Lord Edwin - 16. Lord Chapter 16

When I followed, I saw Hunter duck down low, exit the heavily tinted limo, and climb into the second Limo, and James and I followed. Once the door was closed, the Limo moved forward and parked in front of the first one we had climbed into, as James and I each laid flat on the seats and Hunter lay on the floor. I am guessing this is your plan to escape the media?” I asked Hunter, “No sir, it was Mr James’s idea.

A very clever one, if I may say,” Hunter replied softly, “I was told about the plan, as we were waiting to clear customs,” James added, “Now what happens?” I asked. “We wait for the luggage to be loaded into the first limo before it leaves the terminal, and we will wait here until the coast is clear,” Hunter replied.

The dividing window began to lower, and a familiar voice spoke, “I hope you are all comfortable enough Sirs?” Robert’s chauffeur asked, and I chuckled, “Yes thank you, Christopher. Will we be waiting long?” I asked as the front passenger door opened and closed after another person climbed in.

“We are ready to go now, sirs,” Christopher replied, as the front passenger turned his head, “Not long cousin, then you can get more comfortable,” Robert said. “Robert, you are in on this?” I asked sounding surprised, and he chuckled, “Yes cousin, you cannot have all the fun with the media. I get to have some too,” Robert replied, as Christopher began to drive off away from the airport.

“We are going to London City Airport, where we will fly directly to Kingsmuir Airfield, on a charter flight, which is just an 11-kilometre drive to Balcarres,” Robert announced. “I left his Lordship’s car there, so we can travel home comfortably,” Christopher added.

Once out of the airport, we enjoyed the one hour and fifteen-minute drive to London City Airport, where we entered via the Jet Centre Gate, and the car took us directly to the waiting jet aircraft, where we boarded and got comfortable while we waited for the other limo to arrive to deliver our luggage.

“By the way cousin, that property that you wanted me to look at is interesting, and I have learnt some interesting additional information about it,” Robert said. Hunter looked at me in a questioning manner, and I just smiled, “Go on, Cousin,” I said to Robert.

“Well, Dunfermline as you may already know, was a Royal Palace, and it is right next to the Abbey, which is still in use today. Did you know that Lord David Lindsay, the father of the 1^st Earl of Balcarres was married at the Abbey in 1611?” Robert said to me, “No, I didn’t know that, interesting family connection,” I responded sounding surprised. “Also, St Margaret of Scotland was buried here in 1093, after she was canonized, and seven Kings of Scotland, including Robert the Bruce, plus five Queens, and 4 generations of the Earl of Angus, are also buried there,” Robert informed us.

“That is a lot of Royal Ghosts in one location,” Hunter commented, which made Robert and I chuckle at the comment, “Yes indeed, and in regards to the Palace next door, King James the IV and his wife Mary Tudor used to regularly visit the palace, as did King James the V and his second wife, Mary Guise, plus Anne of Denmark, who it was gifted to, by her husband, and where she had three of her children at the palace,” Robert continued.

“Remind me please sir, who were the three children?” Hunter asked, “Henry Frederick – the Prince of Wales, who died before his parents, at the age of 18, Princess Elisabeth who became the Queen of Bohemia, and Charles, who became King Charles the 1^st. The fifth child – Robert Stuart, became the Duke of Kintyre & Lorne on birth, but sadly died four months later,” Robert replied.

“Are there any more interesting facts about Dunfermline?” I asked, “Yes, one last bit of information, and probably the most important. The first Earl of Dunfermline – Lord Alexander Seaton, married the Honourable Lilian Drummond, who is the 2^nd daughter of Lord Patrick Drummond, and first wife – Lady Elizabeth Lindsay, 1^st daughter of David Lindsay – 9^th Earl of Crawford,” Robert announced.

“Wow,” was all I could say in response, “Wow, indeed, but that is not all. With you wanting to purchase and restore the Palace, which the Royal family is aware of, and with our family connection to the Earl of Dunfermline, which of course the title has been extinct since 1690. A recommendation had been made to the Royal Advisors of the Privy Council, to restore and award it to you, dear cousin, the hereditary title of Earl of Dunfermline,” Robert announced.

This news caught me by surprise, and I did not know what to do or say about this news. “Congratulations Lord Edwin, that is quite some promotion,” Hunter said which brought me out of my daze. “What? Err Yeah. Can you explain this a bit more for me please?” I asked Robert.

“Sure, you will be the same rank as me, plus your two oldest boys will be inheriting your minor titles, once it has been approved by the Privy Council,” Robert replied. “I see, well that is interesting,” I replied. By the time we had arrived at Balcarres, I had made the decision to head back to Australia, and that I would ask Patricia and Julia and the boys to join me.

