Page 76 of One Eye Open (The BlackWater)

“Let’s go to my wing.” He said.

“Your wing?” She repeated.

“Yes. The West Wing is mine. I made it out of bounds for anyone else.” Cole stated.

“Like who?”

“My family. They’re welcome to stay, to enjoy all the rest of the house except that part. I wanted at least one bit private.” He said.

“So it’s off limits to everyone?” Maddie asked.

“Everyone but you and me and my butler.” Cole replied.

“Does that mean you have a room here, like the one in your London house?” She asked smirking slightly.

“No. But don’t worry I have other ways to entertain you Maddie.” He said pulling her in and kissing her.

“Really?” She teased, her lips brushing against his.

“Let me show you.” He said releasing her and picking up speed as she laughed.

They walked through a corridor lined with huge portraits that Maddie assumed where Cole’s ancestors. She glanced up seeing a huge painting in the centre of a man, on a horse, with his sword drawn.

Jesus, she thought, this entire place was so out of anything she’d experienced before.

“Don’t let it phase you.” Cole said as they headed to the double doors at the end.

“Let what phase me?” She asked.

“This place, the history.” He said. “It’s not me. It’s not who I am.”

“It is though. It’s your family right?” She replied.

He rolled his eyes and opened the doors. “This leads through to my wing. No one else is allowed past these doors.”

Maddie nodded and followed him on. He opened another door at the end and she saw an instant contrast to all the finery of the rest of the house. This part felt emptier, cleaner. Less ornate.

“We had a fire ten years ago. A lot of this wing got destroyed so I took the liberty of redoing it to more of my own taste.” Cole said seeing the confusion on her face.

“Oh.” She replied not sure what else to say.

“I also moved a lot of the older pieces into the main house.” He added.

Cole led her up a new flight of stairs and through a series of doors before stopping in a room with a huge stone fire place, a Turkish carpet that seemed to cover the entirety of the marble floor with two huge couches on top of it.

“This is my private sitting room.” He said before opening two massive double, gilded doors. “And this is the bedroom.”

Maddie smirked at the look on his face before walking in. The room was huge, with a massive bed against one wall and rich silk wallpaper on the walls. The floor was marble, just like the rest of the house and another Turkish rug covered this one, although the colours were more muted, more subtle. Apart from the bed there were only two cabinets with large lamps either side of the bed and a chaise longue placed in the alcove of a floor to ceiling window.

“There’s a bathroom and a dressing room through those doors.” Cole said.

Maddie looked around again. The room was definitely simpler, cleaner, and yet it also felt so very Cole like. Luxurious, expensive, but not overdone.

Ben knocked on the door making her jump and he smiled again before carrying both the suitcases through to the dressing room beyond.

“Would you like anything else sir?” He asked.

“No thanks. We’ll grab some coffee in a bit and then take a walk around the grounds.” Cole said.

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