Chapter 5

The House

Catherine couldn’t wait to see Vincent; she had so much to tell him. Time that usually sped by so quickly now seemed to be standing still. She fretted trying to keep herself busy until it was dark enough for him to come.

She practically flew to balcony doors when she heard the tap she had been waiting for. She flung open the doors stepping and stepped into his embrace, a. After a kiss that practically made her forget why she had been so impatient to see him, she stepped back, pulling him into the apartment

"Vincent, come in. I’ve got tea ready, go sit in the living room." She gave him a shove in that direction then went into the kitchen to get the tea tray.

He deposited his cloak over the back of one of the dining chairs and took a seat on one of the sofas, making room so Catherine could slide in beside him. She set the tray down on the table, pouring two mugs full of the hot liquid.

"Catherine I’ve felt your excitement all day. W what have you been up to?"

She set the mug down that she had cradled in her hands and looked at him with twinkling eyes. "Do you remember the time you rescued me from the men who had slashed my face?" She asked.

"You mean the first time you saw me kill?" He lowered his head so that his mane covered his face, "how could I forget.?"

"Vincent, they were going to kill me! Y you did what you had to." She emphasized each word.

"I’ll never forget the look of horror on your face,." he whispered.

She grabbed his chin, turning him back to face her. "You did what was necessary, there is no shame in that. Would you rather they had killed me?"

"No, never!"

"Ok, let’s forget about that. The reason I brought it up is that my friend who owns the brownstone where it happened is putting it up for sale. I told her I might be interested so she gave me the key," she looked at him excitedly. "We could go look at it and see if it would suit us."

"Catherine could you live in a house where murder was committed?" He was shocked.

"Vincent we are getting married on the day I was attacked to eclipse a bad memory with a good one, I feel the same about this house. It’s been renovated so it won’t look anything like it use to and we know we can make a tunnel entrance. I thought we could go tonight, do you remember how to get there from Below and is there a way to go above from there?"

"Yes I remember where it is, and I believe there is a manhole cover in Washington Square Park I can use if the tunnel entrance is no longer accessible."

Her excitement was infectious and he was happy to comply with her request. They had spoken of the need to have Catherine live Above in order to continue working, but she was adamant about having a home with a tunnel entrance for him. The balcony of her apartment was too dangerous a climb and after that lunatic almost killed her it was too dangerous period.

They finished their tea and after a hug and kiss left went their separate ways to rendezvous at the house.

Catherine took her car and found a parking spot close to the address, which was located on Christopher St. by Sheridan Square in the village. She climbed the four concrete steps that were flanked on either side by black wrought iron railings leading up to the double front doors from the street. The outer doors were of black iron filigree with shiny brass kick plates. She pulled one of them open to reveal the solid oak door behind it. She fitted the key she had gotten from Nell into the lock letting herself into the vestibule. Pulling out the piece of paper that held the security code she punched the numbers into the touch pad. She noted that it was the very latest in security systems which was definitely a plus; she intended to keep Vincent as safe as possible.

Moving through the entrance hall she pushed past the next set of double doors into the house proper. She took the stairs down to the first floor and from there she opened the door to the basement. She switched on the lights and made her way down the steps. Feeling her near, Vincent called out to her.

"I’m here Vincent," she answered.

"There’s only a piece of plywood on this side Catherine, the bricks were never replaced."

On her side Catherine spied a corner of the plywood Vincent was referring to, the rest of it had boxes and cinder blocks piled in front.

"Wait a minute I have to clear some stuff out of the way then we might just be able to slide the wood to one side."

He waited, hearing her shift things around, f. Finally the board leaned away from him as the support from the other side was removed and he easily slid it to one side, enabling him to step through the opening. Catherine greeted him with a hug and taking his hand led him up to the first floor.

"If the rest of the house looks as good as the little I’ve seen, Nell’s done a heck of a restoration job," she bubbled enthusiastically.

Sure enough as they wandered from room to room they could see the care and attention to detail Nell had lavished on the place. The floor immediately above the basement held the dining room at one end and a breakfast room at the other with a bump out window seat. The backdoor was next to it and opened onto a patio surrounded by a garden. The kitchen connected the two rooms and was equipped with every modern appliance imaginable with a huge walk-in pantry.

