The Rightful Lord (The Saga Of Wolfbridge Manor Book 3), Sahara Kelly [english novels for students .TXT] 📗

“Well that’s the thing, you see.” Gabriel leaned forward, his enthusiasm palpable. “We certainly couldn’t do a Shakespeare play, since that would be above the audience and probably do little more than bore them.” He grimaced. “They tend to bore me, to be honest.”

“And I’d say we could eliminate most, if not all, of the classics.” Jeremy sighed. “There goes my education.”

Gwyneth joined in the laughter.

“I like the idea, though, Gabriel,” approved Royce. “But I also have doubts about how we would go about it.”

“Oh that’s easy,” Gwyneth leaned back in her chair, her soup bowl empty. “We shall have to write our own.”

*~~*~~*

Royce found himself enormously amused by the way his fellows threw themselves into the idea of writing a play.

After dinner, during their customary time in the small parlour with brandy, the discussion began in earnest.

Jeremy’s enthusiasm didn’t surprise him. The man was happiest when having outright fun, and after what he’d been through, it was good to hear him laugh. Evan cheerfully encouraged him, a gentle persuasion that spoke volumes about the depth of their friendship.

Gabriel eagerly suggested a variety of scenarios, and Royce could almost see the pictures he was obviously conjuring up in his mind.

Even Harry contributed his share, coming up with several ideas which were completely impractical but quite ingenious.

Finally Royce gently tapped his brandy glass, and silence fell as all eyes turned toward him.

“My Lady, as you can see you have a well-functioning troupe of players, writers, and dramatists. Not to mention scenic artists and costumiers. So perhaps we might winnow down some of these suggestions.” He looked at Jeremy and Evan. “I’m afraid we can’t re-create the invasion of the Vikings. Evan, it was brilliant of you to suggest the battle of Agincourt, but again—impractical.”

Gwyneth was sputtering with barely contained laughter, but Royce continued.

“Gabriel, I have absolute confidence that you could easily costume an entire division of Greek soldiers, not to mention their ladies. But again, performing our version of Lysistrata would be an impossible challenge.” He sighed. “May I remind you all that our primary purpose was to encourage children to read? Aristophanes’ play isn’t quite the thing for little ones of any age, as far as I am concerned.”

“You’re right. They’d miss the point, wouldn’t they?” Gabriel shrugged. “I can do an awful lot of classical draperies with some of that muslin I found in the attics, though.”

“We’ll be sure to keep that in mind,” soothed Gwyneth. “And Royce is right. We have to determine the best way to encourage reading and writing in children…” she paused for a moment, “and possibly in their parents as well, come to think of it.”

“And I’m sure we will,” Harry commented. “Perhaps if we all made a list of the things we think children will find interesting and stimulating. Then we’ll go over them and pick out the most common. That will give us a foundation upon which to build our play.”

“Excellent notion.” Jeremy grinned and raised his glass. “I vote aye.”

All the other glasses were lifted high, the toast endorsed, and the motion carried.

A slight movement outside the window caught Royce’s eye. “Aha,” he rose and investigated. “We have snow.”

The others followed him, all staring out onto a dark and gradually whitening scene.

“It’s pretty,” murmured Evan.

“Cold,” shivered Gwyneth.

Immediately, arms went around her. “Back to the fire with you, my Lady.” Gabriel urged her to her seat as Evan drew the curtains firmly across the glass.

Jeremy poured a little more brandy into their glasses. As he did so, he shot a glance at Royce. “I’ve been meaning to ask. With Trick and Jane at her parents’ house now, with the babe, what is going to happen to Fivetrees?”

The question seemed to have caught them all by surprise, and Royce cursed inwardly as the implications flooded his mind.

“Damn,” he whispered.

Gwyneth looked at him. “My goodness, Jeremy’s right. It’s empty, I assume, because the girl staying with Trick and Jane certainly isn’t going to want to be there alone. I’ll wager she never returned the night the baby came.”

“Agreed,” Royce said slowly, his mind rapidly turning matters over. “We should go over there, and soon, I think. If, for nothing else, just to make sure all is secure.”

Gwyneth nodded. “Tomorrow? If the snow is not too bad?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “Yes, we must. And depending on what we find, we’ll have to notify Giles, I suppose. He will ask the Withersbys what they want to do with it.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Damn place is a bit of a millstone around our necks now, to be honest.”

“Is it costing Wolfbridge?” asked Harry bluntly. “From what I’ve heard, it’s a huge house that’s not of much value to anyone.”

“No, it’s not costing us anything. There is the matter of the fields and our request to purchase some acreage. We’re still waiting to hear on that, I think?” She looked at Royce and raised her eyebrows.

“True,” he replied. “And I’m hopeful the sale will be approved, even though it means breaking up the estate. Unfortunately, there’s a bushel of legal wrinkles to be ironed out before proceeding with any kind of transaction. But that still leaves us with a monstrously ugly building.” He sighed and stood. “So our first move must be to survey the place and see if there are any clear options as to what to do with it.”

“And Trick and Jane must make sure their belongings are gone…” Evan tilted his head to one side. “They have been there for a while, so we should let them know. Or at least confirm that they’re not planning on returning?”

“I’m pretty certain they’re not,” Jeremy commented. “There’s some talk of them taking over a relative’s house, since she’s not well and Mrs B has room for