Earl - 3. Earl Chapter 3

“May I present his Lordship, the Right Honourable Tyler Finch, 14^th Earl of Portland and 13^th Count Bentinck,” Charles announced, as he picked up the case, opened it and handed it back to Tyler, who looked at the small pin that had a blue shield, with a while cross and above it was a gold crown with pearls and red velvet.

There was silence around the table, as some smiled and others looked shocked, with the silence broken by Lucas, “Holy shit, I am in the presence of nobility,” he said, and both Mr & Mr Carrington scorned their son for swearing, “Oops sorry, it’s just… well… far out this is just… urgh,” Lucas said in response, and Mrs Carrington laughed.

“That is the first time in a long time, that my son has been virtually speechless. Your Lordship, it is an honour,” she said to everyone present, and Lucas blushed badly, which made his best friend laugh. “Aww, knock it off… um… Sir,” Lucas said to his best mate, which had everyone laughing, and Lucas blushed a lot redder.

“At least you addressed me correctly, I think,” Tyler responded after he calmed down a little, and his uncle Charles nodded his head to agree. “Mum, Dad, can I have a gap year before starting university, I want to go and do some travelling, especially in England, to visit my best friend?” Lucas asked, which had everyone smiling.

“There is no way of keeping you two apart is there?” Mrs Carrington responded, and both boys smiled and shook their heads in response. “His Lordship has a substantial income, so I am sure he will be happy to pay for his best friend to travel with him,” Charles said, and Tyler agreed with that, as Charles retrieved an old silver case from his jacket pocket and handed it over to Tyler.

It was about the size of playing cards in width and length, but half the thickness, and after looking at it carefully, Tyler pressed the small button to open it. Inside was a stack of business cards, secured in the middle but a band of elastic, and the cards have the same coat of arms on it.

Below that in bold letters was – ‘Rt Hon Tyler Finch’, and below that in Italic was – 14^th Earl of Portland & 13^th Count Bentinck, below that in ordinary print was – Welbeck Estate, Cresswell, North Nottinghamshire & Bothal Estate, Ashington, Northumberland.

On the other inside cover also strapped in with elastic, was a credit card, with the name Rt Hon Tyler Finch clearly marked on it.

Next Charles handed to Tyler one last item, which was a large envelope. Tyler looked inside and looked surprised at what he saw before turning the envelope over to let the items inside, slide out. There in front of him are two brand new Passports, one Australian the other British.

Looking inside them was a recent photograph of him, with his name listed as Rt Hon Tyler Finch, (Tyler Hunter), and the other passport was the same. “Because your mother was a British citizen and in Crown Service, which means she worked for the Government, you have dual citizenship, so you are entitled to both passports,” Charles explained.

“Uncle Charles, what was it exactly that my mum did for a job, and was it the job that killed her?” Tyler asked, and Charles looked at Matthew and Katherine, who both shrugged their shoulders.

“Your mother was one very special lady, who worked in a very dangerous job, and yes I think that maybe that is what got her killed, as she was in special section of the public service, which is why we sneaked her out of Britain via Europe, and I did a bit of sly work to get by the situation with a passport,” Charles replied.

“That job was?” Tyler asked, and Uncle Charles turned to Matthew for support, “The three of us have known this all along, and we have not spoken about it ever since she fled the UK already pregnant, as she used to work for MI6,” Matthew replied.

“Holy smoke, your natural Mum was a spy!” Lucas exclaimed in a loud whisper, and Charles nodded his head to confirm it, “Yes, and you must not repeat it to anyone, no matter who they are, it must be kept within this group of family and close friends, understood?” Charles said, and everyone present swore an oath not to repeat anything that was discussed at the table.

After the meal, the Carrington’s went to do some shopping, while Charles took his nephew to a travel agency, to make arrangements for their trip to England. Their departure was set for two days after Christmas on the 28^th, leaving Perth at 5.30 pm, with a late afternoon flight the day before from Geraldton to Perth.

With a 3-hour layover in Singapore, they would arrive in Zurich, Switzerland at 8.00 am local time, on the 29^th, where Charles planned to give the boys a few days to enjoy before flying onwards.

The flight leaving Zurich on the 31^st would depart at 7.40 am, and would have a 1 hour stopover in Brussels before continuing on to the East Midlands Airport just south of Nottingham, arriving just after 10 am local time, where Charles has left his car in storage, and from there it is a 65 kilometre, one hour drive to Charles’s home in Hougham, where the boys will stay for a short while.

After collecting the two business class tickets, and adjusting Charles’s return ticket, they headed off to do some shopping, as it will be the middle of winter in Europe. Sitting in a cafe, Charles turned to face his nephew.

“I have been meaning to speak to you when we are alone, did you really have a proper look at those business cards that I gave you, as you didn’t seem to notice some information that I have yet to tell you?” Charles asked Tyler. “No uncle, just a business card with my title and address of the main abbey and… wait a minute, there was more to that,” Tyler said as he retrieved the small silver case from his pocket, and he opened it and looked at the top card. “Uncle, where is Bothal Estate, and is it also part of my inheritance?” Tyler asked.

