April of Enchantment (Sweetly Contemporary Collection) Read Online Free PDF Page A

discussed the problems with plumbing and the outmoded wiring currently in place, with the repairs needed on the roof, and whether the gray or the purple slate tiles, both of which were found, were original to the house. The question of reinforcement for support timbers was brought forward, as well as repairs for three of the eighteen columns around three sides of the house, that were losing the stucco covering from their bricks.
    When they came to the kitchen addition that was being built on the back, connecting with the pantry off the dining room, Laura left them to go on without her. She had looked over the plans for it to be certain in her own mind that the new construction would not clash in any way with the older building, that its component parts, the slate roof, stuccoed brick, wooden window blinds, and white columns would blend. She had little more interest in it at this stage, though she would become involved again once the interior finishing was begun.
    She found Myra still in the front parlor, standing on the hearth with her back to the fireplace opening. The girl’s thinly arched brows snapped together in displeasure at the sight of Laura alone.
    “Where in heaven’s name did everyone go?”
    “They are looking at the kitchen wing just now.” Laura tugged off her gloves and moved to stand beside Justin Roman’s fiancée, holding her hands out to the welcome warmth of the fire.
    “You mean they aren’t through yet? What’s taking so long?”
    “There’s a great deal that has to be discussed for an undertaking this large.”
    Myra sent her a quick glance through narrowed eyes. “You are the interior designer, I think Justin said?”
    “And consultant for historical detail,” Laura agreed.
    “Do you enjoy your job, that is, do you actually like mausoleums like this?” The other girl moved to one ride a little, her manner suddenly confiding.
    “They are fascinating, don’t you agree?”
    “Me? Good Lord, no! If Justin had listened to me, we would have built something with cedar siding, cathedral ceilings, and skylights in one of the more exclusive subdivisions in Baton Rouge. I couldn’t believe it when he told me this was where we were going to live.”
    “You mean he bought it without consulting you?” Though Laura’s tone indicated polite disbelief, she could not be surprised. From what she had seen of Justin Roman, she thought that was exactly what he would have done.
    “Ridiculous, isn’t it?” the other woman said with a pettish shrug as she allowed her green gaze to roam over the plaster medallion in the ceiling and the friezework of the cornice moldings high above them. “I suppose as long as this is what he wants, I’ll have to get used to the idea. It shouldn’t be such a bad old place once I put my stamp on it.”
    Myra’s proprietorial gaze sent dismay along Laura’s spine. If the way the woman was dressed was any indication, her ideas of what went into a house of this kind would be disastrous.
    “I expect I can stand anything,” Myra went on, “as long as I have a game room for entertaining and a pool.”
    “Game room?” Laura asked in a voice as calm as she could make it. “I understood your fiancé was interested in historical accuracy, that is, that he wants to return the house to the way it was when it was built in 1840.”
    “That’s what he thinks he wants. When I get things fixed up the way I plan, he’ll discover that it’s perfect, just the way he would have done it himself if he had thought about it. I’ve seen it happen dozens of times with my father.”
    Privately, Laura thought nothing was more unlikely than that Justin would follow in the footsteps of Myra Devol’s father. She refrained from saying so, however. Choosing her words carefully, she said, “The character of the house may not lend itself to that kind of modernization.”
    “Who cares? That would be your problem as the interior designer, to make it blend. This means so much to me. Miss