Third In Line

Chapter Seventeen - The Perfect Royal Getaway

Bucklebury, June 2025

Tall trees lined either side of the road, their branches stretching upwards and outwards to form a natural tunnel over the road. The sight was one of Ellie's favourites, and one of the many reasons why she enjoyed being in the countryside. When they drove through a tree tunnel, it was like they were riding into some fantasy world, and the overcrowded cities that she was so used to living in were suddenly just... gone.

She would always enjoy the part of the journey that brought them to this road, no matter how many times her father's Range Rover had driven them over the same stretch of dirt track. This was the point where they left their royal identities behind and truly disappeared into the countryside.

They did it every month, just the four of them. No protection officers, no Ben and especially no cameras. Just her parents, her sister, and herself, vanishing from public view to stay with her grandparents for the weekend.

I wish it could last longer than just the weekend.

Their entire journey was quiet and undisturbed, but that was mostly thanks to the helicopter that they had flown in from Kensington Palace. The flight took them far out of reach of the photographers that were constantly following them, and none of them knew where they were heading. Their whereabouts wasn't publicised, they weren't doing a scheduled engagement, and if any member of the public spotted them, the Middleton family home provided complete seclusion.

This was her equivalent of Balmoral, a perfect royal getaway.

"Do you think Aunt Pippa will be there?" Alex asked their parents, breaking the long silence.

"Of course she will, along with the twins and your Uncle Mark" Kate replied before Ellie could answer, "Do you think she'd miss a chance to see her only nieces?"

"And her beautiful sister" her father added, sitting opposite Kate in the driver's seat.

"Such a charmer Will" her mother smiled playfully at Will and gently patted his shoulder.

If her father wasn't driving, and she and her sister weren't sitting behind them, Ellie knew her loving parents would probably be doing a little more in that moment than just gazing at each other. Their schedules kept them busy for most of the week, and every now and then she'd catch her parents giving each other longing glances. They would slowly get more and more frustrated, and Ellie could never figure out why. Eventually, things would change overnight and her parents would just start the new day full of smiles with no explanation.

Ellie hoped she'd figure out that little mystery when she was older, but for now she knew that if there was anybody in need of a secluded break in the countryside together, it was her parents.

"How old are the twins now?" Ellie asked. It felt like weeks since she'd last seen her baby cousins Jenny and Charlie, but no amount of time would erase the memories of the diaper changing duty that she had to endure the last time she'd been with her aunt and uncle.

"Nine months" her mother replied.

"Are they out of diapers yet?" she asked immediately after the last words left her mother's lips.

"It'll be a while before they are... " Kate's answer was almost instantly cut off by Ellie's loud displeased groan.

"Ellie, you shouldn't complain about your cousin's bowel movements. You weren't much better when you were their age" her father grinned at her over his shoulder before returning his eyes to the road, but she could still see him grinning at her in the rear view mirror.