Chapter Eight
Penelope
Our late breakfast was delish. We were given a blueberry compote for the pancakes, plus offerings of three different syrups, whip cream, nuts, and fresh fruit, which neither of us wanted. Timothy had told Chef Stevens that the eggs were to be well done and with bacon bits. It was all yummy.
Afterwards, the tour continued. I finally got to see the room that Timothy had chosen for me to occupy. It was not as fancy or as big as Timothy’s room, and there was no balcony to linger on with a cup of coffee, but the bathroom was exactly like his. It had a whirlpool tub and was stocked with shampoo, cream rinse and all the makeup that Simone thought I might want, most of which I didn’t use.
After studying this amazing luxury, I explored the closet. There were sundresses, fancy dresses, skirt suit sets, and even three formal gowns, plus a winter coat, raincoat, and two sweaters. A fluffy robe was supplied, and at the bottom of the closet were about twelve different pairs of shoes, including a pair of fuzzy bunny-eared house slippers.
“Unbelievable!” I said and withdrew laughing.
I’d seen my simple bag with the one outfit of spare clothing, placed on the table beside the bed, probably brought upstairs by Andrew. It looked entirely out of place in the tastefully decorated white room with its brand-new, pale blue bedspread. A swank desk was positioned on the opposite side of the room. It and the other furniture were all built out of genuine walnut, as was the bookcase that already held an assortment of books.
“Whatever you want can be added to the room, of course,” Timothy said. “Or it can be ripped apart and redesigned, as you’d prefer.”
“For a week stay?” I snorted, most rudely, but really, this was all too much. The fact that Timothy had supplied me with a full bathroom of goodies plus designer clothes was almost overload.
“No, really, it’s all wonderful,” I said. “Perfect, actually.”
I moseyed over to the wooden chest of drawers. Inside, in the top, I discovered all the underthings I’d ever need . . . for months. I poked into the other drawers and located tee shirts, long sleeved shirts, jeans and trousers rolled up so they wouldn’t wrinkle, plus socks and pajamas. In the bottom drawer, I found the bathing suits that Timothy had mentioned.
Throughout my inspection, Timothy deposited himself in a chair and watched me glancing through my clothing options. “Do you approve of Simone’s taste?” he asked.
I turned around to look at him. “Timothy, why did you do all this? How did you know I’d need to stay with you?”
He smiled broadly, untangled his sturdy and most attractive legs, and said, “I hoped you’d visit me at some point in time. Of course, I never foresaw that it would happen this quickly. I hadn’t prepared you for the onslaught. I’m sorry about that.
“But when a person has money, a lot of it, he is immediately prey to the media. I should have realized that you’d get roped into it, but I thought I had more time. I guess it was inevitable. The jealousies of the society world will be abuzz with speculations and investigations into your personal affairs. Again, I’m really sorry for that.
“But there is one way to curb their bloodlust . . .”