Chapter 10
With my palette balancing on my knees, I squish a bit of Payne’s Grey out, mixing the paint and coating my brush thoroughly. Since Luc walked me back to my room, I’ve not been able to sleep at all. I would blame it on jet lag, but I also know my lips haven’t stopped buzzing since our kiss. In fact, my body is completely wired after our kiss, and my brain won’t shut up. So, I did the one thing that always comforts me: I started to paint. I have just finished outlining the background of my new painting when my phone rings.
I place the paintbrush in my mouth and lean over to grab my phone from the bench. “Hello,” my answer is muffled as I take the brush from my lips, wiping the excess on my well-loved painting jeans.
“Aurora, we are here. The gates seem closed?” the thick accent crackles down the line.
“Oh pear and fig sticks!” I gasp and jump up, almost knocking the easel over.
“Hello? Is everything all right?” he asks, worry apparent in his voice. I completely forgot about the time. Henry, the plumber, is already at the chateau waiting for me. I was supposed to meet him there at ten. I pull the phone away from my ear and see it’s ten fifteen. Shit, shit, shit, shit. I seriously got carried away.
“Yes, I am just running late, please don’t leave. I will be there in five minutes.” I nearly shout down the line as I hang up, dump all my paints on my bed, and quickly change out of my stained clothes. I all but sprint straight to my chateau; my lungs puff out cold breaths as my legs pump as hard as possible. If I could, I would probably be breathing a sigh of relief when I see a van idling at the closed gates, Plombiers Henry et fils decaled on the side. I slow my pace before coming to a stop next to the van. With my hands resting on my knees, I take in deep lungsful of brittle, harsh air.
I use a nearby rock to act as a weight and pull the gate open one door at a time before walking down the long driveway, getting to the chateau before Henry pulls his van up and parks it out the front.
“Bonjour, I’m Aurora.”
The man I assume to be Henry De-fils greets me as he gets out of the van. I place my hand on the stone railing and step onto the notoriously slippery step, but my foot slides out from under me, and I land with my knees on the gravel pathway.
“Are you all right?” Henry asks, rushing to my side and lightly touching my elbow, helping to lift me onto my feet. I flick the bits of stray gravel from my knees, hoping my cheeks aren’t the ripe tomato shade they currently feel. Henry’s face looks aghast.
“Just peachy. Be careful, those steps are slippery.” I give a mock laugh, but I’m still trying to catch my breath. “Nothing like an early morning run. Followed by some time on your knees.” Henry stares at me, blinking, and I realize what I just said. Heat creeps up my neck.
Henry clears his throat. “That was quite an entrance you made.” His silver-streaked eyebrows pull up.
“My father always said you only make one entrance—so it better be memorable.” I try not to think what my father would say if he heard the last part.
The thick, bushy, salt-and-pepper mustache adorning his lip twitches slightly. “And it was. I don’t think I will be forgetting you anytime soon, Mademoiselle Aurora.” He laughs and makes his way back to the van. His blue coveralls are flecked with white plaster and grease stains, the color slightly worn near the elbows from many years of use. Henry reaches back in the car and grabs his jacket, zipping it up around himself.
“What can I do for you today?” he asks.
“I need to install a heating system.” I toe the gravel in the ground. From the way he is looking between me and the chateau, it’s almost like he is mortified over its condition.
He eyes the facia of the chateau. “Do you know how many rooms are in this chateau?”
I chew my bottom lip. “Umm, forty-ish.” I smile, nervous that he might not take on the job.
“Is there running water already in the place?” Henry asks.
I scratch my temple. “There are pipes under the house, I’m not sure if they are for sewage or water.” I shrug, feeling my cheeks redden from embarrassment. I should know the answer to this.
Henry stares at me, blinking. “So do you just need heating installed?”
“Heating, running water, toilets, electricity, and internet,” I list off my top priorities on my fingers.
“Do you have a binder from the inspector of buildings?” His fingers draw a square in the air.
