More Luceti headcanon - I Knew Drury Lane
It wasn't the clean lines and beautiful clothes of Drury Lane that drew young Archie. It was the theatre, tall and majestic, with its vaulted ceiling like a blue and cream cathedral to the arts. When his family's carriage clipped softly through the intersection, he would slip out as softly as possible and run off without them knowing. This only worked the first two times they visited London. After that, they became more watchful of him, and he had to become cleverer in order to escape. He loved his father, but the man rarely had time for plays, and Archie wanted to see every play ever written before he died.
It had seemed like a reasonable goal at the age of seven.
He found early on that the most he had to pay to see a play was a winning smile. If he had to, he would mingle with an unfamiliar family as if he belonged. He watched from the balcony, hanging over the edge when he could get away with it, lips moving along with the lines even if he didn't know them. He had a good eye for faces, and it didn't take long for him to know all the actors. At the age of nine, he fell in love with Cleopatra.
Her name, of course, was Catherine Cobham, not Cleopatra, and after the performance was over, he sneaked backstage to see her. Peering through the keyhole, he caught a glimpse of the attendants helping to undress her, but didn't see her until she was halfway into all her underpinnings. When the door opened suddenly, he nearly fell through.
“Pah! What are you doing here?”
He felt a foot nudge his ribs hard, more a push than a kick, though his stays took the blow and kept it from hurting. He scrambled backwards, then heard her voice.
“William, what's going on?”
“Just a boy. You've no business here, lad, spying on a lady while she's dressing.”
“Ohhhh, won't you look at that!”
Archie peered upwards, audacious as a child can be, into the laughing blue eyes of his first love. She had her hands planted on her knees and was leaning forward, watching his face with a fond smile.
“You're no harm to me, young man. You're just a bit curious, aren't you?”
Archie couldn't speak, too overwhelmed by the fact that the love of his life was actually talking to him.
Miss Cobham raised an eyebrow. “Cat got your tongue?”
“N-no, ma'am,” he managed, only then remembering to close his gaping mouth.
“Well, stand up, child. It won't do to get those fine clothes dirty on the floor.”
Archie scrambled to his feet, still incapable of ripping his eyes away from that beautiful face. “Yes, ma'am.”
“Good boy. Now. Why were you peeping through my keyhole like you were up to no good?”
“I wasn't!”
Miss Cobham rolled her eyes. “Oh, I won't hold it against you. You're a curious little man, as all boys are. It's in your nature, same as the blue in your eyes. But in the future, you should know not all women take to such behavior.” She leaned in and whispered. “But some do.”
“Kitty!”
“Oh, shut your gob, William. I won't lie to the poor boy. He's probably had more lies fed to him than is good for him.”
“I-I wasn't peeping like that!” Archie finally cried in protest.
Kitty stopped and stared at him in genuine surprise.
Archie rubbed his sweaty hands on his breeches. “I just wanted to see you. You were so beautiful in the play, saying those beautiful words.”
The actress' smile was bordering on mischievous. “You like plays?”
“I love them! My grandfather wants me to be an officer in the navy, but I want to be an actor!”
She tsked. “It's not a life for everyone. What's your name, little man?”
It took a second for him to remember. “A-Archie. Kennedy.”
“Adorable. Well, you listen to me, Mr. Kennedy. You don't let your grandpapa tell you what you want to be, you understand? But don't follow in my footsteps just because you've taken a fancy to me. Being an actor's not at all as glamorous as it looks. You have to be in love with it-not with the plays, mind you, but with the stage. What do you think about that?”
Archie wet his lips. “Can I love the plays, too?”
“Every word. But if you don't love the stage, it won't make a lick of difference.”
“How will I know?”
She made a petulant sound like a sigh. “When you hear it calling you back every time you're away, you'll know. If you never hear that, you were never meant for it. It's not a bad thing to love the theatre and never work for it. In fact, it's better.”
His throat worked, and eventually sound came out. “Wh...what if you love someone in the theatre?”
Her eyes widened, and she turned an astonished look to her assistant as she began to laugh out loud. “Oh, this one's not just an admirer, William! I think the lad's in love with me!”
Archie's heart sank and his face burned. He whirled around to run in the opposite direction of his humiliation when her long hand on his slender shoulder stopped him.
“Just a moment before you go crying your heart out.”
He turned, his eyes meeting hers as she smiled and drew an ornate pin from her hair. Carefully, she placed it in his hand, curling his little fingers around it.
“There. You keep that. It's no shame to love anything or anyone. You hold on to that love for whoever it's aimed at, eh? You love well and strong, and that's good for people.” Then she gave him a wink and released him. “Now. I'm sure you've given your poor mother enough hysterics for one night. Go find her.”
Archie didn't remember actually finding his family, or the frightened tears of his mother, or the sting of the switch. He only remembered settling comfortably into his grandfather's arms after and showing him the lovely pin the actress had given him. His grandfather had only laughed and misunderstood.
“The girls already adore you, my boy! I've a good feeling about your future.”