A Regency Tale 14
Jan. 28th, 2007 05:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ismeninHello, me dears, and a special HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my dear boy! xxxxx
Apart from that, here is the next part of my story. It was a miracle I finished it, what with one thing and another. However, here it is.
*Offers it on a silver salver to my dear flist as a little gift for the DAY!*
Grateful thanks to Lady Sunrope for her beta.
Part 14 - Friendship, Love, and Other Things
As soon as they left the breakfast parlour, Elijah went to find Matty. Dom grinned - he had no particular liking for kippers, but Lij was welcome to them if he desired them.
Matty thought carefully, and then her face broke into a smile. "I remember Mrs O'Shaughnessy, at Five Mile Farm, once telling me that her husband was particularly partial to a kipper. I dare say they'll have a good few dozen pairs about the place, if you'd care for me to go there. Or, if you wish, to send Ben to see if he can purchase some from them?"
Elijah laughed. "No, no, dear Matty, if he has no objection to it, Master Dominic and I will ride out and find them for ourselves. I am sure you have much to occupy you, whereas we are very much at our leisure. Dom?"
Dom nodded, and sent Ben to saddle the horses. "It is a fine day, Lij, and the ride to Five Mile Farm is particularly pleasant in the spring. You put me in mind, Matty, of my obligations. Farmer O'Shaughnessy is one of my tenants, and I cannot say - to my shame - that I have visited him since I came into my estate. This will be as good an opportunity as ever to see how he is going on."
Elijah, who employed agents and bailiffs to oversee his many farms and other properties, was surprised to learn that Dom thought it his business to visit his farmsteads instead of using his employees, but held his peace. If Dom wished to call at this farm, he was prepared to go with him. Indeed, he was sure he might learn something to his advantage by so doing. He had left the ordering of his affairs in other hands - the result, when he returned home, might mean a more active part in his business life.
To Matty's inquiry, Dom shook his head. "No, Matty, we will not take food with us. Mrs O'Shaughnessy is a notable cook, if I remember from my childhood. She will be most displeased if she finds we have taken food on our visit there. She will look upon it as a reflection on her cooking, and that will not do. We will return before dinner."
The ride along the country lanes was indeed pleasant. Dom confided that they were not to pass any of the larger houses in the region, thus negating any reason to be visiting people he had no wish to see, and to spend hours talking about things in which he had no interest.
"There is nothing more boring, Lij, than for one landowner to listen to another extolling the virtues of his own domain. Either he compares yours favourably over his own, and is disgruntled, or else he discovers great faults in your management and exults over them like a cock on a dunghill. I have no taste for such things. In the country I like quiet - to be left alone. There is enough company in town for agreeable social intercourse."
Elijah had to agree. He was enjoying immensely the freedom from social constructions - the first he had enjoyed - that Dom's house allowed him. Here he was not a Duke, but an ordinary man, and he found that he liked it.
They passed a few of Dom's tenants' houses on the road, and Dom had stopped several times to enquire after the householder. Once they accepted a glass of small beer, offered to them by a comely young wife, as her husband stood by indulgently, smiling at her. Elijah saw the man take his wife's hand as they left, and thought how unacceptable such behaviour would be thought in his own circle.
He remembered his father remarking once how a newly-wed young duchess, had, at a private party, actually sat on her husband's lap, and how embarrassed she had been when he had immediately risen, and coldly chastised her for such immodest conduct.
He thought carefully, and the only couple he knew who embraced each other before their intimate friends, was his friend, Victor, and his wife. They were undeniably well bred, but lived on the fringes of society, disliking very much the falsity of the haut ton. Elijah wished he, too, could do so. But a Duke could do not hide in a corner or behave in such a free manner. The family name was everything, and could not be besmirched by any form of unacceptable behaviour.
Dom, seeing the strained look on his lover's face, asked him if he was well. Elijah threw off his reflective mood, and answered Dom with light words. He was determined to enjoy this time together. It would not come to them often - it had to be grasped in both hands whilst it lasted.
Five Mile Farm, Dom remarked as they came to the lane that led to the farmhouse, was one of the largest on this estate. As the lane widened out into a large forecourt, there were seen many farm servants, both men and women, going about their daily duties.
Elijah smiled as he saw a large sow being pushed by three big men into a pen. At least he knew what a pig looked like, now, outside a picture book. As they rode into the yard, a young man came forward, touching his forelock, and asked what they required.
When he heard Dom's identity, he bowed, and called another boy over, and told him to take his Lordship into the mistress.
The young boy stared at Dom and Elijah as if he had never before seen anything like them.
Requesting them to follow him, he took them into the kitchen, where several young maids were working on pastry on a large scrubbed table, and a plump, pleasant looking woman of middle years, was stirring something in a large pot on the range.
