Henry found himself unable to concentrate on the task at hand, as he squinted at the plans in his hands. He knew in his heart that Ellie"s intentions were not to distract him, but in every quiet moment his mind would always returned to her. Her eyes, her soft smile, even the way she twisted her hair in her hands when she was thinking . . . Ellie Wong was very nice to look at. She was someone he had added to the list of people he didn"t want to disappoint. He didn"t have any logic to it, he wasn"t going to start a business with her anytime soon, but Henry knew that she fit on that list. Her bare skin on that day in Lutterworth kept coming up in his mind. She hadn"t taken off her top completely even, but he wanted to touch her there more. He snapped back to the task as someone spoke gruffly to him. He was hard at work with the construction crew to make the renovations that were needed to the house, but making her day better in small ways was something he was constantly considering. He wanted to keep the small flame between them burning for as long as he could. Henry had to remind himself that getting attached to a short term arrangement would not do him any good. She was beautiful, but not his end. He did consider for the first time to go to China and join a monastery to clear his mind.
But of course, he could not, even though it would be nice to be somewhere he did not have to worry about anyone else. He had a corporation to run and he really could not waste away somewhere else while his relatives pounced on the empty company office. It was therefore a must that he deal with his beautiful wife before she became his former. He wondered too that since this was the first relations where he had any emotional attachment to the woman he wanted to bring joy to. It was a strangely physical and non-physical attraction at the same time which made him feel uneasy.
The more time around her he spent that harder it was to get those thoughts out of his mind. He would think of places he wanted to show her while he wrapped his hands around her and whispered the things he wanted to do to her. These thoughts would of course, come at the most naturally inopportune times when he needed to concentrate. He would have to ask the contractor to repeat himself while holding the building plans.
The process of adding new siding to the walls produced more dust than Henry had ever seen in his life as it was obvious it had been more than a hundred years since anyone had seen the insides. There were men in hazmat suits who came in with bug spray and vacuums so the air could be breathable for the working staff who stared on in a mix of fascination and horror as they scampered out of sight. There were a couple standouts who Henry pointed out to Rightley as men who could work as hired help for the next projects that were forthcoming as funds became available. Michael was in right hand man who seemed to smile whenever he saw Henry staring off into s.p.a.ce or sneaking glances at Ellie while she caught up on the renovation. Henry wanted to wipe the sly grin off his face, so he made the butler check on the workers while Henry could stare at Ellie without eyes on him.
As a gift to the house, Henry had bartered with the Christie"s auction house for them to take some old furniture in exchange for somethings that were new. He had arranged for a sort of loan so while the furnitures were cleaned and restored, they did have historic replacements which although were not the real thing, looked real enough for visitors. It was good to see the old items handled and cooed over by people who appreciated them. Ellie was delighted as she was told the story of each piece and how it had come into possession of her family. When the day was done, the sitting areas were roped off for display and personal use areas. As Henry sank into one of the plush replica sofas which were for their own use, he couldn"t help looking up at the paintings and cleaned fireplace with some pride.
Hiding away in the attics the team working on the house had also recovered some items that Ellie"s mother had brought with her from China. There were several beautiful jade dragons and a pixiu as well as several beautiful painted silk screens which he was glad to see were well preserved, although dusty. It made him happy to see that these pieces were a compliment to the house and also that obviously someone had chosen them with care. It brought a delicate elegance to the room which made it feel really like a home rather than a stiff museum. He knew too that it was nowhere near finished as they would need to probably bring in an artist and interior designer to catch the hall up to competing houses in the area, but it was definitely a lot nicer than it had been previously. As he stood and stretched he realized that he had enjoyed the task even more than the end result.
Throughout the process his constant cheerleader had been his beautiful angel who after he was tired would take him into the kitchen for some hand pulled noodles she made from scratch. Then she would pack him in hiking boots and a camping tent before they would go out to explore some hidden area on the map she had found with spots from her childhood. Sleeping next to her, even when it rained on the thin tarp was something he felt was incredibly comforting. He could have easily made a move in these moments, but he was usually too tired to move.
But every night, she kissed him thoroughly before sleeping. He never stopped her as it was the highlight of each day. He was for the first time in a long time, very content.