Warmth and Sadness of Love.

The luxurious Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the gates of Elena's house, she and Armand exchanged glances and nodded to each other, approving the appearance of the transport that met them. Miss Jones knew how to get attention.

They got into the car and sat on comfortable seats. "Um, excuse me, how long does it take to drive?" Elena asked the driver.

"Do not worry, Madame. Not too long," the man answered briefly, he looked about sixty, and it was obvious that he was not deprived of manners.

Elena did not begin to question the driver in more detail and only got comfortable as the car, having driven no more than five hundred meters, stopped in front of the gate.

The girl looked out the window and saw the familiar yard's front of one of their neighbors, who practically did not appear in their closed village, as he constantly traveled around the world. The gates opened, and the car turned into the territory of the site, moving along the alley towards the huge cottage until it stopped opposite the main entrance.

"Excuse me, are we already there?" the girl asked in surprise in her voice.

"Yes, ma'am," the driver answered and got out of the car to open the door for the guests.

'Really? I could have even walked here on foot!' Elena did not voice her thoughts out loud since they were already standing at the door of the mansion, where the butler greeted them and let them in.

The room inside looked no less pompous than the house looked from the outside. A wide staircase in the center of the hall led to the second floor, gilded candelabra and expensive furniture - everything in the interior cried out about the pomp and wealth of the owner of the house.

"Welcome, Elena and umm ... Sorry, handsome, I forgot your name." Lina was walking down the stairs slowly, in all her splendor.

Her hair, long and black as a deep night, was gathered in a high tail, slightly swaying from side to side as she descended the steps. She was in a tight-fitting black top and the same tight-fitting black trousers, leaving no room for imagination since each of her seductive curves was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Armand swallowed a lump, stepping up to his throat. This sly fox obviously intended to tease him by dressing in this way. His gaze went through her alluring body from the bottom up, and settled on her eyes, sparkling with fire.

Lina smirked quite a bit, the response flame in the man's eyes confirmed that he had not escaped influence from her spectacular appearance. The corner of Armand's lips pulled up, he was sure that this baby did not know with whom she decided to start the game. Well, he was not opposed to pretending, and holding back a little.

He had not experienced such sensations for a long time, if ever, at all. Because even with Polina everything was different. But as soon as his eyes fell on this Lina, he felt a storm of emotions unknown before. Emotions that finally made him feel alive.

"Miss Jones, you look amazing today. I suppose you yourself noticed this when you looked in the mirror that your attractiveness blinded your memory since you forgot the name of your guest," Armand gave her a compliment but did not hesitate to give a reply to her previous comment.

"Oh, and Sir Armand, it seems, is in his usual mood, that even your tongue did not fail to tease me, as happened in the first meeting. For your information, I always look great," Lina tilted her head to the side, mentally firing burning arrows at the man.

"Since you still remember my name, I will not mind confirming your statement in practice and watching you on a daily basis," he put up a shield from her attack and went on the attack himself.

Elena stood between two fires and for the second time felt like a worthless referee in this deadly battle of two titans who did not want to give up positions to each other. What was she doing here? Maybe she should quickly go to her home and finish her tea? She was sure that these two would not even notice her absence.

"Hmm, I'll think about it depending on your behavior. I have very high requirements for my servants, I'm not sure that your competencies will be enough for such a responsible work," Lina snorted in response and finally looked at Elena.

"Let's follow me, and let this footman follow," Lina grabbed Elena by the elbow and dragged along through the spacious hall.

At first, Elena was a little bewildered by surprise, but this girl, with all her taunts and intentional indifference towards her friend, seemed nice to her more and more every second. She reminded her of Lara Croft in this black tight-fitting suit, as impregnable and proud, but insanely attractive.

Lina led the guests through the hall, the kitchen, and led them out to the back yard, where a helicopter was waiting for them on the lawn, ready to take off on demand.

"Are we going to fly by helicopter?" Elena asked, completely not expecting this. "Yeah," Lina answered and put Ray Ben's stylish glasses on her eyes.

Elena's face shone with anticipation, Armand's face turned white with tension.

Lina shot an appreciative look at the man and smirked, "What, handsome, are you scared?"

"Who? Me?? Well, please, Miss Jones," Armand answered in a melancholy voice and was the first to go towards the helicopter. The girls looked at each other and followed him.

The helicopter took off and rushed into the distance. Armand sometimes tried to look out the window, but nausea immediately rolled over him, and the man closed his eyes to distract himself from the thoughts tormenting his mind.

"And yet, it seems to me that you are afraid to fly, Mr. Armand," Lina sarcastically remarked.

Armand, without opening his eyes, answered shortly, "No."

Yes. And very much so.

He thought to himself, but in life, he would not admit this to this sly fox sitting opposite. How could he admit that over the past thirty years he had managed to get into two plane crashes, after which he did not come to the airports closer than ten miles? There could be no talk of flying in an airplane or in a helicopter.

The man opened one eye and immediately fell into a grin in Lina's eyes. He began to torment the feeling that this provocateur knew about his weakness and intentionally decided to fly by helicopter. However, he had no evidence, and Armand could only endure until his torture came to an end and he was relieved to set foot on solid ground.

"Wow, I didn't know what was there! Isn't this a reserve?!" Elena asked Lina, pointing her finger at an unknown building in the middle of a dense forest.

In theory, in this forest, in addition to trees, there was supposed to be nothing at all. It was a protected area under state protection. So who was the man who turned out to be so cynical that he allowed himself to build almost a castle in this place?!

Lina looked out the window at a large building five stories high. It was massive and gave the impression of an impregnable fortress surrounded by a dense forest. There were no visible additional buildings near the castle, but the road was clearly visible, leaving into the thicket of the forest and then hiding under the crowns of trees.

