O, Fortuna

Chapter 11

With the dishes completed and amicable conversation apparently exhausted between them for the moment, Liam left the house bound for the garage and Grace moved to join Rosa and Thomas at the table once again. She did not hide her interest in the sale of Reg Graham's commercial properties, an investment in the local area seemed like a positive step to take if she was to have a future here. She asked Thomas and Rosa to join her for a drive into Monteny the following morning, for a very casual look at what was being offered.

Though Thomas declined on the grounds of having work to do on the property, he also had concerns.

"Don't get me wrong" he insisted "I'm glad you're interested in what's going on in the community but I think you should understand that it is only a small one and there is a lot of curiosity about you already, understandably" he gestured to generally encompass Faridah "but until you're sure about what you're going to do, it would probably be better to stay.."

"Incognito?" Grace offered him and Thomas nodded gravely, even apologetically

"It's a small town. If you're seen with any of us, people are only going to ask more questions."

"More questions?" Grace asked, a little startled. Once again, Thomas nodded but it was Rosa who stated, rather uneasily

"People started asking them as soon as it was known what had happened to June."

Grace rubbed the palm of her left hand with the thumb of her right a moment, before resting her elbows on the edge of the table and her chin on her fists, gingerly enquiring

"Can I ask...how it is you have been responding?"

"We all came to the agreement" Thomas replied, looking over to Rosa, who nodded "to say that the estate was in the hands of the solicitor." Grace hoped she did not look too pleasantly surprised by this disclosure as she felt, though she said

"Good call." Thomas shrugged, as if it had been the only course of action they could have taken, though Grace was beginning to understand that the respect June had had for these people had been a two-way street and discretion was very much a part of its landscape.

A round of tea and biscuits was had between them, along with a little conversation about the property itself, something that Thomas was very passionate and proud to discuss, and it was only then that Grace learned of the greenhouse and orchard, located not far beyond the garage. The ladies of the property had put a considerable effort into assembling an impressive collection of not only tropical plants and flowers but also fruits and vegetables, the edible of which Rosa had no small responsibility for the care of and had been serving up to Grace thus far at meal times. Gardening, it seemed, was a passion of Rosa's and like the caretaker, she was pleased with her efforts over the years and was eager to show it off the following day, an offer Grace keenly accepted.

Thomas said his good-nights after supper and returned to the caretaker's residence not long after, while Rosa rinsed the dishes and enquired what time Grace would like breakfast and if she preferred a hot or cold one. Drying the china tea cups, the guest decided to set matters straight, once and for all.

"Rosa, I don't expect you to do all the things you did for June, not for me. You have enough things in your day to occupy you, around the house and the garden too, it seems, some of them you very much enjoy, so please don't think you need to wait on me hand and foot. I can look at for myself while I am here."

While the housekeeper did not make eye contact, Grace could see that Rosa was not at all pleased to learn she was relinquished from responsibilities she had had for so many years. "You don't have to try and impress me with your attentiveness or cooking or housekeeping schedule. If I had not already seen it for myself in the last several days, June's account of you, the house itself demonstrates all too clearly that you are incredibly competent and proud to call this house not just your workplace, but your home. I have no intention of changing that if you are so determined that you wish to stay here. That you are so attached to the place is..comforting, if I am honest."