"His Lordship and Mr..." began the young boy, and his mistress swung around in surprise, the ladle she was holding suspended in midair, dripping gravy onto the immaculate floor.
"Jim, why did you not bring his Lordship around to the parlour, through the front door? It is just like you to bring him into the kitchen to be covered in flour!"
Mrs O' Shaughnessy looked distressed and Dom smiled at her. "There is no need for that, Mrs O' Shaughnessy. I have spent many happy hours sitting at this table, covered in jam, making tartlets with you. Indeed, do not deny me your kitchen."
Mrs O'Shaughnessy, remembering Dom in his younger days, visibly relaxed, and gesturing to a small table against the wall, invited them to sit down and take a cup of tea with her.
Dom privately thought that the O'Shaughnessy's must be doing very well indeed if they could afford to drink tea during the day, but then thought it must be kept for special occasions. At eight shillings the pound, it was still an expensive commodity.
Dom introduced Elijah to her as Mr Retford, and they sat there, sipping their tea, whilst Mrs O'Shaughnessy bustled about, sending a boy for her husband who was in the lower field, and offering them all kinds of refreshments. They accepted some of her excellent plum cake, and a few slices of bread and butter, which they spread with strawberry jam. Elijah thought he had never tasted such nice bread, and, embellished with the butter and jam, it came close to being ambrosia.
He had just finished his last mouthful, when Farmer O'Shaughnessy hurried into the room. He was a gruff, tall man, who towered over everybody else in the room, but Elijah could see that he was an amiable person, for he chucked his wife on the cheek, and asked for a pint of ale to wash the dust out of his throat.
" I’d be obliged if you’d be removing yourselves into the parlour, your lordship - Mr Retford - and let the women get on with their pies, or there will be no dinner tonight for the farm hands. My boys know how to eat, they do, so!"
A pleasant hour was spent in the company of Mr O'Shaughnessy; kippers were obtained for Elijah, and also some of the butter and jam which he had so much admired.
One of the daughters of the house, blushing hotly, presented Elijah with two panniers to put on his horse, and when he, raising his hands in mock horror, stated that he did not know how to accomplish such a task, tied it on for him, blushing even more. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and when he demanded of Dom whether a smut from the kitchen fire had got onto his face, that she stared at him so, Dom merely laughed out loud, and grinned affectionately at him.
They had ridden for about half an hour; deciding to take back their treasures, and have luncheon, then go out again for another ride, when they saw a horse impeding their path, and a young man lying on the ground to the side of it.
Elijah realised, from Dom's inward breath, that he thought it might be a trap. But then, looking at the young man, he knew immediately that the lad was hurt.
They dismounted, tied up their mounts, and hurried forward to see how badly he was injured.
The young man was dressed in well-cut riding breeches and coat, and hailed them in an accent only slightly tinged with an Irish brogue.
"Please, sirs - I have broken my leg, I am sure of it. My father's house lies a couple of miles past the left turning in the lane. Do you think one of you could ride there and ask my father to send some of the servants with a hurdle, for I am sure I cannot stand. My name is Giles Monaghan. He is Sir Gerard Monaghan. I beg you, sirs, I have been lying here for a full half hour, and I do not feel at all the thing. Please help me!"
Dom knelt down by the young man's side, not showing for a moment that he recognised the name. "I will go, Elijah, for I know where the house is, and you do not. Stay with him, I shall not be long."
As Dom remounted his horse, he called Elijah over to him, and whispered urgently, "do not mention who we are. You may tell him we are visiting Lord Monaghan, that is all. It must be twenty years since I've seen this sprig, so I hope they will not recognise me at the house. I will explain it later. I love you."
Elijah whispered his love in return, and watched him ride off at a gallop down the lane. He turned to the young man - Giles - and tried to make him more comfortable, taking off his cloak and placing it under the lad's head.
"How did you manage to part company with your horse, Mr Monaghan? The road is not particularly pitted here. What happened?"
Giles Monaghan gritted his teeth. "Some creature dashed into the lane from under the hedge, the horse reared, and I fell off. I could not hold him, for it is only six weeks or so since I broke my arm at a hedge during a ...race with my friends. My father will not be pleased with me, sir."
"You are injured, sir. He can hardly ring a peal over you when you are hurting so."
The young man tried to laugh. "I dare say he won't, my mother will see to that - but be sure he will do it when I have sufficiently recovered."
He suddenly gripped his bottom lip between his teeth, and grew even paler.
"It hurts like the very devil, sir. I never thought..." he broke off to the sounds of men running and horses cantering, and very soon an older man with grizzled grey hair dismounted and came straight over.
"Well, Giles, this is a fine mess, and no mistake. Are you much hurt?"
Giles took a deep breath. "I have broken my leg, Papa. I am sorry."
His father humphed in impatience. "Well, talking pays no toll, Giles. We have to get you home, for your mother is most upset by this accident, and I will not allow her to be incommoded, not for worlds!"
