A/N: I am sorry for the delay but I am still in the hospital. I do have my keyboard now, so I will be able to type in chapters as I write them. Also, please be patient as I will only update every other week. I appreciate your friendship and loyalty as I go through this difficult time. As hard as it is...writing this story for all of you, is keeping me sane. THANK YOU all again so much, and please, stay tuned... there is a lot of excitement headed your way. All the best for a blessed day, Lady Dragonsblood.
"You're that man from Paris. How can you be a Professor? Father?" Shane spoke with utter confusion. He'd known Professor Barrett wouldn't be back, but he… well, he hadn't known what to expect.
Damian spoke with a smile. "I am many things, Master Shane. I am a Professor, I graduated Oxford. I am more than qualified. Hear your father out. I am sure you and I will get along just fine." He gave Shane a nod.
"What happened to Professor Barrett?" Dean asked his head cocked a bit, as he looked from Bret to Vince. He was confused.
Vince sighed. "Because it is so late, I thought we'd have this talk tomorrow. But, perhaps we'd better do it now. What do you think?" He looked at his friend and colleague, brow arched.
Bret rubbed his chin. "Perhaps. Mister Orton? What do you think?" He looked at Randy it was up to him.
"Yes, I think it is time the truth was told. Perhaps, then everyone can sleep without concern. Shall we all take a seat, please." Randy spoke in a much different tone of voice. It was full of authority.
Randal remained standing as the others sat. "My name is Randal Orton, but I am not really a Footman. I am fourth commander of the British Secret Police. I have been working, along with many others, on bringing down a regime led by Lord David Banks, father of Lady Sasha Banks. Wade Barrett is part of that regime and was fully aware of what was going on at Eaton…" He was halted when Seth spoke up.
"I knew there was a reason I didn't like that man! We let him into this house! Why? He could have killed us all!" Seth was upset. He curled up tightly against Roman.
"Son, I can understand your feelings. Hopefully by the time we're finished here, you will understand. Let Mister Orton continue, please. Also, please try to hold your questions and comments till later." Vince spoke firmly, but with a smile, this was a difficult situation.
Randy smiled at Seth, then continued. "Lord Banks wants, for the lack of a better word, kidnap then brainwash young men like Shane into their way of thinking. You see how easily it can be done. Shane had already started to turn when came home for summer break. Luckily, he was smart enough to see how wrong it was. Now, imagine what they could do, if they had gotten Shane to their headquarters in Austria? They have ways, from the Asians, on how to take control of a person's mind." He paused. Mark had entered with a pitcher of water and several glasses. Now was not the time for tea or other drinks.
"Calaway, take a seat please. You have a right to be here. You have been a great part of this." Vince indicated for Mark to sit. He too needed to hear what Orton had to say. Mark silently took a seat, glad the truth would be told.
After Randy took a sip of water, he went on. "I spoke with Duke Hart and relayed everything to Duke McMahon. They agreed to say nothing and act like everything was fine. Now, about Barrett. He had been commanded, by Lady Banks, to admit to nothing, proclaim his innocence and resign his Headmaster position to back his claim. We asked Duke Vincent to take Barrett in as Master Shane's tutor. We knew he would do nothing to harm Master Shane. They wanted him safe." Randy again paused to take another sip of water… and let his words sink in.
"Now, we know he was ordered to try to get the letters Lord Adam translated for Duke Vincent. Thanks to Mister Calaway's instincts, that never happened. We knew we had to get someone into the house to keep an eye on Barrett's actions. Maybe even find something that linked him to Lord Banks' organization. That person was me. Lord Christopher, Mister Calaway and I met through the hospitality of Lady Mayfield. She, along with Lord Christopher and Mister Calaway, came up with the story to get me into the house. You will be glad to know, while he was sent to Scotland, John Morrison did not break his leg. You will also be glad to know Cody Rhodes will be back tomorrow…" He stopped when whispered excitement broke out, they all missed Cody.
Randy chuckled. "Not sure how to take that."
Dean spoke up. "No, you did an excellent job. It's just… Cody has become family, like the others." He didn't want Orton to feel bad.
"No offense, Lord Dean. Humor is always a help." Randy smiled and gave Dean a wink, to let him know all was good.
Randy turned serious. "Now, at first when we learned Master Shane was lost you can understand how I feared he'd been taken. I felt like such a failure. I didn't think to send a fellow agent to follow Master Shane to the orphanage. When I saw Barrett's reaction, I knew Master Shane was truly lost. I could see the fear in Barrett's eyes. I know now his fear came from the possibility of having to tell Lady Banks, Master Shane had vanished. Thank God with Cardona's help, we found Master Shane." He smiled at the little disruption of Shane being tightly hugged by Eric.
