"Mum! Noah! Where are you?"

"Drew? Is that you?"

"Honestly, who else on god's green earth is going to walk into your house and call you 'mum?'" he asked as he hugged the woman who entered the kitchen as she spoke. "And why isn't this door kept locked?" he chastised. "Speaking of wandering, any crazed murderer out wandering the countryside could just blow right in and chop you and Noah into tiny little pieces."

Ellie Pennington was a rather pretty woman with dark hair and a cleft chin whose eldest son resembled her more than a little. "Oh, please, darling, no one's going to get in here without William Wallace raising the alarm," she informed him. "And since when do you 'blow' anywhere?" she laughed. "Maybe you'd 'breeze?' Or 'sashay,' hm?'" she chuckled. "How are you?" she asked, getting serious, kissing Drew.

"Fine, I'm fine," he replied. "Though how you can say that about William Wallace and keep a straight face, is beyond me," he added. "That old dog is as deaf as a post. Where is he, anyway?"

At that moment, the dog in question, a medium-sized retriever mix who had been sleeping in the front entry, finally realized that someone new had arrived in the kitchen, and came barreling in, barking like crazy. He was obviously trying to make up for not having noticed Drew's presence earlier. He hurled himself at Drew's thin frame, nearly knocking him over.

"Hey, William Wallace, you old tosser, how are you?" Drew asked the dog as he wrestled him to the ground, laughing happily.

"Drew, language," his mother said automatically.

"Mum, did I hear Andrew?" a voice called from the hall. The owner of the voice, who turned out to be a towhead in his early teens, came into the kitchen a moment later, gave a glad cry, and promptly joined his brother and the dog on the floor. "Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" he asked after a minute of rolling around.

"Wanted to surprise you, didn't I?"

Ellie just watched her boys playing with the dog and pulled out her phone for a couple of quick photographs. "You know, I still have friends who don't believe that siblings who are eight years apart can be so close? Can actually get along without wanting to kill each other? Especially when one is a spoiled, world famous pop star."

Drew stopped cavorting to stare at his mother. "You know, I resent that," he said, a smile on his face. "Why do people assume I'm spoilt?" He rose, dusting his clothes off as he spoke. "I mean, I've never been anything but a gentleman out in public, and I've bought you this perfectly lovely house." He gestured around the spacious and beautifully appointed kitchen. "I'm also paying for my younger brother's expensive public school education at a very posh school," he added, helping Noah up off the floor.

William Wallace turned his face between the two boys, looking hurt that the fun was over. He went and lay down next to his food bowl to wait for supper.

"Not to mention I've just driven four hours to come and visit you both for no particular reason other than the fact that I love you and miss you both?" he smiled and hugged both of them, though Noah made a face and shrugged out of his brother's arms after a moment.

"So who's been calling me spoilt, I'd like to know?" he asked.

"Oh, you know, no one in particular," his mother answered vaguely, waving an arm to encompass most of greater Derbyshire. "How long are you staying?"

"Not long, unfortunately," Drew told her as he plugged in the kettle to make tea. "I have some news."

"Oh?"

"I've bought a house." He looked at his mother to watch for her response.

"Really? Where? You mean in addition to the London place?" She pushed him aside and took over the preparations for tea herself, waving at the boys to sit down in the cheerful breakfast nook.

Drew shook his head. "Instead of. I sold the London place. Once the stalkers found out where it was, I couldn't really enjoy being there anymore, you know?"

"I don't know," Noah cut in from his seat across from his brother. "I'd think it'd be right convenient to have all those birds right outside your house like that. Whenever you're in the mood you just open the door, let a few of them in, and boom! All set, at least for a day or so, aren't you?"

"Noah!" Ellie laughed from her place at the counter where she was slicing cake. "Honestly, you do my head in sometimes! And please call them girls."

"But Mum, have you seen them?" Noah protested. "They're walking, talking sex, just looking for someone to shag!"

"Noah!"

Even Drew was laughing at his brother by now. "He's not too far off, Mum, you have to admit," Drew gasped when he could talk. "Some of them are nice, but some just, you know, follow me around, from town to town, sometimes even from country to country--god only knows where they get the money, and they do everything but take their clothes off when they see me."

"I bet they'd do that if they thought it'd help their chances," Noah quipped.

"Anyway," their mother interrupted, trying to get the conversation back on track, "you were saying you'd bought a house?"

"Yeah, yeah, in Kent," Drew said, getting back to the topic at hand. "A beautiful old place, kind of a manor house kind of thing, very nearly a mansion, I suppose, with about 20 acres, lots of garden, a bit of wilderness, it's beautiful." He smiled. "I was hoping you could come and see it before Ugly here starts back to school?"

"Hey, who are you calling 'ugly?'" Noah protested, looking at Drew through narrowed eyes. "Everyone in the world knows I'm the better looking one of the two of us." He grinned evilly at his older brother, who was known the world over as a womanizer and sex symbol.

And Drew, who actually shared the same opinion of his brother's good looks, shook his head and continued. "As I was saying, I was hoping you two and William Wallace could maybe come down and spend a week or two before Noah, the best looking brother in the world, has to go back for fall term? What do you think?"

He looked over as his mother brought the tea things to the table. "Ooh, thanks, looks yummy," he acknowledged with a smile.

"I can't stay here very long because it's a pretty massive place and and it's completely empty," he explained. "I need to get it furnished and I'd like your help if you can spare the time. I want to spend the winter there, until we leave for the rest of the tour next summer, and I can't really be comfortable until I have things to sit on and telly and that."

