Page 40 of The House of Hopes and Dreams
‘Now there’s only you and Nat to do all the work, Grant,’ I said.
‘Well, if he expects me to do three people’s jobs for one wage, he can think again,’ Grant said. ‘I left on the dot of five thirty tonight and that’s how it’s going to be from now on.’
‘I suppose there might not be as much work without Julian to draw in the big commissions,’ I suggested. ‘Are you still thinking of finding another job, or setting yourself up to repair stained glass?’
‘I’m tending more to the idea of setting myself up, because working on your own doorstep’s convenient. I’ve got a big outbuilding I could convert, and if I got a little van I could do small repairs on the spot.’
‘There’s always a call for leaded light repairs,’ I agreed.
‘Ivan might come and help you out, once your workshop gets going?’ he suggested.
‘I think it’s going to be a long time before I can pay myself, let alone anyone else,’ I said ruefully.
‘Oh, I don’t know. If the basic workshop’s there it won’t take you that long to get it up and running. And the commissions will come in, all right. You entered that competition to design a glass installation for a shopping mall in Brisbane, didn’t you?’
‘Yes, and another to design a transom window for a children’s library, though I’m not holding my breath about either of them. But I must set myself up a website quickly, so people can find me.’
‘Nat remembered to look at Julian’s website this afternoon,’ Grant said, ‘and saw you’d taken all your details off it. He was mad.’
‘I don’t know why he should have been: he wanted me to leave. He can replace me with Willow and make any other changes he wants – the password’s in the top desk drawer in the office.’
‘I’ll tell him. I expect he’ll keep the studio name and trade on his dad’s reputation, so the work will still come in, though he’s not going to get any major commissions without someone of your or Julian’s calibre to design them.’
‘Unless Willow turns out to be amazingly good at it – though it takes time to make a name for yourself,’ I said. ‘Or perhaps hewillsee sense and employ someone else.’
‘Well, it’s not your problem any more,’ Molly said. ‘You never did anything to harm him, he just couldn’t stand you and his dad being happy together.’
‘Got it in a nutshell, from what I’ve seen and heard,’ agreed Carey. ‘And he’s likely to be even madder when he finds he’s going to be competing for work with the Angelique Arrowsmith Art Glass Studio.’
‘Too much alliteration,’ I said with a grin.
‘I like it,’ Grant said. ‘Rolls off the tongue.’
‘Maybe miss off the “Studio” bit: Angelique Arrowsmith Art Glass,’ Carey said.
‘What do you think, Molly?’ I asked.
‘I think it’s just perfect!’
‘Then – it looks like I have the name before I have the workshop!’ I said.
It was late when Carey finally set off back to Mossby, though he looked much better, and Molly had given him a box of home-baked pastries, in case he could squeeze another bite in later.
The evening had been only slightly marred earlier by Fang’s waking from a stupor induced by consuming a large bowl of leftovers, and fixing his teeth into Grant’s ankle, like a small, furry piranha. He’d been banished to the car after that, in disgrace.
I wondered if you could buy muzzles that small?
The family gathered in a vast drawing room off the inner hall before dinner where, as well as the usual arrangement of comfortable sofas, armchairs and small tables, there was also sufficient space for a billiard table and a pianoforte!
The main staircase came down into it and since the others were already gathered there, I felt a little ridiculous making a grand solo appearance when I was such an insignificant snip of a thing!
I almost giggled, but luckily managed to repress it. I admired the room very much and Miss Revell showed me the veranda between the two bay windows, where one could step out on to the terrace and look out over the lake and trees. I looked forward to doing so the next day – in fact, I could hardly wait to see the rest of the house!
We went into dinner, which was what my aunt Barbara would have described as fancy and wasteful, for there was far more food than any four people of normal appetite could possibly eat. But perhaps the remains were finished off by the servants?
While we were eating, Father asked after Mr Browne, who was both Mr Revell’s great friend and the architect of the house, and had been present on his last visit.
‘He’s in the Lake District, having recently accepted another commission to design a house there,’ Mr Revell said. ‘He will be sorry to have missed you – and I would have liked to have introduced him to Miss Kaye, also.’
