Gabriella nodded. “I believe we were right to do so too.” She took a step forward and peered at Viola. “There are shadows beneath your eyes. Are you sure you are getting enough sleep?”
“As much as I can afford,” Viola assured her.
“I think you need a reprieve,” Amelia said. “You are obviously exhausted, and with Florian away I can only imagine how trying it must be for you to run a hospitalandcomplete the renovations on the rejuvenation center all by yourself.”
“There is much to be done,” Viola confessed before she could think better of it.
“And we are here to help,” Gabriella said.
Amelia smiled. “Which is why we propose an outing.”
Viola shook her head. “I have to finish tallying the numbers in the ledger.” It was vital she knew the financial state she was in before she heard from Robert again.
“Bring it with you. We’ll drop it off at my house and ask Thomas’s secretary to handle it,” Amelia suggested.
“And then we’ll go and check on the rejuvenation center together,” Gabriella added. “I’m extremely curious to know how it is coming along.”
Viola considered their offer. She had been neglecting the rejuvenation center lately. She’d actually meant to go and visit the building later today to check up on the progress the workers were making. Feeling the weight of the world slide away just a little, she welcomed the relief she felt in response to the prospect of receiving some assistance.
“Thank you. Both of you.”
Gabriella smiled. “And when we are finished, we shall have an ice at Gunther’s. My treat.”
Viola prepared to leave, only to catch sight of the flowers. She paused in the middle of putting on gloves. “What about those?” she asked just as Emily returned to the room followed by three orderlies carrying bottles and buckets of water.
“I think they’re in good hands,” Amelia said. She turned to Emily. She was carrying two baskets full of additional glass bottles. “We intend to take Viola out for a couple of hours. Do you think you can manage without her until she returns?”
“Absolutely,” Emily declared with a cheerful smile. “The orderlies here will help me distribute the vases once I’ve prepared them.”
Amelia caught Viola’s eye. “See?”
“Just grab the ledger,” Gabriella said, “and let us be off. The sooner we leave, the sooner you’ll be back.”
Giving the room one last look, Viola was forced to acknowledge that Emily had everything well in hand. So she did as Gabriella suggested and followed both her and Amelia out of the room.
“This is incredible,” Gabriella said as she took a turn of the rejuvenation center’s foyer half an hour later. “Just look at that ceiling!”
Viola looked up and immediately caught her breath. When she’d instructed the artist her foreman had hired on how to paint the ceiling, she’d simply said she wanted the overall atmosphere to be exotic. Never in a million years would she have envisioned the intricate swirls of gold leaf combined with bright shades of purples and reds. It matched the selection of accent tiles running between the plainer beige marble slabs on the floor.
“Is it coming together as you envisioned?” Viola asked Gabriella. Even though this project was hers, the idea for it had been Gabriella’s. She’d suggested it more than a year ago when Florian had mentioned a need to ensure stable funds for the hospital.
“Oh, it exceeds every expectation I could have had,” Gabriella said. She left Viola’s side to take a turn of the gorgeous space while Amelia studied a pair of intricately chiseled columns supporting an archway at the back of the foyer.
“Ah, Mrs. Cartwright,” Mr. Tibbs, the foreman declared by way of greeting as he entered through an arched doorway on the right. “I thought I heard voices.” He greeted Amelia and Gabriella politely before asking, “So what do you think?”
“It is perfect,” Viola told him sincerely. “Exactly what I was hoping for. Better, even.”
Mr. Tibbs grinned, his broad shoulders and large frame vibrating heartily as he did so. “I’m so pleased to hear it. Especially since I’ve asked the painter to create borders to match in the other rooms. Come on, I’ll show you.” He led the way through a series of rooms, each slightly different from the last but similar enough to create a unified theme.
Elaborate borders ran along walls, edged the ceilings and framed the doorways. Most were still works in progress with apprentices marking the patterns in pencil so the artist himself could come in and paint.
“How long do you think it will take for all of this to be finished?” Viola asked, noting that there was still a lot left to be done, including the laying of tiles in one of the indoor pools and the installation of a large stained-glass window that had yet to be delivered.
“Another week, I expect.” They returned to the foyer, where a couple of workers were now in the process of installing a large, elaborately carved door at the opposite end. “Most of it is cosmetic from this point on since all of the structural issues have been taken care of.”
“So it will be ready for the grand opening on the twenty-fifth?”
“I see no reason for it not to be,” Mr. Tibbs said. “In fact—”