He looked from his mother to his brother and back again. "So, what do you think? Can you come for a visit? Quite soon?"

Ellie looked at Noah. "You were just complaining that all your friends were gone on summer holiday, weren't you? That there was nothing to do, and no one to do it with?" She looked back at Drew. "I don't see why we couldn't manage a week or two in Kent before he starts back to school."

Noah was nodding with enthusiasm. "Sounds right nice," he agreed. "And I reckon we'll have to go up to London a time or two to shop?"

Drew nodded. "Definitely."

"Sounds like a plan," Noah said with a smile.

"Ace," Drew said, digging into his tea. "When can you come?"

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"Oh, Andrew, is that it?" his mother asked. "That house down there at the bottom of the drive?"

"Yeah, you like it?"

"Like it? It's gorgeous!" she replied. "But you said it was kind of like a manor house, very nearly a mansion, or something like that, didn't you?" She turned to her son. "This place is an estate, there's no other word for it."

"It's nice, yeah?"

"It's stunning," she replied.

Noah was sleeping in the back, with William Wallace draped across his lap.

"You know, Mum, I could've gotten you a place like this," Drew said, looking over at her. "Easily. I still could, if that's what you want. I assume you want to stay in Derbyshire, but there are many large estates like this there as well. You want to sell the house and get into something like this? Just say the word and we can--"

"Oh, son, no." His mother's voice was quiet as they approached Langton. "That house is more than enough for Noah and me. It's beautiful, and the grounds are lovely, and it's completely paid for." She put her hand on her son's arm. "It's more than I ever hoped for, my whole life, honestly. I can never thank you enough."

Drew just nodded. "Okay, then. Okay. I know dad kind of left things in a mess for us--"

Ellie huffed out a breath. "That's an understatement. He left us nothing. I don't see how he can not die of shame, just two villages away, with a new family and everything."

"Anyway, we don't need to dwell on all that now," Drew said as they pulled up in front of the house. "The point is, I'm the man of the house now, and I'm taking care of you and Noah, so whatever you want, just tell me, yeah?"

"Thank you, son, but truly, we have everything we could ever want or need," Ellie assured him. "Except--"

"Yeah? Except what?" Drew turned off the engine and faced his mother.

"I'd love to see you settled and happy," she finally said with her lovely smile. "Though I don't suppose that's happening for a good while, is it?"

He smiled back at her, the smile she'd bequeathed to him.

Before he could answer her, a noisy truck pulled up next to them that had writing on the side with pretty vines curling through the letters.

"Oh, fuck and bugger," Drew muttered under his breath. He really needed to get them on a schedule and remember not to be here when they came.

"Drew, language," his mother said. "And what's the problem? Who is that?"

"No one," he answered. "Just the gardener."

He reached between the seats and shook his brother. "Oy! Wake up, we're here!"

They got out of the car at the same time as the young girl was getting out of the truck, and they all stood awkwardly.

Surely he didn't have to introduce his mother and his brother to the gardener, did he?

William Wallace was making an absolute fool of himself, jumping all over Chiara and generally acting like he loved her already, which was ridiculous, since they'd just met.

Drew sighed.

"Mum, Noah, this is Chiara Cavuto, the daughter of my gardener," he said, gesturing quickly in her direction.

"Chiara, this is my mum, Ellie, and my younger brother Noah," he said as he began leading them up the steps to the massive front door.

"Hello, it's a pleasure to meet you," Chiara said, smiling and extending her hand to both Ellie and her younger son. "I hope you enjoy your time here at Langton, it's a beautiful estate."

"I'm sure we will, the grounds look absolutely delightful," Ellie responded. "You've done a marvelous job maintaining them."

"And who is this fellow?" Chiara asked with a laugh as William Wallace renewed his crazed attempts to jump all over her.

"That's William Wall--" Noah began with a smile.

"Why did you park here?" Drew interrupted. "Wouldn't it make more sense to park out back, closer to where you'll be working?"

"Um, well, today I was going to work out here, actually, inside the circle," Chiara explained. "And, regardless of where I work, this is the area that's shady when I leave, during the hottest part of the day, so this is where the truck stays coolest. Otherwise I can't even touch the steering wheel, and that makes it rather difficult to drive."

She smiled at Drew, who tried to smile back.

"Okay, then, happy gardening. Mum? Noah? Let's get inside and start planning what we need to order, shall we?" And he gestured toward the interior of the house. "Come on," he snapped at the dog, who showed no sign of wanting to leave Chiara. William Wallace reluctantly obeyed Drew and went up the steps and into the house.

"I must say, Andrew, you were rather rude to that absolutely lovely young woman," his mother observed as Noah and the dog ran up and down the stairs and shouted to enjoy the echo effect of the empty foyer.

"Mum, she's not a 'young woman,' she's just the gardener, I told you," Drew replied, perhaps more sharply than he intended. "Now can we get on with measuring and buying some furniture for the lounge, or do we have to talk about the sodding hired help a bit longer?"

His mother blinked at her firstborn in surprise, but held her tongue.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Drew apologized. "I just--that girl rubs me the wrong way. We had a bit of a run in the last time I was here, that's all. I'm sorry, all right?"

His mother just nodded, the hint of a smile appearing on her mouth as she and Drew began measuring and writing down numbers on the notepad they'd brought.