Telling Tales....

Breaking The News.....

I am sure you can Imagine, Dear Readers, the Excitement with which Renee ran to her Grandfather to tell him all about her visit to the Park! She Rushed into his room exclaiming "Grandpere, Grandpere, you will never guess what Happened!" She had his full attention as always, but she could barely get her words out in her hurry to tell him everything! "Hibou Flew!" she exclaimed.

"He flew right into the fountain and he got all wet" she added

"And THAT Man was there..." she said

"And he Saved Hibou!" she exclaimed.

Guillaume could not help but wish he was at the Park with Renee... 

he was sure he would have rescued Hibou himself if he could....

He wished he could be her hero too!

Jean Paul, Guillaume's Aide, was also listening to all that Renee had to say.

But he was surprised that Gabrielle was obviously meeting someone at the Park while she was with Renee.  He was certain that Madame would not be happy to hear about that! Gabrielle had better watch her step, the thought to himself.

"Come away now, Renee" called Gabrielle. 

"You do not want to tire your Grandpere..." she added, 

although she knew he loved to hear Renee's stories. 

She was ever mindful of the instructions she had been given 

to keep the child occupied and not let her bother Monsieur.

But I know that you are Really Impatient, Dear Readers, 

to hear what Will and Daphne had to say to each other upon discovering that they were both at the Park that same day, when each had thought the other to be on another continent entirely!

"Daphne...?" said Will, incredulously. 

"What are you doing here?"

But Daphne had been watching the scene unfold in front of her for a while....

she had already gotten over the shock of seeing Will with her Child....

" I would ask the same of You, Will... " she said, 

as she marched in through the side gate.

"I can't believe you would come here without telling me 

and spy on my Child!" she said angrily.

"And don't you dare try to tell me you didn't know who she is!"

"No, it isn't like that at all, Daphne..." said Will,

even though it did sound exactly like that....

now that he saw it from her point of view.

"I just wanted to see if she was okay...." he added.

 "And were you going to tell me what you found out...?" demanded Daphne.

"Uh...." said Will, not sure what to say.

"And what if I Didn't want to know what you found out?" she added angrily.

"Don't you see, I don't want you to do this for me!" she cried.

"I don't want you snooping around and making people suspicious!"

"You can't fix this for me Will..." she added sadly.

"She's My child. This is something I need to figure out by myself!"

"I'm not trying to do it for you...." he said, reaching out to her.

"But I really want to help."

"Will....." said Daphne on a sigh.

"I'm not going back" she said resolutely.

"I'm staying here and I'm going to find a way to be a part of her life."

"I can't stay with you any more. It's not fair to you." she said sadly.

"I saw you with that woman..." she added.

"What woman...?" said Will, startled.

"I wasn't with a woman....!" he added defensively.

"Well, I saw the way she looked at you...." said Daphne.

"Like you were everything she ever wanted...."

"I just can't love you that way, Will"

"You deserve someone who can love you like that."

Will cleared his throat. "You sound like this is 'good-bye'..." he said.

"I think it has to be...." said Daphne firmly.

"I need to find my own way and you deserve more than I can give you."

"I'm sorry. Good-bye Will."

And she turned and walked resolutely away.

 

Will stood and watched her go. 

He tried to remember why he had felt so good such a short time ago. 

Or was it ages ago.... it almost felt like a different lifetime now.

 One minute he felt like a hero, the next he felt like such a fool.

But I cannot leave you there, Dear Readers, 

because just at that moment on the other side of Town

Will's gregarious friend Mr. Louis Davenant was sitting down to

morning coffee in his garden. 

And he had a guest with him, his cousin on his Mother's side, 

Yvonne deMontaigne.

While they did not visit terribly often, 

they were close enough that they enjoyed an occasional get together.

Louis was sure that Yvonne would be "interested" to hear 

that there was someone in town making inquiries about adopting a child 

who had been left with it's Grandparents upon the Father's death.

He was very curious to see her reaction to this news!

He did not feel at all disloyal to his friend, 

because no names would pass his lips!

And besides, he thought it only fair that his cousin should be aware....

just in case the matter pertained to her Grandchild. 

He thought the circumstances too similar to ignore!

She tried not to look upset, but he could tell she was startled by the news!

"Is there anything else I can get you..." 

he asked as Yvonne got up to leave.

"Nothing at all, my dear Louis" Yvonne replied.

But clearly, her mind was already racing ahead.... 

she would need some answers!

As for the rest of us, Dear Readers, 

I hate to break the news to you 

that we will have to be patient once again,

with the Telling of this Tale!

(to be continued....)

It Gets Complicated.....

