Vandana was spell bound by the beauty of the house. Even though, it was a sprawling estate, yet it had the feel of a warm, loving home. The walls were adorned with black and white pictures of Mr. Kumar’s relatives, antiques collected from their travels, indoor plants and vines by the windows, and large vases filling up the corners.

Mr. Kumar seemed humble despite being a rich man, which she liked. As he led her to her room, he was explaining about the history of the house. They walked through an open hallway to the end of the building. They stopped in front of a large ornately carved wooden door with metallic embellishments. Mr. Kumar pushed open the door which opened to the inside.

“Dr. Mittur, this is your room – our prized guest suite, which my grandfather designed with dignitaries in mind. It has all the amenities of a five-star hotel with a homely touch. I hope you will be comfortable here,” declared Prashanth, leading the way.

Vandana, felt like a princess in a mansion. Never before in her life had she been in such a lap of luxury. She pinched herself discreetly, hoping it was not a dream. The room was ornately decorated with all sorts of antiquities. The bed was large enough to fit an entire family of four. The bed’s four posts appeared to be handcrafted and lace curtains overlapped with a mosquito net was hanging. Who would have thought of covering up an ugly mosquito net with a delicate lace curtain? The writing desk must be an antique with its intricate hand carved flowers and leaves along the edge and the wooden flap that hid the interior of the desk. The desk was of a reasonable size. She could plug in her laptop and still have room left for writing. She only hoped that there is proper internet connection so far away. The two windows on both sides of the desk offered a beautiful view of patio on one side and the garden on the other. Most of the lighting came from these two windows as well as the patio with French doors. The golden, burgundy and green shades of the curtains gave a royal feel to the room in addition to a sense of warmth.

As she was taking in the beautifully decorated room, Mr. Kumar walked into a smaller room adjoining the bed room to turn on the lights.

“Dr. Mittur, if you can please step in here, I would like to show you the closet and the bathroom,” called Prashanth, peeking out.

Jolted from her reverie, she followed him into the closet, which was a medium sized room with shelves, hangars and drawers. Mr. Kumar led her through another door at the farther end of the closet to a large bathroom. As she stepped into the bathroom, she realized that her previous living quarters were the size of this bathroom. Spell bound, she just nodded at all the things that Mr. Kumar was pointing to. He led her back into the bedroom.

“Dr. Mittur, you have a telephone in the bedroom as well as the bathroom. If you need anything, just give us a call. There will always be someone to answer your call,” added Prashanth, winking at her, “including me”.

Vandana smiled. He led her to the patio that bordered the other side of the bedroom, giving ample light to the interior. As he slid the curtains, “Ahh… before I forget, please ensure that you don’t lock the closet door when you are using the bathroom. In case of an emergency, we won’t be able to hear you. You can lock the closet when you are using the closet. Just a precaution, you know. We’ve had some serious incidents in the past which we don’t like to be repeated. At least, not on my watch,” he cautioned as he opened the large French glass doors.

Puzzled, Vandana nodded and followed Prashanth. The patio was quite large, partly covered and partly opened. All along the railing there were potted flowering plants. On the left-hand side of the patio, there was a trellis covered with night jasmine and under the jasmine vine, a wicker swing for two.

“I hope you like this place, Dr. Mittur. If it is not to your liking, or if you need to add any other furnishings, please don’t hesitate to inform me. We are here to help you feel at home,” declared Prashanth, standing in front of her. He was watching her closely as she took in the luxury of this suite. He sincerely hoped she would prefer to stay here and not insist on moving to the hospital quarters.

As she was checking the plants and the railing, the sun rays cast a golden hue to her light brown eyes. Prashanth knew he gasped at the golden beauty in front of him. She didn’t seem to notice as she was completely engrossed in the beauty of the place. Like a kid in a candy store, she smiled in delight as she surveyed her surroundings. She quickly turned to him clapping in delight and quickly controlled her joy seeing he was watching her.

“Oh, Mr. Kumar. This is heavenly. I won’t add anything nor will I take anything away from here. It is absolutely luxurious and inviting,” she delightedly announced, walking towards him.

“I’m glad that you like this room. If in future, you change your mind, please do not hesitate. There are other rooms too in the house that we can accommodate you in. But believe me, this is the best room in the house,” boasted Prashanth, heading back into the bedroom.

While they were checking out the patio, Sunil dropped off her bags in the closet. He neatly arranged them onto a large shelf so she doesn’t have to bend down to pick up her things.

“Well, looks like your bags are in there,” said Prashanth, glancing into the closet.

“Please let us know if you need anything. You can call us on the phone,” he pointed to the phone beside the bed. “You can come back the way we came to enter the main house. It is a straight path to the right once you step out of your room. Satyamma will have breakfast ready for you,” he walked towards the door.

“Thank you, Mr. Kumar. I appreciate all your help,” smiled Vandana, standing demurely by the door.

With his hand on the door knob, Prashanth turned back one more time. “Would you prefer tea or coffee? We also do room service, if you prefer to have them in the privacy of your room,” winked Prashanth.

Would you stop winking? You make me feel like a teenager, blushed Vandana.

She suppressed her blush with a smile and averted his eyes. Surprised, that she was getting comfortable with this man, she just nodded declining room service. “Alright, will leave you in peace,” teased Prashanth, closing the door behind him.