"So." He started, turning to face Lydia the second she sat down in the car. "Who's your new friend?"

She cut him a sharp look, one that did nothing to put him off after years of over use. James glanced ahead, meeting Percy's gaze in the rear view mirror. They shared a look, a well used one at that. One that said, 'why must Lydia be such a pain'. Something they were both stuck commiserating in.

"What new friend." Lydia eventually asked when she realised he wasn't going to continue on. James shrugged, not feeling the need to vocalise the rumours he had heard. And they were certainly outrageous ones. Apparently the cohort had been desperate for some new meat to chew on and were taking the scraps they could get.

Something in his sister's expression seemed to flicker, a hesitance maybe, or the slight twinge of fear. It was gone fast enough that he questioned whether the emotion had been nothing more than his mind playing tricks on him. But he also knew his sister, and he knew when she was acting off.

"What have you heard?" Lydia demanded softly, expression dropping.

He fought the urge to frown. Keep his expression the perfect portrayal of innocence as he shrugged. There was no reason for Lydia to be so defensive about some random girl. Unless of course she was trying to hide something. And since he was pretty sure his sister was into guy then it was some kind of trouble.

"Only a few rumours."

"About." Lydia's voice had grown cold, her back straightening as though she were bracing for the impact of his words.

"A riding partner?" James prompted, head angling down slightly as he raised his brows in silent question. Lydia seemed to deflate, a brief flicker of relief appearing on her face. "Some girl?"

"Ava." Lydia supplied, "her name is Ava."

James waited, assuming his sister would say something more. She didn't.

"Aaand?" He dragged out the word, leaning back in his seat so he could better take in his sister's posture. "Is there anything I need to know about her?"

Lydia's gaze snapped to him once again, distrust immediately shining in her eyes.

"Is there something you want to tell me?" She taunted, "You seem more interested in her than I am."

James scoffs, rolling his eyes.

"I'm just trying to take an interest in your life."

Lydia snorts, its an undignified sound and one she wouldn't make in the company of anyone other than family.

"Please, you're interested in gossip and nothing more."

"Well something has to keep me entertained." He drawls, though they both know he cares little for such things. Only taking an interest when either them or a friend is mentioned. James hesitated, suddenly cautious about what he was asking his twin.

He's not a complete idiot. Not to mention he's known Lydia, quite literally, his entire life. So he knows full well when she's unsure and hesitating. He also knows when she's trying to keep something from him, if only because of the guilt shining in her eyes. It was so rare for them to keep something important from each other, enough that he found himself both incredibly curious and hesitant to pressing her for answers.

Lydia sighed, it was a defeated sound if he had ever heard one. It seemed she too wasn't keen on keeping secrets between them.

"Her names Ava Sinclair." Lydia said the name as if it should mean something.

Based on the way she was staring at him pointedly, it was a name he should know as well.

Lydia scoffed, looking more pissed than before.

"Seriously James?" She demanded, glaring at him as he winced helplessly. "Did you read any of the material for Junior Beaufort?"

"I— yes, of course." He nodded, the movement was too quick.

His sister's eyes narrowed, "but not the investors list?"

"I-" he cleared his throat, glancing away from his sister to avoid her disappointed gaze. He saw Lydia shake her head from the corner of his eye. Guilt clawed at the back of his throat, compelling him to apologise for not taking her project seriously. He knew how much this meant to her, it was her idea after all.

"Her family is an investor, I take it." He asks instead. Lydia sniffs, a sound solely designed to display her displeasure. "They're not playing ball if you've taken to talking with the daughter."

"Her father is not playing ball." Lydia correctly softly, and for the first time James couldn't recognise what emotion was clouding her eyes. "He's an Earl," James felt his eyes widen in surprise. "His name and influence would be a big deal."

"Why haven't I heard of her."

Lydia raises her brows at him.

"An Earl's daughter is a big deal." And his sister was fond of collecting shiny names as her friends. "I would have thought you'd snap her up sooner."

Lydia scoffs, rolling her eyes as James smirks at her.

"There's drama there James—"

He mock gasps, "Scandal?"

Lydia slaps his arm but he's pleased to see her grinning.

"We need to be careful James." He sobers up at her serious tone. "We can't take the risk of a bad investor. Not when we're trying to get Junior Beaufort of it's feet."

"I know." He agrees, fully prepared to ensure his sister's project flourishes. Just because she's not leading it now doesn't mean she won't be leading it once their father is out of the picture. And she trusts him enough to take care of her pet project until their father sees reason. "I'll check out the investors."

"James that's not what—"

"Don't worry about it," he smiles reassuringly. "I'll take care of it."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･

And so, he spent the rest of the evening researching every investor for Young Beaufort. Something he should have quite possibly done sooner but had put off thanks to the many summary reports his fathers secretary had dropped. The benefits of having an already established company to bounce off of, meant that they already had their information gathered and evaluated.

By his father's people that is. Not by James.

Which had been a perfectly acceptable arrangement until Lydia had shown her own personal interest. And though James cared little for running Junior Beaufort, he cared greatly for Lydia.

Something which explained why he too was interested in Ava Sinclair. His sister had been right that there was some kind of scandal between the father and his sole heir. One that James had initially put down to the divorce between Heather and Rupert Sinclair.

The rumour mill has and always will be a wonderful source of information. Granted, it all required heavy fact checking to sort out the over exaggerations and false information. But even James could see from a quick glance that Rupert Sinclair had married Heather for her money, and the money alone. Though there was something to be said about infatuation if their honeymoon bliss was anything to go by. But it was easy to see that such extreme devotion had quickly been twisted to utter hatred.

He had managed to get his hands on one of the court transcripts from the divorce proceedings. Something that should have been under lock and key but had made its way to the light thanks to the bribes of his father. The Sinclairs had fought like dogs. Nothing was deemed below the belt.

And like every other self serving businessman that James had ever known, Mr Sinclair had not cared about leaving his family destitute. It seems he had been planning to take his wife for all that she was worth. Leaving them with barely enough to live off with child support.

So if Ava had no monetary connection to her father, then why was Lydia wasting her time on the girl?

"You know what I think?" James asked, turning against the headrest to stare at where his twin ignored him.

"Thankfully we don't have twin telepathy."

"I think you like the girl."

Lydia frowned, looking up from the text chain on her phone, "what girl?"

"Ava."

She stared at James incredulously, "What on earth have you that idea?"

"Because she has no influence on Junior Beaufort's investment list." Something which was obvious to anyone who knew of the divorce, which included his sister. "If you're worried about the Earl pulling away because you befriended his—"

"That's not a concern."

"Then why are you hiding your friendship?"

"There's nothing to hide!" Lydia exclaimed before turning to Percy. "Can you drive any faster?"

"So you can get to your new friend sooner?" James teased but it seemed his sister had gone back to ignoring him.

"Lydia..." he trailed off, praying she wouldn't bite his head off. "It's nice that you're making real friends."

"Real. Friends." She echoed.

He nodded, staring pleadingly at his twin. "It's not like I want to see you alone."

"I have friends."

"You have followers."

"Even better," she snaps, smirking at him. "I've seen all the headaches your 'friends' cause you."

"Lydia."

"James."

Percy pulled the car into the school courtyard as both twins sat in a tense silence.

"Invite her to lunch." James prompts, ignoring the surprise on his sister's face. "You're a Beaufort. Befriend who you want."