Idril shook her head and gave a wan smile, in an effort to dismiss the matter. Tonight was the last time she was going to see him and there was no need to embarrass her by telling him what her colleagues might be thinking about her. He would laugh himself silly! As if there was ever a chance for them together.
Thinking about how in at most an hour, he will be dropping her at her hotel and a day after she would be headed home, back to her old life filled her with an odd sense of sadness. It was weird, wasn't it? She had known him only for two days. And that was all it's ever going to be. So now she needed to keep her head and stop babbling like she had the whole day and stay polite and dignified while they took their leave of each other.
"Uh, nothing. Just that, I really enjoyed my time here. Thanks to you. And Imogen. Both of you have been very helpful and nice to me." Seeing his frown, she hurried on, "And that I have so much packing to do." She gestured towards her merchandise. "As I am leaving tomorrow, I mean."
Feanor's nodded, her reference to leaving soon didn't seem to register with him, and Idril felt a stab of disappointment. "When is your flight?" he asked.
"At eleven. Imogen said they will all be leaving by nine."
He nodded. Then suddenly he looked up at her with a smile.
"Come on. I want to show you something." He took her hand and led her through the garden. It was dark and the Feanor's tiny torch light showed them the path. She soon realized that were heading towards the small cabin she had seen the other day. But as they reached it, she exclaimed.
At night, the cabin was completely changed. There were tiny fairy lights draped on the low hanging branches of the surrounding trees. The birdhouse was lit. The entrance door had a Chinese lantern hanging overhead which lit the porch with a soft glow. Without releasing her hand, he took her inside the cabin.
It was a one room cabin with one door leading off the bathroom and another she didn't know where. The room had a small fireplace at one corner with scented logs crackling merrily, making it warm and cozy inside. A small place setting was arranged in front of it with wicker chairs and a table on which stood a candle stick with six candles giving off a mellow lighting and scenting the heavy air inside the room. A bed covered with snowy white linen was tucked at another corner.
They stood in the center of the room, Feanor letting her absorb the entire ambience. His arms circled her gently from behind and he rest his chin on the top of her head. He asked, his voice hone husky, "What do you think?"
Idril found it difficult to open her mouth and speak. Her voice had gone husky as well. "It's beautiful."
"Want a drink? Or coffee?" he asked her, moving away from her towards the second door.
"Umm, do you have coffee as well? I see the bar here." she asked, curious. She had thought there was no electricity in the cabin but she espied the tiny bar tucked away at a corner in the shadows.
"Oh yes. But only instant, I am afraid." He smiled seeing her surprise. "Oh, this is a self-sustaining cabin. I have a fully stocked kitchen and a phone as well. See?" He pointed to the phone and an answering machine and opened the second door to show her the kitchen.
"Wow! You can resist a siege here." She joked. He laughed, the rich timbre of his laughter echoing inside the cabin. He waved her towards the place setting.
"Please, sit. I will be back with your refreshments."
He was back within two minutes with two steaming mugs of coffee and a plate of cookies. He placed them on the table and took the chair opposite her.
"Please, help yourself."
She took a sip and bit on a cookie. "Umm. These are nice. Did you make the cookies as well?"
He smiled. "No, my housekeeper did. She is a very good cook. How is the coffee?"
"It's good. And so was the dinner." She said, enjoying the way his eyes lit at her compliment.
"Oh hang on a second." He stood up and went to plug in his iPhone to a point and the soulful strands of Kenny G started playing from some invisible speakers. He rejoined her and took a mock bow when she smiled to say, "Now it's perfect."