Chris chimed in. "That's why Adam and I suggested Shane go with us to Paris. We wanted him to have a good time, to forget being lost. Although, that wasn't the entire reason…"
He was halted by Orton. "That is true. I can't say a lot here, but getting Shane to Paris was important, and Lords Christopher and Adam were part of that. There are things that happened in Duke Vincent's office, that we can not discuss. However, it was decided I should to to Paris as well, because we hoped Barrett would show up. We figured it would be a good place for him to get his hands on Master Shane."
Eric couldn't help but interrupt. "Well, I would guess that explains why Barrett asked for the time off. It never once occurred to me that he was going to Paris. My goodness. Sorry, Mister Orton, I won't interrupt again."
"It is alright, Your Grace." Randy gave a nod, and took a moment to freshen his glass of water, then took a sip.
Orton went on. "We knew everyone would be safe in Paris. Other agents watched and followed not only us, but Barrett and two men Lord Banks had sent to do the actual dirty work. Mister Priest was one of those agents. He brought me a note, but I can not say anything about that. However, somehow Banks' side heard their Lordships and Master Shane would go to the Louver on Friday. Not going to deny it, Lord Banks is very good at getting information, it happens. However, in our case, it worked to our great advantage. We had the Louver and its plaza filled with our agents. Now, I will move this forward a bit…" He had to pause again, telling the story was thirsty work.
Randy went on. "As soon as we sat down at the Louver café, Barrett and his companions Hunter Hearst Helmsley and William Regal, sat down for tea. Of course, it took a bit for them to notice our table. That was on purpose, so it would appear to be random. They joined us. The idea came up for Master Shane to spend an hour with Barrett, so their Lordships could have a few minutes alone to enjoy some of the art. I managed to give Lord Christopher to agree. Lord Christopher knew who I actually was and trusted me. So, off they went." He was again interrupted, this time by Adam.
"Well, I wasn't happy about it, I will tell you. I even spoke up, but both Chris and Shane assured me it would be safe. Mister Orton also promised he would stay close to Shane, so, I agreed. Worst mistake I have ever made." Adam was a bit huffy, now that it had been spoken about again. It made him a bit mad in fact, however, he would hear Randal out.
Chris sighed. "Not now, love. Please? Let's hear this out. Yes, I trusted Orton one hundred percent, but I was still scared to death for Shane. It wasn't easy for me either." He kissed Adam's cheek and held him close.
"There was no danger. I wished I could have said more, to make you both feel better." Randy sighed softly.
"Your work is never easy, Orton. But you do a damn good job at it." Bret Hart spoke firmly.
"Thank you, Your Grace." Randy gave a nod of great respect. He drank more water and continued.
"We are almost finished. As suspected, they took Master Shane. They went to the plaza and got into the box coach they had rented. Helmsley and Regal did exactly as we thought they would do. They locked Barrett out and told him to go back to London. He ran like a scalded dog. He knew Lady Sasha would look after him. Helmsley and Regal had been ordered to get rid of Barrett. Master Shane, they immediately began trying to recruit you, didn't they?" Randy wanted Shane to know, he had every right to speak up.
Shane scoffed. "Yes, they did. I had said in the Louver, I wanted to be a teacher and help special orphans like Jimmy and Elizabeth. Once we were in the coach, they told me people like Jimmy and Elizabeth would be the first to be locked away. Then they told me about Professor Morley…"
"Wait, I will discuss that shortly. Continue please, Master Shane." Randy gave the young lad a wink and a nod.
Shane smiled. "Alright. Well, after they said that, I got really annoyed. I tried to break out of the coach. Helmsley grabbed me, I think, it could have been Regal. Anyway, they shouted for the coach to leave. Seconds after we started to move, the coach stopped so suddenly I landed on the floor." He gave a shrug.
Randy gave Shane a pat on the shoulder. "Good job, Master Shane. What no one knew was, the driver was ours. He was never going to leave the Louver Plaza. Our men moved in and surrounded the coach. Sheamus and Damian took control of the horses. Problem was, Helmsley and Regal weren't about to surrender. When Helmsley brandished an Austrian military knife, and threatened Master Shane, we cleared the plaza…" Randy halted when Chris gasped.
"So that's why…" Chris stopped himself so Randy could finish.