For the next two weeks, with the assistance of Robert and Hunter, we planned for the family to spend some time in Australia with me. For Patricia and her two boys, they would be flying 4,300 kilometres back to Halifax, Canada, where they would pack up some of their belongings, before making a very long journey to Tasmania, via, Edmonton & Vancouver in Canada.

This would be followed by stops in Tokyo in Japan, and finally Darwin and Launceston in Australia, where I would meet them for the final stage of the trip via chartered plane. For Patricia and her boys, it would be a week-long journey, with long enough stops to rest between long stages of the trip.

Meanwhile, Julia and her boys would fly back home to the Isle of Man, where they too would pack up some of their belongings, before flying to Geneva, Switzerland, where they would stay at my home for a few days, before flying to Perth, via Singapore, then onto Launceston, where I would meet them.

For me, I would spend a few days at my Scottish home at Fordell Castle, before flying to Geneva, where I would spend a few days with Julia and the two boys before they head off on the rest of their journey, and I would take a different flight to Cape Town, South Africa before heading east to Perth and Launceston.

It was a very long and expensive exercise, getting everyone transported to Australia, but to keep the media out of our way, I felt it was well worth the effort. Mum would be back in Strahan before any of us arrived, and she helped to make sure the manor was prepared for the arrival of my extended family.

By the time Hunter, James, and I arrived in Perth, we were all very tired from all of the travelling, but I was glad to be back in Australia. As a way to relax a little after all of the travelling, I arranged for the three of us to spend a full day at Rottnest Island, just off the coast of Fremantle, which I found enjoyable, especially with the weather being so perfect, and we spend a lot of time exploring the history and beauty of the island.

Unfortunately, we were mobbed by the media on arrival at Perth Airport, as we prepared for the final part of our trip, and security quickly helped us to escape from the annoying reporters and photographers, relaxing in the 1^st Class Boarding lounge for the half an hour we had to wait before boarding.

Thankfully, we had an uneventful trip across the country, and with a fast transfer from Sydney to Launceston, we arrived there without any problems, and we were able to go directly to our chartered plane without having to go through the main part of the airport terminal.

It was early evening, by the time we landed at Strahan Airport, where my good friend Brad Cooper was waiting to collect us and transport us to the waiting boat, to take us directly to the manor, disappearing out of sight from anyone who may have been searching for James and me, namely the media.

A few days later, both Julia and her boys and Patricia and her boys arrived in Strahan, and I was there to welcome them all to my home state, and I told them that my manor home was very unique, and in a rather remote location, well away from any prying eyes, which they were pleased to hear, and I decided to let them rest for a few days, from all of the travelling, before showing them around the property, and around my home state of Tasmania.

I soon discovered, that Brad had been keeping very busy while I had been away, with an extension of the raised boardwalk around the property, which included several small gazebos with bench seating for rests, plus several higher raised lookout platforms, that are three above the ground.

When the boys discovered the boardwalks, they had a wow of a time exploring the walks, gazebos and raised platforms, and both Julia and Patricia were happy that the four boys were getting along very well with each other. Meanwhile, the lifestyle village was now full, and according to Mum, all the residents are very happy with their new homes, and with the facilities that I had built. I was pleased that all was going well for everyone here in Strahan, as we settled down to a more relaxed home environment, without the media.

After some discussions with Robert, it was decided that my family and I would remain in Tasmania for the near future, which gave me the chance to get to know my boys better, and also to allow them the chance to have a new and better life.

I had them enrolled to attend my old school in Launceston, with Patricia and her boys plus Julia and her boys living in houses next door to each other just down the road from the school. On weekends and holidays, the family travelled to Strahan on a chartered jet, on Friday afternoons, which I arranged, and they would return to Launceston on Sunday evenings.

When I did need to go back to Europe for business, Hunter, James, and I would travel by chartered executive jet to Geneva, with a stopover in Singapore for fuel and crew changeover, and I would be able to do the majority of my business from the house in Cologny, Geneva. Robert would travel to Geneva to meet up with me there, to discuss anything that I needed to know, and we would usually spend no more than a week there, before flying back to Tasmania.

With the troubles that we have had with a certain government organisation, their dislike of me interfering with their projects, and their liking to destroy any vessels that I own, it was decided to not purchase any more yachts for now, and wait a while to see if things improve in the future.

Keswick Island was now a thriving island, with an increase in permanent population, and a huge increase in tourism to the island, mainly thanks to the State Government allowing me to fund and build all of the improvements to the island, and with the other development company now no longer permitted back on the island, there was now a small community village on the island, and a regular ferry service, as well as the regular flights in and out each week.

Life is going great for me now, I have a loving husband, two awesome female friends, and their boys who happen to be my sons, and a caring team of family and friends and staff, scattered around the world. It was far more than I had ever expected it to be for me when I was just a teenager, attending a private school in Launceston, Tasmania. But life sometimes comes up with these unexpected twists and turns in life, and for me, it has all worked out to be great.