Seeing the three names on the list Ashley Luna, Connie Hull, and Newmay LS Furen—he hesitated. But the next moment, he had a solution: let an employee, who knew these three people better, choose for him.
Furen was inwardly very proud of himself:
"Hey, I'm a real little genius. The chosen disease is potentially curable today."
In reality, Furen had always struggled to make choices, especially when he had never seen the candidates. Choosing at random would immediately plunge him into indecision.
The employee looked at the three names Furen had indicated, thought for a moment, then said, "What do you think of this: I'm going to ask these three women to come to your villa, one per day, to clean. If one of them suits you, you can hire her as a housekeeper. What do you think?"
Furen thought for a moment, then refused: "I don't have that much time to evaluate a cleaning lady. Waiting three days before deciding would be a waste of time. The job I'm asking for is very simple; I don't need to spend time on the selection process. I prefer to hear your opinion."
The employee sighed inwardly, then said, "Frankly, sir, the three women you've chosen are all equally competent. None is better than the other two. If you really don't have time, you can come back to the company tomorrow: we'll introduce you to the three women, you can choose one, and we'll sign the contract."
Furen had nothing to say and replied politely, "Very well, thank you. What time should I come tomorrow?"
But he realized he would probably see this employee again the next day, even if he didn't know her name. So he quickly asked her, "May I know your name? Will you also be the one to greet me tomorrow?"
The employee let out a soft sigh of relief and smiled: "My name is Virginia Bush. Frankly, sir, you don't really look like someone from Trier. Since I started this job, I've never seen a client like you… This is a first. It's a shame, I'm working the same hours tomorrow as today, while you'll have to meet the servants in the morning or afternoon. The evening isn't ideal for anyone."
At these words, Furen noticed that all the receptionists were wearing discreet makeup, a detail he had never paid attention to before. Hearing Virginie's remarks, he understood that the Trèves' reputation for audacity wasn't limited to a "Roselle-like" passion in private; in their daily lives, the residents seemed just as enthusiastic.
Furen did not respond immediately and said, "Let me think about it for a moment, I'm a little pressed for time these days."
He raises his head slightly to observe the decorations hanging on the walls of the entrance hall.
Without making a sound, he thought: "My sleep rhythm is still not regulated, I might not wake up tomorrow morning..."
But work shouldn't start so early, should it? It's a bit stressful. I'd better schedule it for noon or early afternoon. At least I'll be awake. And I won't go to the library; I'll read some books on mysticism at home first.
Having finally settled his schedule, he lowered his head and said, "In that case, miss, set the time for noon or early afternoon. I have business to attend to later. Will these servants be available?"
Virginie replied, "Don't worry. The time you're suggesting is perfect for all three ladies. But if possible, please set it for 1 p.m."
In the morning, they will clean for different gentlemen, then Ashley and Newmay will have to go to another client's house around 2 p.m.
Intrigued by the cleaning ladies' schedules, Furen asked, "In that case, their schedules are almost full, aren't they? Four hours in the morning, four hours in the afternoon... and around 6 p.m., they're still on duty. Don't they have time to rest?"
Virginie looked at him with obvious surprise; few people asked that kind of question. But she suppressed her curiosity and answered honestly:
"No, sir. In the morning, they work from 9 a.m. to noon, then from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the afternoon. And from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., they also work. They don't spend all their time with a single client."
Frun remained silent for a moment. Apparently, even in an era when productivity wasn't yet highly developed, manual labor was still very time-consuming. But he added nothing and replied, "Very well, thank you for your explanation. I'll be here tomorrow at 1 p.m. sharp for this… uh… recruitment session?"
Virginie found this somewhat amusing, but she refrained from laughing: "So you, too, are an avid reader of Monsieur Roselle. If you meet Monsieur Seedy, you will certainly have much to catch up on. Thank you for your visit, sir. Safe travels home."
She stood up, bowed, and watched the departing customer.
Furen didn't linger and quickly went home. Since it wasn't too late, he wanted to make a rough plan of the rooms and objects in his house.
As he crossed the threshold, he began counting the floors. The villa had three levels, topped by a terrace. A few easy-care plants grew there. The last time he had gone up there, he hadn't seen any dead plants, but until now, he had never really paid attention to their condition.
Instead of visiting the rooftop terrace in detail, he started by counting the number of rooms on the first floor, then the second, then the third.
Although he was only counting, he still opened a few doors to check how the parts worked. After all, relying solely on a list without knowing what each part was for was like skimming the surface without understanding anything.
Finally, Frun sat down in a third-floor room, lit by a candle, and mentally summarized his observations:
The ground floor had two bathrooms, while the second and third floors each had one; the ground floor included a living room, a sitting room and several rooms that could be used as meeting rooms, including one with a billiard table; the first floor housed a large study and six guest bedrooms; and the second floor offered four bedrooms for the owners, an office with a balcony, a small study and a common room for the residents of the villa.
Furen thought for a moment. This villa also had a hidden basement. The staircase was concealed beneath the carpet in the ground-floor billiard room. The Beyonder materials he had been given the previous day were stored in the basement. Test tubes, alcohol lamps, and other precision instruments were also found there. As for the other Beyonder materials, there were none.
(End of chapter)