"Hmm, I can't say for sure, but there are rumors that this is one of the secret research institutes protected by the Pentagon. And there, who knows? Maybe just some rich man with wide connections decided to make himself a secret lair for carnal pleasures here," the girl joked, but her eyes did not leave the outline of the building until it was out of sight.

Lina looked thoughtfully over the horizon and added, "They say if you want to hide something, the best way to do it is to keep it in sight," she turned her head and looked at Elena, "Sometimes, what we are desperately looking for may at this time be right in front of our eyes."

Elena immediately remembered the message encrypted in the paintings burned in the fire. 'What you are looking for is in front of your eyes.'

So what was it all about? She had so many questions that she could not understand the answer to which of them she could not notice.

The rest of the flight, although it was not long, was in complete silence. Everyone was lost in thought, and fortunately for Armand, they landed faster than he expected.

Not far from the site where their helicopter landed, there was a small but spacious two-story cottage. On the other hand, it was surrounded by a garden with fruit trees and flowers. The building was without any elaborate details, it looked like an ordinary house, with a small terrace and a swing in front of it.

The atmosphere in this place was filled with calm, comfort and warmth.

Lina took the keys from her pocket and opened the door. The aroma of freshly baked cinnamon rolls filled the guests' lungs. It was so bewitching that even the most well-fed man would find a place in his stomach for a couple of delicious rolls.

"The first door to the left right along the corridor," Lina commanded, and Elena realized that the girl had addressed her.

Elena nodded her head and took a step forward, Armand wanted to follow her, but one sly fox grabbed his sleeve tightly and pulled him back. "And you come with me," Lina gave the second order to her servant on probation.

Armand scanned the room with his eyes even before they went inside, and knew that there was only one person here, except for them. Most likely, this was the author of that picture, otherwise, why would Lina bring them here?

After making sure that Elena was not in danger, the man decided with great pleasure to fulfill the request of this eccentric Miss, whose gaze was directed at him from the bottom up.

Lina ignored his smirk, reminiscent of an insidious wolf looking at Little Red Riding Hood, turned away and went in the opposite direction from the one where she directed Elena.

The man silently followed, not taking his eyes off her attractive curves. The girl opened the door, and they went into the office, lined with cabinets with bookshelves, a round table and a pair of armchairs standing next to it.

"Have you seen enough, Mr. Armand?" The girl asked, looking at the man through her shoulder.

"I would be glad if you allow me to take a closer look, Miss Jones," he answered in a low and seductive voice.

Lina sighed, realizing that she no longer had any desire to play with him. Otherwise, their verbal duel could lead to the most unpredictable consequences. She was not yet ready to step on this thin ice after so many years of waiting.

The girl went to one of the closets and took a book from the shelf. Flipping through the pages, she pulled out a small envelope and put the book in its place.

"Here, this is for you," Lina handed the envelope to Armand and turned to the window. The girl clasped her arms around her shoulders to hide her tension when she finally gave this "gift" to the final addressee.

She closed her eyes and began waiting.

Armand twisted an unknown envelope in his hands without any signatures, after which he gently tore off a small ribbon of paper and took out a letter from the envelope.

The man unfolded a sheet of paper folded in half and froze. The letters, drawn in perfect and beautiful handwriting, spun in dance before his eyes, drawing his attention to the content of the letter.

He immediately recognized this handwriting; his heart was filled with warmth and gratitude. The man many times imagined that he would feel when his desire finally came true, but he did not assume that this would happen so suddenly.

Armand folded the letter along the same lines that it had been folded before that, and put it back into the envelope.

His eyes met Lina's. There was no hint of acrimony, now in her gaze only anxiety and worry were read.

"Ummm, is everything all right?" the girl asked in a slightly trembling voice.

Armand put the envelope with the letter into the inside pocket of his jacket and smiled a sincere and charming smile, "If you treat me to tea, then everything will be just wonderful."

"Oh, of course, I'll bring it now," the girl was suddenly confused and hurried to the door.

"Lina," her name, flying off the man's lips, made the girl stand still. "Thank you," Arman added quietly, almost in a whisper.

Lina said nothing and only nodded her head in response, trying to hide behind the door as quickly as possible, before he could see her reddened cheeks.

...

Elena walked along a long narrow corridor, the floor sometimes creaked under her feet, but to the surprise of the girl, this sound was pleasant.

As if she was in the house of her beloved grandmother, where she spent all her summer vacations as a child.

At least, if she had a grandmother, then, probably, it would have felt that way.

She stopped at the door, which was at the very end of the corridor and turned the doorknob.

A bright light blinded her eyes for a split second, after which it enveloped the girl with soft warmth. The room which Elena entered was filled with warm light due to the huge number of windows occupying two of the four walls.

Across the room, there were easels of various sizes with canvases tightly stretched over the frames. Some work was completed, some just started.

Elena in silent contemplation stepped over from one canvas to another, until she noticed in the corner the silhouette of a person working with full concentration on the next masterpiece.

The woman with a fragile shape was sitting with her back to Elena and it seemed that she did not notice the presence of an outsider in the room.

"Ex-Excuse me," the girl said quietly, fearing to frighten the artist. The woman immediately flinched and froze when she heard the girl's voice.

"Um, I came here with Miss Jones and would like to discuss one of your paintings," the girl began to explain, seeing that the woman was still sitting with her back to her.

"My name is Ele...na," the girl said her name and the woman turned around.

They silently looked into each other's eyes for several seconds, until Elena closed her mouth with her hand to restrain the sobs that rolled down her throat. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Hello, my girl. Long time no see," the woman answered and looked at Elena with eyes full of love and sadness.