The Glassblower(144)

She gave him one last contemptuous glance, then walked on without turning back.





29

“I’m not sure I understand,” Marie said, frowning. She turned to Peter, who sat beside her on the bench. “You’re suggesting we knock through the wall between our house and yours to make a bigger workshop.”

Johanna rolled her eyes. “We’ve already been over all this. Yes, that’s the idea. Then we would have one big workshop where everybody could work together.”

Ignoring Johanna, Marie went on. “And there would be two lamps in the workshop for three glassblowers: you, me, and Magnus.”

She struggled silently to find some flaw in the plan, but nothing came to mind. Peter’s idea could work! All the same, she didn’t want to get ahead of herself. Had the others really understood that when she said she needed more time for herself, it was a matter of life and death for her, not just crazy talk as Ruth always said?

Peter nodded. “Of course we would have to talk to Magnus first to see if he’s interested in learning to blow glass. And even if he is, we’ll have to see whether he’s got the knack for it. After all, glassblowing’s not in his blood the way it is for us.”

The way it is for us—Marie’s breast swelled with pride.

“Magnus is a good friend of course, but I sometimes wonder just what is in his blood. What’s he been doing ever since he came back? You can hardly call running errands a real job for a man, can you?” Johanna remarked, shaking her head. “Magnus a glassblower? I don’t know. He’s a nice lad, but can we rely on him? I fear we’ll get him trained up and then he’ll be off and away. To be honest, that’s the part of the plan I like least.”

“I don’t like the way you talk about him,” Marie said, her cheeks glowing. “Magnus can’t help it that his father was a drunken sot rather than a glassblower. Why do you think he ran off the way he did? Because he couldn’t stand it any longer! If Joost had been that sort of man then we would probably have done the same. I don’t think he’ll want to leave again. Quite the opposite, he’s happy to be back. And he’s keener on glassblowing than anyone I’ve ever met. But you . . .”

“Don’t get so worked up! Surely I’m allowed to voice my doubts,” Johanna broke in.

 “Well, you don’t have to be snippy about it. I would be glad to have Magnus working with us. A third glassblower would be a great help. Without him . . .”

“O-ho, so you’re going to blackmail us now!” Johanna bridled. “If your best friend Magnus . . .”

“Enough!”

Peter’s fist thundered down onto the tabletop. He stood up and went to the window. Then he turned and stared grimly at the two women.

“I’ve had it with all this bickering! One of you jumps up and runs out of the house as though the whole thing had nothing to do with her. Then you two come to me asking for my advice, but instead of putting your heads together you start squabbling like a pair of old women. Perhaps I was a little too quick to suggest we share a workshop. I can’t imagine listening to this kind of quarreling every day. My work is too complicated to allow for that sort of distraction all the time.”

Marie swallowed. It served them right.

“We really didn’t mean it that way,” Johanna said meekly. “We’re just a little worked up. Because of the size of the order and the way Ruth ran off. And—oh, I don’t know!”

“Johanna’s right,” Marie said through gritted teeth. “And you’re right too. If we want to take on this job, then your plan is the only way to make it work.”

Peter sat down at the table with a sigh. “Then let’s get on with it.” He turned to Johanna. “We will need three pairs of hands working at the lamp. Marie desperately needs time to work on new designs. Unless you think this Woolworth is the sort of man who would be happy to buy the same thing every year? If Marie can give him new designs all the time, you’ll be guaranteed a repeat customer.”

Marie’s face brightened. She had enough ideas. For instance she wanted to cast a mold for the icicles that had gone wrong the first time she tried them and . . .

“I also think that we should take Griseldis on,” Peter said. “We can find a few marks somewhere to match what Heimer pays her. Then we’ll have the best silver-bath mixer anywhere in Lauscha.”

Johanna looked at Peter in surprise, as though seeing him for the first time. Then she hugged him. “You have a real business head on your shoulders. What would we do without you? To be honest I was just like Marie at first; all I saw was a whole mountain of problems and questions. We were hardly expecting such a huge order, after all.”