Page 65 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
“We can then disinfect the shelves and clean them too,” George said.
“And if we do it now, it should have a chance to dry before tomorrow.”
“That would be fantastic.” Liv’s eyes shone. “Thank you for all your hard work.”
His heart glowed at her appreciation. He wanted to help her like she was helping him. This smart, passionate, loyal woman he was fast starting to admire more than he wanted to admit.
Chapter 14
“Oh my goodness.” Liv rubbed her hands together. “Can you believe it’s about to happen?”
Her stomach was a snarl of nerves. Tension lit the air. She’d stayed up far too late the past two nights as a million more things demanded attention. Did they have sufficient amounts of toilet paper in the loos? Did they have stickers to ensure that visitors who paid could have entry to the house? Had the ticket entry booth been repainted, and the entry fee sign changed from one pound to ten?
She’d figured ten-pound entry for a soft launch was good, and it could be adjusted as needed. The idea was to gauge a number of things during this season and amend as necessary. The others had agreed, so she’d put that up on the website last night.
The one-page website, which was all she could manage after a week playing catch-up, often feeling like she was chasing her tail. Yet she couldn’t believe how much had been accomplished. The volunteers were amazing. And to think that so many of them had given up yet more of their time to be here today and tomorrow was astounding. She could almost cry. She loved how this community of Hartbury Hall supporters had come together to make this happen. And yes, there had been long days and late nights, but for the most part, things were ready.
The interiors were all done. The café and kitchen were still waiting for the council inspection and sign-off, so they couldn’t yet be used but were ready to go when approval was granted. The gift shop was clean and ready for the supplies still to arrive, so unfortunately it wouldn’t be open today. She’d been tempted to set up a trestle table with some local products, but as that would require manpower that was needed elsewhere, she’d reluctantly nixed that idea.
The grounds looked amazing, the main gardens all weeded and trimmed to within an inch of their life. It was a shame the plumber hadn’t managed to make it. Who knew plumbers were so busy? He’d promised to come later today to look at the fountain.
Drew had sent through a rather nice selection of photos, mostly landscapes, some of people, and she’d asked him to meet this afternoon. Marge had double-checked with the coffee cart and ice cream van, and they were due to come soon. And she’d promised to come with another round of roast beef sandwiches, which, in addition to the barbecue that Tobias was manning along with some helpers from the church, should provide enough sustenance for visitors and helpers alike.
All in all, nearly everything was ready. Now they just needed the visitors. And for those grey clouds to stay away.
She exhaled and turned to her grandmother. “Are you sure this will go okay?”
“Well, I’m expecting it to go well. The only one who can ever truly be sure about things is God. Shall we pray and commit this to Him again?”
She nodded, grasped Gran’s hand, and closed her eyes as her grandmother prayed. Prayed for the Hall to be a success, that it would bless their village, and that God would bless all of those who had given their time and energy so that they would feel refreshed. “Amen.”
“Amen,” Liv whispered, opening her eyes to see George and Liam had drawn near. Both of them looked visibly moved, George wiping at the corner of her eye, while Liam’s expression held a softness she hadn’t seen before.
George hugged her. “Thank you for all you’ve done.”
“It was a pleasure. Mostly.”
“Apart from when you got spiderwebs in your hair,” Liam said.
“It wasn’t the spiderwebs that bothered me as much as who else was living with them in the gift shop. Not a gift I want to take with me.”
His lips curved. Her stomach fluttered. She was right. He was handsome when he smiled.
She glanced away. Frowned. “Does that look like rain?”
George sighed. “I don’t know if people are going to want the ice cream van today.”
“I’m personally happy with eating ice cream no matter what the weather.”
“You’ve certainly earned your ice cream this week,” Liam said. “Thank you.”
His words, his gaze, looking so directly at her, drew her heartstrings tight. “You’re welcome.” Her words came out more whispery than she’d wanted.
He moved beside her, and she caught a trace of a subtle scent. She didn’t know what it was, but somehow in the past few days he seemed to have become a little warmer towards her. His gaze held hers a little longer, his smiles were wider and more often, and he sought her out to ask this or that, like he enjoyed her company.
And maybe she was just tired—shewastired, bone tired, she knew that—but if she was of her sister Katie’s frame of mind, she might even wonder if he liked her. As more than a friend. Which sounded both arrogant and primary school-like of her, but there’d been a few smirks George had offered her brother which made Liv wonder …
But now wasn’t the time to wonder about things like that. Now was the time to focus on things that weren’t part of her overactive imagination. Like what to do about the rain she could see sheeting down on the opposite hills. “Um, what are our contingencies for rain?”
