41
By Monday evening Damian’s men had removed one bathroom and fitted a new one. By Tuesday evening they’d removed and refitted the second bathroom. On Wednesday morning, Damian came round to check their work.
‘Nice suites,’ he said in the bathroom. ‘They look good.’ He peered into a box of limestone tiles on the floor. ‘These for the walls?’
‘Yes. And the floors.’
‘Lovely,’ he said. ‘Smart.’
‘You know about the market, don’t you, Damian? You know about the sort of people who would want to buy a big house like this. Do you think I’ve got it right? Are these the right sort of bathrooms?’
‘Spot on,’ said Damian. ‘Yeah. Just right. You can’t go wrong with limestone these days.’
‘And what about decorating? I was thinking grey walls, white woodwork, occasional flashes of blue?’
‘Occasional flashes of blue, eh?’ Toby and Damian turned round at the sound of a female voice. It was Ruby. She was wearing a slash-necked T-shirt and a tiny slither of faded denim that Toby assumed was a skirt. Her legs were pale and very thin, with a large bruise above her right knee.
‘Hello yourself. What’s going on?’
‘This is Damian. He’s running this project.’
‘Project?’
‘Well, not project, but he’s in charge of the works. The, you know, the bathrooms and kitchen.’
‘Hello, Damian!’ She threw Damian one of her smiles and flipped her pelvis out at an angle. She was so obvious, so shameless. Toby felt a flutter of embarrassment for her. ‘I have to say,’ she peered into the bathroom, ‘I’m amazed you think we deserve such luxury, Tobes. Limestone tiles, power shower. We’re not worthy.’
‘Yes, well, if you’re going to do something, why not do it properly?’
‘God, I’m not complaining. I think they’re beautiful. I’m just a bit surprised you’ve thrown so much money at them, that’s all.’
‘They weren’t that much.’
‘Ha!’ She snorted, incredulously. ‘Right.’ She turned to Damian. ‘He inherited a load of money from his sitting tenant and he’s turned into the last of the great big spenders. Have you seen our living-room furniture?’
‘The sofas?’
‘Yes, the sofas. Six grand’s worth. Ridiculous.’
‘Well, they’re very nice.’
‘I know, but in the big scheme of things, it just seems so wrong. I mean – it’s wasted on us, really.’
‘Well,’ said Damian, ‘it’s what the market wants.’
‘Yes, but who cares what the market wants. We’re not the market. We’re just a bunch of scallies.’
Toby had stopped breathing. Damian looked confused. ‘But the people who live here after you, they’ll want to see a well-presented house, they’ll want to see high-quality bathrooms.’
Ruby laughed. ‘The people who live here after us? Nobody’s going to live here after us! Toby would never sell this place.’
Damian glanced from Toby to Ruby and back again. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘right.’
‘Toby’s not allowed to sell this house,’ she continued. ‘What would happen to all his waifs and strays? What would happen to me?’ She rubbed herself up against Toby and squeezed his arm. She glanced at Damian and saw the confusion on his face. ‘Did you think Toby was doing all this work so that he could sell the house?’
‘Well,’ he said ‘yeah. That was kind of the impression I’d got, but, obviously …’
‘Toby – are you selling this place?’
‘No,’ he said, ‘no way.’
‘Are you sure?’ she said. ‘Because I couldn’t stand it if you did. I’d be devastated.’
‘No,’ he said, ‘I realize that. That’s why I’m not selling it.’
‘Good,’ she stroked his cheek and smiled at him. ‘Good.’ Then she turned to smile at Damian. ‘I’ve lived here since I was sixteen, you know. It’s the only real home I’ve ever known.’
Damian nodded, uncertainly. Ruby went back to her room.
‘Oh, dear,’ said Damian.
‘Indeed,’ said Toby.