{NOVEL PREVIOUSLY NAMED: "PALE EYES"}
𑁍Julius Cadwell is a pauper from an impoverished village, Porlock of Somerset in England. Julius journeys to Wellington to work as a footman for the Duke of Wellington, Somerset.
♕︎Reuben Griffith is the only s...
A/N; The next four chapters will take place on the same and different days, so please pay attention to the written days. I hope it makes sense as you read, but please do tell me if there's something you did not understand concerning the day stamps.
NB; Reminder, A Tender Kiss Could End A War takes place in England, 1842.
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{Play Music Above}
❝I felt a funeral, in my brain, and mourners to and fro kept treading⏤treading⏤till it seemed That sense was breaking through ⏤ And when they all were seated, a service, like a drum⏤Kept beating⏤beating⏤till I thought, My mind was going numb❞
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❝Taken from life when life and love were new❞
•Emily Dickson & Oscar Wilde.
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When you weep in dolour your scream is muted with time, but your tears never drought, for anger and pain will surely slake it...
Wellington Estate ꨄ︎ England, 28th October 1842.
The scourge of typhus paraded England from Somerset through Warwickshire. It had taken off its slipperette before the lofty iron gates of the Wellington estate, as an unwanted guest. Hephaestus had shown his face to Somerset, the shire county resembled him after his persistent glance.
Death and distraction mended any trace of hostility between the Duke and Duchess.
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Reuben's Bedchamber ꨄ︎
The faint incense of sex pervaded Reuben's nostrils and was persistent against his cilia. Thank heavens the open window had subdued the sensual scent. The raven-haired man's cheeks were still flushed and the shade deepened with each passing thought. Reuben had just been intimate for the first time and the stickiness within his breeches was proof of that. Unwittingly, he had spent about fifteen minutes fantasizing about what Julius had promised him tonight.
Oh, tonight! He felt his head might erupt and that his lungs might give out. What did Julius expect from him, or better yet, what did Julius plan to do to him tonight? He could still feel the warmth where Julius had sat, where Julius had inflicted upon him immense pleasure. Reuben yawned, feeling fatigue grow within his being, glazing over his lean muscles.
A creak and a door pushed relieved Reuben from his lewd reverie and tired physique.
Reuben suddenly felt conscious of his surrounding. He paled, perspiration gathering atop his high forehead. He began to hastily zip up his breeches and button his shirt with clammy clumsy fingers. He had never felt the need to do the activity without assistance.
