A sense of homecoming engulfed Harry as he pressed his garage opener and parked inside his allotted bay. Most of the former horse stalls had been converted to garages, with only a half dozen remaining for their original purpose, should one of Nick’s family take up riding.

“Brilliant job, Sammy,” Harry said, much pleased with his son’s behind-the-wheel prowess.

Sammy hopped out of the 4x4, his wellington boots clumping on the cobblestones. Harry reached behind his seat, grabbed his duffel and gifts, then followed.

“Hurry, Dad. I want to show you the fort I built last night.” Sammy scampered ahead, running across the courtyard to the outside stairs.

Harry’s eyes scanned the upper level of the converted stable block with its balcony rail surrounding the enclosure’s inner perimeter. Of the three flats above the garages, the largest was his parents’ spacious apartment. Since his divorce, Nick had let him the two-bedroom unit next door to his parents. That way, Sammy wasn’t uprooted each time he left on an assignment.

A thousand memories rushed out to greet him; he was home.

Three generations of Bensons had worked for the Earls of Rivendon in one capacity or another. His mother currently held the position of cook while his father served as head groundskeeper.

Starting up the stairs after his son, Harry paused to gaze back through the open gates over the countryside. The serpentine lake glistened like an impressionist painting one second, then shone pewter gray the next when clouds obscured the sun. Across the multi-arched bridge spread crops of rapeseed and timber. He had tromped every nook and cranny of Ashford Priory’s 6,500 acres with his father and Nick. Harry couldn’t imagine the place without his father’s steady presence. Everywhere he looked were memories.

He and Nick Davidson, the current earl, had grown up together. The pair of them had hatched every harebrained plot two active little boys could concoct. As children, they had spent more time inside Harry’s stable-block flat than the posh priory Nick had inherited.

During Harry’s gap year, Nick had encouraged him to attend university and save his money for investment opportunities, foreign concepts to Harry’s simple way of life. But he had taken Nick’s advice, enrolling in college and hoarding his cash.

While at university, Nick’s father had almost bankrupted the earldom. In desperation, Nick had created a start-up business venture but had been short on funds. The banks had refused due to his lack of collateral, so Harry lent Nick his entire savings. That investment had paid huge dividends over the last decade. Instead of withdrawing his finances once he had recouped his expenditures with interest, Harry had invested in Nick’s growing empire.

Now, Harry had just over two million pounds, a far cry from his humble beginnings. To this day, he and Nick remained best mates.

“Hurry up, Dad!”

Sammy’s voice pulled him back from the past.