“Yes nephew it is, I just didn’t want you to get too overwhelmed by everything that you have inherited, which is quite substantial, and with both estates, its net worth is approximately £200 million, which is about $380 million in Australian,” Charles stated, and son after everything went black for Tyler as he had fainted in shock.

“Welcome back, you fainted, probably from the shock of what I just told you a minute ago,” Charles informed his nephew, who looked around and saw that they were still in the café, but he was laying on the floor, and Charles helped him back up onto the chair.

“Did I hear right uncle? Did you say $380 million Australian?” Tyler asked, “Yes that is right, now don’t go fainting again, I barely caught you last time before you hit the floor. While Welbeck Estate is located near the centre of Britain, Bothal Estate is 268 kilometres to the north, on the banks of the River Wansbeck, and close to the large coastal town of Ashington, on the East coast, and just 86 kilometres to the north or 68 kilometres to the north west, is the Scottish border, depending in which direction you go.

“So, what does Bothal Estate consist of?” Tyler asked, “Well the estate owns large amounts of land, including homes that are leased out in the towns of Pegswood and Ashington, farmland, which are leased to farmers, and the main house on the edge of Bothal Village,” Charles replied.

“What exactly is the main house, Uncle?” Tyler asked knowing he was still holding back information, “Well it isn’t exactly a house, more like a stately home, which is the 2^nd residence for the Earl of Portland,” Charles said, “How big is this stately home?” Tyler asked trying to get more information from his uncle, “Well it is a little more than a stately home, it is actually a castle,” Charles replied.

“A what?” Tyler shouted a little too loudly, shocked at what he had just been told. “Yes, a castle, now sit down and let’s talk quietly about this, and no more shouting,” Charles said to his nephew, as Tyler looked around and realised that he was creating a scene, he sat down again.

“Ok, I have seen the photos and looked on Google Maps to see how big Welbeck is, so how big is this castle in comparison?” Tyler asked in a whisper.

Probably a little bit smaller than the abbey, but it is quite a spectacular castle, I remember visiting it once with my parents when I was a boy, and being told that my cousins owned the castle. It is a private residence for the Earl, so it isn’t open to the public,” Charles replied.

“Well, I guess we have another place to visit, but let’s keep this one to ourselves for now,” Tyler said. “That is fine, although your parents do know about it, and they have seen it from a short distance,” Charles answered.

Everyone met back at the hotel at 2 pm, in time to get ready for the graduation ceremony at the school which is at 3.30 pm.

Much to everyone’s surprise, Lucas was named dux of the school, by the headmaster, and was asked to make a short speech. “…in conclusion, I wish all of my fellow classmates, all the very best for the future, no matter where they go or what they do. For me and my best mate - Tyler, we have decided to take a gap year before starting Uni, and do some travelling, with Europe as our first destination, thank you,” Lucas said as he ended his short speech.

Once they had all returned to the hotel and gathered in Charles’s suite, he asked Mr & Mrs Carrington if their son has a passport? “Yes, he does actually, he may not remember it, but when he was ten years old, we travelled to Auckland New Zealand, to visit some of my family, as that is where my grandparents come from, and I had his passport renewed two years ago, when he was supposed to go on that school excursion to Singapore, but he couldn’t go in the end as he fell sick about a week before,” Mrs Carrington replied.

“I remember that as he passed the illness to me, and I couldn’t go either. While I have everyone’s attention, I just want to ask you all one thing, I am still the same Tyler as I was for the past seventeen years, so I ask that you treat me just the same way, which means no official formal stuff around me, when we are in public, as I want to remain low key for as long as possible,” Tyler said.

Charles chuckled at that statement as he stood up and retrieved a newspaper from the coffee table. “That may not be at all possible my dear nephew, the word is out already, page three,” Charles said as he handed Tyler the newspaper, who opened it up and saw the headline. “Australian set to be the next Earl.”

“Australia has another member of British nobility, after the late 13^th Earl of Portland passed away last month, after a short illness. Although nothing has been confirmed, the search is on to locate the next heir to the Earldom, who is believed to be a 3^rd cousin to the late Earl and an Australian citizen.”

Tyler growled in annoyance, after reading the article and handing it over to his father, so he could read the article. “So, asking about my passport, does that mean I am definitely coming with you?” Lucas asked excitedly, and Tyler chuckled, “Yes my friend, you are coming with me, we fly out of Geraldton the day after Boxing Day, and out of Perth the following day,” Tyler announced.

“Good, that gives us the time to compete in our final local triathlon, which is just under a month away,” Lucas said, and I nodded my head. “Uncle and I tried to do some shopping for winter clothes but there is not much here in Geraldton, so we may have to a super-fast clothes shopping trip in Perth, before we fly out,” Tyler informed his friend. “Oh yeah, I forgot, it will be full-on winter up there,” Lucas replied.

“We will be staying with Uncle Charles at his residence for a few weeks until we get everything sorted, so I thought we would use that time to do a little of touring around the UK, while Uncle Charles completes all the necessary business, regarding my late cousin, I am glad that he passed away in hospital and not at the house,” Tyler said to his friend, and Lucas nodded his head in agreement.