Past, Present and Passion

Scottsfield Estate

Kelsey tossed and turned but got a bit more sleep. When her alarm went off she begrudgingly rolled out of bed. She really needed a shower! She stepped out of the shower feeling much better and with a clearer head. She slipped on a light dress and cardigan. It was summer and she knew from experience that a lot of these older estate homes didn’t have air conditioning and could be quite hot. Layers were important, but she needed to look professional as well. She stepped into comfortable shoes, she would be on her feet most of the day. She did her hair and makeup, pushing back her thoughts that she might run into Charles again today. She needed to focus on why she was here. Besides the fact that she hasn’t even really dealt with her feelings for her “boyfriend” yet.

After getting herself together she went to the kitchen, where it hit her that she didn’t even have coffee or food! She hadn’t managed to do anything yesterday but eat fish and chips and become obsessed with a beautiful man. She shook her head. She had to unpack and shop today. She was sure that there would be a cafe somewhere in town and she had enough time to go find it. She grabbed her work bag and started to head out until she remembered her phone was still in the bedroom.

Kelsey hurried back to grab it, but when she picked it up she had to stop. She had so many notifications that she plopped down in a chair and started scrolling. Meredith had texted, checking in on her. Kelsey quickly sent her an update, letting her know she was heading to work now and would send a full report at the end of the day.

Jenn had sent her an email with a daily update. She quickly skimmed through it and sent her a thank you. Nothing was needed from her right away.

Then she saw it. Texts from Jared. Her heart sank. She was supposed to let him know she arrived safely. She clicked on his name.

“Hey Kels. Just checking in. Hope your flight was good. Just wanted you to know that I’m thinking about you and I miss you.” “Hey haven’t heard from you. Assuming your flight was good and you are settled”. “Hey just text me that you made it safe.”

Kelsey sighed and looked at the time and calculated what time it was in New York. It was the middle of the night. She wasn’t sure if she should text him but she knew that he always had do not disturb on over night, so he wouldn’t even see it till morning.

“Hey! My flight was good. I’m heading to my first day now. Sorry I didn’t respond last night” Kelsey paused. What should she say? She couldn’t say that she didn’t respond because she was completely flustered by a sexy Englishman and forgot to even plug her phone in. “My phone died and I couldn’t locate the charger”. She was lying. She didn’t like to lie. But she didn’t want to hurt him either. “I miss you too and will talk to you soon.”

Kelsey stared at the text for several minutes before hitting send. She was really trying to work out her feelings. She just didn’t know. She had to give herself more time. And she needed to focus on her new client so she pulled herself out of her chair and marched herself out of the cottage.

After a pleasant breakfast pastry and espresso at an adorable little cafe, she set off on her short walk to the Scottsfield estate. Her excitement grew with every step. All the homes along the way were beautiful, large, old, stately homes that screamed money, but in a quiet, grand way. When she arrived at the address she was looking for, she turned to see the most amazing home she had ever laid eyes on. It was big, but not in a grotesque way. It had large stones on the walls in various colors. The front walk way wound up a hill towards the huge wooden front door. The front garden was covered in gorgeous shrubs and blooming flowers of all types and colors. It was literally something out of a fairy tale. She open the gate latch and made her way up the hill, smelling the lovely fragrance of the flowers along the way. She finally made it to the front door and nervously used the antique door knocker to announce her presence.

After a minute or so the large door opened. Standing inside was a tall, elderly woman. She looked stern but kind, with stiff brown hair in a neat bun at the nape of her neck. She have a small smile and said, “Ms. Kelsey James I presume?”

Kelsey matched her smile and nodded. “That’s me!”

“Welcome to the Scottsfield Estate. My name is Ms. Smith, I’m the estate manager. Please do come in.”

Kelsey followed her through the doorway and looked around and the foyer. It was large and open and filled with beautiful objects. Kelsey spotted several items right away that she knew could be in museums. She felt a shiver of up her spine. Meredith was right. This has to be the most lucrative job they had ever had at the firm.

“So, Mr. Scottsfield is unable to be here today but he asked me to show you around. He would like you to start with your work in the front parlor, as it is the least used room at this point. If you will just follow me,”.

Kelsey nodded again, though she was shocked that she wouldn’t be meeting Mr. Scottsfield today. He was the client after all. And in truth, she needed to hear from him exactly what he was thinking and what he wanted to see happen with his things. But she followed, looking everywhere all at once, trying to take everything in.

They stepped into a bright and lovely room. It was on the front of the house, looking out over the garden. The furniture was all high quality antiques and there was artwork and mirrors all over the walls. The back wall was covered in shelves, which were covered in items that Kelsey knew were worth a lot of money. Everywhere she looked she saw money.

Ms. Smith gestured around the room. “As you can see, the room is filled with some very lovely items. At this point, Mr. Scottsfield would like you to catalog everything, with an estimated price the items could fetch at auction or if they should be loaned to museums. Once you have some information for him, he will decide how to proceed. Understood?”

Kelsey nodded, again. Say something, she said to herself in her head. “I understand. I was hoping to speak with Mr. Scottsfield but I understand he is a busy man. I will get to work and get that info to him as soon as possible. I do think a room of this size and with this many pieces will take me a couple days to get through.”

“Understood. Please make yourself comfortable and let me know if you need anything at all. There are drinks in the fridge if you need something. It can get a bit warm in here. We do have cooling but it doesn’t always work perfectly. I’ll come check on you in after while.” Ms. Smith turned sharply and headed out of the room.

Kelsey called out a quick “thank you!” as she left. She turned to the room and let her eyes take it all in. She was ready to get started.

Kelsey set about creating her workspace and pulling out her tools. She laid out her notebook and pencils, started up her computer and found her tags to label everything. She picked a starting point and she was off. Every piece she would first check for a label or name engraved or signed somewhere. That let her very quickly the level the piece was starting at. After that she could figure out the rarity and the age of the piece which would lead her to an auction estimate. Nearly every piece that she picked up was signed. There was sculptures and statues. Clocks and figurines. Small and large paintings. Every item was special and she couldn’t help but send pictures to Meredith. Kelsey was scared the excitement might send her in to labor!

Before long, Ms. Smith came in and said “that will be all for today. We will see you tomorrow same time?”

Kelsey was shocked. She looked at her watch and realized it was after 5! She had worked all day, she hasn’t even taken a lunch. Time had simply flown by. “I didn’t even realize what time it was! I’ll clean up and head out. And yes I’ll be back same time tomorrow.” She followed Ms. Smith out of the room and to the front door. “Have a good evening.”

Ms. Smith nodded and shut the door behind her. Kelsey looked at the house. What other treasure will this house hold? She couldn’t wait to find out.