The Beauty of Coincidence | manxman | (Historical Fiction)

XII - A Short Night as One

The levels of anticipation between Victor and Reynold were elevated, to say the least. The entire ride back to the Upton Estate had been relatively silent. There was small talk here and there, more so about the job Reynold had nearly opted out of the night for. It was important for him to finish it, of course, but the working man was clearly all right with losing hours of sleep for the person on his mind.

Upon arrival at the estate, the two entered together, welcomed by the footman Gabriel as questions of how the night fared were asked. Although Lord Victor was courteous enough to answer the elder man, all he wanted to do right now was hurry upstairs to his bedroom. He wanted every minute that Reynold was his to count toward their night. The last thing he wanted was to waste the time he didn't have in the foyer.

"Reynold," Victor said then, looking to the man beside him, "You head upstairs, please, make yourself at home. I would like to have a quick word with Gabriel."

Momentarily confused, Reynold obliged and went for the stairs to the second floor. When he was out of sight and out of earshot, Victor looked to Gabriel, one of his most trusted caretakers, and said, "You may not approve, not you or Todd and especially not my father, but Reynold has been very kind to me, and...I am going to spend the night with him...in my room." When it appeared Gabriel was going to interject with something, Victor didn't give him an opportunity to speak and continued. "It is my command that no one is to interrupt us. I have let him in and I will see him out. You, Todd, everyone will keep to yourselves, stray from the higher floors until sunrise, am I understood?"

There were many things on Gabriel's mind, and an objection to allowing Reynold to stay was one of them. He knew of his master's preferences for men, but this would be the first time ever that Victor would act on – what could be interpreted as – his impulses. He was a lonely lord here in a new land, virtually surrounded by new and unfamiliar faces, but in this sea of people called Banemount, he happened across a fish named Reynold Deighton, someone Gabriel could see was becoming an attachment to his lord.

Without a word, Gabriel lowered his head to the blond man before him, not looking up until Victor started away. Now, the butler's only worry was if his lord was even physically capable of handling a night such as this. His limp was still quite severe, he complained of aches in his waist and legs, and exhausted easily even when he attempted not to show it. Gabriel felt he could only assume his lord and Reynold were going to spend these next darkened hours in an intimate state, but there was a concern for not only Victor's well-being, but his ego as well. Would the lord be hurt inside if he could not...perform?

Keeping to himself, Gabriel then assumed his duties for the night were complete and retired to his own room in the servant's quarters.

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Lord Victor Ramsey had climbed the stairs to the third floor. It was a struggle but he put it out of his mind. His heart was racing at a pace he's only ever experienced once in all his life, and that was yesterday when he'd first kissed Reynold. As someone who had more confidence in himself than the usual person, he was beginning to feel what it was like to be doubtful. This night, he wished for it to go wonderfully.

It was true he was still untouched, a virgin, so this would be his first time lying with another man. Certainly, he knew his father would be extremely disappointed in him if the man somehow discovered how he planned to spend this night. Not only was sodomy considered a crime, even in the confines of one's own home, he's also only know Reynold Deighton for less than a month. Thinking of that fact, a sudden cloud of consideration hovered through Victor's mind and he looked down on himself.

Was this right? Was this an appropriate time?

When it seemed he might back out of what had initially been his idea, Victor remembered how it felt to have Reynold's hands on him. The grope of the other man's hand between his legs, the way his breath had caught, his desires hadshot through the atmosphere. He wanted to feel that again. He wanted to feel it all.