“You may wonder why we are looking at your work, and why now?” This is Lauren. “The thing is, we travel a lot. We check out what others are doing. We loved Adam’s work. Terrible about his death, so untimely. Not to mention brutal. In any event, we were in Chicago and saw the Marie Curie play. Your set was so clever.”

“Well, most of my cleverness has been to disguise a lack of money.”

Molly says, “You are accumulating a reputation in Chicago.”

This takes Cate completely by surprise.

“We thought it might be interesting to see what you’d do with a larger canvas.”

“Please, show us what you’ve brought.” Lauren nods toward Cate’s messenger bag. Cate pulls out her laptop and opens to the 3-D drawings of her sets, then angles the screen so they can all see them together. She also pulls her living room model from a canvas tote.

Cate clears her throat; she has rehearsed. “I’m trying to telegraph Vita’s ballast, her weight in her world. As you show in the play, she traveled light emotionally. If she lived now, she’d just be superficial. Cheating wife. Neglectful mother. But she had a title and a castle. She dragged her family’s past behind her like a train on a wedding dress. The play puts this across so beautifully. I’m just trying to underline it.