Hell Bent on Blackmail

The estate bequeathed to the right honourable Vincent Crutchley and his younger brother James was set in the rolling hills of Buckinghamshire, a modest twenty two roomed mansion left to the two young men by their father in his will, this also included the stables which contained ten of the finest thoroughbreds money could buy. To add to this a thriving Solicitors practice in the city had also been left to Vincent and his brother. Since he took a great interest in the world around him it seemed obvious that Vincent was to enter the world of politics; James it seemed was more interested in his father"s horses and spent many a happy hour alone in the stables. The two young men had been brought up with a silver spoon in their mouths and had not wanted for anything, their nanny a Mrs Brown, had become more of a mother to them since their own mother had become bedridden for many years with cancer; although only thirty five she suddenly took a turn for the worse and died leaving Vincent his brother James and of course their father John - a sad and lonely old man, a man with everything except the love he wanted most in his life!. The money and the estate made the two boys the most eligible bachelors amongst not only the rich but also the famous. James got more involved amongst the racing fraternity and even purchased some Arab thoroughbreds, racing them all over the country leaving the London office to be run by his trusty managers. Meanwhile Vincent became a leading member of his local Conservative Club. John Crutchley had made sure his beloved sons were financial sound before his impending departure from this life. The local Hunt Ball seemed to be the place where marriages were made since the night Vincent and his brother attended word soon spread they were rich and available. Now, the sisters Bloomfield also came from a rich family and were also available, their father owned many jewel ers’ shops in many countries including one in London. Vincent was immediately attracted to Julie whilst his brother danced the night away with her younger sister Justine. Her interest in horses instantly made her his dancing partner and as time went by Justine was to spend many days out riding with James whilst Vincent showed Julie around "The Crutchley’s", as the mansion had been aptly named by their father. Although politics did not really interest Julie she felt it her duty to be by Vincent’s side at each and every party meeting, and anyway he said "it does get your name in the papers and people notice you.” It soon became obvious to the servants of the household that there was to be at least one or even two marriages on the horizon and they did not have to wait too long as a double wedding was decided upon. Jack and Mary Bloomfield were overjoyed at the prospect of their two daughters marrying into nobility: mind you in comparison to the Bloomfield’s" mansion in Essex the Crutchley’s looked smal . After the weddings James decided to buy a house in Devonshire, a house with stables and many other animals, whilst Vincent stayed on with Julie at the Crutchley’s. Jack Bloomfield had met Vincent"s father many times and although he was proud of Justine and her love for James he secretly hoped he might have a future M.P. as a son-in -Law; he had visions of maybe the gentry buying their frrings in his shop. It was not long before Vincent became a prospective parliamentary candidate and this was to take him and Julie all over the country. Hiszest for politics seemed never ending and sometimes Julie began to wonder if his world of politics came before her. Vincent decided it was time he settled in one place and since most of his time was spent in London he would purchase a flat in the swanky part of Chelsea, meanwhile Julie was spending more and more time down at her sister"s house in Devon since Vincent hardly had any time for her and in any case politics was not exactly her forte. The Solicitors they owned was being run by their great friend Jack Ripley and occasionally Vincent would pop in to sign some papers or see how things were going, that is until one day to their surprise Jack asked to buy out the business. Well, with Vincent more and more involved in politics and James going from one race meeting to the other along with Justine and sometimes even Julie they decided to sell their father"s business and split the proceeds. The upkeep of The Crutchley’s along with the servants was fast becoming a burden since it was not lived in for some six months of the year. Julie was spending more and more time down in Devon so Vincent in his wisdom decided to let the public view its many treasures and of course turning it into a sort of Pleasure Park would perhaps help pay some of the bills. The staff was kept on since many of them were friends of their father and indeed part of the family. Vincent although a Tory was getting well known for his work with the poor and homeless, his never ending gifts to those in need became well known and his name was to be spoken of many times in Parliament, and not only for his endeavours but for his marriage . Occasionally he would meet up with Julie but the spark had gone out of the marriage and she was often seen mixing with the owners of horses at many race meetings. Vincent knew of this but also knew he was to blame since he was no family man but he was shaken when he found out she was seeing none other than their old pal Jack Ripley, a guy with a failed marriage, money and now a Solicitors practice. She was not spending her time in Devon; she was in fact not far from Vincent since Ripley also had a flat in Chelsea. It could be supposed that in a sense they were both guilty of a failed marriage since Vincent was also involved with a girl half his age, a secretary to one of his friends in the party. Vincent had met Jackie Long while at a Tory conference in Brighton. She was only twenty and had the looks of a model, her blonde hair and slender figure would turn any man"s head; she was also single and had a flat in Kensington. The first time Vincent met her it was electrifying to say the least; as he shook her hand he knew he had to have her, her scent drifted past his nose and his imagination ran wild, he dreamed of nights of passion he would like to spend with her, he dreamed that one day Jackie would be his mistress. As his eyes roamed her slender body he knew somehow she felt the same because her eyes followed him the whole evening. Vincent spent most of the evening himself staring at her every movement. As she sat down she revealed long, slender legs that he found himself unable to take his eyes off that are until his name was called out to give a speech.