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“Is this my contract?”
She plucks it out. “Signed this morning.”
I don’t know how she got Hedge to focus long enough to understand the garden exchange proposal, but he has signed the contract.
“All that’s left is to take it to the Municipalité,” she says wrinkling her nose.
“We could take it later today, but you need to be with me because you witnessed the signature.”
“Not today, I have a busy day in the shop because I’m taking tomorrow off, remember? We’re taking Pierre and Gabriel to show them Ada Montague’s hidden house.”
“You just want an excuse to go to the land registry without me so you can flirt with Myles, again, don’t you.” I tease her and she responds by smacking me lightly on the arm.
“I’m trying to save you time. Don’t you have to apply for that additional business loan?”
“It’s ready, already approved.” I don’t tell her how scary the repayments will be and how fast I’ll now need to work to get the gardens finished.
“What do you mean, already?” She folds the contract back into the envelope.
“I mean my bank manager said yes, and as soon as I email him to say I’m commencing work, I’ll have access to the funds.”
She almost gasps. “How? It’s not even been a week. When I applied for a business loan, they hadn’t even read my application by the end of a week.”
“I already have my original loan with them, once you’ve established a relationship, it gets a lot easier.”
“It helps if you’re a man, no doubt. Having balls must make you a more reliable investment.”
“Balls?” I can’t help teasing as I wedge myself between her knees. “Since when do you have something against balls?”
“Depends on who’s balls they are.” She giggles sliding a hand over me.
There’s the sound of a deliberate throat clearing behind me, and I step back from Elodie. It’s Terrence Malon here to finish painting the interiors. With a shock I realise it’s 9am.
“Don’t you have to open your shop?”
“I’ll take this to the Municipalité as soon as I have time.” She folds the contract back inside the envelope and swings her legs back out over the windowsill and hops down. “See you later.”
Later turns out to be a lot later. With the bank loan approved and Hedge’s signature on the contract I have no excuses to delay. Not with the eye-watering repayments I’ll have to start making in two months. By then, the new gardens will have to be landscaped, the glamping pods delivered and installed, the chalets furnished and made pretty, and the website up and live with pictures and virtual tours. I’ve already promised Elodie to take tomorrow off and go down to the secret house, but that’s the last free day I’ll have for a month, there isn’t a minute to waste.
In fact, later that afternoon, I have to down tools and leave my builders to finish painting without me. My order for prefab glamping pods and other supplies will arriving by ferry next week and I should warn the post office.
Chapter Forty-Three
Hal
Mrs Parker, that everyone callsYoungParker for no reason I can see, welcomes me with her usual inquisition.
“You must be all but finished with the new buildings.” She looks at me over the rim of her reading glasses. “It’s just another day or two to finish painting. And you’re calling them Chalets, I hear. Very modern.”
“Thank you, Mrs Parker, I wanted to warn you, I’ve got a very large order coming next week, and you might have trouble storing it before I can arrange to have it collected.”
“We do have the warehouse.” She points behind her where a door leads into the storeroom. “It’s where we kept all your tiles and bathroom fittings.”
An image runs across my mind of the post office mistress, pulling at the edges of sealed boxes to see what’s inside. “That’s right, but I have a lot more building material arriving, too much even for your storeroom.”
“Would that be for the garden? You’ve hired the tractor with the front-end loader. So, you must be terracing down the hill.”
She is stunningly well informed; I only spoke with the man a couple of hours ago.
