Chapter 19


    For once I was left to my own devices. I was able to wander about his studio in idle amusement, taking


    every opportunity to explore his treasured ce. Teddy was upstairs changing for tonight, which


    allowed me every opportunity to explore his home. Frédéric Chopin’s elegant ensemble echoed from


    Teddy’s music room, steadily streaming its way over to his art room across the hall. I was bent over to


    pull back a rich silky cloth that covered a set of canvases. They were works of architecture; ancient


    stone buildings that appeared to be from different parts of Ennd. Many of these houses would be the


    envy of any person; illustrious country houses with a view of expansive farnds or rugged stone


    bridges that hovered over a winding stream. It was clear he travelled far and wide to obtain these


    landscape images, a hopeful sign that he left the house from time to time. I ced the cloth over the


    canvases again, and then looked over my shoulder to see that he had not appeared yet. Rebellion


    stirred within me, so I swiftly headed over to hisrge table where he had once kept that secret


    sketchbook. I pulled out the smallpartment to find that it was missing, which made me regret my


    wilful decision to invade Teddy’s privacy in the first ce. I scoffed under my breath in misery, before


    opening up anotherpartment that was just down below. I pulled out a heavy stack of paper,


    noticing that his drawings were deliberately done for a fashion magazine. Women dressed in thetest


    fashion captured my attention, for I was enamored by the vibrant colours that radiated off the model’s


    smooth porcin skin. I began to envy her as I flipped through the page. To my horror I found myself


    questioning my own physical appearance, and whether Teddy liked it at all.


    As an artist, Teddy would have undoubtedly encountered such morous looking women, so what


    could he possibly see in me? I pulled his stool closer to the right and took a seat, knowing Teddy would


    note downstairs for another few minutes at least. The pages fell over the table quietly, while my


    eyes scanned the next few pages with serious contemtion. Over time a series of models began to


    wear less clothing, and soon enough they were dressed in only lingerie. I blinked at them slowly, seeing


    women of every colour and curve exquisitely depicted by the careful strokes of Teddy’s inked pen. I had


    a strange inclination that they were earlier sketches, for theycked a certain quality that my self-


    portrait contained. Teddy was right that it took years of experience to be the artist that he currently


    was, for these very images were a testament to them.


    I tilted my head to the left once I reached a set of thick creamy beige papers that looked old and


    withered as they rested in the palm of my hand. My lips puckered inwardly, half-startled to see the


    depictions that had now captured my attention. Multiple drawings of nude women were sketched upon


    the page. Great detail was poured into the background with the use of a coloured pencil; a long russet-


    hued tapestry gilded with rounded golden shaped leaves were printed on the grand curtains behind a


    naked model. Most of thedies were lounging on a curved mauve coloured divan. There were some


    models that brashly stood before their artist without a shame in a world. As for myself, so innocent and


    hardly knowledgeable of the ways of the world, it left me with some difort. Such images were


    normal for an artist, but for a person like me, I felt a spread of a rosy damask hue overtake the sides of


    my cheeks. A part of me was curious if Teddy ever saw me in a sexual light, if his own imagination


    could picture me lounging on his divan or standing before him in all my nakedness. I nervously


    scratched the back of my ear as I recalled the passionate feelings that overwhelmed me when he


    kissed me upon the nket over an hour ago.


    Footsteps sounded throughout the house, so I quickly piled the sketches together and rested them in


    the cab where they rightfully belonged. The stool was pushed backwards, and when I was just


    cing it in its normal spot, Teddy entered into his studio.


    “I am sorry I was gone so long.” He stopped in front of the doorway, and I knew instantly that he sensed


    something was amiss. “S?” He questioned me. “What is the matter?”


    I turned around while rubbing the palm of my hands together. Unfortunately, I could vividly recall the


    last time he caught me snooping, and was deliberating whether I should tell him the truth or not. “Oh,


    nothing,” I lied, before I stepped forward to greet him.


    He stood motionlessly before me in a proud sort of way, raising his chin upwards once I stood in front


    of him. Teddy had changed his clothes indeed; a smooth navy-blue suit zer fit snugly against his


    lean frame. A white dress shirt was buttoned up all the way, adorned with a id red and blue bow-tie


    that fit the details of his outfit. I looked down at his dark mustard coloured pants, a brighter shade than I


    was ustomed too.


    Teddy reached for my hand with a hint of endearment. He pulled me along, wanting to step further into


    his studio. “Come,” he ventured forth with a firmness to his voice that lent authority. “I left you in my


    studio, and now you are behaving differently.” He stopped in his tracks and turned his body towards


    me. “What did you see?”


    “I saw…” I broke my gaze with him. “I suppose it is normal for artists.”


    “What is, my dear?”


    “You- you drew…”


    He leaned forward with concern, while a darkness covered a portion of his face with distrust.


    “Nude women.”


    “Yes, sometime ago,” he sighed out with relief. “Live models for burgeoning artists to try.” He leaned


    backwards to return to his normal position. “Does that bother you?”


    “It just startled me, that’s all.”


    “There is nothing wrong with it,” he quietly exined. “At least, not for me.” He stepped forward and


    lightly grazed the side of my cheek with his left hand. “But it makes you ufortable. Well, you will be


    comforted to know that I do not engage in that sort of thing anymore.”


    I nodded my head weakly, while my mind began to grow hazy before him.


    “S,” he urged. “I am sorry to say this, but this is what happens when you go snooping.” His thumb


    dragged along the side of my face with some affection before it rested over the side of my neck. “Count


    your blessings, it wasn’t something worse.” He winked at me yfully, a sign that he was only taunting


    me for his own sinful pleasure. “Now, are you ready to go out? We should head into town before it gets


    dark.”


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    “Yes, Teddy,” I answered him in a monotone voice.


    “Is anything else bothering you?”


    “Do you look at me that way?”


    “In what way?” he asked with a puzzled expression that he could not hide from me.


    “Like in those pictures.”


    “Do you want the truth?” he asked in a lower tenor that grew husky by the end of it.


    “Maybe.”


    He simply arched up an eyebrow and let his facial expressions speak for itself. “I’ve gotten a kiss today.


    I shall ask for nothing more. I promise you that.” He tugged on my hand lightly to lead me to the open


    doorway. Upon entering the hallway, he let go of my hand and stuck it deeply into his trouser pocket. A


    low exhale escaped the corner of his mouth, and then he looked to the right to gaze at the empty


    staircase. “We should leave,” he said with more determination than before, and with that he turned to


    the left to seek out the refuge of the front door and the world thaty beyond it.