Beatty & The Beast

NINE: Where the Beauty Goes into Forbidden Territory

The next day, January 12th

To say he hadn't meant to go in would be a bit of a lie. His feet had willingly carried him into the room, his hand had willingly pushed the door open, and his eyes had willingly scanned the place, thus he couldn't claim he hadn't meant to do it.

He just hadn't meant any harm by doing so. Curiosity was a terrible influence.

Andie had been elsewhere in the mansion, doing her chores at Whistlebeck's request, leaving Keefe alone in the fifth hallway of the second floor. He had been put to the task of removing the old wallpaper spanning the bottom half of each wall. After he got rid of the atrocity (some pinkish-goldish 70's floral motif that had yellowed and curled over the years) he had to remove the glue from the wall (horrible job; there was a reason people shouldn't do wallpaper anymore,) and paint the hallway.

Ever the optimist, Keefe went at the wallpaper enthusiastically at first, using the steaming machine to pull the floral monster down. It took him an hour to remember it would take forever to finish this particular assignment, maybe a few days worth of work.

Hot from the steam and bored with the tediousness of the task, it didn't take much to distract him. When he made it down the right wall of the hallway, he found himself at the last door. Andie's room.

He had forgotten this particular curiosity in the last few days (the curiosities filling the Whistlebeck competed fiercely for his attention), and he knew in theory he should just move on. She had forbidden him from going in there and a bedroom was a private place. He knew he should respect her wishes. And since he was pretty sure she'd live up to her threat of "kicking his head in", he knew it was in his best interest to ignore it.

But the door was cracked open. It was letting a streak of light into the dark hallway as if beckoning him to come hither: Come into the light, Keefe Beatty! Don't ya want to see what's inside?

If only she hadn't forbidden him from going in. If she had said nothing about it, he'd probably skip over her room without a thought, but no, she had to forbid him. She had to tell him no. Didn't she know what that did to an overly-curious person?

Come into the light! Learn her secret!

She was across the mansion anyway, doing her chores. One little peek wouldn't hurt anything and she'd never know. He put down the steamer and slowly pushed the door open, flooding the hallway with bright light and blinding him.

Across the high-ceilinged room, directly ahead of the door, was a huge bay window and plush window seat. Its thick, white curtains were pulled to the sides with romantic, swirling pewter hooks, letting the afternoon light come tumbling in without restraint or apology. It took Keefe a second for his eyes to adjust, but before he knew it, he was standing in the middle of Andie's bedroom and looking around in awe.

It had obviously been intended for a little girl once upon a time. The walls were painted in faint rose and accented with mauve swirls tumbling down every corner of the room. The ceiling was painted like a summer sky, periwinkle blue with fluffy white clouds, and the bed was a white whimsical monstrosity with fat pillows and soft blankets, its high headboard carved in curling, feminine designs.

An antique wooden rocking horse stood in one corner, an ornately painted hope chest sat at the foot of the bed (decorated in white and rose) and white fluffy carpet stretched beneath his feet.

The design job looked professional and managed to be nice and girly without being nauseating. There were no ballet-dancing teddy bears prancing around the wall or any pink poofy accents, instead it was sophisticated and classic.