Woman In the Town

Craig looked at the woman in front of him who had olive skin and green eyes. she stared back at him with an intense gaze. She slowly took the bag from his hand and questioned,

"Do you live here?" the expression on her face had changed from that of annoyance to that of a curious one.

Craig was slightly taken aback by the woman's question not expecting her to ask him this.

The brunette woman although she looked like she was in her forties, she was quite a looker and Craig noticed the curiosity in her eyes.

"Ah..not really," Craig said while scratching the back of his head.

Although looking valiant with solid muscles and taut shoulders, he tried to appear as meek as possible so that he didn't look suspicious.

Noticing that this was not the right place to speak, the woman said,

"Can we go somewhere quieter so we can speak? Looking at your condition...." she drawled while scanning the man's appearance with her prying eyes. "I'm not sure you have somewhere to go. Please come with me."

Craig looked at the woman who offered to take him somewhere more quiet and away from the peering eyes of the passersby and wondered if it was mere kindness or something else. Knowing he could not trust anyone where he didn't know anyone, but somehow, there was something about this woman that he couldn't quite lay his finger on. Somehow, it didn't feel wrong going with her to this place she was talking about.

Hesitantly, Craig followed the woman, closely walking behind her while being cautious.

Craig was obviously fascinated and enthralled by all the new things he was seeing here and his eyes went to wander around while being aware of the woman walking in front of him.

He looked at the cars, the shops with sparking lights, the clothes the people wore, and how people carried themselves. Being new to all this, the feeling of novelty sank deep into him. He saw the stark difference between this world and his.

The brunette woman stopped a cab across the street where she ushered Craig to get inside.

Joining Craig in the passenger seat, the woman said to the driver,

"Porter's Lodge" the driver nodded and took off moving away from the town's market.

The drive to Porter's Lodge was a quiet one. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the place. It was already evening when they reached their destination. It was a quiet place and was quite isolated from the main town.

Craig observed the woman handing over some paper notes to the driver who received them and nodded with satisfaction.

The woman was the first to step out and Craig followed, keenly looking at the building in front of him when he was out. The house was a two-story building painted with dull colors which made the house look somewhat old. There was a black gate in front of the house and it was lit from the inside. The driver took off and the woman turned to Craig.

" This is where I live. Shall we?" she offered to Craig while stepping in front of him to lead the way.

Craig followed, looking around the building. The house was one of a few around the area.

When they reached the gate, The woman pressed the doorbell. On the second ring, a tall lanky man who seemed to be in his fifties opened the gate and greeted the woman.

"Miss Sabella, you're home," he said and took the grocery bag from her hand, he stood to the side to allow the woman to enter not noticing that there was someone behind her.

Just before he could attempt to close the gate..a strong-looking man in weird clothes stepped forward stopping him.

A frown registered on his face as he scanned the man from head to toe.

"Let him in, Goffery. He's a guest of mine."

The man named Goffery gave a firm nod and shifted to let the man in. He closed the gate afterward.

"Prepare a hot bath for the man and have him change into some fresh clothes. Also, bring my tea to the living room."Miss Sabella instructed and headed inside the house.

" Yes Ma'am," Goffery said and lead Craig inside the house. They came into the vast living room where Miss Sabella was already climbing the stairs to go upstairs.

Ms.Sabella's butler who wore a white long-sleeved shirt over neatly pressed black slacks led Craig through a hallway to the right of the living room. As Craig followed the butler whose strides suggested that he was a professional, as his clean shoes clicked against the neat marble floor, he observed the interior of the house which held a touch of antiquity, unlike the modern homes in the city, not that Craig could tell the difference.