“Exciting or heretical?” her mother asked, “since you’re standing inside an eight-hundred-year-old estate?”

“I see the irony clearly,” Vic admitted. “Every power I hold was handed down from those who came before. It’s not easy to think about the future when your entire world is based on the past, but none of it was the past when it was built. Each Duke of Northland built his legacy in his own times. Some did so better than others, but from the Wars of the Roses to the Industrial Revolution, this family stayed in a position of privilege by taking bold steps to meet the needs and opportunities of their age.”

“Well said.” Her father urged her on. “What opportunity do you want to seize?”

“Actually, I may have already grabbed it.” She inhaled a deep breath, and when she exhaled, the words also poured out in a rush. “I bought the production rights to Emma Volant’s next movie. Rather, it’s a book, or it will be a book soon, and when it is, I intend to turn it into a movie, here in Northland, on our shores and with our people.”

Both parents stared at her, his expression bemused and hers appalled, but she’d apparently stunned them into silence. She charged on, giving voice to the myriad of thoughts that warred within as she’d poured over facts and figures as well as risk assessments. “We don’t currently have all the infrastructure, but as I mentioned, perhaps ineloquently, the book isn’t finished, much less published. We have months if not a year before we could begin filming. In the meantime, I intend to leave the land office in Archie’s very capable hands so I may spend more time in London and possibly Los Angeles.”

“Of course.” Her mother scoffed.

“We’ll woo some established artists and technical experts away from the city by offering them the type of locations they cannot replicate on sound stages and with a cost of living large metro areas cannot possibly offer. We’ll partner with local universities for visual and sound technologies to keep investment figures low until we know if we can make it work. The first film will call for a modest budget, and strong ties to a local artist will foster a sense of community even as we may have to outsource some higher end jobs until more locals gain the type of experience necessary to staff an undertaking of this magnitude.”

“Let me guess, you intend to lean heavily on the liaisons you’ve amassed during the current filming schedule? Perhaps pull from your new personal contacts?” Her mother put her emphasis right where Vic had expected her to.