THE BROWN BOOTS STEPPED STRONGLY AND BLENDED WITH THE same colour leather pants.
From the top of the staircase, the man admired the vast hall, fit for a visionary.
Or a sybarite like him.
Today he was feeling particularly pleased. Power really suited him and, in the last few days, he had been able to successfully make use of it.
He straightened his white roomy shirt and ran his hands through his silky curls, proud of the disturbing but inevitable attraction he would hold for her.
He opened the bedroom door. The girl was sitting on the made up bed, looking out the barred window to her left. She turned to see who it was and immediately went on with her contemplation.
"How's your shoulder?"
"Better."
"Rosie, Rosie," he said, sitting on the space left at the foot of the bed, next to her feet. "I hope you're not angry with me."
"I'm not."
"I'll admit being locked here for two days must've been rather boring. On the other hand, you're fairly used to it, aren't you? I guess you were surprised to wake up in this room again. It was so easy… Just a little prick while you were sleeping and you didn't even notice." He sighed. "Celeste was much more trouble. All the better. Some action is always stimulating. She's probably taken the confinement worse than you. After all, you needed to rest anyway."
Mr. Harris stood up, too excited with his current command, to remain still for long.
"You're not annoyed that I gave Dora the key to your bedroom door, are you? As you can see, I've put locks on all of your doors and on the front door. It was unnecessary before, but… after your little adventure… who knows what dangerous ideas might cross your sisters' minds now."
"But you're not worried about all my sisters, or you wouldn't have given a rifle to one of them."
"That's quite true," the man replied, pointing a finger from his nose towards her. "And I see you've expanded your vocabulary. You can now say rifle, bullet, shot… So can your sisters, by the way. However, they have not experienced them like you have. You're the privileged one! Oh, c'mon. Don't frown. Pardon my joke. You're right: it wasn't funny at all. And you're also right about Dora. That kid's worth her weight in gold! I told her what she had to do and…" he snapped his fingers, "she quickly understood and was totally up for it! It's a pity I didn't ask for her instead of acid Celeste. But… what can I say? I seem to have a predilection for the problematical."