“I’ve seen better.” Bene sighed, checking his hair in the mirror.
“Well, updating these bathrooms is on the list, and that’s where you come in,” I said. “I assume Gordon briefed you on our arrangement?”
Roux nodded. “An hour of work a day from each of us.”
I echoed the movement. “Exactly. But I have a proposal.”
Bene’s eyebrows jumped up.
Not that kind,I let my grimace say. “Instead of an hour each day, I suggest you all give me six hours in a single day. Starting at the end of this week, all right?”
No one looked too enthusiastic, but no one protested either.
Gordon had been generous in his terms — not just in paying double the rent I’d proposed, but also providing me with my own, in-house workforce. Then again, my godfather had always been kind to me, and he knew about the sad state of the château.
“Well, I’ll let you settle in while I check on lunch. Madame Picard should be here any minute. She’ll ring at mealtimes.”
I indicated the tarnished bell by an aperture near the ceiling. The system had been state-of-the-art in the 1930s and was about the only thing in the house that didn’t need repairing.
“Any questions before I go?” I asked once we returned to the staircase.
Roux and Henrik shrugged. Marius scowled silently out a window. Bene waggled his eyebrows.
“Where doyoulive?”
Everyone looked over expectantly — even Marius.
I crossed my arms and socked them with my toughest, bitchiest expression.
“At the opposite end of the building. And guess what?”
“Off-limits?” Bene ventured.
Bet your ass, it is,I let my firm nod tell them. Then I pointed down the hallway.
“Lunch at one, in the dining room.”
With that, I marched away. The only sound was the pad of my soggy socks over the oak flooring — and the creak from behind as the men leaned into the doorway to watch me.
Just three months,I reminded myself, sensing their eyes on my back. Gordon had offered a slick $15,000 per month for me to house and feed these men. I only had to share my leaky roof with these strangers for three months — and afterward, I would have enough money to replace (most of) it. Plus, the château was bigger than many apartment buildings.
You’ll barely notice them,Gordon had assured me.
And, silly girl, I’d actually believed him.
* * *
Madame Picard arrived shortly after — thank goodness — with all the fixings for a three-course lunch. In no time, she’d filled the kitchen with mouthwatering aromas.
“You’re soaked,” she scolded me. “Now, shoo.”
I headed to my room in the upper east wing for a quick shower, then dried off. The windows of my bedroom overlooked the back lawn and forest, so I rarely bothered covering up before getting dressed. But my new houseguests had such presence that I remained acutely aware of them, even at this distance.
Safely wrapped in a towel, I peeked out a window.
We’ll get our training area set up before lunch,Roux had said.
And, wow. He wasn’t kidding. They’d already created a weight-lifting area with old paint cans raided from the garage, along with two rows of tires to run through. Roux was doing his best to direct the others, but it seemed more like an every-man-for-himself operation.
