James was the second mechanic, a few years older than me. He was more than willing to talk me through the different cars owned by the estate. Some of them were relics, but there was a gleaming Maybach 57 that I was just dying to slip behind the wheel of .
“How do I get a British license?” I asked James one morning. I’d asked Rose the same question over breakfast. Her answer had been ‘you don’t’. It was time to seek a second opinion.
“You don’t need one,” James answered. “Your US license is fine for the first year. All you’d need is insurance.” That perked me right up.
“So as long as I don’t crash I’ll be fine?” I grinned.
James tried to protest, but I wasn’t really listening. I’d been cooped up in the castle for days . As thrilling as it was to own the place, I wasn’t used to having so little variety. I needed to see something different . There was so much of England left to explore!
And maybe I was feeling a little lonely. As charming as Rose was, I could only throw myself against her complete disinterest so many times a day before it started to get old. No one else in the castle would speak to me like a real person. Getting addressed as ‘your grace’ was fun, but I needed something more stimulating than being asked how I wanted my eggs and which suit I intended to wear.
I ran a reverent hand over the Maybach. Rose would almost certainly have told me off for it. “The duke must be allowed to drive,” I pointed out. “Otherwise, what are all these cars for ?”
James winced. “The tourists, mostly.” It was an answer I was getting tired of. Everything fancy in the castle seemed to be for the tourists. As the duke, I hardly had any power at all.
It was different than how I’d thought it would be. I’d expected to be socializing with all the other dukes and ladies. If I wasn’t introduced to the queen, I at least thought I might meet Harry and Meghan. Instead, there was only Rose. And a household staff who I knew wanted to get on with their work.
“I’ll just take myself out for a couple of hours,” I said. I hadn’t quite dropped to pleading , but it wasn’t far off. “I need a little excitement, James. Come on, what do you do around here for fun?”
Rose, I had no doubt, would’ve recommended some museum or national landmark. Which would have been fine, if she’d been willing to go with me. She’d made it very clear that she wasn’t.
“There’s a cinema in Norwich,” James answered, shrugging slightly. It wasn’t quite the thrill ride I’d been hoping for. It had to be better than standing around the stable watching the rain.
“Great! I’ll drive to Norwich, catch a movie, and that’ll keep me out from under everyone’s feet for a couple of hours.” And it would get me behind the wheel again. I could feel my feet already itching to push down the accelerator.
“One of us can drive you,” James offered. “It is our job, Your Grace.”
Part of me hated that I even employed drivers. But I knew they did more than just that. They looked after all the cars, including the ancient relics that I’d have no idea how to maintain. In all my life, I’d never driven anything older than I was.
“Besides,” James added, “what would the trustees say if one of the estate’s cars were damaged?”
“I’m not going to damage it,” I argued, still looking hopefully at the Maybach. It was so pristine, I doubted it had been driven more than a couple of times for show. I wanted to take it out and really put it through its paces.
We argued for ages. James was surprisingly determined. I could tell he wanted to do me a favor, but he couldn’t risk me driving one of the estate’s precious vehicles without insurance. I didn’t like that, but I could respect it. I wasn’t such an idiot that I didn’t realize accidents could happen.
“What about your car,” I pressed. James had told me he lived half an hour away, with his wife and little girl. “Couldn’t I borrow that? The trustees won’t care if you lend me your personal car. That’s got nothing to do with them.”
He looked torn. I almost felt bad about putting more pressure on him, but I really needed to drive. “I’m a professional driver , James,” I pointed out. “I’m not going to crash. I’ll be careful.”
It took a little more convincing. Eventually, James handed over the keys to his Honda Jazz. It wasn’t what I was used to driving but, God, did it feel good to put my foot down and watch it eat up the miles of windy country roads.
I decided to skip the movie. Watching the Rock race cars and jump from helicopters couldn’t be as exciting to me as being allowed to get behind the wheel.
All afternoon, I barely saw another soul. Just like I’d promised, I was careful. The hills surrounding Claxthorpe gave me the opportunity to really build up some speed. I admit, I wasn’t really thinking about the speed limit. There wasn’t another car in sight, and I’d handled way more horsepower around far tighter bends.
I didn’t see the police car hiding on the slip road until it was much too late.
Its lights flashed as it raced around the corner to keep up with me. I didn’t have time to think. I floored the accelerator, feeling the engine roar to life under me.
There was no traffic to lose them in, just miles and miles of country road. I sped forward, knuckles going white as I spun the steering wheel left and right. They knew the area, and I didn’t, but I threw myself into every bend and curve.
The hill dropped away under me. James’ car screamed down it, tires barely managing to keep their grip.
Neither of us slowed. The sirens blared, making my heart jump up into my throat.
By the time I thought about whether I needed to escape the police, it was too late. I’d broken half a dozen road rules in my attempt to outrace them.
I kept going, foot heavy on the accelerator. On a straight road, I was the better driver. My lead grew, bit by bit. Every corner I dashed around gave me a little bit more ground.
