Chapter 94: First Dinner at the Castle
Anthony and Langte exchanged a look of pleasant surprise, both nodding to themselves. In their eyes, William, a young man of only twenty, was truly different from the other young men of the English elite. He lacked the innate arrogance and rudeness they so often saw. He was generous with those close to him, knew how to use money to make more money, and was on a path where even titles like Earl and Marquess were likely in his future. God truly favored him.
As the two were contemplating William's merits, a knock came at the conference room door. They heard Barney's voice from the other side: "Boss, Mrs. Lina has brought you some coffee. May we come in?"
Hearing his mother had arrived, William stood up and said, "Come in."
The words had barely left his mouth when Barney opened the door. William's mother, Lina, gave Barney a thankful smile and walked in, followed by four maids carrying coffee pots, teapots, and trays of pastries.
William stepped forward to hug his mother and greet her. Lina nodded at the assembled lawyers with a warm smile. "Hello, gentlemen. I am Lina Devin Hill, William's mother. It's time for afternoon tea, so I've brought some desserts, coffee, and tea."
Seeing Lina's dignified and noble bearing, the men quickly rose to their feet to greet her. The English people have a complex relationship with their nobility; they despise their privilege while simultaneously envying it. If given the chance to become nobles themselves, none would refuse. Because England no longer creates new hereditary peers, the vast majority of people harbor a mix of resentment, jealousy, and admiration for them.
However, this attitude often softened in the presence of a beautiful noblewoman. Though the aristocracy was in decline, its cultural influence remained strong, and the general public was very accepting of charming ladies of title.
And so, upon meeting William's mother, the lawyers were all exceedingly polite. One man even performed a full courtly bow, which made William chuckle inwardly.
After greeting everyone, Lina said to William with a smile, "William, have some afternoon tea and coffee. Take a break. I was also hoping to invite everyone for a dinner of lamb chops and salmon with mushroom soup. The mushrooms are very fresh; Tina and I picked them in the woods this afternoon."
William looked at his guests and asked, "Would that be alright?"
"Of course! Thank you, Mrs. Devin Hill."
"No problem at all. Thank you, madam."
The men nodded in a chorus of agreement.
Seeing that her presence was making them a little reserved, Lina nodded. "Well then, William, I will go and prepare. I'll see you gentlemen at dinner." She bid them farewell and left to oversee the arrangements.
After their tea, the lawyers helped William finalize the statements for his assets in England and the United States. Once the work was done, they retired to a guest lounge to smoke cigars, drink black tea and coffee, and chat.
At seven o'clock sharp, a maid arrived to invite everyone to the dining hall. The dinner featured roasted lamb chops, pan-fried salmon, and the promised mushroom soup. William also had eight bottles of Château Latour opened, along with a few bottles of whiskey from '89. Including William, his security, and the legal team, there were twenty-one people in the hall. The atmosphere was warm and convivial. Everyone drank the fine wine and whiskey, talking animatedly until well past 9:30 p.m.
After dinner, William had a servant show the twelve lawyers to their accommodations in a two-story wing of the castle. The castle had two such wings; one was for the servants, and the other, completely renovated, was for guests.
The guest wing had been modernized to the standard of a four-star hotel. It contained twenty-four guest suites, each over seventy square meters with a bedroom, living room, and a full bathroom. The renovation had cost William over £1.5 million. In fact, the total cost to refurbish the entire castle had exceeded £12 million.
This was on top of the £4.5 million he'd paid for the castle itself. The cost of living in a castle was, it turned out, in making it livable. This was in a rural area like Oxford; a similar estate near London would easily cost £50 million, if one could even be found.
All told, with the servant quarters, gardens, grounds, forest, stables, shooting range, a forty-car indoor garage, a sixty-space outdoor parking lot, and a helipad, William had spent nearly £18 million.
He also had his eye on the 3,000 acres of land bordering the estate, which had once belonged to the Devin Hill family. The current owner had lost a fortune in the recent market crash and was now trying to sell it back to him for a staggering £15 million. William was no fool. He knew the man was trying to fleece him, so he would just wait. In a while, land prices would fall even further. When the price dropped to half its previous value and the owner's creditors came calling, he would buy it back for the Devin Hill estate. He wasn't looking to make money on the land; he just wanted it back.
After seeing the lawyers settled, William took a walk around the manor with Barney and Christmas.
Barney spoke with a smile, "It's good to be here, boss, but after three months away, the men are getting homesick. We each made a good $1.5 million, and everyone's eager to go back and see their families. It's been a long time."
William looked at Christmas, who nodded in agreement. He knew he couldn't keep these men forever. They weren't meant to be stationary bodyguards; they had wild hearts and would grow restless.
Besides, there was no immediate danger. Here in the castle, Barney and Christmas would be enough to protect his mother Lina and Tina. Furthermore, the castle was equipped with special safe rooms and secret tunnels, which he had installed himself and entrusted to no one else.
William still had complete confidence in Barney and Christmas. "Alright. You and Christmas will stay here with me. The rest of the team can take a three-month leave to go home."
"Thank you, boss," Barney and Christmas said in unison. Having worked with William for so long, they both felt he was a good man to work for. Leaving the mercenary life to guard this grand manor was an appealing thought. Settling down in the little town of Devonshire in their old age wouldn't be bad at all.
"Boss, let's take you to see the armory," Barney said. "Most of the equipment you sent last time is stored there. A smaller, quick-access cache for five people is located inside the castle. We've hidden weapons behind secret panels—one in your study, another by the fireplace in the main hall. They're all controlled by the security system you designed. You can change the access codes on the computer in the safe house. The computer is on a closed local network; it can't connect to the outside. There's a secondary control panel in the tunnel, which Mrs. Lina placed herself. Besides her, no one knows its exact location."
William nodded, satisfied. That was good. As long as he changed the passwords in the safe house, only he and his mother would have the authority to operate the castle's security measures.
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