Page 54 of Positively, Penelope

His frown deepened to such an extent that his chin quivered.

“And I think the very best businessmen can learn how to appreciate healthy competition, don’t you?”

“Healthy competition.” He released a humorless laugh. “Bah! Darling is a relic. It doesn’t stand a chance against Emblem.”

“Your attempt to hire me away from it would suggest otherwise.” She smiled much more sweetly than she felt and took a sip of her tea.

“Time will tell, won’t it, MissEdgewood.” With that, he pushed back from his chair, offering her a scowl before, with a dramatic wave of his hand, he disappeared out the door.

***

From: Penelope Edgewood

To: Izzy Edgewood, Luke Edgewood

Date: September24

Subject: The good, the unexpected, and the unexpectedly weird

Something weird just happened. Well, I mean weirder than my usual weird.

I’m sending a quick note before riding my bike to talk to Grandpa Gray about my visit with the Carringtons.

Anyway, the owner of Emblem Studios (the larger, newer theater here) approached me about an hour ago and tried to buy me away from The Darling House. I mean, movie stuff. Offering me twice the salary and a big office and, well, all the fancy bells and whistles. I turned him down, of course, but he knew things about my salary and my office that he couldn’t have known unless one of the Darling staff told him. It’s all very strange.

But the good news is, the Carringtons were just as lovely as I thought they’d be. I’ll tell more later, but they ADORE The Darling House, and Mrs. Carrington was particularly close to Lorianna Gray, which means she’s even more invested in bringing the theater back to the forefront of people’s minds. But the Carringtons are rather rich. And since their children were so fond of performing in the community theater, they are even more invested in seeing their grandchildren experience the same atmosphere and intimacy that The Darling House offers. What does this mean? They want to give to the theater. And I think we should do something grand for them to ensure they feel appreciated for their generosity. Like name the other stage after them (seriously, big money). I’m going to talk to GrandpaGray right now. And Mrs. Carrington mentioned something else, which I think may be another brilliant idea for visibility and fundraising. They also want to sponsor Kinleigh!!!

I’ll share more later!

From: Penelope Edgewood

To: Izzy Edgewood, Luke Edgewood

Date: September24

Subject: Re: The good, the unexpected, and the unexpectedly weird

Grandpa Gray was overcome by the generosity of his wife’s friends, the Carringtons, and is in full support of naming the larger stage after them. He also suggested we offer to some of the other rich theater-loving folks in town the opportunity to purchase a “theater box” to have named after them. We have four. Well, three if you count the fact that Grandpa Gray already said the Carringtons get one by default.

Then (are you ready for this?) we talked about renewing the Darling ball. You read that right!

A BALL!!!! Cinderella-style! (Which, BTW, is one of our spring productions!! AHHH!!!) It’s the year of Julie Andrews!

Oh, that just reminded me of something to add to the float.

Anyway, the ball used to happen in November, the weekend before the annualPeter Panperformance, as a thank-you from the Grays to the community.

I rode my bicycle all the way back to the theater so I could help with rehearsal tonight. What. A. DAY! What started outas a possible creepy conversation has ended in a magical opportunity sprinkled with my very own Cinderella moment.

AHHH!

Alec caught me while I was leaving Grandpa Gray’s study and asked what I was doing at the house in the middle of the day (I could have asked him the same thing, but I didn’t think about it until just now). Anyway, I told him about my meeting with the Carringtons and about Mr.Westing’s offer. He was genuinely astonished. I would be, too, at the audacity of the eerie man.

I hoped he would offer to drive me back to the theater, but he didn’t. He seemed preoccupied and I’m sure there are lots of things to think about when a production is being rehearsed.

AND (thanks to some guidance by the community theater group and approved by Grandpa Gray) we’re going to run another production.My Fair Ladyis performing in two weeks, but tryouts for—are you ready?—The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobecan go ahead and start so we can haveMy Fair Ladyperforming on the larger stage (the Carrington?).

Rehearsals for Narnia (the other title is too long to type) will be overlapping in the smaller theater, so when theMy Fair Ladyperformance ends, we can begin tryouts (and possibly rehearsals) forPeter Pan(which they do EVERY year in November and will transfer over to the smaller theater once Narnia is finished). That will lead into the big theater being used forThe Sound of Musicwith our touring company (hopefully). It’s going to be the fullest two seasons Darling has had in four years!

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