Lord Edwin - 12. Lord Chapter 12

“Well, this has been an interesting trip, but I think we had better start preparing to make our way back home to Geneva before the media get wind of us being here,” I said to Hunter.

I notified the flight crew of our pending departure and asked that we leave very early in the morning, to attract any attention, and I was hoping that we will be home by lunchtime. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen, as we were delayed with refuelling at Brest, which I was not too happy about, so Hunter and I went to a restaurant to have an early lunch while we were waiting.

“Oh no, watch out media alert,” Hunter said to me, as we were finishing our early lunch, and we both stood up and headed for the kitchen, with Hunter on the phone to call a taxi. “Excuse me, Chef, I apologise for the intrusion, we need to escape from a rush of media that is approaching,” I said quickly in French.

“Certainly Lord Edwin, if you like you can wait in my office until your transport arrives,” an English voice replied, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Thank you, we will take you up on that offer, can you ask your front of the house to bring me the bill please,” I asked, and she nodded her head.

“Hey Audrey, into the kitchen pronto,” the Chef shouted towards the restaurant, and shortly after, the lady who greeted us on arrival, at the restaurant arrived. “Can you bring us the bill for Lord Edwin, and also bring two after-dinner drinks too please,” the Chef asked.

The office was not what I expected, usually, they are small and cramped full of supplies, lots of paperwork and a spare chair crammed in the corner, but what we entered was a very large neat office that looked like a lounge room, with a comfortable two seat lounge, a lounge chair, a large coffee table, with a television affixed to the wall, taking up two-thirds of the space, and the rest was taken up with a very large old desk, office chair, two more seats, and two filing cabinets.

“Hello sir, I am Chef Pam, and my partner Audrey and I own this little restaurant,” the Chef said to us, “Thank you for the rescue from the media, Chef. It is a pleasure to meet you and your partner. This is my bodyguard and personal assistant Hunter, my constant shadow,” I responded.

When Audrey passed me the bill, I briefly looked at it before I handed it to Hunter, who nodded. “Usual amount Sir?” he asked me, “No, triple it, because of the extra service that they have provided,” I replied, as Hunter made a note to the bill and handed over the credit card.

“That is most generous, thank you, My Lord,” Audrey said when she saw the extra-large tip that was added to the bill, and I just smiled. We ended up staying for an additional half an hour, chatting to Audrey and Pam, when they were free to chat, and by the time we were ready to leave, the media had lost interest and left the restaurant, having failed to get any photos of me in the Restaurant.

Back at the airport, Hunter was in an argument with the fuel supply company, because, he refused to pay the full cost of the fuel, due to someone from his company had tipped of the media of our presence. In the end, Hunter won the argument, the bill was paid, and we were able to get back into the air once more.

Arriving back in Geneva in the mid-afternoon, I was a little tired. Mainly because of the drama at the restaurant, but also because I was trying to secure some additional properties that I had seen that are for sale on the Isle of Man. The first one is a hotel located in Douglas, that has 7 guest apartments, and 27 guest rooms, all have their private ensuite bathrooms, plus a penthouse apartment.

The hotel is set 1 ½ blocks back from Central Promenade and the beach, with some of the guest rooms, apartments and the penthouse, having balcony views of Douglas Bay and the Irish Sea, plus it is just two blocks away from the Casino.

The second additional property that I was wanting to purchase is Greeba Towers, as I thought that it would make an excellent summer retreat when I am in Scotland on business, and that existing staff at Fordell Castle could keep it running for me, when I am there, and have caretakers look after the property when I am not there.

While Hunter was unpacking everything, I went for a walk down the street, to see if I could see if the trimaran was in, which it wasn’t, so I dialled the number for the Sat Phone for the yacht. “Kingfisher, how may I assist you,” came the familiar voice of Anton.

“Hey mate, it is Lord Brother-In-Law here,” I said and I waited to hear a response to my comment, which ended up being laughter. “It’s for you, my brother-in-law is on the phone,” I heard Anton say, “What? Oh! Very funny Edwin, just wait till I get home, and I will make it official,” I heard James say, which caught me totally by surprise.

“Really! I think I would like that,” I replied, “Good, now Husband to be, are you home?” James asked, and I chuckled at this comment, “Yes, we are home, finally. Had a bit a run-in with the media in Brest, France, but all is good.

