“Oh, damn and blast,” he groaned. “More expense!”
Intrigued, Margaret popped her head around the door.
“Problem?” she asked, trying to pretend she actually cared.
Charles threw the letter he had been reading onto the desk and walked across to the window to stare out. He turned and faced her.
“It’s the house. In London,” he added at her raised eyebrow. “The tenants have left and the agents say there are a number of things that need doing to it before it can be let again, including a new roof … and the kitchen and all the bathrooms need modernising if we want to optimise the rent. As it’s Canleigh House and not just any old building, they are very keen to have my input. That’s all very well but I really don’t have the time to keep nipping back and forward to London, choosing this and that.”
“Can’t the agents do it?” she asked idly, praying they couldn’t as an idea began to form in her mind and her tummy turned over with excitement.
“No,” replied Charles. “They haven’t the staff to oversee such big renovations.”
Margaret held her breath for a moment and then spoke slowly, wanting to get the words right. “How would you feel if I was to oversee the work? I can keep my rooms at the Savoy … or even move into the house to make sure the workmen don’t mess about and waste money.”
Charles looked astonished but as he stood and mulled it over, realised it was the most sensible and obvious thing to agree to, although he had a nagging sense of unease that it probably wouldn’t be wise.
“I thought you were off to Cannes next week,” he said almost hopefully.
“Well, I was but I could forgo that little jaunt. I’ve had enough sun in Dubai,” she waved her bare bronze arms in front of him to confirm her statement. “And it would be nice to stay a bit longer in the city and catch up with some people.”
“Let me think it over for a day or two,” he replied, wanting to consider it from all angles before he agreed to anything but it did seem like a reasonable solution to the problem. He had grown used to Margaret hardly ever being at home and he was pleased that as far as he knew she had done as he asked and kept any sexual exploits entirely secret. It didn’t take long for him to make up his mind and at dinner that evening he gave her permission to oversee the work.
“Thank you, darling,” she said gratefully. “It will be lovely to have something I can get my teeth into. You won’t be disappointed, I promise you. I shall turn Canleigh House into a little palace.”
“Um,” he replied, helping himself from the dish of vegetables Hardy was holding for him. “Just don’t go too mad. We won’t be using the place again for ourselves, I prefer the Savoy or the Ritz and so does mother on the odd occasions we go down, and I really don’t want the expense of another set of staff. The house just needs to be suitable for tenants.”
“Yes, darling, but if you want the best tenants paying the best rents, you need to make the place somewhere they will want to spend their money.”
It was a valid point so he nodded his head in agreement. “Fine … but please remember, as wealthy as we are, there is a limit and the Hall and this estate do have top priority.”
Amelia was contacted the next day. “I am so sorry, darling,” Margaret did her best to sound regretful, “but I will have to cancel Cannes. Charles has asked me to oversee the Canleigh House project in order for it to be ready for the new tenants and I feel I should help him out as he has been so good to me.”
Amelia had quite understood and after making arrangements to meet up when they returned from Cannes, Margaret was left to unpack her south of France attire and re-pack for a long stay in London. She left the next day, kissing the children and Charles swiftly and almost jumping into the Rolls for Hardy to drive her to Leeds Railway Station to catch the London train.
Collecting the keys to Canleigh House from the letting agents the next day she let herself into the imposing building and spent hours making notes of exactly what needed doing and then set about finding people to do her bidding. Most of the house was still quite presentable apart from decorating but the kitchen and bathrooms were quite outdated and unsuitable for modern tenants. She found an excellent firm who could carry out the work, at what seemed an exorbitant price but worth it for the finished result. An interior designer was also contacted to get cracking with the decorating and furnishings. The bills flooded in but she casually posted them off to Charles for settlement. No matter what he said he could afford it and she was really not sure when she had last enjoyed herself so much. She would dearly have liked to move in permanently. It would be wonderful to have complete privacy and although Amelia’s Bloomsbury flat was great for assignations, it wasn’t hers. The longer the work took in Canleigh House the more she became positive it would be much more suited for her than for tenants and became pretty determined that somehow, she would get Charles to agree. She didn’t have to have a huge staff, just a cook and a cleaner would do, who wouldn’t need to live in or be around in the evenings, providing her with hours when there would be no disturbance or intrusion and she could do as she pleased. The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea and the more the renovations took