I knew better than to lead them straight to Claxthorpe.
I’d missed driving. This was better . It was exhilarating in the way I’d always loved my races to be. Not knowing what was up ahead just made me more determined.
I zipped away from them, briefly losing them around a series of S-bends before they popped up again.
I’d driven miles out of my way, my pulse racing. Finally, I took a risk and slammed the car left onto an even narrower lane. They shot past the entrance to it.
Pulling a U-turn, I slipped back onto the road, driving away from them in the direction we’d both been going. As their sirens faded into the afternoon, I threw my head back and laughed.
My nails had left little half-moon imprints on the leather of James’ steering wheel. My heart didn’t stop pounding until I was half-way back to where we’d started .
Twenty minutes later, I had to pull over to start James’ Sat-Nav. In the chase, I’d totally lost my sense of where I was in relation to Claxthorpe Castle.
By the time I recognized the countryside around me, it was almost dark.
As the car chugged up the hill towards the castle, I was surprised to see people outside, standing around another car parked on the gravel courtyard.
And not just any car. As I drew level with them, I could see the bar and the blue-and-yellow squares of a police car.
Well, shit. How was I going to explain this one?
Chapter Six
Rose
I knew that Austin was bored. In a way, I almost felt responsible for what had happened. Except not quite. It wasn’t my fault he had done something so stupid. But I couldn’t help thinking that maybe he wouldn’t have done if I had been slightly more involved in showing Austin around.
Of course, I couldn’t have accounted for him bringing the police to our door.
Burying this story before it could spread like wildfire took a lot of effort and many favors. We were lucky to have Briony and her excellent skills as a PR manager. By the time she was finally certain that the press wouldn’t write about the ‘wild American Duke of Claxthorpe ’ and the police wouldn’
t press charges, I was certain we needed to give her a promotion.
The board had an emergency meeting. One which maybe we should’ve had before this. It was too late now. Austin was a problem that needed to be managed. And the board was pretty clear that he was my problem to manage. I was the youngest member. Being the same age as Austin somehow apparently meant I should understand him better.
“Well,” I said, walking into his room the day after the police had come. “I guess you’ll have to be a duke in prison.”
His tanned face seemed to pale. Even if it only lasted for a second, I felt pretty satisfied. He needed to understand that this was serious .
“I don’t believe that you put people in prison for driving without insurance,” he told me. “I don’t believe James would’ve let me if that were even a possibility.”
He had a point there. James was another thing that we needed to talk about.
“If there’s a fine, I’ll pay it,” Austin said. I had to make a real effort not to roll my eyes. Austin’s money couldn’t just fix everything.
“Are you serious?” I frowned. Did he really think this was about driving without insurance ? “Austin, you didn’t stop for the police. You broke a string of traffic laws while driving away from them. It’s all on camera. The police have dash cams and there’s CCTV everywhere .” Driving without insurance was the least of the problems Briony had needed to sort out.
Shaking my head, I gave Austin a serious once-over. He seemed so unbothered , like none of this mattered . “Is this just a joke to you? The fact that the estate’s name could be ruined? The fact that our PR manager had to negotiate with the police? The fact that James lost his job? Is it all just funny to you?!”
Instead of looking ashamed of himself, as he should, Austin just shrugged. “No, it’s not a joke. But the estate’s name isn’t going to be ruined because I broke some traffic laws ,” he argued. “I didn’t hurt anybody. I didn’t even drive dangerously . I’m a professional. I knew what I was doing.”
“Your opinion on whether you drove dangerously or not is irrelevant ! The police think you drove dangerously. It is their opinion that can send you to prison.” I really had no patience for this. Austin was a moron. No matter what he said, he clearly didn’t care. I had no idea how I was meant to change that.
I’d grown up on this estate, I loved it more than I loved anything. To him, this was just something he’d inherited from some far-away uncle he hadn’t even known existed. It was unfair .
His bright eyes did cloud over then. “What do you mean James lost his job?”
“What do you think? James was an accomplice . He’s lucky the police didn’t want to arrest him, too . Honestly, Austin, have you ever heard of consequences to your actions?”
“Of course I have.” He didn’t snap at me, not like I might have expected him to. He looked away, towards the windows, shoving both hands deep into his pockets.
“The police didn’t want to arrest James,” he pointed out. “And he’s not responsible for what I did. It’s not fair to fire him over that.” He brought his chin up, looking obstinate.
“You have to give him his job back.”
That almost sounded like Austin genuinely cared. If only he’d thought about this before involving James in his stupidity. Firing James wasn’t something I had wanted. The board had been pretty clear and I couldn’t blame them. Someone had to be punished. We couldn’t punish Austin , not really, so James had been the fault guy.
“Maybe you should’ve thought of that before involving him,” I pointed out. “Your actions have consequences,” I repeated. “And James needing to look for a new job? That’s on you.”
I wasn’t going to sugar coat it. Austin had fucked up and he needed to know it .
I saw the stubbornness flicker. For just a moment, Austin looked genuinely upset .
