Fordell - 10. Ford Ch 10

After I had eaten, I burped loudly, and said excuse me in German. I said that I was sorry that I can not remember no more apart from coming from Zurich, and I had no idea how I managed to remember that, although I do get flashes of looking at a large castle, but I was not sure where the castle is located.

For the next two days, I tried to remember some more but I couldn’t, but I was able to speak a bit of English now, which was helping with communicating with the doctor and nurses. When a man entered my room near the end of day three in hospital, I smiled as I recognised him.

“Hello Robert, what are you doing all this way here in Tasmania?” I asked in clear English, and at first I was a little confused, then memories came flooding back again, and I remembered that the big castle that I was looking at was actually the priory.

“You remember me? Do you know what my title is?” Robert asked me, “Yes, of course I do, you are Lord Linley, from Scotland,” I replied, “That is very correct, you have your memory back, thank goodness, when you disappeared, and didn’t call Charles, he called me, and I jumped onto a plane as soon as I could. Luckily I was already part of the way, in Zurich,” Robert replied.

“Did he say Lord Linley?” a male voice asked from the doorway, “That is correct doctor, I am your patient’s second cousin, Lord Linley from Scotland, and your patient is… well never mind that, just call him what you have for the past few days,” Robert replied and I nodded my head to say that he was correct.

“Well Lord Linley, if I may have a moment with my patient, to do some checks please,” the Doctor said to Robert, “No, and please do not write down my name or title on his charts, I also ask that you continue calling him Patient G, as it is a matter of security.

Once you have done your checks, I ask that you prepare his discharge papers, also under then name of Patient G, as I will be taking him home to Edinburgh, so he can recuperate from his injuries,” Robert said to the doctor.

“What about his hospital bill?” the doctor asked, “I will pay that with cash, plus a little extra for your efforts, with just a receipt under the name of patient G,” Robert replied. He closed the door and leaned against it so no one can walk in, and he closed his eyes to rest, while the doctor did a few tests to check my memory. The doctor asked me what week, month and year it is, who is the Prime Minister, and do I know my date of birth.

I gave the correct answers to all but the last two, where I asked if he wanted the name of the Australian Prime Minister or the United Kingdom Prime Minister, and I only gave the year I was born, with the doctor looking at me and I smiled. The doctor shrugged his shoulders.

“Well if you are clever enough to avoid most of the last question, then you must be ok, and I can discharge you, but you need to rest for another week at least because of your head injury, and the plaster will need to come off your ankle in four weeks time,” the doctor informed me.

Robert followed the doctor out, and I changed into some casual clothes that Robert had brought with me, which I presumed were mine, or he bought some new clothes for me, as they fitted perfectly. When the doctor and Robert returned, I was dressed and ready to go.

I have signed the discharge papers, and paid the bill, so we are ready to go, and no he will not go out in a wheelchair, for security reasons,” Robert announced, and I saw that the doctor was about to object, but seeing Robert’s expression he decided against it.

Robert watched me closely as I hobbled along on crutches towards the hospital exit, and as I looked around, I realised that I was in a city hospital. “We are in Hobart, and if you can walk two and a bit blocks, we are booked into the Grand Chancellor Hotel for a few nights,” Robert announced to me.

“That is fine by me, is Hunter here too?” I asked, “Yes, he is in an adjoining suite, as am I,” Robert replied. “Good, because I could do with a bit more rest,” I replied, as I struggled to move forward to keep up with Robert, who was walking a little too fast for me, and he soon realised this and slowed down.

Once we entered the hotel, we went directly to the elevators, and Robert pressed the button for the top floor, and just before the door closed, a man just squeezed inside in time, and I soon realised that it was Hunter. “Lord Edwin, it is good to see you on your feet again,” Hunter said to me.

“Thanks, I absolutely hate hospitals, always getting woken up at all hours, for temperature and blood pressure checks,” I replied smiling, and Hunted nodded his understanding. Once on the top floor, Hunter led the way to a door and used a key card to open the door, before motioning me to enter, as I saw Robert enter the suite next door.

“I have brought some of your belongings from the Manor, since the Yacht won’t be back till later today, if I have missed anything, just let me know and I will go and get it from a nearby store,” Hunter said to me.

