Lord Edwin - 10. Lord Chapter 10

Later that evening, after returning from a nice dinner at a local restaurant, we relaxed in the lounge room, and I did a search for real estate properties for sale on the Isle of Man. “Hey Hunter, I may have something here, check this place out,” I commented when I came across an impressive five-bedroom home, or should I call it a Gothic home, since it was built in 1850 according to this information. It is set well back and on a hill from the main road, which included 4 acres of land plus a three-bedroom cottage,” I said to Hunter.

“Sir, that looks like a lot of hard work, and I have found an even better property. Located at Ballagarraghyn, the front gate is on the main road, but the residence is set back about 300 metres, and it is about 500 metres before the main junction coming into St John’s.

The manor is set on 2.5 acres of land, and it has a cinema, billiards room, gym room, and three main bedrooms, each with its bathrooms, plus over in the separate wing, there are two-bedroom suites, with separate ensuite bathroom, located above the billiards room and gym. The main living area has a reception lounge, a modern kitchen with a breakfast bar, a formal dining room, a sitting room and a family lounge.

The grounds outside, include a koi pond, flat lawn with mature trees, the separate garage has a workshop and three car bays, with one acre of the land being a side field,” Hunter said to me. “Sounds perfect, send a message to request a viewing for tomorrow, so we can check it out, and if it looks good then we can make an immediate offer,” I replied.

The following morning, we visited both properties, and I had to agree with Hunter, that the property that he found was much more suitable for what I had in mind, as a new home for Julia and the boys. When we returned to our accommodation, we found a limo waiting for us. “Looks like cousin Robert has arrived, I didn’t realise that he was arriving today though,” I commented, as we climbed out of our hire car, and Robert stepped out of the limo.

“Sorry to keep you waiting cousin, we have been checking out some of the local properties, with the view of purchasing something for Julia and the boys to live in,” I said to Robert as I shook his hand before he pulled me into a hug, which caught me by surprise a little. “My Lord, it is good to see you again,” Hunter said as he booed his head to Robert, “Hello Hunter, wonderful to see you too. Has my cousin been behaving himself?” Robert replied, which made Hunter chuckle, “I do my best to keep him in line sir,” Hunter replied, and Robert laughed.

I was a little shocked at what was said and remained silent. “Edwin, have you visited Julia yet?” Robert asked me, “No sir, I was thinking of doing that this afternoon or tomorrow,” I replied. “How about we go and do that now? Jump in and give the address to the driver,” Robert instructed us, and we did as he asked.

Five minutes and 3 kilometres later, we arrived at the front of the small house, that is the address for Julia and the boys. “Wait here, let me make the first announcement, and I will signal when its ok to come,” Robert said before stepping out of the limo, and I kept the door open so I could hear what is been said, as a young lady, exited the front door of the house.

“Julia Thornton?” I heard Robert say, “Yes, that is me, how can I help you? Are you lost?” Julia replied as she glanced over at the Limo, but I stayed just out of her sight. “No, not lost dear, I have come to speak to you. My name is Robert Lindsay, I am here on behalf of my second cousin,” Robert said.

“Wait, I’ve seen your face before, in the newspapers… oh I remember now. My Lord, how may I assist the Earl of Crawford today? It is an honour to meet you, sir,” Julia said as she gave a curtsy, and I saw Robert smile. “Yes, that is correct, I am the Earl of Crawford, and I heard that your youngest son had some health issues, and recently spent some time in hospital. I came to see how he is progressing?” Robert asked.

“I am honoured that you have heard about Logan and that you asked how he is, but I am still not sure how an important gentleman like yourself would go out of his way to visit us,” Julia asked, and I saw Robert wave his hand, as a signal for me to approach, so I climbed out of the limo and approached them.

“Ms Thornton, may I introduce my second cousin, Lord Edwin Crawford, the Baron of Fordell, and Baronet of Wigan,” Robert said once I had arrived, and Julia bobbed down into a curtsey once more. “My Lord, yes, I recognise you from the newspaper articles too. I believe you are an Australian, and often try to enter the UK un-noticed, and since I have not read any recent articles, I believe you have done it again,” Julia said smiling, and both Robert and I laughed.

“Indeed, I have done so this time, only because I took extra measures to fly differently, it is a pleasure to meet you Julia, now is Logan home?” I responded. “No sir, this is his first week back at school, so the boys won't be home for another few hours,” Julia replied.

“Good, how about you lock up and come with us, so we can sit down while having a nice meal to discuss a few things,” Robert suggested to Julia, who looked rather shocked at the invite. “Don’t worry, my cousin is harmless and I don’t bite… much,” I replied, and eventually smiled and nodded her head. I introduced Julia to Hunter, as we climbed back into the limo, and we set off towards the seaside town of Peel.

