In the living room with Alanna once more, Caprice sat on a settee, Alanna on a chair beside it.
Mirabelle stood at Caprice's feet and looked up at her lap.
But Alanna shook her finger at the cat. “Oh, no. You go over there and sit on your bed.”
Caprice took one look at the ornate, shiny brass cat bed low to the floor, not placed in any direct sunlight, and wondered why any cat would like to sleep on it. Cats she knew preferred high places, windows, sunshine in as many forms as they could get it. But Mirabelle must have been used to listening to her owner because she went to the bed, folded her paws under her, and didn't look particularly happy.
Caprice told herself if she wanted Alanna as a client, even only as a favor to Ace, she really should bite her tongue and be pleasant.
So she tried to be. “I think it's easy to see what the theme for your staging should beâAntebellum Ecstasy. We'll play up all the best parts of Southern hospitality and emphasize the charm of living in a Southern mansion. You really should be able to keep most of your furnishings here, but one of the first rules of staging is to declutter.”
“Declutter? I don't understand.”
“Even though I plan staging themes, I have to make sure a prospective home buyer can imagine moving in their possessions too. Besides that, too many pieces of furniture take away from the beauty of each one. Many of my clients rent a storage shed or begin selling the furniture they don't intend to take with them when they move.”
“I'm not exactly sure what I'd be moving into Ace's,” Alanna said with a pensive look. “We haven't discussed that.”
“You should make a list,” Caprice advised her. “There are also advantages to incorporating a few more inviting colors rather than the deep browns and dark greens in most of these rooms.”
“I'm not changing my color schemes.”
Ah hah. The resistance she'd expected with this woman. “I'm not suggesting you change them. I'm suggesting you incorporate lighter colors with them.”
She motioned to the draperies in the living room, the heavy tie-backs with the fringe. “For instance, just think about removing those draperies, hanging sheers, letting in more daylight. That will make the room more inviting.”
“I am not taking down my draperies. They go with the house. They're part of its character.”
Caprice swallowed a retort and reminded herself Alanna could be the love of Ace's life. “Mrs. Goodwin, would you like to sell the house quickly?”
Alanna looked trapped. “Yes, I want to sell the house quickly. That's the whole point of hiring you. I'm ready to make a home for me and Ace.”
Caprice nodded, seeing that in her statement Alanna seemed sincere. “Why don't I make a list of suggestions of pieces of furniture you can remove. Instead of removing the draperies entirely, maybe we could take away the tiebacks and the dark semi-sheers and use something more see-through. I'll compromise with you, Mrs. Goodwin. But you have to remember, whatever I suggest will aid in selling the house. For example, I would never remove your Oriental carpet. But I might add a shawl over the back of one of the dark chairs to complement the lighter blue in the rug. I might take away the dark velvet throw pillows and use a pale green that might match the sheers. Do you see the changes I'm talking about?”
Today Alanna was dressed in a pale gray cashmere sweater and deeper gray slacks. The pearls and earrings she wore were classically beautiful. This woman should be able to understand easily what Caprice wanted to do.
Alanna cast a glance around the first floor of her home. “It will be hard to leave this,” she said. “But I'm ready.”
Knowing Ace wasn't alone in this new romantic adventure and his daughter Trista would be along for the ride, Caprice couldn't help but ask, “Have you and Trista spent time together?”
At that question, Alanna's face took on a look almost the same as when she talked about her cat. Shuttered. “I'm not concerned about Trista. We've met, but she doesn't live with Ace. She's simply a now and then weekend daughter. That's a shame, of course, but that's just how it's going to be.”
That seemed to be a line drawn in the sand for Alanna. However, as she finished with her conclusion, a shadow passed over her face. Alanna was about five years older than Caprice, maybe in her late thirties. It was hard to tell. From her background research, Caprice had learned Alanna had begun her professional life as a journalist in Mississippi. She'd met Barton Goodwin when she'd interviewed him for a story and they'd married a few months later. Apparently Barton had invented a new kind of scaffolding for construction sites, and his company had established enterprises worldwide. He'd moved them to Kismet to be closer to Washington, Baltimore, and New York. With his sudden heart attack, he'd left everything to Alanna, including his company.
From her research Caprice had surmised Alanna didn't seem to have much to do with the day to day running of the company, but she did sit on the board of directors. Maybe she wished she and Barton had had children. Often when women reached their late thirties, they thought about that more. However, Caprice was just guessing. She didn't know Alanna and doubted she'd get to know her. The widow seemed to be the type of woman who usually kept her guard upâa mint julep with more bite than sweetness.
Caprice took her electronic tablet from her purse. “If you don't mind, I'm going to go upstairs again and make that list for you of the pieces you can remove. That is, if you're interested in hiring me.”
“Ace would be disappointed if I didn't.”
“I can e-mail you a proposal tonight.”
After considering Caprice's services once more, Alanna nodded and gave Caprice a fake smile. “Make your list. I promise I'll consider each item seriously.”
Caprice doubted that she would. But if they could compromise, they could make this house staging a real success.
When Caprice returned to the living room twenty minutes later, she found Alanna seated at a roll-top desk in the side parlor adjacent to the larger room. Mirabelle was no longer in sight and she wondered if Alanna had “tucked” her away.
This room possibly served as Alanna's office. She didn't mean to sneak up on Alanna, but the woman seemed focused on something at her desk. As Caprice looked over Alanna's shoulder, she spied a photo of a little girl who looked to be about six.
The charm bracelet Caprice wore almost every day now must have jingled as she shifted her tablet in her hand because Alanna started, then quickly slipped the photo back into the desk drawer. Caprice wondered who the child was.
That was none of her business.
She asked Alanna, “Do you have an e-mail address where I can send the proposal and my list of notes?”
Alanna rattled off her address. As she did, the white porcelain and gold decorative phone on her desk jangled. Alanna said, “Could you excuse me a minute? I'm expecting a call.”
“I can see myself out.”
Alanna shook her head. “There is something else I'd like to ask you.”
As Caprice wondered what that could be, she moved away from the parlor into the living room to give Alanna privacy.
Still, she could hear bits of the conversation, although Alanna kept her voice low.
“It worked. That's what matters,” Alanna said. After she listened a few moments, she murmured, “It's not sabotage when it's for his own good. Keep me up to date.”
Without even a goodbye, she set the handset on the receiver. Glancing at Caprice, Alanna manufactured a smile and joined her in the living room.
Wanting to get back home to her animals, thinking about taking Lady to the dog park before she put together Alanna's proposal, Caprice said, “You wanted to ask me something?”
Alanna studied her. “Are you and Ace good friends?”
Caprice picked up her purse from the settee where she'd left it and made eye contact with Alanna. “I don't know if we're
good
friends. We've talked to each other about some things that matter. I like his daughter a lot. Last summer, I found a stray dog who was pregnant. When she had her litter, Ace said Trista could have one of her pups. Trista and I've talked a lot about the dogs and training them, and Ace has been around for that too.”
“I care about him deeply,” Alanna said firmly, as if that was in doubt.
Caprice wasn't exactly sure what to say to that. If Ace was in love and had found a soul mate, she was all for it. But had Ace dated Alanna long enough to really know her?
“I wish you two all the best,” Caprice responded sincerely.
But after Caprice left, after she climbed into her Camaro and headed for home, she wasn't sure what that “best” would be.