I looked around the suite, and I saw a set of pyjamas laid out on the bed, do I really have to get into those, can I just lay down on the lounge and watch an old movie or something,” I said to Hunter. “Yes sir, but you are to stay put, if you need anything just yell out, I will be here for a few hours,” Hunter said as I lay down on the couch, and Hunter spread a blanket over me and handed me the remote control.

I must have dozed off to sleep, as I woke up to the television being off, my mobile was in easy reach on the coffee table along with a jug of water and a glass, and my crutches were leaning against the nearby chair, also in easy reach, as I pulled the blanket away and swung my legs around.

Once on my feet, I carefully made my way to the bathroom, and when I came out, Hunter was there waiting for me, “I’m not a total invalid, I can do some things on my own,” I said to Hunter, who just chuckled, and he wrapped the blanket around me once I was back on the couch, and he delivered me a platter of cut up fruit, dry biscuits and a few different kinds of cheese, plus a tall glass of fruit juice.

“Lord Lindsey will be having dinner with you tonight in your suite, as he will be leaving in the morning to return to Europe, now that you are out of hospital, and in my care,” Hunter announced to me. I groaned at this, and Hunter just smiled and headed back to the kitchen where he was preparing something that smelt nice.

After a nice dinner, and some discussions on how things are going with my projects in Strahan, Robert said good night, and let me know that he will stay in touch, once he is back in Scotland. “Hunter, before you retire for the night, is there any news on those men who were after me?” I asked.

“Yes sir, but it can wait till morning, goodnight,” Hunter said before he left the suite, and I headed to the bedroom to shower and head to bed. The next morning, I was up early, and sitting on the couch watching the morning news.

“… In the news this morning, due to an anonymous tip off, the Federal and Tasmanian Police arrested six men, and two women in an overnight police raid.

The eight people are all German citizens, and they were caught in possession of a large quantity of illegal firearms and explosives. Bail was refused, and they will remain detained in Maximum security, until their next court appearance in two months time…”

A noise in the kitchen made me jump in fright, and I saw that it was Hunter, who I did not hear enter the suite. “Geeze; Give me a heart attack, I didn’t know you had arrived,” I commented to Hunter, “I am sorry My Lord. I am presuming that you are the anonymous tip off?” Hunter replied.

“I can’t say as it is anonymous,” I replied smiling, and Hunter laughed at this. During breakfast, I asked if Robert got off to the airport without any media trouble, and I was informed that he had, and currently enjoying Business Class travel.

We spent one more night at the hotel, before I convinced Hunter to take me home to the manor, where I was kept confined indoors for the next three weeks, which I found very unsettling. I kept myself busy with daily calls to Mum at her new place at the village, which I learnt now has seven residents.

I also was in daily contact with Brad, who kept me updated with how the lifestyle village is going, as well as the construction project of the new administration base across the road from the Risby Cove jetty, and the accommodation units for the crewmembers of the catamaran and the main yacht.

I also made weekly calls to Scotland to speak to Robert as well as Alexander, to be updated on what is happening with my businesses there. In the last week of my confinement, I decided to return to Zurich for a short while, as I had always felt like a normal person there.

I had already contacted the real estate agency that was looking after my apartment, where I learnt, that the apartment has been leased for short-term holidays, and that it is currently vacant and there is no future bookings, so I asked that the apartment be reserved to me for the next three months.

With my plaster due to be removed, Hunter made an appointment to local GP at the very last appointment for the day, which was at 5.45 pm, and Charles ferried us into town in the boat, where Brad had his vehicle parked near the jetty, with Mum seated next to him.

Dropping off Charles at the supermarket to do some shopping, we headed to the nearby GP clinic, where Hunter went inside, to wait for the second last patient of the day to leave, and to fill in a ghost patient form. When the previous patient exited the surgery, Hunter stepped out the door and signalled to us, before going back inside.

“What do you mean the appointment is not for you, if not who is it for?” we heard the receptionist say as we entered, and just as the doctor appeared from down the hallway. “What is the problem here Mrs Douglas?” the doctor asked, and Hunter stepped up to the doctor.

“If I may speak to you briefly in private,” Hunter said quietly, and I could see that the receptionist was trying to listen in, as Hunter led the doctor down the passageway. A few moments later, the doctor and Hunter returned.

