Page 50 of Devil's Riches

11

Alexis

I shookmy head and stared at Nate with wide eyes, curiosity well and truly piqued. “No. What’s that?”

“It’s a private social club,” he explained. “Devil’s Playhouse is just a nickname. The real name is the Mayfair Club.”

“Oh. That rings a bell.” I wrinkled my forehead. “Where is it?”

“It’s halfway between Arcadia Bay and Avalon City. You know the red and white lighthouse on the coastal highway?”

“Yes.”

“About a mile after that, there’s a massive building that looks like a cross between a castle and a mountain lodge. That’s it.”

“Oh. I know that place. I always thought it was someone’s house,” I said, dropping my gaze to the laptop. I quickly typed ‘Mayfair Club Avalon Island’ into Google so I could read more about it.

“It used to be a house, back in the day, but a developer bought it a while ago and renovated it,” Nate said.

“Oh, yeah. It says right here—Gerald Ellesmere purchased the mansion in 1979, upon which it was converted into an exclusive member’s only club,” I replied, peering at the computer screen. “Wow, it has everything.”

The website I was looking at had a writeup about the Devil’s Playhouse along with several photos of it. Apparently, the venue contained three bars, two nightclubs, a formal ballroom for exclusive black-tie events, a cigar lounge, a rooftop restaurant along with three other restaurants on the inside, two movie theaters, a jazz lounge, burlesque stage shows, private dining rooms, and a casino. On top of that, there was an entire floor of private suites that could be booked for long or short-term stays.

I scrolled down the page to look at the photos. The magnificent exterior featured a mix of gray stonework and timber, ornate gables, and polygonal turrets which gave it an imposing air of old-world wealth and superiority.

The interior was just as impressive. The private dining rooms in the eastern wing had been decorated with a Parisian Bohemian flair, featuring eclectic art and gilded mirrors on the walls, tables with cabaret-style lamps, chandeliers with crystals in the shape of feathers hanging from the ceiling, and colorful velvet cushions artfully arranged on chairs. The bars appeared to have been inspired by the speakeasies of the early twentieth century with polished wood, vintage light fixtures, and dark wallpaper, and the spacious formal ballroom was filled with marble and gold.

It was incredibly lavish and beautiful; the kind of place that conjured up mental images of men in smoking jackets and women in dazzling gowns.

“When you said private social club, I pictured something small,” I said, marveling at the pictures. “This is more like an entertainment center. They even have a casino.”

Nate nodded. “Yeah, it’s huge,” he said. “The older members of the families on our list would have memberships, too.”

“And they all hang out there when they feel like a night out?”

“I think so. Unless there’s a major event somewhere else.”

“Are you a member?” I asked, raising my brows.

“No. I’ve never even been there.”

“But you’re a Lockwood. Wouldn’t an exclusive club like this be right up your alley?” I asked, arching a brow. “A place to party away from all the riff-raff like me?”

He laughed drily. “From what I’ve heard, it’s mostly tailored to older people, so I’ve never had any interest in it,” he said. “I’d rather go to bars in the city or parties at Blackthorne.”

“Could you get a membership, though? So we can get in and do some people watching?”

“That’s what I’d like to do, but I’m not sure how. I really don’t know much about the place,” he said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “We could ask my mom, because she’s a member, but I don’t think she’s going to answer any of our questions anytime soon.”

I let out a brief snort of amusement. “No shit.”

Nate cocked his head. “Does that site say anything about memberships?”

I scanned the rest of the webpage. “Yes, but not much. The person who wrote it isn’t actually a member. Just a journalist who got invited to do a writeup of the place.”

“What did they say?”

“They were told that there are two avenues of entry to the club. The first is by invitation. In that case, prospective members are proposed by one of the owners and seconded by two high-ranking members. Women must be at least twenty-two to be considered, and men at least twenty-five.”

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