What it took in the end was Olivia getting as tough as the workmen were, threatening to fire them in her basic French, checking their bills diligently and calling them on it when they cheated her, and occasionally replacing them. She was determined to complete the chateau on schedule for the employer. The checks from him were continuing to come in regularly, but he called her less often and she didn’t want to disappoint him. She wanted the chateau to be a showplace for him, and an accomplishment she could be proud of, so she could do another one if she wanted to. Joachim leaving her had almost made the task impossible, but she refused to be defeated by it, and she did his job and her own after he left.
Anatole was virtually useless as an assistant. She was basically paying him to bring her croissants for breakfast, and make her lunch, which she didn’t have time to eat. She needed to be at the chateau every day now, getting each aspect of the work completed. The floors were perfectly polished, all the bulletproof windows were in, and replaced where necessary, most of the carpentry had been done, the plumbing was still in progress, the electricity seemed to be solid now. The technology was being handled by a subcontractor. The painting was almost finished, and she was storing the furniture and art she bought, rugs, and electrical fixtures in a warehouse set up for storage. It was coming together, and she was spending every waking hour on it.
It was far more stressful than the project had been when she had Joachim to rely on. But she no longer did, so she made the best of it, determined not to be daunted. She tried to give Anatole a little more backbone, but it was hopeless. He hated going to the chateau. All he cared about was cooking, and all he could think about were the two weddings he was going to do. He spent so much time on it, that when he left a week early to prepare the first one, Olivia gave him a month’s salary and let him go. He looked relieved when she told him. He said he didn’t know how she dealt with the workmen, they were so rude, and many of them were dishonest. It had grown familiar to her, and she didn’t waste time being gentle with them anymore. She met them on their own turf, and was as tough as they were, and then they did what she wanted. It had taught her a lot about human nature and how strong you had to be sometimes, but she was proud of what she was accomplishing. And she didn’t bother trying to find another assistant. It was too late now and the project was almost finished. They were coming in on schedule. She wanted the owner of the chateau to be thrilled with it, and was continuing to give him reports, although he hadn’t responded to her last three emails. He was probably busy. He was continuing to feed the account she paid the expenses from. Her bookkeeping was meticulous too.
* * *
—
Joachim’s victories in Sussex were more human scale than Olivia’s. In his first weeks there, he had managed to clean up the part of the house included on the tour. He got the two tour guides to help him, and the silver and antique furniture gleamed, with some help from the maids. Joachim had them put fresh flowers on the tables every day. He had done some minor repairs, improved the lighting, pulled back the curtains and let more sunlight in, moved some of the furniture, and rehung some paintings. It was housekeeper’s work, but he didn’t mind doing it, and the results were quite good.
And then he had turned his attention to the part of the manor that his employer lived in. Some of it was beyond redemption. He put what was too damaged to use in one of the outbuildings and moved things around to compensate for it. He had the maids wax all the furniture and the floors, turned some rugs around, and switched the curtains so the frayed edges didn’t show. By the time he finished, the place had a distinct charm and polished look, rather than the threadbare, filthy appearance when he’d arrived. He put the gardeners to work night and day, and brought three more in to help them, first in front and then all around the property. By the time Joachim had been there a month, it looked like a different home, and Halsey Mount-Williams noticed it and complimented him.
“You’ve got a magician’s touch. I hardly recognize the place. I think you’re right, and we should raise the tour prices.” Joachim didn’t think they were quite there yet, but the place was looking better than when he’d arrived. And he had spent two days cleaning and repainting his own quarters and they were quite pleasant now. He was very satisfied with the way it all looked. And Joachim had borrowed a horse from the stables a few times to ride around the property. He liked the area and his life there. His mother was pleased for him. She missed him more than she admitted to him. He could hear it in her voice. Her only real pleasure was her work now, which was still rewarding, but with one son dead and the other living far away again, there was a sadness to her life that she couldn’t escape. She had nothing to hope for except the joy she gave others by returning their paintings to them.