A deafening battle cry filled the air as a matching pair of boys around eight years of age burst into the room, both with the same untamed red hair and faces full of freckles. The pursuer threw his arms around his prey and sent them both sprawling to the floor in a jumble of arms and legs and grunts and growls. Then they stopped to stare at the butler. With matching grins, they pounced, wrapping their arms around the poor man’s legs.
“Bring us cake or off to the dungeon with you!” one of the boys cried.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” a man’s voice shouted from one of the rooms off the main corridor. A tall man with a protruding stomach entered the foyer. With round cheeks and a red nose, his echo resounded in the room. “Percy, Peter, release poor Drummond at once!”
The boys hurried to their feet and clasped their hands behind their backs. “Sorry, Father,” they said in unison.
“I’m afraid the twins take after their mother,” Mr. Lush said with a smile. “Who is no doubt napping again.”
“I’m doing no such thing!” a female voice said from atop the narrow staircase that led up to the second floor. She was no taller than the twins with dark hair and a warm smile. “Boys, to your room this instant. Mrs. Collins has been looking everywhere for you. If you shirk your lessons one more day, I’ll see you go without supper for the next two days!” She pointed up the stairs. “Go!”
Panic filled their faces. “Yes, Mother.” And they took the stairs two at a time.
“Drummond, will you please bring us a tray in the drawing room?”
“Yes, madam,” the butler said before bowing and hurrying away.
“My wife, Patience Lush,” Mr. Lush said. He held out a hand for Sir Aaron to shake. “Sir Aaron. A pleasure as always.”
“May I present Miss Louisa Dunston and Miss Lockhart,” Sir Aaron said.
“The pleasure is all mine,” Mr. Lush said as he took first Louisa’s and then Ruth’s hands and kissed above their knuckles.
Mrs. Lush smiled. “It’s so very nice to meet you. Won’t you come in and sit?” She cast a glare on her husband. “Men may enjoy standing around for hours on end, but I, for one, prefer to engage in conversation while seated like civilized people.”
Louisa and Ruth followed Mrs. Lush into the drawing room, which was tastefully decorated with mahogany-framed Georgian furniture. Louisa sat between Ruth and Sir Aaron on a beige-and-red-striped fabric couch. The fabric of the couch on which the Lushes sat across from them was beige. And threadbare.
Two chairs, both covered in red that matched the striped fabric, sat together at one end and a large fireplace at the other. Gilt-framed paintings of fruits on tables and flowers in vases hung from beige walls. A portrait of the Lush family hung above the fireplace, Mr. and Mrs. Lush resplendent in blue and their twin sons appearing far more angelic than they had upon Louisa’s arrival.
“Thank you again for inviting us to your home,” Sir Aaron said. “It’s a magnificent estate. One of the finest I’ve seen yet.” He flashed a toothy smile.
Mr. Lush beamed. “We’ve put a great deal of effort into our home, have we not, my dear?”
His wife gave a derisive sniff. “If it weren’t for my insistence, no improvements would be made at all. At least I’ve been allowed to redecorate our bedchambers.”
Louisa was ready to engage in their game. “I couldn’t agree with Sir Aaron more. Your home reminds me of one belonging to a prominent man my family visited in London. He and Father spent a great deal of time at the theater. They would spend hours discussing the plots of the latest plays they had attended.” She added a reminiscent tone to her voice.
“Speaking of the theater,” Mr. Lush said. “Rumor has it that Barker is considering closing the one in Chatsworth and selling the building.”
Sir Aaron nodded. “He may, yes. Which is why I’m here.”
For several minutes, he explained his plans for the building. Louisa remained quiet. Her turn would come soon enough.
Over the last few days, Sir Aaron had kept his promise to teach her the finer points of business, focusing more on the art of negotiations. Louisa found it all far more fascinating than she would have believed and had used some of the tactics herself.
The butler entered in the middle of Sir Aaron’s speech, and Mrs. Lush poured the tea. Sir Aaron had not even paused to take a breath.
Mrs. Lush was frowning by the time Sir Aaron finished. “Surely, you’re not in support of this gentlemen’s club, Miss Dunston?”
Smoothing her skirts, Louisa gave the woman a practiced smile. “I, too, see a bright future for the theater, but my vision is a bit different. I want a place where both men and women can congregate and enjoy a few hours of leisure time together.” She glanced at Sir Aaron. “I hope to sell enough tickets and solicit enough funds for the theater to see continued success. As a theater.”
Mr. Lush’s teacup clinked in its saucer as he set it down. “A most noble idea, young lady. But I’m afraid I must agree with Sir Aaron. Chatsworth needs a gentlemen’s club. The population of the village is growing every year. Tea houses are appearing all over the country, not to mention the various dressmakers and millineries. Goodness, women have far more shops available to them than men do already. Plus, if a club is not built now, it’s only a matter of time before it is. They are becoming more popular every year.”
“An insightful point, sir,” Sir Aaron said. “And you could not be more correct. We men are being forced out of the very towns we’ve built.”
Louisa had to bite her tongue to keep a retort from bursting from her lips, but the smile on Mrs. Lush’s lips gave her hope.
“Don’t listen to my husband, my dear. Regardless of what he wants, I would like to purchase twenty tickets.”