Elijah stared at Sir Gerard in amazement. It was a peculiar man who cared more for his wife's nerves than his son's most serious accident. Broken legs were not to be sniffed at - they could prove complicated.
The six men who were to carry the hurdle lifted Giles onto it, not without difficulty, and proceeded to carry him slowly along the lane.
Dom was looking pale, and Elijah wondered why. It was not like him to be disturbed by a broken leg, after the wars, and his own recent injury. Once the hurdle had vanished out of sight, the three men mounted their horses, and for the first time, Sir Gerard turned towards Dom, and Elijah could see the disgust in his face and eyes.
"I will not ask you back, my Lord. You will receive no invitation to dinner. No message about my son's health will be welcome from you. I would guard him from all such... creatures as you."
Sir Gerard swept his eyes over Elijah, intending, no doubt, to speak his mind. Elijah, already shocked by the loathing in the man’s words slipped into his ducal persona and the arrogant calm of that handsome face silenced the older man. Sir Gerard turned once more to Dom.
"This, no doubt, is your catamite. What your father would say, were he alive, I cannot conjecture. I cannot allow such people as you were under my roof, contaminating my children, turning my sons into..."
“Sir Gerard,” Elijah interrupted in a voice as cold as chipped ice, "His Lordship and I do not need company such as yours for our comfort. Nor do we wish to visit your home or interfere with your family. Why you should think we would wish to do so, remains a mystery to me."
Dom still said nothing - Elijah could see he was still deeply shocked, his knuckles white on tightly clenched reins.
Sir Gerard turned and shot an angry glance at Elijah. "Because, my fine buck, this young man is my nephew. I am his father's younger brother, and it would seem odd in me not to invite him to my home once the relationship had been discovered. I can only be grateful that he did not announce himself with his true name. No doubt you are used to men such as he, who cannot acknowledge their own name because of their ways, but I am not.”
"I knew him immediately he opened his mouth, he is very much like his father. I had heard from an acquaintance in Spain what sort of life you had now taken up, Monaghan. Could you imagine it was a secret? You and Bernard's boy? Well, it was not. However, we are fortunate that neither Arthur's father nor myself would want to acknowledge your sinfulness abroad."
"Fortunately, I spend most of my days in the English countryside, and rarely visit the metropolis. Now I realise I had better stay there, for I do not wish to be living in such close proximity to you or...him. Good-day to you - and thank you for the services you have rendered my son."
The man rode off quickly, and Dom slumped in the saddle. Elijah dismounted and drew him off, holding him tightly in his arms, feeling Dom trembling even through his riding cloak.
"Oh, Elijah! What have I brought to you? My only consolation is that my uncle never comes to town, so would never see you in your own milieu. I thank God for that."
Elijah kissed him. "Do not let it worry you, Dom. My skin is thicker than you would think. My behaviour may be unacceptable, according to society's rules, but I am a Duke, and people will toady to me whatever I do. And if you fall under my aegis, my lovely man, you, too, will be protected. I do not care what people say, I will have you, no matter that your relations protest."
Dom managed a watery smile. "Thank you, Lij. You are the greatest comfort to me. Let us return to the house - I could do with a very stiff brandy and a warm fire. I do not deny that rejection from one's family stings like the very devil."
They returned quickly to the house, and as soon as they had divested themselves of their outer wear, went into the drawing-room, and sat by the fire.
Dom stared into the coals, clearly mulling over his thoughts, and Elijah did not interrupt him. Dom had to form his own conclusions as to what he would do next.
Dom looked up after a few minutes, and smiled at his companion. "It is a good thing that my uncle has said he will not be returning to this part of the country again, for, if he had, we could no longer use it, and I like this house."
Elijah agreed. "It has, indeed, been a most comfortable haven, and one in which I have learned a lot that I am sure your uncle would shudder to know."
A chuckle showed Elijah that Dom was recovering his equilibrium. "My God! I can imagine him breaking in on one such scene. He would suffer an apoplexy, and be dead within a week. My father always said he was a gudgeon, with no spirit and even less intelligence."
Dom leaned forward in his chair, and said in a low voice, "Papa would have understood me perfectly, Elijah. He was that kind of man. He must have known how things stood with me, for he told me once to follow my heart, and not to heed convention if it got in the way of my happiness. "Just be discreet, my boy, and don't let your mother get to hear of it," and I never have."
"Does it not concern you that your uncle may say something, Dom?"
Dom shook his head. "He will say nothing. He is a proud man, and he will think my behaviour would reflect badly upon him. He will remain silent - but I'm sure that he will inform Giles to avoid my company when he is next in the city."
