Chapter 1
The ailing Earl of Faversham (a hereditary and ceremonial title) said to the assembled senior extended family members, "My heir-apparent Garth wishes me to make an early settlement with his younger brother, with Connor to receive a generous share of his potential inheritance; and I'm in agreement."
"The brothers don't get on well and I'd wish to Garth to have a smooth pathway as my successor upon my demise. Therefore, Connor should be relocated with our assistance to a great distance from the Motherland. What say you?"
Connor, seated away from the debating table, was almost asleep when he realized the motion was being passed, that Connor Archibald Ludlow would be assisted to relocate to the City of Sydney in Australia with final and total pre-payment of his estimated rightful inheritance of 1.8 million British pounds (currently US$2.36 million).
The 26-year-old, with a Master's degree in Media and Communications, was a passive anti-Royalist leaning towards preference to be a Republican, and had no wish to hang around in line for a hand-me-down Earldom that he regarded as being pointless.
Now a future in Australia, yeah that had promise. He visualised tanned babes in bikinis with more than two handfuls of meat under their skimpy bras, surfing real big waves in front of adoring beach-goers and business people educated to cope with the new age in international business. Aussie had much to offer him, surely?
He decided to accept the offer provided the right wheels were turned to ensure he received instant permanent residency status subject to his good behaviour and willingness to embrace the Australian flag and the Aussie way of life, whatever that meant. Oh yeah!
* * *
Fresh out of the English mid-winter into the Aussie mid-summer, Connor stopped on the walk to the limo booked for him as part of his complimentary first three-week stay at a fairly posh hotel in Darling Harbour. He shed his jacket in the car, found his sunglasses in the inside pocket of his jacket and said to the driver, "Fucking hot even with the car air-conditioning on."
"Very good sir, visitors like Sydney's weather except when the wind batters the city, the temp drops prior to a hail storm and the heavy downpours catch everyone not expecting wetness," the driver said in a foreign accent that sounded East European.
Unexpected wetness, eh? Connor grinned. He figured Sydney already felt refreshing.
In his room with great views of the inner-harbour, he crashed on to the bed and slept the prince of all sleeps after his long business-class flight from London, with just one stop for a few hours that had eased air travel weariness a little.
In the morning he awoke to a door knock and called "Enter".
A room service female came in with big tits attempting to burst out of her gaping V-neckline and announced she was Estela.
Wow, he ejaculated verbally as a murmur and then thought she was probably a married mother of three kids on their way to school and he smiled, and said hi."
"Good morning sir," she said primly and he said with a smile, "Please carry out your work. I'll dress and go for a run."
Day Two, Connor spent across the harbour at Manly Beach and marvelled at the huge number of females dressed on the absolute borderline of, err, decency and many were below the borderline of reasonable standards. He had a hard-on for much of the morning, starting on acquiring sun-tanned bronze over his Limey paleness and watching the surfers, including groups under the tuition of coaches.
He had a delicious pizza and great coffee from a take-away bar and ate it back on his hotel towel where a young babe, who'd said she was Kim Hayworth, promised to keep an eye on it.
"Thanks for looking after my stuff, Kim. Have a slice of pizza."
"Nah, but thanks. I have to watch my diet because it's becoming increasingly difficult to keep my tits within my bikini top."
Connor laughed and appreciated being with a woman in a foreign land who knew how to talk naturally to a guy she didn't know. Was that friendliness that indicated how people should converse in honesty, or was it unrestrained bawdiness?"
"What do your parents do, Kim?"
"Dad lectures to university students on physics and mum is a much-loved children's hospital nurse. I'm a university law student."
That made the family including the daughter sound pretty normal.
Kim asked him what part of England he was from.
"I'm Faversham. You will never had heard of it."
"I think from memory early in my high school studies that's it a notable market town in North Kent."
"Holy wow."
Kim laughed and said Australia has a fairly good education system that includes a lot of international studies.
"You're very expressive," she said, eyeing his gym-toned body. Come to my home for a family dinner tonight."
"That's a lovely offer thanks Kim but I'm booked on a harbour dinner cruise tonight and I'm actually staying on the other side of the harbour."
"No sweat. Do you surf?"
"Yep."
"Tried it yet in Aussie?"
"Nope, only arrived yesterday from the UK."
"Okay, let's go and hire boards. My girlfriend beside me will look after our gear."
Connor had a lovely couple of hours in the surf with Kim who was very flexible and had great balance on her board. In turn, she was impressed by his expertise and he confessed at having had surfing tuition in three European countries.
Later, when he gathered his things to leave, Kim said, "Kiss me goodbye."
"Um, you're only 18."
"Nineteen actually, but so what? My father kisses me and he's much older than you."
Conner laughed and they kissed sweetly.
He walked across to the ferry boarding zone on the inside of North Head and 20 minutes later by fast ferry was back in Circular Quay at the foot of Sydney's commercial area. He grinned, thinking of the possible reception he may have receive had he accepted Kim's kind invitation to dinner and the 18-year-old's parents saw that she'd brought home off the beach a 31-year- old male trophy!
He returned to his hotel to nap before going out to dinner as he wished to assist his natural time-clock to adjust, as he was now in a time zone a day ahead of the time he'd left in England.
"This sounds a lot of rubbish," he yawned. "But I do feel a little adrift. I think I know what I'm attempting to explain to myself."
On the 75-foot launch for dinner that evening, he was invited to sit at a table with three 30-something females who said they were in Sydney for a refresher course for senior nurses from rural areas of New South Wales, of which Sydney was the State capital.
What do you work at, Connor," asked Emma? "Body-building?"
"I worked in public relations in London but have no job here yet, although I have four prospects pre-arranged for me."
"I hope one is the NSW Ministry of Health." Snorted Megan. "Those pricks who rule our working lives are cave-dwellers spinning a web of bureaucratic entanglement."