Julia is a very nice lady. I like her very much. I didn’t get to meet the boys, as we have decided to wait until they are settled into their new home, but I do have a recent photo of them. I am also looking at investing in more property on the Isle of Man, but I will tell you all about that when you are home. How are things going for you?” I said to James.

All is going very well, we are heading home now actually, we will be back in port just before dark, so let the staff know please,” James answered. “Will do, how is the yacht sailing, is she sailing well?” I asked, “Like a dream, she is my second love… after you of course,” James replied, and I laughed at this.

I walked back up to the house and spent an hour relaxing and looking online looking for more restoration projects, before it was time to head back down the hill to watch the yacht come in, from the outdoor area of the club restaurant. I was smiling when I saw the catamaran approaching, as it started to slow down, once the sails were been lowered, but that all changed when I heard shouts and watched with horror as all the crew dived overboard, and moments later the whole yacht exploded.

I jumped up from my table and raced down towards the small jetty located just off from the boat storage area, and not far from the entrance to the yacht harbour, as I scanned the waters which were now littered with the remains of the yacht. I heard a boat engine, and looking to my left I saw a sports boat approaching the jetty. “My Lord, do you wish to jump in and help with the rescue,” the driver of the boat said to me, as it pulled up alongside me.

Without answering, I jumped onboard and sat down, hoping that no one was injured or worse still, killed from the explosion, as we raced towards the scene of the explosion. Anton was the first person we plucked out of the water, and soon after the rest of the crew, and thankfully James was the last to be picked up.

“That’s it, all the guests were offloaded at Bellevue, across the water. Is everyone ok?” James said once he was onboard, and I wrapped him in a hug. “Yes Captain, we are fine,” the steward responded shaking from the event that just happened. “Good, as soon as we get back to the yacht club, I want you all to go to the hospital to be checked out thoroughly, and the company will pay for all costs,” James said to his crew.

“That applies to you both also, James and Anton, no arguing,” I added and Anton nodded in understanding. “Yes, if we must,” James moaned, “Yes, you must,” I replied. By the time we arrived back at the yacht club harbour, the police and ambulances were arriving, and James and the crew were been interviewed, and eventually were permitted to go to the hospital.

Meanwhile, the police asked to interview me, and I asked them to do this in privacy and not in the open, which they were reluctant to do until I said that I will happy obliged to be questioned on my own in private, or it can be down with my lawyer present elsewhere, and the police decided to take my first offer, and we went to a private dining room in the yacht club.

I told the police all about the problems with my development at Keswick Island, and the blowing up of my luxury yacht there, and I gave them the contact details for the Australian Federal Police Officers who were dealing with the matter back home in Australia if they want any additional information in regards to that.

Over the next few days, I was assisting the local authorities with the clean-up from the explosion, including fuel spillage, and I was happy to cover all of the costs of doing that. Once it was all completed, James and I arranged a meeting with the minor crew members, at the yacht club, where we informed them that due to the destruction of the yacht, they would not have jobs anymore, and I offered them a severance payment to them for them losing their casual jobs, and also gave them excellent references for their good work while working on the yacht.

A day after that had happened, James, Anton and I discussed our next options on what to do, and at my suggestion, we decided to head to my castle at Fordell for a bit of relaxation time, to try and get over this second incident, and with that decided, we helped Aled and Edna to close up the house, and pack up everything that we needed to take with us to Scotland. Chartering two aircraft, to carry the five of us and all of our belongings, we flew from Geneva to Edinburgh, via Luxembourg, as I have always wanted to visit the country and decided to take a different route this time, hoping that the media would not catch on that I was returning to Fordell Castle.

Two days after we arrived back at Fordell, and we had all settled in, we were all having breakfast together, as I insisted on when there was just around, when I announced to all. “I haven’t seen Fair Isle in a while, so I have decided to take a trip up there soon.

The Scottish Government recently declared the island a site of special scientific interest, I have decided to arrange for the island to be given to the people of Fair Isle, so they can have a better say on how things happen on the island, and with the existing improvements made to the main buildings, the airport and the roads, I am going to be setting aside some money for continued improvements and maintenance for the island and it’s people for the next ten years,” I announced. “Wow, that sounds very expensive, and where exactly is Fair Isle,” Anton responded, and I heard Aled and Edna chuckle at this comment.