Love, Once and Always Page #2

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even become its director.

Knock... well, knock wood.

And you, you're some

fancy architect now?

[laughs]

Fancy? I don't know.

I mean, I'm working for a big

commercial firm up in Boston.

I'm glad we're

all caught up.

Excuse me.

Eleanor, why didn't you tell me

about Duncan?

I tried.

You didn't wanna know.

I'm gonna make some tea.

Besides, it's high time

you two buried the hatchet.

Duncan.

This has been lovely.

I am going to go take a little

look around.

Be my guest.

Or my guest.

This place is still amazing.

A window back

to the 1890's.

They don't build houses

like this anymore.

And that's a good thing.

Give me a modern condo

any day.

A place you can heat

with up-to-date plumbing

and electrical.

It's still magical though.

Yeah, it might look magical

but this place is slowly

falling apart.

Note the buckets.

It's seen some disrepair since

the last time you visited,

not to mention half of the rooms

are already closed up.

You see the problem?

Yeah, I'm starting to.

Grace used to hold her

Gilded Age Ball in here.

Yep, this place has definitely

seen better days.

The last two years I've been

coming down here

on the weekends to help Grace

out with the upkeep when I can.

That's surprisingly charitable

of you.

A brief lapse in judgement,

I assure you.

But seriously, this place

is an absolute money pit

and needs to be sold off

at the earliest opportunity.

Assuming you own it,

which you don't.

Which I do, and I'm well

on my way

to coming up with a brilliant

sales pitch for it.

That is if the developer,

Mr. Niven,

is open to hearing

my presentation.

Richard Niven

the billionaire?

Ah, you've heard of him.

Yeah, he specializes

in building golf courses

and I've heard he's interested

in opening

a new one around here.

Turn the estate

into a golf course? Seriously?

Oh, I'm sorry.

Did- did you have a better plan

for this place?

Not at this exact moment

but surely there must be

a better option

than turning a magnificent

estate into some putting green.

This is 1890's at its finest.

The stained glass,

the marble floors-

Out with the old,

in with the new.

Oooh! Duncan, how can

you be so blind

to all the history around you?

How can you be so blind

to the bottom line?

Listen, Frank Lloyd Wrong,

you are not going to move

a stone of this mansion.

Ok. Well then

what do you suggest?

This has got to be

some big mistake.

Aunt Grace would never put me in

such an impossible situation.

I suggest that we get

a little clarity

from H.K. Rourke,

Attorney at Law,

and figure this out

in the morning.

Fine.

Fine.

Which hotel are you staying

at in town?

Hmm?

Hmm?

Hotel? No, I'm not staying

at a hotel.

I'm staying in the west wing.

Of my mansion.

Great.

Then I'll be staying in

the east wing of my mansion.

Great.

Mmm.

I'm gonna go that way

to the east wing.

Yeah, that's fine.

Thank you.

After you.

Mmmhmm.

Stop watching me leave.

You stop first.

[phone ringing]

Lucy, how's life

on your estate?

Where do I start?

It turns out

Duncan is staying here, too.

Duncan?

His father was the caretaker.

He used to live here.

But he's impossible,

as always.

Duncan thinks he inherited

half the estate.

Co-owners of an estate,

that sounds kind of romantic.

Trust me, it is the opposite

of romantic.

But I have to admit,

he does look pretty good.

Oh, details, please.

What does he look like?

A little bit like our statue

of Marc Antony.

But with the same flair

for betrayal.

He's got some scheme to turn

the place into a golf course.

A golf course?

Well, that seems a bit daft.

Exactly.

But as soon as we figure

this whole thing out

with the lawyers in the morning

I am going to send

Duncan packing.

Well, good luck, Lucy.

Thanks, Jose.

I'll need it.

[loud grunts]

What is happening out there?

Hey. Hey, Duncan.

Oh, a beautiful

morning to ya.

I see you're still not

an early riser.

You ever hear of a little thing

called jet lag?

Vaguely.

But I'm happy to help you

get back on to local time.

Ok, look.

I'm a little tired.

I could really use some

more sleep.

Do you have to do that

right now?

Well, if you want a hot shower

before we go visit

the lawyers then yes,

the water heater's down so I

gotta fire up the old boiler.

[loud grunt]

Well, can you chop more quietly,

please?

Oh, you bet.

[loud grunt]

I give up.

You are H.K. Rourke.

Yes, but Hannah is fine.

Hi, Duncan.

Hello, Hannah.

So you two know each other?

Duncan took me to

the Newport Regatta.

Oh.

How lovely.

Well, please. Sit down.

First, let me extend

my sympathies.

Grace was a big part

of our community.

Thank you. I really miss her.

I do, too.

That's why it's a little odd to

be talking business right now.

And that brings us to the

question of what happens next.

Well, Duncan,

regarding that mistake

that you called me about.

It's actually not a mistake.

Regarding Grace's will

the situation is actually

quite clear.

Simply put, you both

own the estate.

What?

But how can that be?

What she said.

Grace was quite specific

in her will.

She arranged that you should

both own 50 percent.

And I'm sorry that I couldn't

explain the full situation

until you had both arrived,

but Grace had sworn me

to secrecy.

Duncan,

Grace mentioned

in her will how much

she appreciates everything

you and your family did

for her over the years and she

wanted to extend her gratitude.

And Lucy, Grace knew

that you loved that place

as much as she did

and you would always

have its best interests

at heart.

Which is why it makes absolutely

no sense

that Grace would do this.

Well, that much we agree on.

Ok, so if I own half...

And I own half.

Then we have to come

to some sort of agreement.

Look, the truth of the matter is

the house is all that's left of

the great Wycliffe fortune.

There's a small stipend to pay

for Eleanor but that's it.

And I'm here if you guys

have any more questions.

Thank you very much for taking

the time, Hannah.

We appreciate it.

Oh hey, Duncan, um...

really good news.

My client, Mr. Niven,

has agreed to hear

your golf course presentation.

I hope it helps.

Thanks.

Yeah.

So Hannah is the one who found

your potential buyer?

Yeah, for a small 10 percent

finder's fee.

She's just trying to help.

In London we'd call that a wee

conflict of interest.

Ok. How about we find

a civilized way

of ironing this all out?

Over breakfast maybe?

Still got a weakness

for waffles?

I'm buying.

You read my mind.

Pancakes and waffles.

Will do, Duncan.

Thank you.

And for you, miss?

Wait, Lucy?

Randall.

It's so good to see you.

Hi. Wow. Duncan and Lucy.

Nice to see you two

together again.

(Both):
We're not together.

Duncan, you didn't

tell me Lucy's back in town.

Well, that's because I'm as

surprised as you are, my friend.

Well, welcome home, Lucy.

You still like your waffles

with strawberries

and a pyramid of whipped cream?

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