The Conservatory and Other Stories.....

Not much was accomplished this weekend in my Mini World, Dear Readers, so you will have to bear with me while I show you too many pictures of the conservatory as it now stands. I did manage to cut a new base board that will hold Both sections of the building on One base! And I glued all the acrylic panels into the roof frame and the window frames.

The piece of pink builders foam you see standing between the two sections is the beginnings of a brick chimney which will divide the Conservatory into two sections... as well as provide the flue for the heater which I consider to be an essential accessory for this free-standing "Greenhouse"!

As you may guess... I am bracing myself... 

I will be making a LOT more bricks!!!

And to further complicate things.... I am planning a few changes to the basic structure. 

To begin with I am shifting one of the end wall sections.... 

the ones that have the doors... to the side which you can see in the above picture.

The kit is designed to have the structure abut another building on the open side.... and have the doors on the opposite wall. But with placing two kits back to back, this creates a long narrow aisle running down the center of the structure, and no access on the sides. This seems to make for lousy furniture placement options! So if I move one of the Door panel walls to the side, it creates an end wall with a corner as well as access from the side wall. This shift will require a few minor adjustments to the corner joins of the basic kits.

 

The second change I am planning is Much more difficult! The kit is designed to have the roof sections lift off for access to the rooms.... rather than having a side opening panel. I want the roofs to be firmly attached.... for reasons which will become clear when I get to that stage of the construction.... and so I want the side walls to open for access to the interior! This will require making a hinge surface and cuts and supports for the hinges, as well as redesigning the supports for the roof sections! A Trifle Ambitious... you say? Well, yes. But I really want this Conservatory to function in this different way.... so I am going to give it a try!

And you may recall that I was planning to use the extra tiles from the Castle Great Hall Floor as tiles for the Conservatory floor. At first it looked as though I would not need to make too many more tiles.... but then you add another whole section of Conservatory.....

As you can see from the view in through the end wall window...... 

there is a whole lot of flooring to cover!

So I guess I will also be making a great many more tiles!

That is not the only thing that has been getting more complicated, Dear Readers,

I also must tell you the next chapter of Daphne's story. 

I hope that by now you are not so lost in all my different stories that you have forgotten all about Daphne! Well, this chapter is not about Daphne, but about Guillaume and Yvonne deMontaigne, the grandparents of her child. You may recall that they had finally hired a Nanny to look after the child and the household was finally on the verge of settling into a comfortable routine. Barely a few weeks had gone by when one afternoon Guillaume suddenly mentioned that he didn't feel at all well....

He and Yvonne had just returned from a luncheon with old friends..... he thought that perhaps he had eaten "something" that didn't agree with him. Yvonne was concerned and helped him sit in the nearest chair, saying "perhaps a short rest is what you need... too much walking right after eating...?" She was a little concerned... she didn't like to mention it... but he was so much older than she... and she didn't want to think of Time ticking past...!

 But he didn't seem to improve ..... 

he just became quiet and stared into the distance.....

"Are you alright, Dear..." she asked.... 

and when he couldn't answer she became terribly alarmed and called for emergency help!

He was rushed to the Hospital. It became clear after a while that he had suffered a stroke which left him partially paralyzed and unable to talk at all. Yvonne was terrified she would lose him too.... and was grateful when he was no longer in danger. But it was more weeks before he was home again...

And Yvonne had to hire a Live in Nurse to attend to him.

They found a young man who was strong enough to lift him and help him as he slowly regained some of his abilities. The Doctors feared he would not speak again.... even if he learned to walk with help.

Yvonne spent much of her time at his side.... but she gradually realized she had to accept that she had not quite lost her Husband... but in some ways she had.... he had always told her everything.... and now he could not tell her anything at all! And as time passed.... the pressures of the outside world began to intrude.... their Estates and Businesses could not run forever without someone at the helm.... and that had always been Guillaume's work. And now they were beginning to come to her with questions....

And she had to make a decision on her own.... 

could she pick up the reins that Guillaume had let fall...?

Could she manage to learn enough to keep the Estates and Businesses running until Guillaume could resume control? They had been training Andre to fill that position... Andre who would never.....

No, she must not weep any more! Guillaume needed her to be strong now.... he had always confided in her and she had always listened... perhaps she knew more than she thought she did..... perhaps she could talk to Guillaume ... tell him what her ideas were... and somehow.... she might know ....

She might know what he would have done.... 

what he wanted her to do....

Someone had to take charge.... or they would all be lost!

She could only try.... it would be an enormous challenge....

But she had to try!

Yes, Dear Readers.....

Whether its the Conservatory or the Story....

It gets Complicated!