"Yes. I told security to take you to a private place to wait. Now to finish. There wasn't much talking with them. Then after roughly and hour, Helmsley suddenly wanted to negotiate. Master Shane, as you are the one that got them out, it is yours to tell. Now, you can talk about Morley." Randy finally sat down and took a deep drink of water.
Shane sat up. "When Helmsley threatened me, I knew I was actually safe. Regal gave Helmsley a look, and Helmsley put the knife away. They talked about Lord Banks and how vindictive he is. I can't recall who said it, but he said, we don't want to end up like Morley. I asked what he meant. They told me, Lord Banks had him killed, chopped up and dumped in the sea. It made me think. I told them if they were in prison in England, at least they would be safe from Lord Banks. I thought they would agree, but, no. One of them said it would be easy to have someone kill them in prison. Then I said, ask them for protection." He didn't know exactly what else to say.
Randy took over. "And, so they did. We already knew we would have to protect them. Now, Helmsley and Regal are locked in an isolated location. There is no ability for them to escape or be attacked. Now as for Barrett, he took refuge with Lady Banks. She has him locked away at the Banks' Estate. We eventually hope to get enough evidence on them to put them in prison. Hopefully, it won't be too long. That is my next assignment. Duke Hart, you can take over to explain about Professor Priest." He gave Bret a nod.
Bret smiled. "Happy to do so. I can assure you, you will never find a better man than Damian Priest to have as a tutor. Highly educated and an expert in being a personal body guard. He asked that Paris, be his last mission with us. I asked him if he was interested in taking over Shane's education. He agreed. Shane, in Damian you will have an excellent teacher, protector and good friend… for life." There was no more he could really say.
Damian stood. "Thank you, Your Grace. Master Shane and I got along very well on our return trip to London. However, I did not say anything about being hired as his tutor, until Your Graces told him. Again, I thank Your Graces for hiring me. I will, of course, step away if anyone is uncomfortable. I know much has been said tonight. All I ask is for a fair chance." After a nod to Vince and Eric, he sat back down.
For a moment, nothing was said. Vince finally spoke as the head of the family. "My suggestion would be, let's call it a day. Bret, bring your family back for tea, or perhaps luncheon. You can all ask any questions you have then. I know this is a lot to take in. There will be things that can not be discussed, for National Security. I do want to say, Professor Priest has been fully vetted. Eric, I will show you his credentials later. Also, not one word of any of this leaves this house. Barrett and Sasha Banks must be caught. And trust me, they will be. So, we are done." He stood to make his point. Bret also stood, he was more than ready to go home to his bed.
The McMahon house was dark and quiet. Mark slipped into bed with his wife as the clocked chimed once. Judy rolled into Mark's arms in her sleep, where Mark soon joined her in dreamland.
Upstairs, Chris held his husband in his arms. They wanted to be close, but neither were in a mood for sex. Too much had been said.
"What do you think of Professor Priest?" Chris asked with a soft kiss to Adam's temple.
Adm looked up at his husband. "I like him. He will take good care of Shane. I always felt… wary around Barrett. He sometimes… leered at me. I hated that. The only reason I tolerated him was he did seem to care about Shane. Oh Chris, they could have ki…" He was hushed by Chris.
"But, he wasn't I agree with you. I feel confident about Priest. I also know Uncle Bret must really admire him. Love, you do understand why I couldn't say anything. You know I trust you." Chris looked at his husband with a bit of regret.
Adam reached up and caressed Chris' cheek. "I do now. I am still annoyed, but I have come to realize, you were right. I would have done or said something to harm the plan to get Barrett. I also know, that many times father can't speak to poppa about things. I can see poppa gets annoyed, but he also understands. I also know any secrets you have to keep are important. You know, I just realized, I now understand what one of the letters I translated was about. See, I can't tell you what, but you understand."
"Yes, I do. Let's get some sleep, love. I am so tired. It is all catching up…" Chris chuckled, Adam let out a soft snore. He closed his own eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
The McMahon family finished breakfast and went to the morning room. The Hart's would arrive soon. Eric sat at his desk and read the dossier that Bret had gathered on Damian Priest. A few things were blocked out by a black wax pencil line. Those things were part of missions Damian had done for the British Secret Service. The man was beyond qualified to teach.
Another thing that pleased Eric, was the fact that he felt no worries like he had with Barrett. He closed the dossier file with a smile.
Damian sat with Shane. He watched as Shane prepared to do the match bridge trick. Eric walked over and laid a hand on Damian's shoulder.
