Chapter 19: Tradesman—an Interlude

Contractor

John Sturdivant took his work seriously. He had first been a carpenter but found he was interested in other aspects of the home building industry. He learned plumbing. He learned electrical installation. He’d even worked for a while on a concrete crew pouring foundations. He knew how a house was and should be put together. His contracting license had been secured years ago.

“What do you think, boss?” They were cleaning up at the end of the workday and the boys often talked about the day’s work.

“Good job.”

“I meant about his royal highness stopping by for a surprise inspection. I saw him look in every opening like he was checking for flaws in our work.”

“Now, don’t get upset about a surprise visit. Customers always want to check on the progress of their home. Mr. Cyning was no exception. If he was looking into every hole and crevice, I figure it was because he wanted to learn something, not because he wanted to find fault. He’s a good chap. Downright friendly.”

“Don’t get too comfortable with him.” John turned to look at his electrician—an excellent tradesman himself. “From what I hear, royals can be all chummy in one instant and cut your balls off in the next. Who’d have thought a bunch of laborers could get the best of a merchant like Ferguson? Did you read that agreement in yesterday’s newspaper? He gave in to every demand those workers made. I tell you, that Cyning boy twisted the screws on a fellow who talks all the time about going to Buxton House.”

“That’s as may be. Ferguson sure sounded happy in the interview he did. He seemed to think he’d won some fantastic victory. We aren’t on the inside of this. All you’re doing is making something up out of your imagination. Don’t be making things up and then go looking for facts to support your opinion. Look at the facts and make your opinion up from that. I don’t have much experience with royals, but I do have experience with customers. He was no different than any other customer who hired us to build or remodel. We do our jobs the way we always do and he pays his bills.”

It bothered John that his crew was suspicious of the Cynings. A day ago, he might have had the same opinion, but having met young Liam today, it was all different. It wasn’t just that he’d been invited to a party at Buxton House. His wife was all atwitter about that. But the young man had asked intelligent questions. He even took the advice of his assistant regarding his books.

This was a good-paying contract. Work to be done according to the architect’s plans. When he asked Miss Sauvage about whether the door between the studies was a mistake, he was told to follow the architect’s drawings. And sure it was obvious now that they would need to meet without running through the hall to get to one another. And the way the doors were fixed so that both had to be open in order to cross between the apartments made them about the same as any hotel suite or business office.

The big thing was that the project would be finished ahead of schedule. There was an early completion bonus in the contract but he couldn’t rush things. There would be an inspection before payment and this would be done by a real building inspector, not by a royal who didn’t know what to look for.