Nine

Second Grace POV chapter

After insisting everyone put on protective gear, the workspace Genevieve took them to was very much like a large shed. They could really only go in two at a time because of the long, wide work table occupying a lot of the space. Grace looked around it curiously. It looked like she did most things with the old fashioned hand tools, almost nothing was electric. No wonder it took her forever to get things done.

One window was laid out in pieces on the large work table’s rubber mat. A King with a lute, a Queen with a dagger, peacock feathers, wolves and triangular celtic knots along what would be the curved outer layer. It was pretty, if a little kitschy with the wolves. Outside the second looked like it was waiting to be polished and washed.

Wolves seemed to be a popular theme for her, this one had two stylized wolves crossing paths, one black, one white, beneath a tree. In the branches were a prominent crown and two drawn bows that were almost hidden. The edge looked like she must have spent ages on the complicated knot pattern all the way around. Curved along the bottom was the name Latro.

“I thought you were giving them a tour of the new glass shop.” Eli came out of a side door of the woodshop.”

“They wanted to see what I was working on.” Genevieve gave him a smile and one shoulder shrug.

“They weren’t as excited about the shop as you thought they’d be?” It sounded like he was needling her and Grace spoke up.

“The shop was nice, it has everything it should and then some, but it didn’t have any projects in it. That’s the exciting part. For me at least.” She gave him a reproachful look and he looked a little rueful.

“Why are you keeping her out here when you have that shop? That seems cold. Look at what she’s doing with what she has.” Rhys was clearly still unhappy about that.

“I like this group.” Genevieve murmured quietly. “Concerned about others and fairness, respectful, kind.” She smiled looking at each of them for a moment. “The new glass shop is for professionals, as it should be. When you go into the woodshop you’ll get to see up close the kind of quality they expect. Have a look at Remiel’s marquetry work.” The pride on her face made her eyes look like they were shining.

“Remiel?” Grace thought the name sounded familiar.

“Her husband introduced himself as Remi?” Rhys looked at her oddly.

“Oh! Right.” She winced having already forgotten.

“Call him Remi, only his wife calls him Remiel.”

“Remiel sounds like something his mom would use when he’s in trouble. He didn’t look like he was in the doghouse.” Jacob sounded like he was teasing, and Eli raised his eyebrows and tilted his head.

“He prefers Remi, from everyone but his wife.” Eli glanced at Genevieve, “And while she does good work, she isn’t trained on the equipment in the new shop. If this weren’t a business she could train herself, but…”

“Get her trained!” Ashton snapped. “She can do the job, send her to school!”

“I know she can do the job, and I know she could do great things with that equipment if she got some training.” Eli spread his hands looking earnest. “She also gets so involved in it she forgets to eat and take breaks. It’s not ideal for her health.”

“I’m not that fragile, but I appreciate the concern. And as long as I can still do it as a hobby…” Genevieve gave a half smile. “I might see about going back to work for Brandon part time.”

“You might ‘see about’ doing some relaxing and resting, try to work on your health.” He looked at her pointedly.

“I might. People keep getting insistent about it.” She sighed and looked back at the group, “I don’t like being idle.”

“Bas can give you lessons.” Eli gestured to the group, “Go get out of your gear and come back, it’s time for the woodshop part of the tour.”

Grace ducked her head, the look on Genevieve’s face could take paint off of a wall. They headed away at a trot as she raised her voice, “If you think my brother is idle, Eli, you’re either blind or a goddamned idiot. Bas does a lot! And if you think you can…” Her voice faded out as they went back into the glass shop.

“So, don’t make any cracks about her brother.” Jacob pulled a face and the other two guys laughed.

“My sister’s like that.” Rhys grinned. “Tegan will chew you up and spit you out if you say a single bad thing about me. She’s also the one person who’s hardest on me.”

“She seemed so sweet…” Grace started, stopping as Jacob pulled another face.

“It’s the sweet ones that can get the nastiest.” Jacob laughed as Ashton shoved him.

