Page 48 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
“If Georgina says so, then I’m sure it is.”
Again, there was a weird dynamic she didn’t fully understand. Sometimes Gran seemed to defer to George, which was strange, when she was only the gardener’s sister. Other times, Gran’s managing ways seemed to demand everyone—caretakers and their sisters—bow to her. Whatever. If Gran and George were okay with it, then she’d have to hope it wouldn’t ruffle too many feathers.
After opening windows, allowing for fresh air, clearing off the desk, and plugging in her laptop, she had to ask George if there were Wi-Fi codes she could access. The next two hours passed in social media organization, setting up a Facebook page and Instagram account, both with initial posts declaring “Something exciting is coming!” Best to not announce a starting date they couldn’t keep. If they were able to clean up by this Friday it would be a soft launch only.
After posting, she looked over her notes she’d made about website planning. She asked George and Gran if they knew about the current website and how that was organized. Both suggested Liam might know, but she didn’t want to ask him just yet. She’d seen him pressure-hosing off the fountain and had zero desire to interrupt that. She couldn’t wait to see what it looked like all cleaned up.
Her nose wrinkled as she looked again at the current Hartbury Hall website. It was so tired, she could fall asleep simply from looking at it. She smothered a yawn. She needed coffee. Maybe she should’ve organized a coffee van.
She made another note in her diary. Volunteers needed caffeine to keep motivated—a sausage sandwich and cold drink at lunchtime was hardly incentive to keep going.
She called Marge, who promised to look into it, which left her wondering how much that would cost.
Liam had mentioned their budget was very slim, and even here on the first day she could see how quickly funds would erode, even with all the ancient or donated cleaning and gardening products being used. Wanting to keep their volunteers happy meant funds could be eaten up. Literally.
She sighed. In one way, having a ring-in like herself did make things difficult, as she lacked the local contacts and knowledge that might enable discounts and deals. But she did have some connections that could help matters. Even if they lived half a world away.
She calculated the time differences. Some of those particular contacts might still be up. And the way this website looked, there was nothing for it. She’d have to ask her sister to help.
EJ—her usual website guru—was away on a conference, so she sent a message to Elinor, who had proved her marketing skills before. Two minutes later she was talking via video call to a sleepy-looking sister.
“What are you doing calling me so late at night?” Ellie complained.
“What are you doing answering if you don’t want to talk?”
Ellie’s chuckle was swallowed in another yawn. “I hadn’t heard from you in yonks. So, how are you? What’s been happening?”
“Plenty.” She filled her in on the Hall’s renovation rescue, which soon saw Elinor perk up.
“Are you serious? You’ve got all that responsibility?”
“I know, right? It’s insane. But it’s awesome. Even if it feels a little overwhelming at times.”
“Why didn’t Mum say anything?”
“Because I haven’t told her. I think she’d just think it’s an excuse for me to find a Mr. Darcy, and it’s not.”
“Nobody handsome enough to tempt you?” her sister teased.
“There’s nobody handsome here at all.” Well, that was a lie. Liam might be attractive if he smiled. But seeing she’d not witnessed that yet, she wouldn’t really know.
Ellie giggled. “So, what can I do for you?”
Liv explained about her dilemma with the website and her hopes for the marketing and social media.
“And you’ve already posted a pic?”
“Did the first one today,” she said proudly.
“Let me go see.” Ellie tapped on her phone. Frowned. “Um, you might want to fix the typo.”
“What typo?” She snatched up her own phone. Saw that in her enthusiastic zeal to get things done, she’d accidentally typed “exiting,” not “exciting.” “Man.”
Ellie chuckled. “Just delete it and do it again. But maybe you should think about what kinds of colours and fonts you’re going to use. Are you going to have your posts designed for aesthetic appeal? Are you going to lean into thePride and Prejudiceconnections? What kind of branding are you wanting?”
She groaned. “See, this is why I need you. I just get carried away and do things, and need somebody with skills to rein me in.”
“Look, what you had wasn’t bad. Just fix the typo and repost. I understand the need to get things happening. But just be careful to make sure everything about what you post is actually supporting what you want Hartbury Hall’s brand to be. There’s no point posting a Gen Z meme if your market will be mostly pensioners. You need to consider who you want as your visitors.”
