AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Oliver also stood and bowed to the giant. “Lord Worcester approached me with a proposition.”
“Another?” She blurted unable to eliminate the sarcasm in her voice. Anything coming from him was suspicious, especially as he looked like the cat that caught the fish from the bowl.
Mr Green motioned for them to sit. The blasted man took the seat beside hers, and she had no choice but do the same. This close, the bathed scent of him laid siege to her nostrils, a note of rosemary entangled with his own like a waltz. His skin bore the fragrance of leather mixed with the wind that awoke every nerve in her body.
“Sorry, I’m late.” Her brother, Eli, came in bringing a chair for himself as the office contained only three. Eli didn’t inherit their father’s eyes, but her mother’s brown ones though the siblings shared the light brown hair. He counted three years more than her own twenty-four.
The presence of her brother indicated that money would be involved here. He took care of the finances of the theatre and proved to be very good at it. This gathering became fishier by the minute. Hester sat spine even straighter, preparing herself for what might come.
“Lord Worcester proposed to invest in our next play.” Her father began.
“But we don’t need any investment, we’re solvent.” She countered. The insufferable man was up to something.
“We are.” Eli agreed. “But an investment means better pay for the actors and the people who work with us, better costumes and more elaborate scene devices.”
Her brother didn’t need to spell it out, she had grown up in the business. “And how much are we talking about?” she asked. The man would never be poor, his estates yielded a fortune every year. He could buy ten theatres if he so wished.
Eli named the sum, and Hester almost lost her breath. It was a small fortune, enough to buy a luxurious carriage and four thoroughbreds. Her accusing glare turned to him. His sole reply was the hitching of an eyebrow, daring her to voice her misgivings.
“And his returns,” she questioned.
"One per cent over the invested amount," The marquess's tenor sounded for the first time.
“One,” she echoed as the ludicrous information hit her. It seemed nothing short of charity, he’d get nothing from it.
"But he has a few demands concerning the play," Oliver added.
Oh, now came the catch.
“You’re to have the main role as your father already stipulated.” Drake took the word. “And I am to direct it.”
This made Hester bolt from the chair as if struck by lightning. “That is outrageous!” Her father used to have that position, and he did an outstanding job of it. Their plays attracted a full house every night.
“Why?” He asked silkily, too silkily. “You’re well aware that I possess a consistent knowledge of theatre.”
He did, and it had surprised her when she first learned of it and listened to his insights. "Lords don't direct plays." She argued. "Not even as a pass-time in house-parties." That would concern women as in-house entertainment.
“You should know by now that I don’t fit the average ton’s frame.” He clasped those luminous orbs on her, almost level with her even if he remained seated.
No, in fact, he behaved rather differently, which caused his mother to go haywire with his innovative attitudes. No one had ever heard of a lord who allowed his mistress to renovate his country seat's greenhouse to her own taste, or stand by his side in a soiree full of lords and ladies mixing with artists, scientists and poets. Drake and Hester even received the Duke and Duchess of Brunswick for dinner in Hampshire soon after their wedding. Philippa had become a dear friend of Hester's.
“As an investor, he’s entitled to make a few demands.” Eli tried to placate her.
“Of course, he is.” She rebutted, “As I have the right to refuse to be in the play.” He could act the eccentric aristocrat as much as he wished. It didn’t mean she had to go along with it.
She admitted to herself she was behaving like a temperamental diva. But how would she succeed in forgetting him, moving on, coming to terms with the fact he would marry a lady of his world to produce pure-bred heirs to his old and dusty lineage? Dealing with him daily would threaten her resolve, test it to unbearable levels.
Oliver and Eli looked at her as if she’d spoken a dialect from the confines of the Empire.
“Hester…” Eli started.
“My investment will have the highest chance of paying itself off if London’s best actress is in the play.” Drake reasoned though his eyes launched vexed shards at her.
If he meant to appeal to her vanity, he should have thought better of it. Acting came naturally to her. Drury Lane considering her the best was merely the consequence of it. It didn’t inflate her simply because she didn’t possess a single vain bone in her. Peering at him, she realised he just stated a fact.
“Look.” Her father intervened. “I understand you have history, but I trust both to keep your personal life out of this.”
“It won’t be a problem for me,” Drake said, his expression daring her to run and show everyone she wasn’t a true professional.
