Holly and Jack joined him at the window. The wooden frame around the glass panes was damaged, but notwith the same tunneling pattern as the floor in Room Nine; instead, it showed visible rot and deterioration.
“Water damage,” Logan diagnosed, pressing his finger against the soft wood. “This frame is completely compromised. And look.” He pointed down. “The floor near the window has damage too.”
Holly bent down to examine the floorboards closest to the window. Logan was right. The wood was discolored and soft in places, clearly affected by moisture.
“How did George miss this?” Jack asked, his voice rising with frustration. “He was supposed to check everything. Windows, floors, walls. That’s what we paid him for.”
“Let’s check Room Eleven,” Logan said quietly.
Room Eleven told the same story. The windows showed significant damage to their frames, and the floor near them was soft and rotting. Not as bad as Room Nine, but bad enough that the boards would need replacing.
“This doesn’t make sense,” Holly said, staring at the damaged window frame. “George was here for hours. He went through every room with his equipment and his checklist. How could he have missed all of this?” She rubbed her temples.
“We paid him to check this!” Jack said again through gritted teeth. “He knew the tight deadline we were on, and that’s why we asked him to assess these three rooms.”
Before anyone could answer, Christopher’s voice came fromthe doorway. “There you are. I’ve been looking all over for the three of you.”
They turned to see Christopher standing in the hallway, looking concerned.
“Sorry,” Christopher said. “Isabella sent me to ask if the three of you would come to the food tasting at lunch. It’s at noon in the ballroom. We need to test the final dishes for the Ball, and Jane wants to check the lights and music while we’re all there.”
“I don’t know if we can make it, Christopher,” Holly said, exchanging glances with Jack and Logan. “We have a situation up here.”
“What kind of situation?” Christopher frowned, looking from one to the other.
“The kind that might just derail all our plans for the next few days,” Holly told him, glancing around the room.
“It seems that the inspector Jack paid to help us get ahead just put us days behind,” Logan elaborated and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I have no idea how the three of us are going to get this done by tomorrow.”
“It’s impossible,” Jack said, his voice low, shoulders tense, and eyes narrowed. He looked at Christopher. “I’m sorry, Christopher. Tell Isabella we’re sorry but…”
“I understand,” Christopher said, nodding before adding, “Oh, Jack, Charlie asked me to tell you that she needs to speak with you urgently about something that shejust received.”
Holly and Logan exchanged a look with Jack. They all knew what that was. The offer from Simon on behalf of Victor Martin.
Jack’s jaw clenched. “Tell Charlie I’ll be down shortly.”
“Will do,” Christopher said, sensing the tension in the room. He gave the area one more glance before turning and leaving the room.
“The two of you should take a break at noon and go to the tasting,” Jack said, turning to Holly and Logan. “I’ll deal with Charlie and the offer, and then we can regroup and figure out what to do about these rooms.”
“No way,” Holly said firmly. “We’re not leaving you to deal with this alone.”
“Holly’s right,” Logan agreed. “The guests are here tomorrow. This was supposed to be a quick fix.” He gestured around the room. “Finish pulling up the carpet, sand and refinish the floors, and hang some new curtains. How did we miss damage this extensive?”
“Because we trusted the inspector,” Holly said, anger rising in her voice.
“We thought we’d get a miracle done,” Jack said, sighing. “We cut a corner and…”
“I don’t understand it,” Logan hissed, interrupting Jack. “George is the best in his field. There is no way he’d make such a huge mistake.”
“This is why I don’t trust inspectors,” Holly growled, her hands clenching into fists.
“We need to figure out how to get these rooms done in time for tomorrow,” Logan said, pulling out his phone to start making calculations. “Even if we work through the night, replacing floors and window frames in three rooms...”
“We’d need more hands,” Jack said, rubbing his face with both hands. The exhaustion and stress were written clearly across his features. “And more materials. And more money we don’t have.”
They stood there in silence for a moment, the weight of the situation pressing down on all of them.