Robert had booked us a table at the local Marine Hotel, and once we had ordered our meals and drinks, with Hunter and the limo driver seated not far away, I saw that Julia was starting to get a little restless. “Sir, I am still not sure why you have brought me here to speak to me,” Julia asked Robert, who smiled and nodded towards me.

“Julia… I am the young University student who donated to that clinic in Zurich and donated Bone Marrow to help your son… our son, recover from his illness. I am not here to claim any control of Logan or Koen, but I would very much like to help you out in a way to make you more comfortable in life,” I announced to Julia, who was shocked at what I had just said, and I watched her carefully.

“Yes dear, this is all true, and I know my cousin to be a very responsible and caring young man. I know this is a big shock for you, so take your time to think about it, and let us know when you are ready to discuss it some more,” Robert said to Julia. “In the meantime, let's enjoy the meal and this beautiful scenery, as I am liking this place, the more I am seeing of this beautiful Island,” I commented.

During the meal, Julia filled us in on her life, starting to feel a little more relaxed around us. We learnt that Julia was a single mother, with no other relatives, and that she works at the Garden nursery located behind her home, which is owned by her employers, and she works from 9 am to 2 pm four days a week, and 9 am to 4 pm on weekends, with Fridays as her only day off, which is today.

“Sir, do you mind if I ask a bit about your family?” Julia asked me. “Certainly, you were correct about what you said earlier, that I am born an educated in Australia. I’m from a coastal town called Launceston, which is in Northern Tasmania, the island in the southeast of Australia. My mother – Alexandria is retired now and lives in a lifestyle village that I established in Strahan, which is on the West coast of Tasmania.

I was brought u by my mother, and my great Aunt, who passed away a little time back and is buried in Colinsburgh, Scotland, where she passed away on her last visit here. I was educated at a private school in Launceston, and when I was 16 and in my second last year of high school, our class was given the assignment to research a present a presentation on the history of one of our ancestors.

That is when I learnt that I had noble blood, and since then I have been given two titles, and I own quite a few properties, in Scotland, as well as in Australia, and also one in Switzerland, where I attended University, where I have two degrees and a diploma. When I saw the advert in the paper, that the boys wrote, looking for a donor from the Swiss clinic, Hunter and I went there, and that is where we learnt more about Koen and Logan, as well as two more boys, Owen and Corey Harrison, from North-Eastern Canada, who are younger than your boys,” I replied.

“So, my boys have half brothers too?” Julia asked, “Apparently so, yes. But we wanted to meet you and your boys first, because they are the older two,” I replied, and we waited for Julia to catch on to what we hinting at. “Wait for a second, you're saying Koen is your firstborn, and that he will…” Julia said not finishing it all.

I smiled and nodded my head, “Yes, Koen will inherit my main title, and if it can be arranged, Logan will receive my minor title,” I said, as I glanced over to Robert, who gave me a nod of his head. “I know this is all a lot to take in all at once dear, but you are part of our family now. If you want to keep your independence, and want to keep all of this information away from the boys until they are a bit older, so they can understand it all better, that is fine with us both.

Edwin does have some more information about himself plus one request though,” Robert said to Julia. “Oh ok, well you have hit me with all of this, so what else could change my life so dramatically? “Well, firstly there is one thing about me that you may not like… I am gay,” I announced to Julia, and we waited for her to respond.

We were all caught by surprise when she smiled, “So… I have a few gay friends, that is not an issue for me. What else do you have to tell me, Lord Edwin?” Julia asked, and Robert laughed. “She caught you by surprise with that one my boy,” Robert said, as he continued to laugh softly, and I blushed a little because of it, cleared my throat and thought about what else I had to say to Julia.

“Well since your boys…”, “Our boys!” Julia said interrupting me, “Yes, our boys are of nobility, I would like to provide you with a more suitable home. If you want to continue to work, that is fine with us, but from now on, you will be getting a monthly income from my estates, to cover any of your living costs, and that will include all household expenses, like power and water and gas,” I informed Julia.

“Wow, holy cra… I mean, wow!” Julia said, and both Robert and I laughed. “Hunter and I had a look at a few properties near here earlier today, would you like to go and see them?” I asked Julia. “Yes, please. Would I know any of them?” Julia responded. “Maybe, the bigger property is Greeba Towers,” I replied.

“No thanks, way too big, it will be a nightmare to clean that, from what I have seen the few times I have been inside. I did flower arranging there for a few social functions over the past few years,” Julia replied.

“Understood, but you do know that you will be able to have a housekeeper and groundsman, at no expense to you,” I said to Julia. “Oh, well I think that would be a waste, I prefer to do my cleaning, what about the other place?” Julia answered.