Chapter 10 - Building Foundations
Returning to the manor that evening, Clara stopped in the hallway outside the grand ballroom. The space was enormous, featuring parquet floors identical to the foyer where Lily had dropped the coin, surrounded by towering mirrors and gilded trim.
"What would you do with this room?" Arthur asked, coming up behind her with a pair of mugs filled with hot chocolate.
"It feels like an empty museum," she admitted. "All this space, heated and dusted every day, just waiting for people to stand around and pretend they like each other."
"Then let's change it," Arthur said simply. "What do you need?"
"A reading room," Clara said without hesitation. "And an art studio. When I was in nursing school, we had a pediatric wing where children from low-income neighborhoods could take painting classes and get free tutoring after school. There are fifty children living in the tenement blocks near the docks who have never seen a book that wasn't missing pages."
Arthur looked at her with profound admiration. "Then tomorrow, we call the contractors. We'll turn the east wing into the Vance Educational Annex. You run it, Clara. With a full endowment from the maritime foundation."
Clara shook her head, overwhelmed. "Arthur, I don't have a degree in administration. I'm a nurse."
"You managed a ward under artillery fire while keeping forty wounded men alive with limited supplies," Arthur said softly. "You managed to keep my daughter safe, polite, and full of joy on minimum wage in an unforgiving city. You are more qualified than any executive I've ever hired."
Lily bounded down the hall, sliding across the polished floor in her wool socks, clutching a drawing she had made on the boat. It showed three stick figures standing on a tiny blue triangle: a tall man in a suit, a woman with a gold circle on her chest, and a little girl holding the wheel of a ship.
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"Look, Dad," Lily said proudly. "We're sailing home."
Arthur crouched down, his fingers gently tracing the childish crayon lines. "Yes, we are, sweet girl. We're finally home."
