In the end, he decided against the brownstone and chose a flat in the East Village. It had always been somewhere he was more comfortable than the Upper East Side or any of the fancier neighborhoods. From the son of a whore in the slums of London, he'd risen to become a courtier at Versailles, then a gentleman of the South, easily mingling among the various strata of society, but the upper echelons always made him twitch with their hypocrisy. The aristocracy--even when born out of the American bourgeoisie--never changed.
The East Village had been gentrified during his imprisonment, until it was trendy and expensive, but it still kept more of a bohemian vibe, and part of him couldn't bear to actually move to Brooklyn.
The flat was in an old pre-war building on Avenue C. It had high ceilings, exposed brick, and hardwood floors throughout. The kitchen was small, but since he didn't cook much, it didn't much matter. A fireplace nestled in one wall in the living room, and the price came in solidly under one million dollars so he was pleased by that as well. He paid cash, took the keys, then set about having some of his things transferred from Montreal. The furnishings he picked out himself--reds and browns to compliment the tile and brick, a large sofa across from the fire, a comfortable chair by the window, a table and two chairs tucked in a nook. He turned one bedroom into a library, lining three walls with bookshelves that reached to the ceiling with a futon against the fourth wall for any guests. His bedroom he did in shades of blue and grey, with a feather bed and down comforters piled on top of a King size bed. He never wanted to sleep on a thin mattress on a cot again. If he didn't sleep much, it didn't matter. The bed would be comfortable, dammit.
When it was done, he was pleased, or as pleased he could be about being in the City. It wasn't a location Bob would think to look. They all knew about his money, they'd look somewhere more posh. But this, he decided, suited him just fine.
( Pics under cut of place )
The East Village had been gentrified during his imprisonment, until it was trendy and expensive, but it still kept more of a bohemian vibe, and part of him couldn't bear to actually move to Brooklyn.
The flat was in an old pre-war building on Avenue C. It had high ceilings, exposed brick, and hardwood floors throughout. The kitchen was small, but since he didn't cook much, it didn't much matter. A fireplace nestled in one wall in the living room, and the price came in solidly under one million dollars so he was pleased by that as well. He paid cash, took the keys, then set about having some of his things transferred from Montreal. The furnishings he picked out himself--reds and browns to compliment the tile and brick, a large sofa across from the fire, a comfortable chair by the window, a table and two chairs tucked in a nook. He turned one bedroom into a library, lining three walls with bookshelves that reached to the ceiling with a futon against the fourth wall for any guests. His bedroom he did in shades of blue and grey, with a feather bed and down comforters piled on top of a King size bed. He never wanted to sleep on a thin mattress on a cot again. If he didn't sleep much, it didn't matter. The bed would be comfortable, dammit.
When it was done, he was pleased, or as pleased he could be about being in the City. It wasn't a location Bob would think to look. They all knew about his money, they'd look somewhere more posh. But this, he decided, suited him just fine.
( Pics under cut of place )