Page 8 of He's the One

“Good grief, Theodore. You don’t need notes. Surely you can remember what you’ve come up with. Or are you going to confirm, yet again, that we wasted all that money on private education?”

Theo’s heart fluttered. If he panicked, he was lost. “Mud racing,” he blurted.Bugger!He hadn’t intended to start with that.

His father’s jaw dropped.“We can’t have horses churning up the grass. James would throw a fit.”

“Not horses,” Theo said quickly. James, the head gardener,wouldthrow a fit. “Companies would pay us to host events where teams follow an obstacle course through the grounds. The muddier the better. So our wet area would be ideal. The obstacles are things like ice baths, climbing nets, going through pipes, swimming through flooded tunnels, taking leaps of faith…”

Two faces gaped at him. Another smirked.

“We—we could set up Asquith Hall as a registered venue and provide everything ourselves or use a company to do it and…”

Theo’s voice trailed off as he took in his father’s pained expression.

“And these muddy people are going to pay to look around the hall?” his mother asked.

“Well… There’ll be mobile showers and things, and while they might not want to look around that day, once they see what—”

His father shook his head. “No. Next.”

“Pop-up restaurants. They—”

“No,” said his mother. “We already have sufficient places for people to eat.”

“But that…”Isn’t the point.Theo let it drop. He kept his gaze away from Dastardly who was no doubt enjoying the disembowelment.

“Making the hall more of a venue at Christmas,” Theo said with more confidence than he felt. “Hire an ice rink, create a lighting extravaganza, run a Christmas market, have craft workshops, Santa, reindeer… And I think a winter ball would be great. A fairy-themed one. We could make it magical.” He sucked in a breath. “There are—”

“We do enough at Christmas,” his mother said. “Nofairyball. Next.”

The sneer on the wordfairywas aimed directly at Theo. He glanced at Dastardly, who’d been all for making Christmas more of an event. But the guy said nothing in support. Why had Theo even thought he might? Before thinking about it stopped him, he turned to Dastardly. “You agreed with making Asquith more of destination at Christmas.”

“Not by hosting afairyball, Lord Theo,” the bastard replied.

Theo ploughed on. “What about using part of our woods for a permanent treetop challenge? There are companies who set up rope walkways, zip lines and platforms, and you can make your way between the trees at a high level, but in safety. Everyone is doubly secured. Even children can do it. There can be two or three different setups according to age and ability.”

“Have you tried it?” Dastardly asked.

“Well, no, but—” Theo was not good with heights and the guy knew that.He’s such an arsehole!

“Next,” his father said.

Don’t give up.“I just wanted to add that Leeds Castle has a treetop challenge. It’s at the edge of their site and very popular. They sell all sorts of connected paraphernalia.”

His father raised his eyebrows. “Like stuffed monkeys?”

“Probably, but badges and bags and books…”

“Next,” said his mother.

Theo’s enthusiasm was evaporating. “Charthouse Productions want to make a television series here. Four episodes about what it’s like living and working at Asquith Hall. They’re offering a lot of money and they’d like to cover the Christmas period.”

“Absolutely not. Ridiculous idea.”

Theo flinched at his mother’s steely voice. His father made him quake sometimes, but his mother scared the shit out of him.

She stood and moved behind his father’s chair. “Do you remember Francis and the hoo-ha when he and his family allowed the media into their place in Devon?”

“Er…no,” Theo said.

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