"Sorry, Shane. I need to speak to Professor Priest for a moment. I promise to bring him right back." Eric opened the balcony door and indicated for Damian to follow.
Eric closed the door and led Damian to the far end "I highly approve of you Professor Priest. I can tell by your eyes that you are fine man. I am putting my baby in your hands. If you ever do anything to hurt him, you will not have to worry about Vince or Bret. You will have to worry about me. There won't be enough of you left to even feed fish. Do you understand me? Shane has been through enough." he was friendly but extremely firm.
Damien smiled at Eric. "Understood, Your Grace. I also thank you for this opportunity. I was tired of wondering if I would live through the next mission. I was proud to serve my country with my life. However, I knew it was time to move on. Duke Hart was kind enough to speak to Duke McMahon. I am looking forward to being a small help to Master Shane. Teaching was always my first calling… but… well, I was needed elsewhere. Your Grace, I also have the feeling, I would not just be dealing with you. I am sure Lord Adam would be right there with you turning me into scraps." He gave Eric a nod of deep respect.
Eric outright laughed. "Yes, you would have to worry about Adam. As far as I am concerned, welcome to our home. You will probably face a line of questions from Shane's brothers and sister. I will do my best to see that they don't scare the life out of you."
Before Damian could respond, Shane opened the door. "Sorry poppa, but the Harts are here." He went back in and closed the balcony door.
"Guess it is question time. Thank you for your time, Professor." Eric led Damian back into the morning room. Greetings were exchanged. Damian sat back down next to Shane. The magic trick was on hold for the moment.
Damian leaned over to speak softly to Shane. "You can show me the trick later. Sorry we got interrupted."
Shane grinned. "It is perfectly alright. I am sure poppa gave you the old if you hurt Shane speech."
Damian laughed. "Yes, he did. I said I think Lord Adam would join him. So, honestly, how do you feel about it, Master Shane?" He spoke quietly as the Hart's and McMahon's greeted each other and settled into their usual places.
Shane smiled. "So far, I like you very much. Just please, when you teach, do not tell me the same things over and over." He gave Damian a wink as the room grew quiet.
Vince, Eric, Bret, Shawn, Stephanie, and Natalya sat on the long sofa. Vince spoke. "Alright, you can ask any questions or make any statements about what you learned last night." He looked around the room.
For a moment, no one said anything. Earlier that morning, in Chris and Adam's sitting room, the McMahon siblings had a talk, without Shane. They thought it best, because of all he'd been through. They talked about many things, however, Damian Priest was the center of the conversation. The others also reassured Chris he had done all the right things, in an extremely difficult situation. Chris felt a lot better. They had also appointed Roman, as the eldest, to be their spokesman.
Roman stood. "I have been asked to speak for my brothers and sister. We wouldn't even know where to start as far as the other business. That is up to father and Uncle Bret. However, we fiercely care about Shane. Another random person has been brought in to be his tutor and companion. How do we really know he too, isn't after Shane? Professor Priest, please understand, this is nothing personal against you. You must understand our only concern is our little brother. Shane has been through more, in the last few weeks, than any fifteen year old should… or anyone for that matter." Roman sat back down.
Damian stood. "I take no offense. I would feel the same, if I had a younger brother." He returned to his seat.
Eric remained seated as he spoke up. "I have read and vetted the dossier on Professor Priest. He has my support, one hundred percent. You all know, I never felt that with Barrett." He spoke firmly and looked each of his children directly in the eye.
Roman looked at his siblings, he also looked at Kenny and Natalya, after all, they too, were family. "That is good enough for us. Professor Priest, welcome to the family. I was also asked to say, if you bring any harm to Shane, you will deal with Adam." He gave Damian a sly wink.
Shane stood, hands on his hips. "Now you just hold it a minute. He is my tutor, I think I should have a say, so I am. You leave Professor Priest alone He is nothing like Barrett, and never will be. And please, I survived alone for almost a week. I can take care of myself." He sat back down with a huff. Damian gave him a look of thanks and a wink with humor.
"I think that takes care of that. Professor Priest, I formally welcome you to the family. We can go over the rules my husband and I have set for Shane later." Vince turned too look at Damian and gave him a warm smile.
"Thank you, Your Grace. Yes, I was going to ask about that. I am strict, but extremely fair." Damian gave a nod of deep respect to Vince.
Mark opened the door. "Your Graces, Mister Orton is here, to say goodbye." He waited for the approval before letting Randy in.
"Certainly. Show him in, Calaway." Eric gave the nod.
