Page 36 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
“How long would that take?”
“We could aim to have it finished by next weekend.”
Wow. “Then it would need to be inspected by the council, is that right?”
“Yes. And that’s where the holdup will be.”
Administrative red tape. Always the way. “But could we get a permit to have a coffee van or ice cream cart on the premises?”
“You mean until the café can reopen?”
Liv nodded. “It would be a great way to keep people interested. And if there are some locals who have that kind of business it would be great to support them.”
Marge glanced at Gran, who was smiling. “Wendy.”
“Wendy?” Liv asked.
“Wendy Bakker and her husband used to run a mobile coffee cart and visit local events, like the school fete and church bazaar. I’m sure they would love to get involved again.”
“Would a van on the grounds require council permits?”
“Yes, but it’s more a food hygiene certificate and street trading licence, which they would already have. They don’t need anything more because it’s private land.”
“Can you ask them?”
“I can call them now.”
“Maybe wait a little bit until we can have a firm opening date, but that sounds promising.” Liv gestured to a door. “Where does that go?”
“That connects to the carriageway, and on the other side is a gift shop. Come see.”
“I didn’t know the Hall had a gift shop,” Liv said, following.
George grimaced. “Don’t expect much. I’m pretty sure it’s more a storage room these days; probably nobody has gone in this room in years.” She tried the key, but it didn’t work.
Liv peered through the dirt-smudged windows to see a small room of scantily stocked shelves, a few boxes, and cobwebs and dust. Stacked against the back wall were more of those tables that matched those in the café. A large corner of the ceiling was spotted with what looked like mildew. She winced. Looked like the kitchen and café weren’t the only places needing a thorough clean. “What kinds of things did it stock?”
“Oh, a few postcards from the local area. There wasn’t much.”
“Anything to do with the movie that was filmed here?”
“We couldn’t afford the licensing costs they were asking,” George said.
“But the fountain is the Hall’s. Surely you could have someone take pictures of that and sell those. It doesn’t need to be a direct movie tie-in.”
“What do you mean?” George asked.
“Well,Pride and Prejudiceis in the public domain. There are no limitations on reproducing some of those famous lines, so you could easily do that and pair it with a picture of the house or the fountain in the background. You could get a skilful photographer to take some photos and then reproduce those on everything from postcards and bookmarks to pens and tea towels. If you get in early enough, you could even produce a calendar for next year. That’s what we did for Hooper’s Manor.”
The others stared at her. But already more ideas had begun to stir. “Perhaps we could also have a display for local craft people or artisans. You know, people who make jams or honey or condiments. I saw some of those at the local grocer’s. We stock their product, take a small percentage, and the rest supports local businesses.”
“Oh my gosh. You really are like an answer to prayer,” George said. “Like I said, it’s just stuff that I’ve done back home in Australia.”
She peeked through the window again. Ugh! Did something in there move? She shuddered.
“Something wrong?”
Liv’s yelp and jump almost made Liam smile. Almost.
