I hope everyone is having a fantastic week. I feel like I have way too much to do and way too little time to do it. But I always get this way when my brain is full, It doesn’t help that I had to shift my book release time line so I feel like I am behind. But for now, we set that aside and jump into the morning prompt. If nothing else it will settle my brain and make me focus instead of tying to run in several directions at once So times set and let’s get going.
Okay I feel better. Less scatterbrained. And I think this is something I can play with later.
Wednesday, October 23rd: It was time to repair the damage.
It was time to repair the damage. He loaded his tools into the truck. He knew that it was more than physical damage he had to repair, but he hoped that if he started with the physical then maybe it would lead to at least an invitation to attempt working on the mental and emotional damage.
He slid behind the driver’s seat and started the engine. He fastened his seatbelt and wondered if he was the only one still carrying the weight of the emotions or if the others had simply put it behind them and moved on.
‘If they had would I have been called to repair the damage?’
James knew it was the wrong question to ask. The family had owned the estate for generations He in fact built it and much of the nearby town and refuse to let anyone else occupy it. They had servants at one point but they were all corralled in a servant’s wing and tolerated only because there were tasks the family had no intention of performing for themselves. When the age of live in servant’s past, others were hired in. They were brought in during the day and someone would always be watching until they drove out through the gates and were back on public roads.
While they had gotten comfortable with hiring cleaning staff and landscaping crews, this was different. The damage was done to a part of the house not often used. Someone would need to assess it and repair it, but they would also want someone to move anything that the family might not want outsiders to see out of the area before outside crews were called in. If it was at all possible they would want things repaired without bringing in outsiders at all.
‘That’s why I was called,’ he reminded himself. He may have left but he was still family and he had the skills they needed at this moment. He tried to temper any expectations he had regarding possible closure of their many open issues. ‘But it could lead to conversations,’ his more optimistic side reminded him.
Throughout the drive his internal optimist and pessimist duked it out, each making valid points. By the time he turned into the drive and rolled through the gate, both sides agreed that he should temper his expectations.
While making it through the gates meant that he was officially on family property, there was still a drive to get to the house. There was a thick band off woods surrounding the house as well ass large swaths of garden spaces. There were the formal gardens in front of the house and the smaller gardens scattered throughout the house for the amusement of guests.
‘When they had guests,’ he thought. When the family entertained it was always big news in town. Ihe hadn’t heard news of such an event since he moved back six months ago and when he made discrete inquiries he was told no one was invited to the house anymore. The family kept to themselves and only brought in those they needed to work.
He drove through the trees, already anticipating the broad and spectacular view of the formal gardens and house. The drive was elevated slightly to provide a spectacular view ass one passed through the edge of the tree line. He blinked in surprise, the view not quite a spectacular as he remembered.
Ten til Midnight 