Page 61 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
“I don’t understand the difference,” Tobias said.
“It’s a domain name.” She glanced at Liam. “It will cost a little, but it means it’s secured. In case you’re wondering, Chatsworth uses a dot org for their website, so we’re in good company.”
“How are you paying for all of this?” George asked.
Liv winced. “I’m using my credit card and keeping receipts.”
George glanced at Liam. “You need to make sure she’s reimbursed soon. She can’t be out of pocket.”
“Give me your invoices and I’ll get them paid,” he muttered. “I’ll contact Timothy Grant, my accountant, and get him up to speed. He should probably sit in on some of these meetings too.”
“That’d be great, thank you. It’d be good to have the finances overseen by someone independent.”Thank You, God.One of her tensions abated. “Okay, so back to the topic at hand. Once we have the domain name sorted we can build a website, and that’ll be wonderful.” She went on to ask about ticketing, which led to another discussion about opening days and hours, special event pricing, and reduced rates in winter months.
“And I think in this day and age we need to be clear about accessibility, as there are often people in wheelchairs or babies in pushchairs that might expect accessible paths and entry to rooms.”
“Good point.” George’s nose wrinkled. “We’ve had some complaints in the past because they expected to see the upstairs bedrooms, like they thought we had lifts here in the 1700s.”
Liv nodded. “I think a map that shows exactly where the accessible paths are would be helpful. I asked Elinor, my sister, if she could rough out a sample map and also a brochure based on what we’ve had in the past, and she’ll get back to me tomorrow. Speaking of, tomorrow is the newspaper visit.” She glanced at Liam. “I understand that you might not want to be around for that.”
He shifted in his chair. “What time are they coming?”
“Ten.”
George turned to Liam. “You could help me with clearing out the gift shop out the back.”
He shrugged. Peered at Liv. “Will you stay in the house for the interview?”
That look he gave her stirred her compassion once again. Poor man. “I’ll be wherever you want me to be.”
“She should probably show him the parterre gardens, seeing that’s looking particularly good, especially now that the fountain is clean,” Gran said.
Liv nodded. “I’ll be with Gran and Tobias, and you can trust us to make sure the focus is on the Hall, nothing else.”
He dipped his chin and sighed.
“So, what brought an Aussie high school teacher all this way to take on a huge project like this?”
Liv explained for what felt like the millionth time as Gerald Hawker, the newspaper reporter, took notes. He hadn’t been nearly as scary as she’d imagined. But then, she’d always had an overactive imagination. Hence why the ideas about the Hall kept on coming.
As he turned to ask Tobias and Gran about how the locals felt about the Hall’s reopening, her mind kept whirling with all that could be done.
Conversations with Gran had revealed the cottage at the drive was an old gatekeeper’s cottage, currently vacant. “It could be let out to families. Or be a holiday let.”
They could create a picnic area and playground for children, perhaps in the grassy area near the café. Not too close, because she doubted Liam and George wanted to hear the shrieks of small children every weekend, but close enough to both the café and parking area, so people could maximize their fun day out with their family.
All those spare books in the library? The ones not worth keeping could form the start of a secondhand bookstore, perhaps in the room next to the gift shop—the progress of which she really should check on.
She should source a photographer willing to make some extra cash on weekends by offering to take photos of couples who booked a Sweetheart Saturday snap—a picture in front of the fountain, in an appropriate Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth pose.
And still the idea of a Christmas Regency Ball refused to go away …
“And do you have thoughts on what might come next?” Gerald asked.
“So many thoughts.” Liv smiled. “You’ll have to keep checking our social media and brand-new website for details.”
“And any comment on how the owner of the Hall is feeling?”
Gran cleared her throat. “He’s very pleased with how things are progressing.”
