There was a good spot for a very large, modern pool and patio area closer to the chateau. There were guesthouses, and some cottages. It was practically a village of its own. Joachim could imagine seminars there, or a school, as many great houses in England had been transformed into for more practical use. Turning it into a vacation home for one man seemed excessive to him, and he wondered if he’d ever use it. Many of the Russians who bought property renovated it and never even came to use it. They just liked knowing they owned it and could arrive at any time. It seemed sad to Olivia to treat it that way, and if she did take the project on, she hoped he would spend time there and enjoy it. Otherwise, it seemed like a waste to her too.
After they had seen the house and the stables, they walked around for a little while in the overgrown grass. She stumbled over a few hidden rocks.
“The gardening alone will cost a fortune here,” Joachim said from experience. “They’ll need a dozen gardeners, or at least ten good ones. The Cheshire property in Sussex is about this size, which is why the children don’t want to keep it. It’s too much upkeep and expense for them. It would break my heart if a Russian winds up buying that too. The marquess kept it in such good order for his heirs. I don’t think it ever occurred to him that his children might sell it. I always thought they would. They never had the passion for the land that he did. His family had worked for generations to keep the estate intact. That will all change now. Only billionaires and foreigners want these properties now, and can afford them.” Some of the British families gave tours of their homes, and treated them as paying tourist attractions in order to be able to maintain them, but the French had allowed almost anyone to buy them, and often had no choice. Americans had bought them for a while. Then the buyers from Russia and the Middle East moved in, with unlimited money to spend, and more recently Chinese buyers.
“What are you thinking?” he asked her, as they walked slowly back to the car.
“That it’s a huge project. Audrey was smart not to take it on.”
“And you?” He could see a gleam in her eye, and a distant look as she mulled it over, trying to remember everything they’d just seen, and he had taken dozens of photographs for her to study when she got home.
“I don’t know,” she said, as she got into the car. “I’m tempted to do it. It’s such a challenge and I have nothing else to do here.”
“It could take you two or three years, if the workers run into roadblocks or hidden problems.”
“Money is no object to the owner, but he wants it done fast.”
“I suppose if you pay enough, you can get people to work faster,” Joachim said cautiously, but that wasn’t always true. And the quality of the workmanship might suffer as a result. “It’s a huge commitment, of your time and his money.” She nodded agreement and they left the property in silence. She thought about it all the way back to Paris, and called Audrey when she got home.
“So? What do you think?” Audrey asked her.
“It’s not beautiful now, but it could be.”
“I thought that too,” Audrey confirmed. “Most people can’t see it. He probably got it for a fairly decent price because of that. He wants an answer,” she told Olivia. “And just for the record, my feelings won’t be hurt if you don’t do it. I gave you the opportunity, but I have no investment in whether you do it or not.”
“I love the challenge,” Olivia said in an under-voice, and before she could stop them, like unruly birds, the words flew out on their own. “I’ll do it,” she almost whispered, and then said it with more conviction. “I’ll do it. I’m probably crazy and I might regret it, but I would love to try to make it into something wonderful.”
“I can understand that,” Audrey said. “You’re a lot younger than I am. It makes a difference. A project like that would probably kill me, especially with everything else I’m doing. My hat’s off to you, if you take it on. You could never have done it if you still had the magazine to run,” she reminded her, which made her freedom now seem like more of a gift than a defeat.