“Building inspector?” Do I need to get a building inspector? My pulse quickens, my vision becomes fuzzy, and my pulse thumps at the base of my throat. I didn’t remember seeing a building report. I don’t even know how to get a building inspector to survey this place, let alone just get one to write me a report. I dig my nails into the palm of my hand, trying to calm myself down. And Jean-Luc still hasn’t shown his face; I’m itching to call Timothé to see if that means he forfeits the chateau already.
“Yes, you get a report with all the codes and violations that the chateau needs to meet to be classified as livable.”
My next deep breath loosens the weight that is pressing on my chest as I clear the fog in my brain, but not even the pain from my nails is helping to bring clarity to my thoughts to remember where I may have seen a building report among the things from Madeline.
“I will have it for you tomorrow.” I nod, still in the grips of an anxiety attack. I remember Madeline handing me a thick binder; I hope it’s the building report, or else, when Henry comes back tomorrow it will be interesting.
“A chateau of this size. It will require a special heating system made specifically for this property,” Henry says slowly, conveying how big of a job it is. “There is no heating system I can just install. It needs to be fitted to each room. We need to drill holes, install vents.”
I turn and gaze up at the chateau, and a tingling feeling zips through my fingertips itching to get started on fixing this place up. Call it stupid or excited…I face Henry and ask, “How soon can you start?”
Henry holds up a finger, opens the van door, and leans half his body in. Through the front windscreen, I can see Henry with his phone to his ear, his lips moving rapidly. Even if I could lip-read, I certainly couldn’t lip-read French. I unzip the pockets on the side of my jacket and place my hands inside to keep warm, waiting to hear what Henry is going to say. I shift from foot to foot, pumping blood to my frozen legs and giving my nervous energy an outlet. I glance around at the unkept garden. Another job I have to add to the list.
Henry emerges from his car. “I have called my son; he is an electrician. He says he can help. I will come with him tomorrow, and we will start to get a heating system for you. Since we do not know what the house looks like inside, tomorrow we will come early in the morning to draw up a new system.”
“How much will it cost?” I ask, even though I have a bit of money, I still need to consider my finances carefully or my bills will easily get ahead of me.
“I cannot give you the full cost until we know what system we need to install. Tomorrow I can give you a better quote.”
“Thank you,” I reply. Henry turns, ready to get into his van. “See you tomorrow, Henry,” I call, watching the taillight disappear. Job one, tick.
I walk into the sitting room to the left of the hallway. Discarded bird feathers, dried leaves, and dirt cake the floor, leaving muddy footprints in my wake. Yuck. A giant, red marble fireplace catches my eye against the back wall, to the left of the room is a matching deep red wallpaper, which is slightly peeling. From the state of the fireplace, it’s most likely blocked. And that means, if I light it, it could cause the whole house to combust, and then my six-month deadline will really be blown out of the water. With my newly purchased internet data on my phone, I start googling how to turn water mains on.
A message pings, and a smile tugs at the corner of my lips.
Luc
seems my secret is safe. The carcen gazette posted about monsieur P’s tulip rot
Rory
oh I should cancel my meeting with the editor then
Luc
I think I will need to increase my memory wiping
I close the message and continue my google search. It tells me the water mains would be located underneath the chateau. My feet crunch on the gravel underneath as I round the side of the chateau, but something in the distance causes me to stop abruptly and stare out. There, surrounding the back half of the house, is a giant frozen moat. My mouth unhinges. I have a moat? And by the looks of things, one that is the size of half a football field. Ooohhh, that’s going to be fun to explore this summer. I wonder if it has hidden treasure?
A small pile of chopped logs line the side of the chateau, already cut and ready to go, albeit wet from being outside. Hmm, that’s strange. It’s almost as if someone was preparing for the winter but didn’t see it through. I scribble at the bottom of the list.
Logs?
I wonder if Louis put them there. Or maybe Jean-Luc? Why the heck is he piling logs.… My gaze hardens. Unless he’s already living here…