Page 46 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
She had a few curious looks and fielded a few enthusiastic volunteers who couldn’t remember what area they’d signed up for. That was easy: garden maintenance.
Liam had his hat pulled down over his eyes, as if he didn’t want to be recognized, which was odd. The man was capital S strange. Always blowing hot and cold—although, now she thought about it, never actually hot. Although he did seem somewhat more muscled than Mr. D—
Stop!She rubbed her eyes and pivoted away. He and Tobias could do whatever they liked with the garden. She had to pay attention to more important things.
Marge was already leading her crew around the back to the café and kitchen area, and Gran stood with Cara, a redheaded woman in her fifties who she’d introduced as her number one steward, so thus her second-in-command. They too were speaking with their volunteers, so Liv went and joined them.
“Ah, and before we go any further, I’d like to introduce you all to my beautiful granddaughter, Olivia.”
“Hello.” Liv waved. She wanted to come across as friendly and professional, not put anyone’s back up like she was an expert, which she definitely wasn’t.
“The fact that we can even talk about reopening the Hall is entirely due to her energy and enthusiasm, and her willingness to do this out of the goodness of her heart, so let’s give her a welcome.”
The ladies and gentleman all did so, except for one, a brunette with artfully placed grey streaks in her hair, who seemed to be eyeing her suspiciously.
“Now, I’d like you all to introduce yourself, as no doubt you’ll be seeing a lot of Liv over the next few weeks and months. Please tell her your name and how long you helped at the Hall for.”
A litany of names and information passed by her, and Liv did her best to remember. The skunk-haired lady—really, there was no better way to describe it—was called Valerie, she noted.
“I’ll do my best to remember,” Liv said. “And please know that I consider you all to be the experts in the Hall—”
A number of the women visibly relaxed.
“—and I have no plans to change things inside at this stage.”
“None?” the sole man—Gary—asked.
“Well, I would like to see a new brochure, and one day it would be good to see the Blue Room restored to its original features, and have more blue elements than currently—”
“Sounds like a change to me,” Valerie murmured.
“That’s good.” Gary folded his arms. “What’s the point of calling it a Blue Room if it’s hardly blue? The sooner that changes, the better.”
“That will, of course, depend on budget and those requirements because it’s heritage listed.” Liv offered an apologetic grin. “Hence the need to reopen to boost the coffers.”
“Exactly. It will take some time before we are able to afford to do that, but it is a worthy goal,” Gran said. “Now, for today, and those who are able to come later this week, our goal is to clean all of the rooms on public display.”
“All of them?” Valerie asked.
“All of them. Fortunately, the dustcovers have protected most of the major furniture pieces and artworks, but there is still a lot to do. We shall begin in the Great Hall today, then do as many of the reception rooms as we can, then tackle the Long Gallery and the bedrooms later in the week. Dusting, mopping, vacuuming, you know what to do. And Gary, we want your expert eyes on the paintings, please.”
“Of course.” He inclined his head. “It’s my honour.”
“Gary is a former art teacher and historian,” Cara said to Liv.
“Did you work in high schools too?” Liv asked him.
“He worked at the Tate, in London,” Cara said.
“Wow!” Respect swelled. “Well, it is a privilege to have you help us.”
He offered a small smile, as if he’d heard that before, which he probably had. Some of her fears subsided. If someone of his expertise was involved in things, perhaps she could lean on him for content for a special art section of the website.
Which reminded her. She really should go find George and ask about how a website would work.
“Now,” Gran continued, “are there any questions?”
Valerie nodded. “I want to know why the Hall is employing an outsider to do this, when she’s got no real connection to the place. Apart from you, that is,” she added, nodding to Liv’s grandmother.
