As she grappled with this conundrum, Sir Aaron came hurrying toward her. “Miss Louisa,” he said before stopping to add a quick bow to Mrs. Rutley. He was panting. “Forgive my tardiness.”
“You’re right on time,” Louisa whispered as she assessed the man she had come to love. His neatly brushed hair, perfect lips, and carefully tied cravat sparked that now-familiar flame inside her. She could not wait for him to kiss her again once all this madness was over! “I’m so pleased you’re here.”
Sir Aaron pursed his lips. “We must speak about the theater—”
But his words were cut short when Mr. Barker announced, “May I have your attention, please?”
“Let’s talk after the performance,” Louisa whispered as Mr. Barker continued with his introduction.
Sir Aaron gave her a reluctant nod, and she frowned when he hurried away. Where was he off to?
“So, with that in mind,” Mr. Barker was saying, “I would like to thank each and every one of you for joining me in this, the first production of another wonderful season here at the theater.”
Liveried ushers opened the pair of double doors with white-gloved hands. Others collected tickets and led attendees to their assigned seats until not a single chair was left vacant. Louisa and Mrs. Rutley sat in the back row, but given the size of the theater, they were close enough to see the stage quite well.
Beside her sat the hatter, Mr. Locke. His usually mussed silver hair had been combed and his coat pressed for the occasion.
The stage curtain opened, and the backdrop of Chatsworth was the same as when Louisa had stopped by while the actors had been rehearsing their lines. A blue sky and white fluffy clouds had been added since.
The audience quieted as a half-dozen actors took to the stage. Some carried baskets of flowers, one carried a pitchfork, and another a broom. Music rose from the orchestra pit as an older man and a young woman entered the stage from the right, wearing aprons covered in what appeared to be flour and chatting together, although Louisa could not make out the words.
“Now, child, run along and tell that blacksmith’s son that he’d better pay his debt, or I’ll see him thrown into prison.”
The woman nodded. “Yes, Father, I shall.”
To the left of the stage, a young man wielded a hammer, striking a piece of iron, the clanging reverberating through the theater. When he noticed the approach of the young woman, he set aside the hammer and crossed his massive arms over his wide chest.
“Hello, Miss Susan,” he said. “I suppose your father wants his money.”
To Louisa’s surprise, Miss Susan replied, “Oh, Timothy, why have you not paid him? You know Father already disapproves of you. You’re only making matters worse with your refusal.”
The man grinned. “I’ll risk facing his temper if it means having another chance to see you again.”
Louisa sighed. She had seen this very play two years earlier and had enjoyed it then. But now that she was in love, it brought her the greatest joy. The story was simple. The couple had fallen in love, but both sets of parents disapproved. In the end, they would marry.
Just as Louisa would, once Mr. Barker accepted the offer to bring in the funds to restore the theater to its earlier glory.
Throughout the performance, the audience laughed in the appropriate parts, women sniffled during the sad parts, but everyone applauded once the play came to an end. The actors took to the stage, bowing and blowing kisses to the attendees. Everyone stood, the applause now deafening.
Louisa glanced at Mrs. Rutley. Although the headmistress clapped, she wore an extremely worried expression.
“Are you all right?” she asked in a loud whisper to be heard over the din.
“Oh yes, I’m well,” Mrs. Rutley replied. “I was just thinking, is all.”
When Mr. Barker took the stage, the applause subsided, and the attendees returned to their seats. “Friends, I’ve a very special announcement to make.”
Louisa adjusted her posture, readying herself to rise and walk down the center aisle to make her speech once her name was called. She had spent the past two days rehearsing exactly what she would say and felt more than ready. By the time she finished, people would be throwing money onto the stage to see the theater remained.
“As many of you have likely heard by now, the fate of our little theater has hung in the balance. But tonight, I can assure you that this is no longer the case.”
“Does he mean to keep it?” Louisa whispered.
Mrs. Rutley shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Rather than make this wonderful announcement myself, I would like to ask Sir Aaron Kirkwood to explain what is going to transpire.”
Louisa frowned. They had agreed that she would speak first. Why had they changed the plans? As Sir Aaron took the stage, worry formed in the pit of her stomach. But when Lord Ezra and Lord Lenten joined him, she thought she would be ill right there!