook his head.
"I really can't say. It was almost twenty years ago." He told her.
"You would have been a little boy then." She agreed. "Did you live here? Did we play together?" She asked.
Arthur's eyes cut to her. His face cold and distant.
"You know, don't you?" She asked seeing a flicker of knowledge in his eyes. "Please, tell me the truth. I promise, I'm not hear to make trouble for you or your family. I just need to know."
For a long time, she was certain he wouldn't answer her. His posture was so strait and stiff. He looked like he was made of stone.
"I only know... what Archibald Blunt has told me." He said softly. "That he found a little girl, lost in the woods one day."
"Me?" She choked.
Arthur nodded.
"He carried her, back to the castle. The family took care of her like she was their own as they searched for her family. They hired detectives and placed radio and television ads asking for her family to come forward. Even offering a reward." Arthur said as if telling a story. "No one, ever came forward. Eventually, the family... kept you." Arthur said guiltily.
"Kept me?" Ariadne repeated feeling the air wanting to leave her body.
"Archibald Blunt, kept you." Arthur said soberly. "He... he decided it was best to give you up for adoption because he felt you deserved a mother and father. I can tell you it was a hard decision for him."
Ariadne sat back in her chair. The information Arthur had just given her felt heavy. Too much to take in.
"So, no one knows who my real parents are?" She asked feeling tears form in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, no." Arthur said. His voice sympathetic and kind.
She felt the unsettling pain of a headache coming on.
"Were they good people? The couple who adopted you?" He asked at last.
"Yes." She said as if on auto pilot. "My Dad died when I was in High School, my mother past away a few months ago. Breast Cancer."
"I'm very sorry." Arthur said. His voice sounding sincere and sad for her.
"I knew I was adopted, I just... I never knew all the details." She told him. He realized her water bottle was still in her hand and she drank from it tentatively.
"Can I keep this picture?" She asked with a sigh. Arthur looked taken aback. As if she had asked for a prized possession. There was no reason he should be attached to a picture of people he had never met. But he still looked torn.
"Um, certainly." He told her. "I know this doesn't give you much information." He offered.
"It gives me more questions then answers." She said sadly.