Gothic Romance - (LGBT)

Chapter Three

Despite himself, Jonathan slept soundly, right through until daylight. When he woke, the storm had blown itself out and pale sunlight was breaking through the clouds. He washed his face in the bowl provided and brushed his own ebony locks. Then he dressed in the new jacket, but wore a plain white cotton shirt beneath it, and made his way downstairs to the breakfast room. 

It was empty when he arrived but he could smell the enticing aroma of bacon and kidneys coming from one of the chafing dishes on the sideboard. He helped himself and took a seat at the table, wondering when he was going to meet Evelyn. He really needed to have a proper meeting with Lord D'Anvers, to discuss whether the program of studies he had selected would be satisfactory. He wanted a thorough discussion of what Evelyn's schooling had been to date, not the vague description he had received from Mr Griffin. 

He looked up to see a small blond haired boy enter the room, dressed in a pale blue suit. His first thought was that he was small for his age, evidently he had yet to start growing. So, it had not been Evelyn at the window last night, then. His second thought was, that the boy looked nothing like his father. The youngster advanced towards Jonathan and gave a small bow. "Good morning. I am Evelyn Lawrence D'Anvers. Are you my new tutor?" 

"Yes, Evelyn. I'm pleased to meet you. My name is Jonathan Winter." 

Lord D'Anvers entered the room a second later. "Ah. I see you two have met. Have your breakfast Evelyn, and then you can start your lessons." 

Jonathan cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Lord D'Anvers, but I thought you might want to discuss my lesson plans before we started. I'm sure there is lots you would like to tell me about Evelyn, about your expectations." 

Lord D'Anvers stared at him with a raised eyebrow, thick and black above his dark eyes, like a crow's wing. "My expectations? What I expect, Mr Winter, is that you'll cover the necessary subjects in sufficient depth so that Evelyn will be able to take his place at Cambridge, in due course. Evelyn himself is the one best placed to tell you how much he has learnt, or hasn't learnt, already. Isn't that right, Evelyn?" 

Despite that evidence of cold indifference from his father, the boy's face held nothing but polite agreement. "Yes sir." 

"But-," 

"The topic is closed, Mr Winter. Your credentials are excellent, I'm sure you'll do a satisfactory job." 

Jonathan realised it would do no good to persevere for the present. Perhaps after a few days, he could approach the topic again."Of course, my Lord. Ah ... can I ask, what schedule would you like me to follow? Does Evelyn have any other commitments I need to take into account?" 

"I'll leave that in your capable hands. Whatever you think best." He pursed his lips, "Just no outdoor activities. As I'm sure Mr Griffin told you, Evelyn's health is poor." 

"Yes, my Lord." Although in one way Jonathan was grateful to have a free hand, on the other he had expected Evelyn's father to have shown more interest in his son's progress. As far as he was aware, Evelyn was his only child, his heir. He wondered what had happened to Evelyn's mother. He knew of course that Lord D'Anvers was a widower, but he did not know any of the circumstances. He wondered now, if they had anything to do with my lord's attitude. Perhaps he was still grieving. 

Jonathan was too busy during the first two weeks to think any further about the locked wing. He found Evelyn bright enough, but sadly behind other boys his age in many subjects, except for mathematics. Presumably his poor health was responsible for that. Long periods confined to bed were bound to have caused gaps in his study. 

"Mathematics is your favourite subject, is it? he asked. 

"Not really, but Harry made it interesting." All of a sudden a look of sadness crossed Evelyn's face. 

"Harry?" 

"My tutor, before you. Before Harry I had a governess. Miss Powers." 

"What happened to Harry?" 

He thought Evelyn hesitated a moment before replying. "He got sick. He went away about six months ago." 

"I'm sorry," offered Jonathan, and left it at that. Poor Evelyn, it sounded as if he had been fond of the man. 

He and Evelyn would spend the morning studying, and in the afternoon, they would go for a gentle walk or a drive in the trap. Jonathan knew Evelyn had to avoid heavy exertion but he thought the boy needed to get out of the house as much as he did. There was a brooding atmosphere inside, whether it was because of Lord D'Anver's coldness or the discomfort caused by the forbidden wing hanging literally over their heads. 

Of Lord D'Anvers himself, he saw very little except at mealtimes. Managing the estate appeared to fill his days, although occasionally he saw him watching them from afar, mounted on top of his black stallion, Destiny.