Grounds keeper wanted for small manor located one mile outside the picturesque town of Morning Side. Lot size is 160 acres. Duties include, watering and mowing the lawn, maintaining the flower gardens and orchard, and clearing the snow in the winter. Remuneration includes use of a small cottage on the property.
Please contact G.B. Lynn and Associates, Attorneys at Law for more details
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“Excuse me?” Mr Lynn peered at the woman sitting across from him over the top of his reading glasses.
“What kind of tractor does the property have?” the woman repeated. Then she paused for a moment and tried again, “What kind of garden tractor does the property have? There is no way anyone is mowing a quarter section of land with a push mower.”
Mr Lynn pulled off his glasses and dropped them on his antique oak desk, “You are the first candidate to ask that question. No one else raised the issue.”
Gabriella shrugged and leaned forward, “If I may be blunt, Mr Lynn, that just means that I am the first person actually considering the job not just the cottage.” She paused and considered the grizzled old lawyer with the bad comb over, bushy eyebrows and the unfortunately long and pointed nose. There was something off about him. His arms and legs were unpleasantly thin, but he had a pot belly that made him look about six months pregnant. “How much of the property is lawn to be mowed and how much of it is orchard? Are the flower beds annuals or perennials? What is the plan for the fruit from the orchard? Would I be expected to harvest it, or does the owner get extra help in for that?”
Mr Lynn raised a hand to forestall additional questions. “The owner will not be getting additional help in. There hasn’t been any maintenance done in many years. I am only hiring someone now because the town has filed a complaint.”
Brie leaned back and considered that.
Neither of them said anything for long enough for Mr Lynn to start feeling slightly uncomfortable under the assessing gaze the young woman was giving him. No one with freckles should be intimidating and Mr Lynn was not an easy person to intimidate. He cleared his throat and tried to regain control of the conversation. “If I may continue, Ms. Moreno -”
Brie put her hand up. The lawyer sputtered to a stop.
“How are either of us to judge what is a fair wage or job description if you aren’t aware of the scope of the job?”
Mr Lynn was quite offended at that one, “I did do some market research, Ms. Moreno.”
Brie shook her head. “That only works if you found comparable jobs in the market to research. If the property is unkempt, that is not the same job as one that is in good shape and merely needs to be maintained.” She considered this for another moment, then shook her head. She stood up and offered Mr Lynn her hand.
He stared at it like it was a snake.
Brie slowly lowered her hand as she said, “Thank you for meeting with me, Mr. Lynn. I am going to withdraw my application at this time. I wish you good luck in finding someone suitable. When you have actually defined the position, feel free to call me, but until that time, good day.”
Then she stooped and collected her bag and her coat and marched firmly out of the room, her kitten heels clicking on the marble floors.
Mr Lynn watched her go in slack jawed amazement. Then he shuffled his papers and picked up his phone to call his receptionist to send in the next applicant. A voice from the shadows of the other door whispered,
“That one.”
Mr Lynn shivered. He stood up and walked to the door that opened into the hallway and locked it before turning to the other door. “Are you certain, lord?”
“Do not question me. That one. Arrange it.”
It had been a month since her interview with the creepy lawyer and Brie hadn’t really given the job that much more thought. Occasionally, when she was having a really bad shift at the hardware store she was working at she would shake her head and remind herself that at least she wasn’t trying to restore 160 acres of over run, over grown mess.
Which is why, when she saw G.B. Lynn & Associates come up on her call display, she frowned at it and ducked the call.
The second time they called she was rushing out the door and barely glanced at the phone. Her brain autocorrected the name to Goblynn & Ass and suddenly she realized where she knew the name. Well, now that she thought about it, he certainly had looked like a goblin. 5’7 was a perfectly reasonable height, but the little lawyer had been a couple of inches shorter than she.
She called them back from the shelter where she waited for the bus. “Hello? This is Brie Moreno. I am returning your call.”
There was a brief hold before a rather breathless Mr Lynn picked up the phone. “Ms. Moreno! I interviewed you for a grounds keeper position a few weeks back. I would like you to come in to discuss it further.”
“Uh huh. Has the job description firmed up a bit?”
The was the sound of some rustling papers, followed by, “It’s a John Deere 1025R. You can change the … bits by driving over them. There is one acre of lawn to mow, and 400 feet of driveway, two cars wide to keep clear of snow. The flower beds will need to be redesigned from scratch, but you will have up to $15000 out of petty cash to do that. “
Now Brie froze. “The property had not been maintained for long enough that the locals were complaining, and suddenly your… client buys a $20000 garden tractor and offers to spend and $15000 in landscaping?”
There was a cough, followed by, “Yes?”
Brie shook her head. “This is where it turns out he is a serial killer and the grounds are full of shallow, unmarked graves, right?”
Mr Lynn laughed, “No, Ms Moreno, I assure you that all graves on the property are at least the requisite six feet.”