He almost immediately ruined it. “But that’s not fair .” It made him sound like a petulant child. “All James did was lend me his car,” Austin pointed out. “And sure, I’m not insured to drive it, so you could say that maybe he shouldn’t have, but all he put at risk was his possession.”
And his job, but apparently that didn’t register with Austin.
He did look at me then. “He didn’t make me drive away from the cops,” he argued. “None of that is on James. If that’s what you’re so upset about, it has nothing to do with him.”
He frowned. It very much looked like thinking was really hard work. “Can’t I - I don’t know, do community service, or something?”
Firing James really wasn’t something I had wanted. I’d known James since I was a teenager. His sister and I went to school together. I knew he had a little girl and losing his job would make it tough. The board had been very explicit in punishing someone . Still, I knew they’d listen to me if I brought it up again.
Maybe I could use this to my advantage.
“I will see what I can do about rehiring James if you take some etiquette classes.” He certainly needed them. Maybe if Austin thought he was doing it for someone else’s sake, he’d be more likely to actually collaborate.
Judging by his expression, it wasn’t the answer Austin had expected. “Etiquette classes?” he asked. “What, like knowing the right thing to call a duke and who’s supposed to bow and whether to stick your pinky in the air drinking tea?”
He looked genuinely baffled that those might be things anyone would value knowing. “I’m not saying no,” he added quickly. “I just don’t see what that has got to do with driving.”
Of course he wouldn’t. As far as I could tell, there was still a great chance that Austin was an idiot.
“It’s to do with you understanding how you’re expected to behave. Being a duke isn’t doing whatever you want. It comes with responsibilities and rules. I want you to learn them.” Ideally, I would have wanted Austin to want to learn. That obviously was not something I could make happen.
I watched him think it over, his brows drawing together before he met my eyes again. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll learn what my responsibilities are, if you’ll put in a good word for James.” It surprised me how easily he agreed. I didn’t completely trust it. After all, it was one thing to agree to lessons, it would be quite another to actually turn up and learn them.
“I want one other thing,” Austin decided. I was about to point out that he was hardly in a position to ask for favors , but he carried on without giving me the chance. “I want you to help me study.”
Whatever I had expected, it wasn’t that.
Perhaps somewhat arrogantly I had briefly thought me might ask me to... anyway, that didn’t matter. What Austin did ask was not something I wanted to do anyway . But I wasn’t sure how much bargaining I could really do here.
I wanted James reinstated. It would be much easier to argue for that with the board if I could also say that I was going to be helping Austin. They already thought we were friends . Mostly, it seemed, because we were the same age.
Either way, I had to admit, maybe this would help. Maybe Austin would actually learn something. I was grateful he wasn’t asking me to be the only person to teach him, just to help him study.
“Will you actually study?” I asked with a degree of suspicion in my voice.
He grinned, any trace of actually feeling bad about this whole mess vanishing like it’d never been there. “I will if I have a beautiful woman to impress,” he answered.
It was almost impossible not to roll my eyes. Yet I couldn’t help but feel a little bit flattered. As tied up with my work as I was, I didn’t get out much. It was nice to be reminded that I was actually attractive. Even if it was by Austin Rillington.
Then again, it was hard not to wonder if he just said that to all the women he met. I knew that Austin was bored and while the etiquette lessons probably wouldn’t be the sort of fun he preferred at least they’d keep Austin busy. More than that, he might even learn something.
“I will make the arrangements. Your first lesso
n will be tomorrow and then afterward I’ll make time once I finish work to practice whatever Bernie teaches you.”
I left before Austin could ask me any more questions, because I knew he would. Instead, I pulled my phone out to call Bernie. He owed me a favor, so I was sure he’d agree. And if I didn’t tell him just how much work Austin would be, well...
He’d find out soon enough.
Chapter Seven
Austin
Study dates weren’t how I would have chosen to spend more time with Rose. I’d have preferred to take her outside the castle, get her to show me more of what England was like.
Given what had happened with the Honda, I knew that wasn’t going to happen.
I still found myself looking forward to it. It was the only thing that got me through three hours with Bernie on the difference between formal and informal invitations.
I could already tell I was going to have a hard time remembering any of what he’d told me. It all seemed so unnecessary . Sure, it was cute and all, sending someone a formal invitation to tea and then waiting for their people to call my people, but why couldn’t I just pick up the phone myself?
Rose had sent a message that we were meeting in one of the private reading rooms. It wasn’t as grand as the ones the tourists could walk through, but there were still old portraits and tapestries on every wall. I showered and shaved, then asked Mark to send up some snacks. I couldn’t study on an empty stomach.
Rose was already there when I arrived. She’d kicked off her shoes and curled her legs under her as she leafed through the book in her lap. It was the most relaxed I’d ever seen her, and she took my breath away.
I badly wanted to claim the seat next to her. I knew she ran around working for the estate all day. I could just imagine the soft sigh of pleasure she’d give if I pulled her feet into my lap to rub them for her.
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