Catherine led the way to the next floor marveling at the wood paneling as they went up the stairs; it was so rich and warm. This was the floor just above street level that began with the double front doors and the vestibule with a second set of double doors. Catherine showed Vincent the security pad there and explained what Nell had told her about the security system.

The living room took up the entire front part of the floor and held an elegant, ornate, white marble fireplace. There was a half bath in the hallway and then the family room, which took up the entire back half of the floor. This also had a fireplace and floor to ceiling windows topped by half moons.

he next floor had a library in the rear that was lined with oak bookcases, a perfect place to organize all the books the couple had. Against the back wall, flanked by tall windows was a massive fireplace of gray stone. Catherine could just envision the two of them snuggled up in front of it on a leather couch surrounded by hundreds of books. The ceiling was painted red with black, rough-hewn beams running parallel to the fireplace. There was a beautiful Persian area rug of red, cream and black that practically covered the entire hard wood floor. Nell said she would leave it if Catherine liked it and she did, it suited the room perfectly.

At the other end the hall was a room that would be perfect for a home office. She hoped to persuade Joe into letting her do research from home a few days a week. Between her father’s collection of legal texts and her own she would have a more extensive law library than the DA.’s Office. Add a computer and she could just as easily break down testimonies and do research here as at the office.

The next floor had the master bedroom in the back containing a fireplace on one wall, and double French doors that led out onto a deck overlooking the garden on the back wall. Two walk-in closets would be more than adequate to hold her ample wardrobe plus Vincent’s. The master bath was huge with a marble twin sink vanity, a multi-head shower stall and a Jacuzzi bathtub. In the hallway was a full bath and beyond that, at the front of the house, was another bedroom.

One more flight of stairs brought them to the last floor; the front room was a bedroom with the hall having a full bath and the pull down stairs to the attic. The back room had a skylight that showed the stars twinkling merrily at them as they gazed upward at it. It was a beautiful sight, and Vincent couldn’t help but enclose Catherine in a hug, squeezing her gently. He could feel her joy bubbling up through the bond like a spring.

"Well what do you think?" She looked up at him hopefully. "Do you like it?"

He smiled down at her, "how could I not when it makes you so happy, yes I like it, I like it very much."

"Good I’ll call Nell and tell her not to put it on the market, it’s already sold." She wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him down for a kiss.

When she finally turned him loose, he gazed into her happy face.

"Do you always get this affectionate when you buy a house?" He asked playfully, keeping his arms locked around her.

"I don’t know," she replied with an impish smile. "This is my first one; should I buy another?"

"We haven’t broken this one in yet." He grinned then kissed her soundly. When they finally came up for air Vincent pushed her back at arms length

"You have a very busy weekend coming up, I think we should call it a night."

Reluctantly she agreed. "You’re probably right, but soon we won’t have to say goodnight and go our separate ways."

They went down the stairs stopping to take another look at the library; it was already becoming their favorite room. Back in the basement Vincent stepped through the opening after kissing Catherine goodnight and slid the board back into place. He listened as she replaced the blocks and boxes back where she had found them.

"Goodnight Vincent," she called. "I’ll be back Sunday night."

"Goodnight Catherine, be well, I’ll see you then."

As he made his way back to the home tunnels he made a mental note to talk to Mouse about rigging a proper tunnel entrance in the basement of the house He had to mentally pinch himself; he and Catherine were really getting married, and they were getting a house. He would be living Above, at least part-time; never in his wildest imagination had he thought that would ever be possible for him.

He then turned his thoughts to his trip to the crystal caverns, wondering what kind of company the Bishop would be. Well, he mused, he’d soon find out.

When Catherine got home she immediately called Nell to tell her to draw up the papers. Nell was thrilled and promised to stop by Catherine’s office on Monday for her signature. As she hung up the phone she realized how much had to be done in just less than three months. First things first though, she would pick Jenny up right after work tomorrow and scoot up to Connecticut. On the way she and Jenny could compile a list of things she would need to get and do before the wedding.

Before falling asleep Vincent reached out through the bond to check on his bride to be, she was fast asleep, dreaming happy dreams of a leather couch in front of a roaring fire.