“You can finish up for the day thankyou Mrs Douglas, I will close up once I have seen the patient,” the doctor said, and we could see that she was about to protest before grabbing her handbag and leaving through the front door. Hunter locked the front door to the clinic before facing the doctor.

“Doctor Kyle Williams, may I present to you His Lordship Edwin Crawford, the Baron of Fordell,” Hunter announced as he indicated towards me, and he gave a short bow. “My Lord, it is a deep pleasure to meet you, I believe that you are a Tasmanian, and that you now reside in the Strahan region,” the doctor responded.

“Yes I do, this is my mother, the Lady Alexandria Crawford, but she is known by her maiden name of Lucas, at the new Lifestyle Village, which is one of my newest projects, and Hunter you have met is my minder and butler,” I replied.

“You have come to have the plaster removed, My Lord?” the Doctor asked, “Yes that is correct, I had a fractured ankle from a nasty fall that I had three weeks ago,” I replied. “I see, well usually it is five to six weeks of healing time for fractures, but I guess it will be fine, as long as you do no running or jumping of any kind in the next three weeks, and a bit of light walking will do it some good,” the doctor replied.

A few minutes later, I was finally free of the plaster, as I wriggled my toes and moved my foot up and down, which ached a little. After paying the bill, Hunter asked that our visit not be recorded anywhere, and that our presence in town is kept as quiet as possible, which the doctor agreed to.

I sent a text message to Charles, asking him to catch a taxi to the jetty and to make his way home, as we would be staying in town for a little longer. As I instructed, Brad drove us to a restaurant, where we enjoyed a quiet dinner at the back of the restaurant, away from the rest of the patrons, and my back facing the front, so no one could see my face.

When the restaurant staff approached the table, I kept my head down, we managed to have an enjoyable evening, and during dinner, I announced that Hunter and I would be travelling to Zurich for a few months, so I can have a restful holiday. Brad ensured me that he would take great care of looking after Mum while I am away, which I was pleased about.

When we were dropped off at the jetty to wait for our ride back to the Manor, the Captain of the yacht called out to me, which made me jump a little. “My Lord, may I speak to you onboard for a few minutes please?” Captain Hakney called out, and a few moments later, we were onboard and heading up to the Executive lounge.

“Thankyou for your time sir, I called the manor to ask for a delay in collecting you, so that I may speak to you,” the Captain said as we took a seat and Hunter remained standing nearby. “Sir we have had a large number of resignations, with Andrea, the first officer, Maria the cook, Tobias the Bar Steward, Anita and Mike the Bosun and Lead Deckhand all resigning,” the captain announced to me.

“That is quite a large group of resignations. Did any of them give a reason?” I asked, “Yes sir, the incident with those men chasing you has shaken them up quite a bit,” the Captain replied. “I see, well we will just have to cancel any upcoming bookings until more crew can be found. Is there anything else?” I replied.

“Yes sir, I received this just half an hour ago,” the Captain replied as he handed over an email.
“Owners of Motor Yacht Calamity Jane, from Production Company of Television reality show – Below Deck, subject, charter of yacht for up coming new season of rebooted show,” I read and I was very surprised by this. “They got to be kidding, we are too big for this kind of thing, send a reply to say that we are not interested,” I said to the Captain.

“I suggest that you read all of it sir,” the Captain said, and I looked at the email again. They stated that the production company was willing to pay the full cost of chartering the yacht for a period of thirteen weeks, no matter how many guests are booked to stay onboard the yacht.

They said all they wanted was full access to all general areas of the yacht, plus the crew area and bridge. The email states that they are aware that there are fifteen guest cabins, and that they estimate that 8 to twelve cabins will be occupied for the duration of the series, including two cabins for the filming crew.

I handed the email to Hunter to look at and I watched as his face expressions changes many times, as he read it all. “What are your views on this email?” I asked Hunter, “You are asking me, My Lord?” he asked sounding a little surprised. “Yes, as there is no way that I am letting this go ahead unless I am onboard too,” I responded, “Oh I see now, and I guess that means a lot of the remaining senior crew will also be onboard?” Hunter asked.

“Yes it is, and it will be a major condition if I allow for it to happen. Captain, when do the crew who have resigned leave the yacht?” I asked, “Most have already gone sir, just Anita and Mike remaining until tomorrow,” the Captain replied. “Call them up here, I would like to speak to them,” I asked.