Mark opened the door. Randal Orton stepped into the room. He was no longer dressed to be a footman. He looked like an average upper middle class man on the street.
"Your Graces, Lords, Ladies, Master Shane, Professor Priest, it is time for me to depart. Time to put my full attention on Barrett and Lady Banks. I must say, I enjoyed being here very much. Thank you for opening your home to me, without knowing why."
Vince, Eric and Bret stood and shook Randy's hand. Vince spoke. "We will miss you, Orton. Despite the pressure of the real reason you were here, you were an excellent Footman. Good luck."
All the McMahon's and Hart's shook Randy's hand and thanked him. Randal was humbled. Shane spoke to him last.
"Thank you for saving me, twice. I will miss you." Shane shook Randy's hand like a man.
"I only played a small part. Master Shane, Damian is a good man. I am leaving you in the best possible hands." Randy gave Shane a big smile. With a final bow and wave, Randy left.
Bret had given Randy a look the man understood. Bret would speak to him later. Barrett was still out there. They heard Mark let Randy out the front door. The man truly gone. A hush settled over the morning room.
"He was a good man." Dean spoke with a sigh.
Kenny smiled. "He didn't die, love. He is a good man. He's still on the job, just not here."
Chris chuckled. "Very true, Kenny."
No one really felt like a big conversation. So quiet ones between couples and friends broke out
"I am pleased there weren't a lot of questions. They might have been hard to answer to any satisfaction. I am also pleased Professor Priest was accepted." Bret spoke to the group.
Mark once again opened the morning room door. "Tea, Your Grace?" He asked Eric, brow arched.
Eric nodded. "Yes please, Calaway."
When Mark opened the door fully, Cody entered with a large tray of sandwiches. He was happily welcomed home as he put the tray on the low coffee table. Mark followed with the tray of tea, and Beth carried the tray of dishes, silverware and napkins.
"Rhodes, it is good to have you back. Welcome home." Eric spoke for his family.
Cody bowed. "Thank you, Your Grace. It is good be… home." He smiled, his eyes bright.
Cody, Beth and Mark served the tea, then left the family to enjoy themselves. It was if the atmosphere had lifted.
When they got down to the servant's hall, Paige hugged Cody. "Oh it is good to have you back." She'd been in the scullery when Cody had returned. Mark put him to work before she could see him.
Cody hugged Paige just as hard. "It is good to be home. I missed you very much." He looked around, they were alone. Cody gave Paige a quick kiss.
Paige flushed. "Better go, our tea is ready." She hurried Cody off to the table in the other room. She took a deep breath and followed a minute later.
Cody sat at his place after a motherly hug from Judy. "Good to have you back, my dear boy. Now you eat up, you lost weight." Judy smiled. Her words made Mark chuckle.
Jason laughed. "Don't worry, Cody. She tells Adam and I the same thing. She's even said it to poppa Mark." He took a bite of a fish paste sandwich.
Mark again chuckled. "Yes, she has. She told Glenn too when he came to tea yesterday afternoon. Glenn thought my dear wife had lost her mind."
Judy tried to look angry, but failed. "Try to show some love and concern around here. It will be bread and water at this table from now on. Girls, don't worry, I will still feed you."
"Thank you, Missus Calaway." Beth, Becky and Paige chorused. Everyone laughed. The atmosphere had certainly lightened up.
Up in the morning room, Damian gave Shane a hearty pat on the back. "Excellent magic trick, Master Shane. You told me that Lord Kenny helped you figure it out, but didn't say how. Let me guess. Thermodynamics, after a fashion. You waited a second for the fourth match to burn down, then lit the bridge gate?" He looked at Shane.
"Yes, exactly right. I have to warn you, I do like science, but… it wasn't my best class. I am best at maths, numbers come easy to me." Shane took a sip of his tea as he looked at his tutor.
Damian smiled. "When we start lessons in two weeks, we will begin with science. If you truly want to be an educator, you have to understand what you are teaching. You have to concentrate more on your weaker subjects. Mine was Grammar. I got nouns and verbs mixed with adjectives. I finally got it. There is no shame in not being good at something. The shame comes in when you don't work hard to improve." He gave Shane good, solid advice and sealed it with a nod.
"Well, I think that proves Shane is in good hands." Stephanie spoke firmly, she and Nattie had heard Damian speak.
Chris spoke up. "Anyone up for a bit of a ride in Hyde Park with Adam and I before luncheon?"
"Nattie and I are going to work on some dress designs up in my room, but thank you." Stephanie smiled at her brother.
