“Brilliant.”
Humming Taylor Swift’s “London Boy” to myself, I head over to Mr. G’s dominion and knock on the open door.
Mr. G removes his glasses and sets them upside downon his desk. He gestures for me to enter. “Minerva, please, come in, and close the door behind you.”
“Okay.”
“Apologies for taking so long to speak to you. Patrick has kept me busy this morning.” He rubs his temples. “The new exhibit on water conservation is going to be installed next month and there are a lot of logistics involved.”
“It sounds like quite an undertaking.”
“You’re telling me. This exhibit is one of the most ambitious we’ve hosted yet. Just for the entryway, we are going to have a wall-sized water feature installed, but in order to do that, we need to have new plumbing and waterproof flooring fitted out. The paperwork on those two work orders is almost as long as some of the requisition forms I used to be in charge of in the Grenadiers.”
“If I can do anything to help, please let me know.”
“You, young lady, have enough work on your plate. I heard you are to be the designer for the bride-to-be’s dress?”
“If our meeting goes well tomorrow, yes.”
He lets out a deep sigh. “Seeing you depart from us is going to be bittersweet. I’m losing a brilliant employee, but at least knowing you’ll be living out your dreams makes it bearable.”
It’s so strange to see Mr. G showing any hint of emotion. He’s always taken goodbyes with a professional attitude, like we’re just a business transaction.
“I’m not going anywhere yet, sir. My plan was to stay on with the museum as long as I can. One of the things I wanted to ask is if it would be possible to drop down to two days a week once work on the gown begins. I like it here and I feel like I’ll need a distraction to keep me sane.”
“Done.” Mr. G appraises me. “If you findyourself getting overwhelmed in any way, though, please come to me. I’ll give you as much time off as you need.”
“Thank you, sir. You’re too generous.”
Mr. G schools his face in a mock-serious expression. “Just don’t let it slip. I have a reputation to maintain.”
All this time, Mr. G was a cinnamon-roll kind of hero. Who knew? I wonder what type of father he is to his daughters. I bet he spoils them. He’s all bark and no bite.
“Was there anything else you wanted to ask me?”
My cheeks warm and I become interested in the fabric of the carpet. “Yes, sir. I was wondering if you could teach me how to properly polish shoes and other pieces of equipment that are part of the household division’s uniforms.”
“Come again?”
“I’d like to learn the basics behind how a soldier preps their kit. My, er... that is, the man I’m dating mentioned something about being rubbish at it, and I wanted to be able to help him if he needs it. He’s entered a competition called the Princess Alice Cup.”
“That’s very noble of you.” Mr. G strokes his chin. “By reputation, only the best soldiers enter the Princess Alice Cup. I doubt he’s complete rubbish at it, as you say. He’s cavalry?”
“Yes, sir.”
“It’s the regiment with the most pieces of kit.” He nods. “I can’t help you on anything related to what would be involved in upkeeping a horse’s tack, but I can offer you a crash course on caring for footwear, tunics, and belts.”
Mr. G stands and walks over to a storage cabinet on his left. He spends a few moments rummaging around inside and places two pairs of shoes, a lighter, a tin of beeswax, and several brushes and oil cloths on his desk.
“All shoes begin their lives like these.” I’m handed aplain black leather shoe. It’s dull and supple, like the calfskin leather of one of my purses. “The goal is to make it appear like this.”
I exchange the new shoe for one that looks like it’s made from shiny patent leather. “Are you telling me thatthisshoe used to look like that?”
“Indeed, I am.”
“How long does it take?”
“Without any shortcuts and any experience, about one and a half to two hours per boot.” I place the glossy shoe back on the desk. “Cavalry lads wear thigh-high jackboots, and those can take a considerably longer amount of time.”
