“Maybe that’s because our goals have never aligned closely enough with theirs,” she snapped back, then reined in her voice. She didn’t want to fight. She desperately wanted them to understand, to share her vision. “I know you’ve always tried to maintain a place of poise and dignity by staying above the fray, and maybe that was the right thing for you and your time, but I’m a different person, and mine is a different time. I want to let the people in. I want to know them, and I want them to know me. The movies are merely the beginning.”

“I won’t listen to any more of this rash nonsense.” Her mother pushed back from the table.

“I will,” a softer voice said.

Both of them turned to her father.

“I would very much like to hear more.”

Her chest constricted at his earnest faith in her. She swallowed a lump of emotion and tried to match his tone. “The economic impact has tremendous potential, and not merely on a per-film basis. The locations of popular movies could see a considerable uptick in tourism as well. Consider what Downton Abbey did for Highclere Castle or what Harry Potter did for Alnwick. Did you know that even the series Gentleman Jack more than quadrupled visitors to Shibden Hall? Those places are all every bit as remote as Penchant Castle, and I dare say, not as beautiful.”

The corner of his mouth twitched up. “I won’t quarrel with any of your points, and I admit I find your idea more than a little intriguing. However, you didn’t merely research a proposal. You apparently signed a contract. The speed and magnitude of that decision seems more than a bit rash.”

He turned to nod to his wife. “Like your mother, I do wonder at this rapid transformation and the new sense of urgency around you. She believes we owe it to the influence of Ms. LeBlanc, while I’ve reserved judgement until I hear from you on the subject.”

She hung her head and let her shoulders fall. This was the bottom line, what it all came down to, even for him. Not the new dreams themselves, but who sparked them. To lend credibility to a future she desired, she’d have to deny the person who finally made her feel as though she deserved to dream.

She couldn’t do it. Or perhaps she simply wouldn’t do it. No future could burn brightly enough to dim the light Sophia brought to her life, and to deny that would cost a pound of flesh she remained unwilling to pay.