The Soldier's Poisoned Heart (True Love and Deception) (Victorian Historical Romance Book 1) by Michael Meadows Page A

had he told the boys? Oh well, there was no use worrying about it now.
    Thomas spoke up finally.
    “It’s nice work,” he answered. “Only four people to cook for, good quality ingredients…”
    Mark nodded in agreement. Their jobs were different, but something about the description seemed to resonate. John Paul smiled at them.
    “Well, boys, eat up! Don’t be shy.” And without waiting he dug in himself.

Chapter 8
    The next morning he roused Henry early and the pair of them rode out to Derby. They would need to visit several stores, and John Paul thought it better to do it earlier than later. John Paul could see from his face that Henry would have preferred a later start.
    Still, he kept his opinion to himself, electing instead only to slouch tiredly as he rode his horse. Rather, his horse walked underneath him quite happy to follow its partner. The trip took a bit longer than usual, for which John Paul was thankful, given that they would have been quite early otherwise.
    They sauntered into the labor office first. They opened nearly at break of dawn. John Paul had heard that there were pools of people who waited outside each morning, though he had never seen them himself.
    The man behind the counter was as pleasant as he had ever been, and said that he knew just the gardener to send along. Unlike the cook and stable-boy, it would probably be only a day or two. John Paul put down his deposit, happy that it would be done quickly.
    The next stop, then, was to the lumber yard. Neither John Paul nor his nephew had any sort of knowledge about the refinishing and resurfacing of wooden floors. The man behind the counter picked up on this immediately. John Paul could feel his money draining from his coffers as the man spoke.
    They would need to buy new lumber for much of it, he said, if they had warping. The job would take several months if it were only the two of them, so they should hire on a few laborers that he would be happy to recommend. Then there was the matter of design. Naturally, anyone of standing would like to have flooring that impressed as much as the rest of the household.
    And of course, he could furnish all that… for the right fee. He didn’t say the last part out loud, of course. He made it sound as if he was doing the Colonel a big favor, but in their minds they all knew not to ignore the great cost all the work would incur. A hundred pounds or more might change hands in the sum total of the transaction.
    John Paul thanked the man and stepped back out into the street. The man was not a masterful salesman, per se, but he made up for any lack of skill with sheer force of personality and aggressive selling. It was impossible to hear himself think inside the store, with that man in his ears. He needed to think as clearly as possible with such a sum on the line.
    John Paul regarded his nephew, who seemed to finally be waking up properly. He decided then that they’d get some tea somewhere. Then they’d talk it over and decide.
    Finding tea was easy, and drinking it easier still, but as he sat there looking at his empty cup, he didn’t feel any more awake or alert. He was on-edge, and there was no easy answer to the problem of his flooring. Either he had poor floors, or he was working day in and day out for weeks or more.
    He doubted it would take months, but it was possible that the man had been seeding his aggressive sales pitch with some degree of truth. And even still, ‘weeks’ spent replacing the flooring was not something to be taken lightly. Not with so much else going on.
    As John Paul found himself lost in such thoughts, he stared down the street. It was a tiring line of thought, the tea provided no relief whatsoever. He longed to see Lydia, but she hadn’t work today, and he had no plans with her for the day. Calling unannounced was out of the question, particularly with Henry along.
    He had been avoiding the subject with the lad, though he knew that Henry wondered what his uncle had been