“But none of the others have you in charge of them,” Talia cut back in, “which is one of several reasons we’d very much like to stay here.”

Sophia couldn’t argue. This woman was a looker, and she’d mastered a commanding affability they must teach rich women at prep school. Certainly, other castles would come with other rich, entitled owners who weren’t nearly as easy on the eyes in skinny jeans and soft, snug sweaters.

“If that’s the case, we’ll have to come to terms on a few new caveats.”

Talia grabbed a nearby iPad and tapped the screen. “Lay them on me.”

“Any filming done in tourist areas of the house will be done after 4 p.m., and the equipment used will need to be moved by ten o’clock the next morning.”

Talia pressed her lips together, no doubt thinking of all the extra hours this would require for the crew.

“You can shoot outdoors any time of day or night, so long as it doesn’t impede tourist traffic around the grounds.”

“Wait, people will still be, like, hanging around in the background?” Brian finally engaged. “That’ll wreck our sound all to shit.”

Talia cleared her throat. “What he means to ask is, if we encourage people to watch us film, might we ask them to observe a few moments of quiet during the actual takes?”

“I’m sure some people would find it interesting to be part of that,” Victoria agreed. “And we’ll make reasonable accommodations to cordon off various parts of the grounds as needed. You can also shoot on the walkways atop the battlements as well as atop the outward towers.”

“What about the big tower, in the middle?” Brian asked.

“Sadly, that’s not feasible this time of year,” Victoria said quickly, “both due to tourist traffic and the way large equipment like cameras and lights would alter the skyline of not only the castle, but also the village.”

“Surely the village could handle a little bit of a blocked view for a few days,” Brian pushed, and once again Sophia felt a bit peeved to find herself agreeing with him.

“I understand why you’d think so.” Victoria maintained her politely firm tone. “But we actually have substantial photo tourism in the town, and a great many people book wedding shoots a full year in advance to try to get images with the castle in the background.”

“Haven’t they ever heard of photoshop?” Brian grumbled.

“I’m afraid this point is firm. I’ve already agreed to extra work for my people, extra inconvenience for our visitors, and extra hours for our security staff. Alienating photographers and brides alike would put a strain on our relationship with too many locals and tourists.”