Brie didn’t laugh.
Mr Lynn trailed off. He tried again. “Can I at least invite you to come view the property and see if it is a project you would consider? You were right. You were the only applicant that was interested in the work and not just the accommodation.”
Now Brie snorted, “In this housing market? Are you really surprised, Mr Lynn?”
He sighed, “In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been.”
Mr Lynn frowned when he saw someone else in the car with Ms Moreno. The one who lived here wasn’t going to like that. None the less, he was interested in what she had to say. He stepped forward to shake their hands.
“Mr Lynn, “ Brie nodded, “this is my brother Ignacio. He wanted to check the place out with me. I hope you don’t mind.”
Iggy grinned, “Well, I couldn’t let my baby sister drive out to the middle of nowhere to meet strange men, now could I?”
“Hmmm. If you won’t be able to allow her to reside here and do her job, then there is no point in us continuing.”
Brie elbowed him. “It’s fine. It was a much more interesting drive with someone along to keep me company.”
“Indeed.” Mr Lynn cleared his throat. “Right, first things first. The owner of this house does not come out during the day. He has an unfortunate… facial deformity and doesn’t not appreciate being stared at. To that end, whether you get the job or not, the first rule is no peeking in the windows. In fact it would be better if you didn’t spend too much time looking at the house at all.”
The Morenos nodded carefully.
Mr Lynn continued, “The expectation must be that you will never see, let alone meet your employer. Any related business will be handled through me. Is that quiet understood?”
Iggy rolled his eyes. Brie nodded solemnly.
“Good.” He watched them for another moment. “Right. This way.” He opened the gate blocking the driveway and ushered them inside. “Starting right here, there is a 400 foot drive way you will need to keep clear of snow in the winter. It is flag stone, so there may occasionally be some weeding.” He gestured toward the house. “The front acre or so is the lawn that needs to be mowed.” He frowned at the long grass, “Fairly soon, it look like.”
He showed the behind the house were the vegetable gardens had gone to weeds, then to the over grown orchards that had years of dropped fruit on the ground. Beyond that was the untouched old growth forest that covered most of the property. “It all surrounded by an wrought iron fence.”
Brie gestured to the ancient chestnut tree the drive circled before heading back toward the main road, “How old is the tree?”
Mr Lynn’s eyes narrowed, “Does it matter?”
Brie shrugged. “Not really. I’ve just never seen one that big.” She changed the subject. “Does snow clearing go all the way up to the front door? I mean it must, for grocery delivery and whatever. It looks like the railing on the porch needs to be replaced.
The goblin like lawyer turned to consider this for the first time. “I will make arrangements to get that done.” He paused for a moment then continued. You will have to coordinate clearing the snow with me. The owner enjoys his privacy. Which is also why you may not roam the grounds after dark. The cottage is this way.” He gestured off to the south, leading them in that direction. “It has it’s own drive and gate and is on the more direct road for getting to the local town.”
The cottage was tiny but perfect. It was build over and around the garage. “You do not get indoor parking. That is reserved for the garden tractor. But there is a little back deck where you set up some cafe chairs or something. Keep a bicycle. It is a short ride into town. You could always arrange indoor parking there if you need it. There is one car worth of parking space between the gardener’s gate and the cottage.”
Brie considered this, there was a separate iron fence encircling the cottage and it’s enclave. There was an iron arch with double door sized gates between the cottage and the main property. “I’m assuming the owner won’t venture past that fence. I stay out of his space when I’m not working and he stays out of mine.”
Mr Lynn shrugged. “I would not presume. But I suspect he would not desire the attention.”
“I would want to know,” Brie insisted. “There aren’t any curtains on the windows of the cottage and your client isn’t the only one who doesn’t like strangers peeking in at him.”
“I will pass along your concerns.” Then he told her the salary.
Brie’s jaw dropped. Then she recovered, “But how much is deducted for the rent of the cottage?” she asked.
Mr Lynn shook his head. “None. My client is aware of the awkward nature of this arrangement. He wants to make sure you aren’t willing to risk the loss of income when you are tempted to… clean the windows, shall we say?”
Brie blinking, “Is that not part of the job?”
“The job, Ms Moreno, stops at the walls of the house and the gates of the fence.” They stared, assessing each other for a while.
Then Iggy cleared his throat and said, “What kind of tractor is it?”
Through the windows he watched the tiny group walking the grounds. He was unhappy to be sharing his space with anyone. He craved the isolation.
Still his goblins had concerns about people coming to explore the seemingly abandoned property. He cared less. They came. If they found him, they did not leave. He had been chided the last time. Him! He was told that if people went missing, then other people would come looking for them. Better to hire a grounds keeper and dissuade idle trespassers.
He watched the woman through his window. He remembered her from the interview, she smelled like sunshine and potting soil. He watched her now, as she carefully poked at what remained of the gardens and thought of that smell as he took himself in hand.
