Could they check it?
And if they could, how did they get access to that kind of data?
As far as I knew, only government and law enforcement agencies could do something like that.
I mean, if they could, that would take this security to a new level.
I pocketed that emotion too as I slid my passport back into my tote and waited.
I waited some more.
And longer.
I was just about to say something when I heard a mechanism start churning, the gates started opening and the speaker squawked again.
“Thank you for waiting, Ms. Dupree. Please drive through.”
“You’re welcome. And thank you,” I replied.
As the gates slowly opened, I took my foot off the brake.
I was a writer, but I’d been a researcher first.
Therefore, I didn’t come here blind. I knew all about The Downs and the family that had lived there for more generations than my country had even been a country.
But as I drove through the opened gates, taking in the vast manicured lawns under the sprawling canopies of mature trees, I was blown away.
Everything was better in real life than in pictures.
However, this was something else, and “better” didn’t cover it.
And when the trees gave way and I started to see the house…
“Holy crap,” I whispered as more, and more, and more of it was unveiled.
I’d seen pictures of this too.
But…
Good God.
It was built of sandy-gold Bath stone. At the front middle, there was a dual staircase, each side leading up to a vast landing that was home to the fifteen-foot double doors of the main entrance. The house was three stories, one below stairs with half of the level rising above ground. It had a wide central section with two wings angling back at each end.
I drove my long-term rental to one side of the front steps, and I did it on autopilot, I was so entranced by the house.
No, not a house.
The Downs.
Home for twelve generations to the Duke of Burleigh.
Current home of said duke and his three sisters.
In order: Battle, Temperance, Prudence and Chastity.
Oh yes, those were their names.
And oh yes, considering Talyn Family lore, those names were far from surprising.
