Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 128061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 640(@200wpm)___ 512(@250wpm)___ 427(@300wpm)
He laughed and moved around to her side. Given she was at the edge of the island, he was still facing Mimi. “Exactly. I wouldn’t mind a pool.”
“In the interest of time, I propose that we focus on remodeling and repurposing the areas of the house you will need for your coming visitors,” Mimi said, picking a corner off her brownie and popping it into her mouth. When she’d finished, she continued. “The sitting rooms at the front of the house should be done, of course. The kitchen should be fashioned into more of a commercial kitchen, though maybe that should come later. It’ll need walls knocked down for more space. We can cater for now. All the guest rooms. Any rooms you inhabit. Am I leaving anything out?”
Jess just stared at her. Mimi nodded, apparently taking that as a no.
“The grounds…” She let the words linger.
Jess grimaced. “Yeah…I don’t really have control over that.”
Mimi quirked her eyebrow. “You don’t have control over your garden?”
“No. I mean, I do, yes. It’s just that the gardener is a bit—”
“Senile, yes.” Mimi picked off another bit of her brownie. “I met him. I’d thought they killed vampires that old.”
“Well, that’s just the thing. If I express displeasure in his work, he asks to be retired. Killed forever. And the basajaunak eat the magical flowers, so that’s why there are so many.”
“I’d be happy to retire him for you, if that’s what it’ll take?” Mimi’s eyebrows lifted, her demeanor as serious as the grave.
“You wouldn’t know it to look at him,” Austin said, “but he’s actually incredibly useful. Whenever Jess seems out of reach for anyone else, he always finds a way to get to her. He’s great at confusing enemies, too. Even if Jess would let you, and she wouldn’t, killing him isn’t the answer.”
“Fine.” Mimi pushed away her brownie. Her stubbornness was creeping in. “I can manage him. Finally, there is the subject of art.”
Jess finished her brownie and took a sip of wine, waiting. She’d clearly figured out that Mimi wasn’t one for idle chitchat. That realization didn’t seem to trouble her in any way.
“Art is a soft passion of mine,” Mimi began.
“A soft passion, huh?” Jess grinned but then put up a hand. “Sorry.”
“I’ve taken pictures—no flash—of all of the pieces in Ivy House. I’ll be looking them up. A few, however, I already know by sight. Many people in the art community would, in fact. They know everything but what happened to them. There are no photographs of them, only written records, because they were painted before photography. What might appear on them is speculation. I feel privileged to have gotten to see them with my own eyes. A privilege many would love to have.”
“Oh?” Jess leaned her elbow on the countertop.
“I was told the house has a way of communicating with you?” Mimi paused for an answer.
“She does, though at present—in my life, I mean—I don’t have time to rehash lengthy stories. My downtime is sparse.”
“Understood. The issue is, if you ever planned to allow museums to rent or borrow them, there is the question of how they were acquired. We’d need the history to make sure ownership was not in question. If they were stolen, for example, we might have issues. There is also the subject of use tax, imposed by certain states. I’d hate for you to pay for doing the world a favor. We could have museums cover that fee or find a way to write it off. More importantly, however, you’ll want to secure those pieces, and any other pieces of note, should word get out that you have them.”
“They are secured,” Jess said. “Plenty secured. Move them to the ballroom, cover them up, and they’ll be fine. Ivy House is better than any security a museum could hope to offer.”
“Yes. The house showed me an example of that earlier today when I raised the issue. Fine. I do think one of the larger third-story rooms can be fashioned into an art hall, if you’re willing. Your own museum. That would give the residence some real prestige. Your mage’s eyes gleamed when I mentioned it.”
“Yeah, that sounds like an amazing idea. And we can procure some suits of armor and those sorts of things. That’d be cool.”
Mimi’s eyebrows arched. “I’m sure…that could be arranged. Fine, I’ll add that to the list for future improvements. We don’t have the time to catalog and set everything up now. I’d want a room in the middle of the house so that it—she?—has plenty of time to protect the assets.”
“I’m getting excited!” Jess beamed. “These are the finishing touches that are going to make the house sing. And you’re right about the paintings. If they have special significance, we shouldn’t keep them to ourselves. Ooh, we should start a charity! Maybe turn the ballroom into more of a banquet room for charity fundraisers and things like that? We’d definitely need an industrial kitchen for that.”