CHAPTER 230: ODD LAYOUT

When they got back to the Manor, Dominic found that the table was set for thirteen, and the dinner was waiting on them to finish.

The rest of the staff, including Cutter the hunting dog, were eating in the kitchen at the servant’s table. So, it was just Dominic, Alexis, Pops and the Royal Guard in the main room.

That was proper etiquette, he knew. But the main dining room did feel entirely too large for so few people.

"Did you know that the house doesn’t have a secondary informal dining room? Unless you count the table in the master suite, that is." Alexis noted as Dominic took his seat beside her.

"That is a bit odd. I wonder if the last occupant was big on formality? Or perhaps on family style dining? The only place we ate when I visited as a youth was right at this table, but the whole extended family would be here for the big dinners.

So, I can’t really speak to where they ate every other day. For all I know, they might have enjoyed secluded dining in the garden every evening." Dominic joked.

Pops chuckled. "That is a possibility. There are good stone tables out there.

But I have a more important question first. Where am I going to set up my forge? There isn’t space in the manor house, and it would take time to build an outbuilding with a full forge in it.

Is there one in the village that survived the years?"

Dominic nodded. "Yeah, the dogs had claimed it as their own. It’s in good condition, and even the cutting torch was still standing in the corner of the room when I got there.

I think that if you put in the work to clean it up, it shouldn’t be a problem to get the old smithy working as your forge.

The man who ran it before was a Techno Wizard, so there might be some strange things in there, but probably nothing that a Master Smith can’t figure out."

Pops frowned. "What sort of building is it?"

Dominic shrugged. "Half a metre thick walls, made of fieldstone naturally. It has a steel girder roof truss, and slate roof tiles. It’s not big, but there is a small apartment beside it where the apprentice used to live when there was one.

The smith himself lived in the house behind the forge. But that’s burnt down now.

We can put it near the top of the list for rebuilding, right after the houses that only need a little bit of work to make them ready for new residents. But it’s only a few minutes walk back to the Manor as well."

Pops shrugged. "I won’t object to staying here, where Beth will cook all my meals. That was the very best thing about living in the Palace."

From the Kitchen, Dominic could hear the cook laughing. Dwarves were the simplest of guests to cook for. As far as Pops was concerned, dinner only actually needed three ingredients. Meat, potatoes and ale.

The ale could be both seasoning and beverage. Pops wouldn’t mind. You could even use it instead of water to boil the potatoes.

Once dinner was finished, everyone returned to their rooms early, worn out from a long day of cleaning and repairs.

Dominic helped Alexis with her dress, which she hung in the shower room so that it wouldn’t be unduly wrinkled when the maids went to clean it. It wasn’t anything fancy, as she had also been working around the house all day, but the little details made everyone’s life easier.

"You know, it’s strange being a married man. I get all excited knowing that when I’m finished washing up for bed, you’re going to be there, and not an empty room." Dominic joked as he stepped out of the shower.

Alexis looked him over from head to toe. "I can’t say that this is what I’m used to, either. There were always maids and servants around even when I was changing, but none quite so easy to look at."

Dominic chuckled, and Alexis pulled something out of her storage ring. The tricorn hat from the pirate outfit that she had given him the other day.

"Let’s head to bed. But keep the hat on."

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The sun through the window woke them up again the next morning, and Alexis grabbed the hat off the bedpost to cover her face.

"Curtains. The first thing that I’m doing today is replacing those curtains. I swear we had some in the stuff we brought."

Dominic laughed as he stood up and stretched, loosening stiff muscles.

"Definitely curtains. And perhaps a nice rug. This room has a bit of an echo to it." He agreed.

Once they were properly showered and dressed, Dominic led the way downstairs to the morning meeting, where everyone had their list of tasks that needed to be completed, set in something resembling a priority order.

For Pops, the only item was to check the forge and assess what it needed to get ready to move in.

For Jasmine, the farrier, it was the same, plus a few tasks around the barn that hadn’t been completed yet.

The household staff had a much longer list, while Tena, the gardener they had hired, wanted a new wall built around the garden before anything else. That had been on the list yesterday as well, but they hadn’t gotten to it.

John made a list of tasks that he was needed for, in the order or priority that he found them, while Julio made a list of items that they didn’t have and would need to bring to the estate.

Most of his day would be helping with domestic repair tasks, and there was no shortage of those.

Alexis’ list started with bedroom curtains, while the Royal Guard wanted to start with taking out the old mattresses to beat them out and air them.

The estate had quite a few guest rooms, but they weren’t yet ready to receive guests.

Having somewhere for visitors and new staff to sleep was priority one for them as long as the estate was secure.