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Jay hesitated, knowing better than to get into a heated confrontation with Gerald Snowden. The man was far too powerful around town for Jay to make any headway. It simply was a waste of his time.
“Tell me, Mr. Colby, what is it exactly you would prefer I do with such an enormous building?”
At that, Jay did not hesitate. “Convert it into a hospital.”
The older man barked with laughter. “A hospital? In Placid? Have you any idea how much it would cost to hire enough staff for a hospital of that magnitude?”
“I would image the same as it would to staff a resort.”
That made Gerald Snowden pause, but only momentarily. “However, you are forgetting that you need people to fill those beds. Sick people. I hardly think there is enough regular sick patients in the whole of Placid and county to account for the hiring of a resident doctor. Let alone, a hospital full.”
“Right,” Jay said, trying to control his irritation. “One cannot forget there is no profit in healthy patients.”
Gerald Snowden’s face stiffened as he raised his chin and placed his hands behind his back, but otherwise made no reply.
Garrett finally appeared from the scaffolds below and Jay breathed a sigh of relief and gave Gerald Snowden the slightest tip of his hat in farewell as he pulled the wagon away. He truly hated looking upon the construction site. It made him literally feel ill.
A horrible pounding began at the back of his head. Automatically, he reached up and rubbed it.
“Head giving you trouble again?” Garrett asked.
Jay simply shook his head. It was too damn early in the morning to deal with the Snowdens. Both the old man and his argumentative granddaughter.
Hell, she contradicted everything he said. It hadn’t always been that way, but over the years her tongue had grown sharper. No doubt due to the influence of her grandfather. She might have matured into the prettiest girl in town, but she was also the iciest princess he knew. And a right miserable thorn in his side for years. He didn’t envy his little brother one bit.
* * *
On an embankment high above the south banks of the Granton River where it emptied into Lake Huron, Erika watched somberly from the large glass window in the front foyer of her grandfather’s Italianate style home. The majestic home sat overlooking the breath-taking shoreline on a grand estate of equally spectacular gardens.
The house itself was the largest in the entire town of Placid. Built as a replica of a European villa, Erika could remember as a young girl fantasizing about getting lost in the countless rooms and staircases.
At the time, she was still living with her parents in a fine home of their own in one of the many streets branching off the town’s main square. Until that day thirteen years ago.
A horrible stagecoach accident had brought her beloved parents’ lives to an early demise. It was from the events of that tragic day that she came to live permanently in the home and under the guardianship of her grandfather.
Erika gave herself a small shake and as usual quickly cleared her head of those haunting memories. It pained less when she did not allow her mind to travel back to the past.
Outside the glass-pane window, she saw the coach pull up in front of the house. Giving a glance down the bluff one last time to the harbor below where the Francesca sat docked, she sighed with disappointment once again.
Her wait lasted several hours after Jay had left her alone on the pier. When the boat finally did break through the thick fog and passengers and crew disembarked, she was disappointed to discover Ryan was not one of them.
A fellow shipmate had told her Ryan had elected to stay behind at their last stop in Detroit and would find alternative arrangements home. A tidal wave of disappointment had overcome her, not the least was the realization Jay Colby had been right. Again.
Behind her, the sound of footsteps echoed along the long corridor.
“You look very beautiful tonight, Erika my dear.” Her grandfather’s voice drew her attention away from the window as he entered the grand foyer where she sat gazing out the large window overlooking the entrance. “I see that you have taken my advice and elected
to wear your hair sensibly up.”
She touched the elegant blonde locks wrapped at the back of her head and smiled for her grandfather, pleased to make him proud.
Initially, she had chosen to wear it down and in ringlets as so many young single girls did today, however Gerald Snowden felt the style improper for a lady of her status. Naturally, she conceded to his wisdom in such matters and returned to her room to have Fiona, their do-it-all housekeeper, help restyle her hair.
Her attire for the night, however, she was pleased met with his approval. She had chosen to wear one of her favorite gowns from the collection he had bought her from a Paris catalogue. The dress was in a beautiful crimson color of silk satin with a tiered skirt of red ostrich plumes. Its off the shoulder design exposed plenty of skin in a seductive and enticing manner which admittedly when chosen, Ryan Colby was at the forefront of her mind.
She slid the waist-length cape in a matching shade of dark scarlet over her shoulders, then fastened it at her neck and gave her grandfather a smile. “Thank you, Grandfather.”
“I have arranged for Mrs. Westbrook and Mrs. Delbridge to be your companions for the evening.”
