Here is another bit from the novel in progress
Rachel could feel the change in mood in the house as the early winter evening fell. The day had been one of intense activity; of men and women stretching themselves to perform their life tasks. The guards had staked out the perimeter of the house, installed cameras, and set up a monitoring station in the first floor den. They took their shifts sitting before the line of monitors and then walking outside, along the streets and alleys around the house. The women from Jacob’s firm had been tireless and the inventory of the contents of all the trunks was now completed and their computers put away.
Now the day was gone and now Rachel lit fires in the drawing room and in the upstairs library. A couple of the guards had gone to Charleston and collected boxes full of dinner from the finest hotel there. Rachel unpacked the standing rib roast and the au gratin potatoes, stuffed them into the oven and put the salads and desserts in the refrigerator. As she was putting the widest leaf in the dining table, one of the women from the firm stepped into the room.
“I can see this coming, and I want to be a part of it.” She said. “Can I find a tablecloth and the silver?”
In minutes the two women had the table graced with an embroidered cloth, eight place settings of fine plate and silver and four tall candles.
Home Economics 