"Edda, look at these," Tanya said, her voice no more than a hushed breath. "Look at the details of these life sized portraits. The lace around the lady's neck…it's vaporous, floating." Her eyes were huge, absorbed in the beauty of the paintings. "And the cross on the man's ornate vest…it shines, all in cobalt blue with silver inlays."
"There are so many fine paintings in this room, Tanya. It is like a museum, no? You should feel at home here." Edda looked satisfied.
"I'll come back here and examine all of them later," Tanya said, with reluctance. "Let's go see the rest of the house. Where is Charles?"
"The basement. Or rather, the cellar. He is inspecting the heating system. I looked at the kitchen earlier. You must see it."
"I bet it needs refurnishing," Tanya said, following Edda into the kitchen.
A huge, rectangular wood stove stood in the middle of the room; one side was taken up by a granite sink and a small electric stove; the others by a refrigerator and a long, wooden table with benches. At least a dozen tarnished copper pots hung from the beams along the walls.
"We'll need a few things," Edda said. "A modern range, a dishwasher, a microwave oven and some small appliances, like a food processor and a blender."
Tanya opened a row of cupboards, then pulled out one of the drawers. "We don't need any china or cutlery. We can feed an army. With a good cleaning, everything will soon be in order." She yanked at the drapes covering the window near the table and threw them on the floor. With a critical eye, she examined the fine old tiles on the floor. "Cleaned up, these are going to be fantastic," she said, her voice awed. "They don't even have any cracks."
Together the two women mounted the stairway to the second floor. Tanya moved onto the terrace, which constituted the roof of the reception hall. She drew deep breaths of the tangy air, her eyes glowing, her cheeks flushed.
"Six bedrooms," Edda said, joining her. "Two enormous, four of good size."
"Bathrooms?"
"Three. Not bad. It appears the place is in good shape. Charles and I will make a list of things we need…"
"Approved already," Tanya said. "I can't go shopping, so order whatever is needed." She leaned over the balustrade and glanced around, still awed by the countryside. On the eastern side, the terrace was sheltered on the top by a glycine, ready to bloom, on the western side by a pergola. Grape vines climbed from the backyard, occasionally winding around a wooden staircase which provided an external, direct access to the terrace.