Third In Line

Chapter Twenty Nine - Need For Speed

The hot summer sun was immediately shining down on them as they made their way through her grandparents' conservatory, the quickest route from the kitchen to the outside. The rays of light were amplified through the conservatory's glass roof, making it feel more like a homemade sauna. Although this one was much hotter and stuffier than one of those purpose built saunas.

When Ellie turned the key in the conservatory door and, with a little help from her granddad, pushed stubborn door open, the fresh air was a very welcome sensation. A cooling wind breezed through her hair and around her exposed arms and legs, briefly making her wish she'd worn something more than just a t-shirt and ruffled skirt, but only briefly. That one refreshing breeze would turn out to be the only hint of wind all day, and her only real respite from the blistering summer heat.

Her family followed close behind her, but aside from Alex, none of them seemed as excited as she was. Everyone had slept in on Sunday morning as was usual for the Middletons, but for Ellie her excitement surrounding the day's activity had her and Alex awake at 9am sharp. Somehow a stuffy Sunday morning in the middle of June felt like Christmas morning, when she and her sister would struggle to sleep any longer and would have to wait hours for everyone to wake up before they could get into the living room and open their presents.

They had begged and nagged constantly until everyone was awake, but even then the waiting continued whilst their older family members woke themselves up. Her mother kept saying it was important that everyone was wide awake for what they would be doing, but that didn't stop her and her sister from begging and nagging some more. It wasn't until just after midday that they eventually made their way outside.

The lush green countryside lay before them, sweeping green hills, open fields and dense woodland. There were no huge walls, fences or tall hedges to limit where they could go. It was just a huge plot of untouched land that they had all to themselves, and an array of quad bikes to explore it with.

"Remember girls, these aren't toys" Will cautioned. "You'll be riding the junior bikes"

They were smaller and much less powerful compared to three other adult sized quad bikes that were lined up beside them, but that didn't make much of a difference to Ellie. She'd been allowed to drive one once last summer while her sister could only watch on, and even then the so called 'less powerful bikes' were almost too powerful for her.

She felt much more confident now, though. Horse riding lessons from Zara were certainly going to help, as well as being that little bit taller and stronger. Her parents still struggled to see much difference, no matter how much she tried to convince them.

Will sat down behind her, balancing on the edge of the seat as he guided her hands and feet to where they needed to be. "I know Dad, I know" she said repeatedly, but he continued to give her instructions in a calm and overly protective fatherly tone, knowing that there was no chance the quad bike would move anywhere with him still on it.

"Listen to your father sweetheart, we don't want you falling off again like last year" Kate warned, standing behind them along with her grandmother and aunt Pippa.

Alex snickered at that, obviously picturing what happened the year before.

"The same goes to you Alex dear" her mother continued "If there's anything we should be more worried about than Ellie falling off again, is you falling off too"

Ellie was now the one snickering as Alex's cheeks turned as red as the quad bike she was sitting on. If it wasn't for Mark sitting behind her, she would most likely fall off as soon as she accelerated. It was obvious that everyone had learned from last year, when they were all excited to try out the new quad bikes that her granddad had bought. Ellie hadn't known what to expect when she first twisted that grip towards her, and certainly never expected to lose her hold and go tumbling off the back.