Smart girl, Grace. Don’t trust them.
“Aww now, you don’t need to do that, Miz Thibodaux. Guidry knows we do good work,” A frown illustrated Raspy’s protest.
“Then I’ll know it, too, when I see what you’re doing. Better get to it.” Grace gave a curt nod.
“Yes’m.” He opened the cab of his truck and took out a legal pad and a pencil.
While the men prepared, Grace reassured the dogs. Then all of them trooped into the house.
The dogs settled in their favorite corner with their chew toys.
“Where’s your attic access?” Nasal asked. “I’ll need to attach the holders for the outside phone wire to your roof. Then I’ll run the inside wires from your attic to where you want your phone.”
“I want the phone here in the kitchen, near the front door.”
He looked where she pointed. “There’s plenty of empty wall space there. That’s a good spot. Now the attic?”
“I’ll show you,” she said before turning to the shorter man. “What do you need to do your job?”
“Nothing. Just need to look at the whole house. I might as well start in the attic and work my way down.”
“Fine. Follow me.”
Luc went along. Grace’s tight shoulders confirmed the irritation that came off her in waves.
Eventually, she’d leave the men alone, but he would stay. Problem was how to report any suspicious behavior to Grace?
She led them up to the attic, which had been cleaned and organized, although it was still crowded with generations of cast-off furniture, boxes, and trunks.
“The roof access is through that dormer,” she told Nasal. He lumbered off.
“You made any improvements up here, Miz Thibodaux?” Raspy asked.
“No. I’ve concentrated on the main part of the house and the landscaping. Will you need to talk to my land manager about the crops we’ve planted?”
“Probably.”
“I’ll have him come in this afternoon to speak with you.”
“That’ll be fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll start working.” He threw her another nod. “I have some things to take care of, but I’ll come back,” Grace said and turned away.
Luc settled in to observe. The man was thorough in his examination of the house. Too thorough. He went through any drawers found in the stored furniture. He even tried to open some of the trunks. Raspy might have succeeded, had Luc not held down the tops.
While he kept a close eye on the man, he followed Grace with his spectral senses.
She’d hurried down to her bedroom. There, she’d gathered all her valuables and locked them into an ancient chest at the foot of the bed. Unlike the trunk Luc sat on, the chest had a key. Going downstairs and outside, she sent one of the gardeners to find her land manager and ask him to come to the house for lunch. Then she spent an hour or so at her desk. As noon approached, she made lemonade and several sandwiches.She doesn’t want these men in her home. Why is she feeding them?
Then Luc recalled a conversation with Grace’s Aunt Sarah. “My mama drilled into me that no one, guest or laborer, ever went hungry or thirsty in her home. I understand the benefit of food and drinkgiven to workers and servants, so I’ll teach my niece the same when she’s old enough.”
Grace set the kitchen table with enough places for the two men and her land manager. Evidently, she’d feed these people invading her home, but she’d no wish to socialize with them. When everything was ready, she climbed the stairs.
She found Nasal on the third storey in one of the smaller bedrooms, drilling a hole in the floor.
Luc had left the man to keep an eye on the assessor. Nonetheless, he listened to the conversation between Grace and Nasal.
“Is that hole for the phone wire?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