Coming out of their gear, the shouting was over by the time they got back to the old glass shop. Eli was standing alone outside the side door.

“Where is Mrs. umm,” Grace tried to think what the woman’s last name was, no one else was calling her Genevieve. 

“Coiro.” Eli looked at her with a rueful smile. “Remi came out with Bas on the phone. She stopped yelling and went to work on her windows.” 

She glanced at the shed realizing the doors were closed. “I was looking forward to her showing us around some more.”

“She’s asked to take you all out to Unwind, the steakhouse that everyone here in town tries to go out to semi-regularly. It’s Karaoke night, you’ll be in for a good time.” He was rubbing his hands together and looking down at them as he spoke.

“You’re not coming?” Grace reached out and laid a hand on top of his, forgetting for a moment that her classmates were standing right there.

“I don’t think I’m invited.” Eli looked at her with a repentant smile. “It’s not just her I have to apologize to.” Seeming to remember the others he pulled his hands away gently and gestured to the door, “We have a tour to start.”

Stepping in through the side door, there was a lot of activity inside the woodshop. Wood being cut, pieces being assembled, Remi was working on an intricate piece with some kind of wood mosaic. They were shown the pieces that needed glass inlays like a dining table and set of chairs, and one request for a table made entirely of stained glass that would have lights inside. Glass was apparently coming back into fashion. 

After the second tour, they went to the break room where there was a large food spread laid out. Her cheddar bread was sliced and had butter laid out next to it. There were a variety of hors d'oeuvres, most involving meats and cheeses, and a few with vegetables or fruits. She filled a small plate and looked around at the people gathered, eating and chatting with the group.

“Um, where are Eli and-”

“The Coiros?” Mrs. Germain was at her elbow. “He needed to do some apologizing. Sometimes I think he’s trying to provoke her.”

Grace hesitated not knowing if she was supposed to let on that he’d been speaking to her. “He told me she was very sweet and always willing to help.” 

“Did he say anything about Bas?” The woman almost sounded like she was teasing.

“That he isn’t a bad guy but they don’t get along. And that he and Genevieve are freakishly close, like mind reading, poke one and the other bleeds close.”

Mrs. Germain covered her mouth and looked like she was trying not to choke on the bite of food she’d taken. Swallowing, she looked across the room and waved someone over, “Bas would find that hilarious. You should meet him.”

A dark-haired man made his way over, he was taller than Genevieve but shorter than most of the men in the room, and slimmer. The two of them were unmistakably brother and sister. “Always a pleasure, Mrs. Germain.”

“Bas, this is Grace-”

“Eli’s friend, terrible with names.” He smiled mischievously. “Sibbi likes you.”

“Sibbi?” 

“She has a few names. I call her Sibbi, most people here call her Vivi, a few call her Genevieve or Mrs. Coiro to be more formal.”

“I called you over to hear, Eli was talking about the two of you to Grace, mostly good things, and he said that the two of you are freakishly close,” at those words Bas’ eyebrow went up, “mind reading, poke one and the other bleeds close.”

Bas grinned like a cheshire cat and Grace shivered, feeling a chill run up her spine. “That makes me like him better. Which is good, I think Sibbi is going to try to make him spend a few days with me.”

“What is it you do?” Grace asked curiously. “She does glass…”

“I take care of the house and the garden, and my sister. I make sure she has everything she needs to stay healthy and happy.”

“Doesn’t her husband do some of that?”

“Remi does, and he appreciates all I do. She doesn’t mean to be high maintenance, but she is.” The amusement in his warm brown eyes was contagious and she smiled back at him.

“She seems so enthusiastic, high maintenance wouldn’t have occured to me.”

“You have to get to know her. She actually makes things worse when she tries not to be a bother.” Mrs. Germain shook her head with a smile. “If she wants him to spend a day with you, it might not be a bad idea.”

“I’ll be glad to put him to work. A day off would be nice.”