Dean looked at Kenny. Kenny nodded. "We will, Chris." He too smiled at his brother.
"Seth and I will also. The babies will be alright without us for a bit. It would be nice to spend some brother time." Roman spoke. While they loved their children, it was nice to do things without them once in a while.
"I want to." Shane spoke up. He loved spending time with his brothers.
Damian spoke. "Good. That will give me a bit of time to finish unpacking and set things up properly in the school room. Unless of course, Your Graces wish me to go." He looked over at Eric.
"No, Professor Priest, do as you wish. Shane will be with his brothers. It was also give my husband and I a chance to tell you our rules for Shane. Bret, Shawn what do you want to do?" He looked at the couple seated next to him.
"You have your talk with the Professor. Then, you and Shawn will soundly lose a game of Bridge to Vince and I." Bret spoke with a nod.
Shawn looked at Eric. "Are we going to let them win or should we beat them?"
"Let us win? No, you don't let us win. Bret and I make you lose." Vince added with his distinct chuckle.
Everyone laughed. Kenny dashed home to change into his riding togs. The McMahon brothers went up to their rooms to change.
"I will help Master Shane, Your Graces. I will be right back to listen to you." Damian gave a nod as he followed after his charge.
"Bret, thank you for sending Priest to us. He is going to fit in perfectly. Shane really likes him already. I know he didn't like Barrett very much." Eric smiled as he started to his desk to get the playing cards and a paper to write their Bridge scores on.
Mark, Cody and Beth entered the morning room to clear the tea things. Mark stayed and set up the card table and four chairs. When he finished, Damian had returned. There was a commotion as the McMahon brothers headed to the mews.
Jason, Maxwell, and Riddle began to saddle the horses. Chris stood in the vast open stable door. He saw a black horse standing in one of the once empty stalls.
"Who is that beauty?" Chris asked as Jason saddled Highflyer.
"Midnight. He belongs to that new fellow, Priest. Magnificent stallion. Extremely well behaved and gentle as a lamb. Maxwell said Midnight had military training at some point. Even this one likes him." Jason explained and indicated to Highflyer.
Chris chuckled. "If Flyer likes him, then that is saying something." He gave Highflyer a pat.
Soon, Highflyer, Locket, Matchem, Brimmer, Sweepstakes, Merlin and Lochinvar carried their riders out of the mews at a quick trot toward Hyde Park. The were just as happy as their owners to get out for a good run.
In the morning room, Vince spoke. "… and lastly, he is allowed to go to the post or bank and take out twenty pounds once a month. Shane is careful with his money, so that really isn't an issue. You have our permission to punish when it is needed. Normally it is staying in his room, doing nothing. No reading or playing games." Vince finished explaining Shane's rules to Damian. There weren't many, but they were strictly enforced.
"Very well, Your Grace. Sound, reasonable rules. If he needs discipline in the school room, it will be writing lines. How many depends on the severity of the break of my school room rules." Damian gave a nod. He picked up the paper he'd used to make note of Shane's parents rules.
Eric responded. "Lines are fine, Professor. Never strike his hand with a ruler, ever. We do not approve of physical discipline." His tone was deadly firm
"I would never even think of it. That way of discipline is archaic and cruel. We agree completely on that. Alright Your Graces, if that is all, I will take my leave. Enjoy your Bridge game." Damian smiled and waited to be dismissed.
Vince returned the smile. "That is all. Thank you, as well. Luncheon at two in the dining room." Damian gave a nod and left.
Bret and Shawn came into the room. They had gone out on the balcony to let Vince and Eric have their talk with Professor Priest.
Soon the four Dukes played a rousing game of Bridge. Eric and Shawn were determined to win.
In Hyde Park, Adam, Seth and Kenny watched as Chris, Roman, Dean and Shane raced across the green area. The area was always maintained so horses could gallop safely. It was one of the few places in London where a city horse could have a good run.
Highflyer was in the lead as Chris urged him faster. Merlin and Shane were neck and neck with Dean and Sweepstakes. Brimmer was catching up with Roman's guiding her. Brimmer was a good, sturdy horse, but bless her, she wasn't the fastest.
Highflyer stretched out his neck and won, just as Merlin had nearly caught up.
Shane let out a growl of frustration. "Almost, again. One day we are going to win." He slowed Merlin down to a slow walk.
"I know you will, Shane. Keep trying." Adam spoke with encouragement.
The McMahon brothers slowly rode toward home. It had been a good day… so far. It was good to laugh and be together.
The truth had been told, and questions answered, for now.