There were other theaters.
If she disobeyed her father, he too might do his best to destroy the theater. It would be selfish of her to stay.
They were practically finished fixing her manuscript and he’d easily find another assistant. Besides that, Carter had Mrs. Grey and all the other talented people working hard to make it a success. He’d been successful without her before; he would be successful without her going into the future.
Striking out on her own had been nothing more than a dream. But, oh, it had been a wonderful one while it lasted. Her play would come to life and Drury Lane Theater would prosper.
It would be worth it.
She angrily brushed at the tear rolling down her cheek.
She just had one last task to accomplish before returning home to her parents.
Sacrifice
Carter tugged at his cravat, loosening it. And then tugged at it again. A good part of the afternoon had passed since his father had left. Elle had said she’d be back, but remained notably absent.
Wondering where the devil she’d taken off to, he threw open the door to his office and stood on the landing, clenching and unclenching his fists.
“Miss Sparrow,” he bellowed at the top of his lungs.
Light footsteps tapping up the stairs had his mouth twisting into a satisfied grin, but it fell the instant he saw they didn’t belong to his playwright.
“Miss Sparrow is gone.” It was Mrs. Grey, looking ruffled for the first time he could remember. Apparently, he wasn’t the only person having a miserable day.
“She left?” And then a sense of relief hit him. He’d given her the afternoon off.
“She isn’t coming back,” his financial manager announced.
“No. Her sister is ill. I gave her the day off.”
“No, she told me goodbye. She isn’t coming back.”
“Not coming—” Carter inhaled, a sense of doom churning his gut. “What do you mean she isn’t coming back?” His breath caught in his throat, and in a single motion, he untangled the knot in his blasted cravat and threw it onto the floor.
With a wary glance, Mrs. Grey stepped forward and dropped an envelope onto his desk. “She asked me to give you this at the end of the day.”
He stared at the folded paper like it might have a snake in it.
“When?” he asked with gritted teeth. She’d carefully written his name across the front in flowery letters, and staring at it, Carter felt a burning behind his eyes.
“Earlier this morning?” She frowned. “Just after noon.”
“Did she say why?”
“I imagine it’s the usual reason. I had thought you’d be different with her—I’d hoped anyway,” Mrs. Grey sighed. “I warned you, but of course you wouldn’t listen to me. You really should have listened to me.”
She was backing toward the door, but Carter held up a hand as he unsealed the missive. “Stay.”
* * *
Carter,
He smiled a little to himself—that she’d addressed him by his given name.
After careful consideration, I’ve decided that although I’ve found tremendous satisfaction working at Drury Lane, I cannot abandon my family.
And nor should you! I’m not talking about your father, I’m talking about the theater—because it IS your family. It is everything to you. And to save it, you are going to have to save your natural-born family first.
