Chapter 5 - The Arrival at Hartwell Manor
The morning sun broke over the rolling green hills of Somerset, casting a warm golden light over the honey-colored limestone facade of Hartwell Manor.
The private driver held the door of the Range Rover open as Maya, Chloe, and I stepped out onto the gravel driveway. The air smelled of damp earth, lavender, and wild roses.
"Is this our new home, Mom?" Chloe whispered, her eyes wide as she looked up at the ivy-covered towers and the sprawling gardens stretching out behind the house.
"Yes, my loves," I said, wrapping my arms around their shoulders. "This is Hartwell Manor. It’s been in our family for four generations."
The heavy oak front doors opened, and Mrs. Gable, the housekeeper who had managed the estate since my mother was a young girl, walked down the steps with a wide, tearful smile.
"Welcome home, Miss Lena," Mrs. Gable said softly, opening her arms to pull all three of us into a warm embrace. "The nursery rooms are ready, the fires are lit, and your mother’s horses are waiting in the paddock."
Within forty-eight hours, Maya and Chloe had adapted to their new surroundings with an ease that brought tears to my eyes. They weren't stressed by their father's quiet absence or the tension that had filled our old home in Nashville for two years. Here, they were free. They spent their afternoons riding ponies, learning to tend to the rose gardens, and preparing for their term at St. Margaret's Academy for Girls.
Meanwhile, I stepped directly into my role as Chairwoman of Hartwell Heritage Distilleries.
On my first Monday morning, I walked into the company's corporate headquarters in downtown Bath. The executive board was waiting for me in the glass-walled conference room overlooking the River Avon.
"Welcome, Chairwoman Hartwell," Lord Arthur Sterling, our senior trustee, said, standing to shake my hand. "We have reviewed your proposed expansion strategy into the North American market. It is bold."
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"It's not just bold, Lord Sterling," I smiled, laying out my corporate blueprints. "It’s precise. We are going to acquire strategic distribution networks in the Southeastern United States—starting with Tennessee."
I wasn't seeking revenge against Preston. Revenge implies that he still held power over my emotional state. This was simply business—and an absolute assertion that the woman he thought he had discarded was a force he could never hope to control.
