Love, Once and Always Page #5

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That's an opportunity.

True.

And we could hold Grace's

Gilded Age Ball

just like she used to do

and really show off

the estate to Niven

the way it's meant to be seen.

That seems very ambitious.

We have two days

to come up with a sales pitch.

What do you think?

A golf course that doubles

as a history park.

Yeah, why not?

Maybe it's the moonlight

but I think you might be

on to something.

Deal?

Deal.

[laughs]

So the fountain stays put.

That's right.

And we won't have

to move a stone.

And then the great hall

becomes our grand lobby.

We make a pretty good team.

Like Hamilton and Burr.

Before all that unpleasantness.

Sure. What's next?

You know, for an architect

you have some pretty

good hands-on skills.

Thanks. My dad used to let me

help him fix things

around the house.

Do you know that Aunt Grace

and Arthur

were married here

on the estate?

I wonder how many other weddings

this property has seen.

Weddings.

That's not a bad idea

to add to the proposal.

Yeah.

You know, courtship in the late

1800's was truly fascinating.

A gentleman's invitation to

a dance was often delivered

to a lady in a letter to avoid

any misunderstanding,

and suitors would woo their

beloved with moonlit serenades

and poetry and acts of chivalry,

of course.

Sounds exhausting.

[laughs]

Will you help me move this,

please?

Sure.

Oh, watch out!

Chivalrous.

Well, I think I'm gonna go

wash up

and then what do you say we head

to the festival?

Oh, it is so great

that you're bringing back

Grace's Gilded Age Ball.

Well, it is the finale

of our pitch to Niven

to preserve Wycliff House.

Give me those.

I'll put these up around town.

That'll show Niven what

Wycliff means to this town.

Take a shot, folks.

Take a shot,

and win a prize.

Come on. Take a shot

and win a prize.

Take home a beautiful antique

vase from the Gilded Age.

Miss, what about you?

Oh, no, no, no.

Thank you very much.

Come on, Lucy. It looks fun.

I bet you picked up some skills

back in England.

The only targets I'm

used to hitting these days

are third quarter donations. No.

Thank you. No thank you.

I get it.

You're scared.

That's cool.

Scared?

Ok. Since you put it

that way,

I'll take two turns.

I'll show you who is scared.

Blech!

What was that?

Your technique is

all over the place.

Look, may I?

So, the thing with darts is

you gotta line it up

from your shoulders.

Raise your elbow.

Good to go.

Alright. Here goes.

Hey, look who's here.

Looks like you're getting into

the spirit of things, Lucy.

We're just taking a break

from the estate to enjoy

the festival.

You know what?

This does look like fun.

I'm gonna play, too.

Hannah, you clear out

all my prizes every year.

Thank you.

Duncan's been really

mysterious lately,

what have you two been up to?

Just trying to do what's best

for our place.

Well, I've set up the perfect

opportunity for you.

I hope you're ready for Niven.

Maybe your sales pitch is more

on target than your dart game.

And then you can be done with

the estate and head back home.

That is still the plan,

isn't it?

Yes.

Yes, it is.

Don't feel bad, Lucy.

It's an acquired skill.

You know, at Oxford we start

with our weaker hand

when we play freshmen.

[applause]

It won me a round or two.

Ooh, thank you.

That's nice.

Uh, that was amazing.

[laughing]

I'm glad my post-grad

came in handy for something.

Thank you for sharing.

Mmm.

You're welcome.

Sharing an estate is easy.

Sharing my popcorn,

that's a challenge.

Well, I'd say we're doing

a pretty good job at it.

You know, we were always

different.

But somehow it just works.

You know what they say

about opposites.

So uh, you and Hannah

seem pretty close, huh?

Sure. I mean, she's been

very helpful with things.

You sure it ends there?

Yes, I am sure it ends there.

[laughs]

What about you?

Are you, uh, are you

seeing anyone back in London?

No, not really.

The last guy I dated

was perfectly nice

but he just didn't appreciate

the things I'm passionate about,

you know?

The final straw was when

I caught him listening

to a cricket match at

a Michelangelo exhibit.

[thunder rolls]

Woah.

We should probably head back.

Yeah, and I've got a conference

call to prepare.

Not to mention a Gilded

Age Ball to plan.

Let's go.

Brr, that came down fast!

Let's get a fire started,

warm this place up.

It'll be a lot easier to fix

things up around here

if our fingers aren't

frozen solid.

That's good.

Hurry up.

I'm trying.

Get closer. I'm freezing.

[phone rings]

Work calls. Again.

Alright, well I'll just be right

here trying to get this lit.

Hi, Josephine.

Lucy, how's the life of luxury?

[laughs]

Lovely.

Just missing a few modern

conveniences like heating.

Can you hear my

teeth chattering?

And Duncan?

Still a battle of wills?

Actually he's been a little more

Gandhi than Genghis lately.

Go figure.

Well I just wanted to let you

know that I emailed you

the spreadsheets you asked for

with all of the donor totals

for your call.

Perfect, thank you.

And I'll give you a heads up

when I know what time your

call is with the trustees.

In the meantime,

stay warm.

Bye, Josephine. Thank you.

Bye.

(Duncan):
Finally!

This is better.

Everything ok

on the home front?

Yeah. Just getting my ducks in

a row for my conference call

with the trustees.

The big promotion.

Mmmhmm.

You really want

this new job, huh?

Of course I do.

Then why don't you sound

so convinced?

It's just I got into museum work

because I love history.

Preserving the past.

Sharing a story that's been

told for centuries.

But my job keeps pulling me away

from all that.

You know, so much of the real

work is politics and red tape.

Budgets and donors.

So would this new promotion,

this-this dream job,

allow you to do more of

what you love?

Actually, I don't know.

Then why exactly

do you want it?

[knocking]

Who could that be?

I just invited a few

friends over.

That's how I think

you all can showcase

your merchandise right here.

So I could exhibit my vintage

costumes here.

Exactly.

And Eleanor,

I was thinking

you could showcase your baking

skills in a little bakery

we'll set up in the downstairs

kitchen.

Wonderful.

You know, I bet half the folks

in town would jump at the chance

to sell their antiques

and crafts up here

to visiting guests.

That's the idea.

And if our buyer

goes for our proposal,

your crafts and antiques will

have a home here year round.

So what do you think?

I'd say we think

it's all a great idea.

Fantastic.

Well, I'll need you

all to be set up

for our presentation

to Niven.

And we expect to see you

all tomorrow at the-

Ball, tomorrow night.

We can't wait.

Oh, we look forward to seeing

you take the first dance.

Just like Grace and Arthur

used to do.

First dance?

Well, we can't argue

with tradition, can we?

Wait a second.

Don't tell me that you are still

self-conscious about dancing.

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