Page 22 of Sensing Selma
“There must be something else that we can do with this house. Maybe a hotel is too ambitious. For the time being, anyway.”
“Yeah. Right. So, what do you propose.”
“I don’t know.” Brad hesitated as he feigned thinking over the problem. “You mentioned this little shop to sell items with images of the Selma Sanctuary on it.”
“Yeah. So?”
“Tourists do love that sort of thing, but what they also like is visiting old houses like this...I mean, without necessarily sleeping there.”
“Oh!”Jeremy called out with a clap of his hands. “I’ve got it! I have a genius idea, and it will hardly cost a penny.”
“What’s that?”
“I read somewhere that large and ancestral estates such as this one are sometimes considered historical sites. I could go to town to see if we can make that official. Imagine, Selma Sanctuary open to the public as a charming example of life in noble England.It is a stately estate with an aristocratic history in Bath.”
Noble? That was pushing it a bit far, but then again, Jeremy seemed to be the type to do just that.
“Hmm,” Brad let out, contemplating his brother’s suggestion. “It would certainly reduce the amount of work needed. We could charge a fee at the door...let’s say ten pounds?”
“Ten? More like twenty. Perhaps even forty. At forty pounds a head, and a hundred people coming in a day...we’ll make a killing. We’ll have more than enough money to turn this place into a hotel in no time.”
He certainly had an optimistic view of this ‘genius’ idea of his.
“We’re going to have some studying to do, however, if we want to be successful.”
“Study? Study what?”
“The history of this place. I know nothing about it. Do you?”
“No, but...”
“People are going to want to come here and immerse themselves in the history. Who lived here? Why did they live here? Was this just a summer home? A home away from home? What nobility, if any, lived here? Any relations to the monarchy? To royalty at all?”
“All right. All right. I get it. We don’t know squat about the place. Fine. Who does? Where can we find out more about the history? The Bath library?”
“I don’t know. I could ask Susan if she knows where to find this information.”
“Well, there’s your answer right there, you idiot,” Jeremy called out. “Those girls. They grew up here. And that old lady. She’s in a wheelchair, but she seems to have her wits about her. Hey! Another brilliant idea. I’m on a roll today. Those girls don’t want to leave here. What if we talk them into staying and working for us. They can act as guides to the hordes of tourists that are going to come here. The older one is attractive enough and seems intelligent, while the younger one might be a little flighty, but she’s very pretty. Men are going to follow her all around this place.”
Great, I thought with a roll of my eyes.
“I don’t know,” Brad said, playing his brother just right. “You’ve been pretty nasty to those girls. I don’t think they appreciate you much, and I doubt they’d be willing to work for you...and what? Would you give them a salary or simply allow them to stay in exchange for their work?”
Jeremy was silent for an extended moment. Did the thought of giving us a salary perturb him so much?
And finally, “Okay. Offer them a salary. But something minimal. Hold on. Maybe not mention it at all to begin with. See where it goes. I don’t want to pay them if I don’t have to. And I certainly don’t want to spend a fortune paying those girls to live in their own house.”
Our own house. Funny that he would say it that way. Since first meeting him, he had taken every opportunity to remind us that this was now his property.
Their heavy footsteps approached the entrance to the drawing room, and I quickly backed away and slipped into the broom closet nearby and watched them through the crack.
“Go find that Susan girl and make her the offer,” Jeremy said coming out into the hall. “And don’t forget...don’t offer a salary right away. Who knows? Maybe they’ll be happy just getting to stay here a while longer. It would be a win/win situation.”
“I’ll go and find her right away,” Brad said.
Jeremy marched off. “Remember, little brother, we have to keep costs down and profits high,” he called over his shoulder.
The moment he disappeared down the hall, I slipped out of the closet and went to Brad.
