“Well, you’re certainly doing that in ideal surroundings, and well-staffed,” she said, eyeing Joachim, who had been the most dignified and professional Olivia had ever seen him. He really did look like a butler in a movie, and his formal service had been flawless. Then he discreetly disappeared to the kitchen. She didn’t tell Audrey that she only had her “staff” for six months, and after that, like Cinderella at midnight, the coach would turn into a pumpkin and the coachmen to white mice. Joachim would become a real butler in England again, for someone else. But he had definitely impressed her guests. Jean Beaulieu was a huge snob, and they had snowed him too. He was a little younger than Audrey, and a big deal in Europe. “I might have a project for you if you’re interested. Jean and I looked at it this morning, and I can’t take it on. I can’t run back and forth to Europe and do justice to my clients in the States. I do something in Europe every year or two, but this one’s not for me. And Jean can’t do it either.”
He chimed in immediately. “I’m finishing two boats in Holland, one in Italy, and another one in Turkey, and a huge house in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. I absolutely cannot take on a massive chateau on top of that. It would kill me. And all of the boats will launch before the summer.”
“I know you’re not a decorator,” Audrey continued to Olivia, “but you have a great eye, wonderful taste, and this isn’t a traditional job anyway. It’s for a Russian. He lives in Moscow and bought an enormous chateau less than an hour outside Paris. He’s never even seen it. He wants it to look like Versailles. That’s asking a lot. It needs a little reconstructive work, but it’s not in terrible shape. But it needs everything, decorating-wise. The floors need to be buffed up and restored in a few places, there are marble fireplaces all over the place. You need a good curtain man. And you need more furniture than for the Ritz. But if you want to, I think you could do a terrific job with it, if it amuses you. Most decorators won’t have the time. The Russians pay well, but it probably won’t ever make the cover of Architectural Digest. They’re fun to work with, but they go off in funny directions sometimes, and love flash.”
“And they either pay you three times what you ask, or not at all,” Jean Beaulieu added. “They never show up when you want them to. Or they don’t come to see it for three years after you finish it, or sell it to a friend. They call you at four a.m. to see how it’s going. I can’t deal with Russian clients,” Jean said, looking exasperated.
“Neither of us has the time,” Audrey explained more calmly, “and maybe you don’t either. If I had nothing else to do, it might be fun. I’m not taking any new clients. I have too much work from the ones I have. They keep buying houses. Now they’re all moving to Florida to reduce their taxes. They’re selling their houses in Mexico.”
“And buying yachts,” Jean confirmed. “Thank God.”
“Are you interested in doing any decorating?” Audrey asked her directly. “You have the taste and the talent, but not the credentials. Most Russian clients don’t care about that. I don’t know why someone recommended me for the job.” Audrey could be very grand at times, and she accepted another delicately trimmed egg salad sandwich from the silver tray Joachim offered her. And the tea he had chosen was delicious. The cucumbers were sliced paper thin, and the scones were the best Olivia had ever tasted. He had produced a high tea they would never forget. Olivia was very pleased with him. He had made her look fabulous to Audrey, not like someone whose business had just gone down the tubes and had left New York in defeat. She was to be envied, not pitied, which was just the effect she had wanted to achieve, and Joachim had done it for her.
“It sounds very interesting, and challenging,” Olivia said, thinking about it. “I’d like to see it before I give you a definite answer.”
“Of course,” Audrey said, “I think it looks more daunting than it really is. With the right contractor, I think you could knock it out in under a year. The bones are there. You could stretch it out of course, but the Russian owner is very eager to have it finished. He’s more interested in speed than fine craftsmanship. See what you think, and then let me know. I thought of you, because I wasn’t sure what you were doing now. This might be a fun next step, and it could be an entrée into decorating here in Europe. He probably has a million friends who would hire you if he likes the results. They tend to follow each other in groups. It can be very lucrative,” she said, lowering her voice discreetly. Olivia was more excited than she wanted to admit, but she wanted to see it first so she didn’t get in over her head or start something she couldn’t finish before she went back to New York.