Here he grinned. "If I know anything of young men, I will be the first person he seeks out when he next returns to London. He will wish to thank me. If his father informs him who I am - and even if he doesn't, he would surely recognise me. He was well acquainted with my father - young Giles - I remembered Papa saying that the young chap had come to visit when he was under a cloud after displeasing his father in some way. I am very like my father, as Uncle Gerard noted."
Matty tapped on the door and came in. "Those are very fine kippers, Master Elijah - I mean, your Grace," she said, stuttering. Both men looked at her in amazement.
"Matty?" Dom said in an even voice. "How..."
Matty reached into the pocket of her apron and took out a small leather purse which she handed to Elijah with a small curtsy. He opened it and found inside several gold coins, two crowns, two fobs and his signet ring.
"You left them behind after you left Master Dominic last time," she said, in embarrassed tones.
"Both the fobs had a coat of arms engraved on the back, and we was anxious to see what it was. We didn't think there was any harm in it, Master Dominic, I'm sure. Ben found it in a big book of heraldry you had in your library and I put the things away, ready to give to you when you had recovered. But because of one thing and another, it slipped my mind, and I put it in one of my shoes to keep it safe."
"It was only this morning, when I took the shoes out that I found it again. I hope I didn't do wrong, your Grace."
"Matty, Matty, you will do me great wrong if you keep "your Grace-ing" every five minutes, Elijah said, chuckling. "Here, I am very happy being plain Mr Retford, and, I assure you I have enjoyed being called Master Elijah more than any title I possess."
Matty threw him an indulgent smile. "Very well, Master Elijah - will you require the kippers for dinner?" she said with a saucy look.
"Get on with you, woman!" Dom waved his hand at her. " Master Elijah will have his kippers with his breakfast like a Christian should. What is there for dinner, either way?"
"Some nice chickens and the saddle of lamb Ben got us yesterday," Matty said to she went out through the door.
When she had gone, Elijah turned to Dom and took his hand. "How do you feel, now? Any better?"
Dom squeezed the hand holding his. "Whilst you are by my side, I will always feel happy. Together, nothing can touch us."
Apart from that, here is the next part of my story. It was a miracle I finished it, what with one thing and another. However, here it is.
*Offers it on a silver salver to my dear flist as a little gift for the DAY!*
Grateful thanks to Lady Sunrope for her beta.
Part 14 - Friendship, Love, and Other Things
As soon as they left the breakfast parlour, Elijah went to find Matty. Dom grinned - he had no particular liking for kippers, but Lij was welcome to them if he desired them.
Matty thought carefully, and then her face broke into a smile. "I remember Mrs O'Shaughnessy, at Five Mile Farm, once telling me that her husband was particularly partial to a kipper. I dare say they'll have a good few dozen pairs about the place, if you'd care for me to go there. Or, if you wish, to send Ben to see if he can purchase some from them?"
Elijah laughed. "No, no, dear Matty, if he has no objection to it, Master Dominic and I will ride out and find them for ourselves. I am sure you have much to occupy you, whereas we are very much at our leisure. Dom?"
Dom nodded, and sent Ben to saddle the horses. "It is a fine day, Lij, and the ride to Five Mile Farm is particularly pleasant in the spring. You put me in mind, Matty, of my obligations. Farmer O'Shaughnessy is one of my tenants, and I cannot say - to my shame - that I have visited him since I came into my estate. This will be as good an opportunity as ever to see how he is going on."
Elijah, who employed agents and bailiffs to oversee his many farms and other properties, was surprised to learn that Dom thought it his business to visit his farmsteads instead of using his employees, but held his peace. If Dom wished to call at this farm, he was prepared to go with him. Indeed, he was sure he might learn something to his advantage by so doing. He had left the ordering of his affairs in other hands - the result, when he returned home, might mean a more active part in his business life.
To Matty's inquiry, Dom shook his head. "No, Matty, we will not take food with us. Mrs O'Shaughnessy is a notable cook, if I remember from my childhood. She will be most displeased if she finds we have taken food on our visit there. She will look upon it as a reflection on her cooking, and that will not do. We will return before dinner."
The ride along the country lanes was indeed pleasant. Dom confided that they were not to pass any of the larger houses in the region, thus negating any reason to be visiting people he had no wish to see, and to spend hours talking about things in which he had no interest.
"There is nothing more boring, Lij, than for one landowner to listen to another extolling the virtues of his own domain. Either he compares yours favourably over his own, and is disgruntled, or else he discovers great faults in your management and exults over them like a cock on a dunghill. I have no taste for such things. In the country I like quiet - to be left alone. There is enough company in town for agreeable social intercourse."
Elijah had to agree. He was enjoying immensely the freedom from social constructions - the first he had enjoyed - that Dom's house allowed him. Here he was not a Duke, but an ordinary man, and he found that he liked it.
They passed a few of Dom's tenants' houses on the road, and Dom had stopped several times to enquire after the householder. Once they accepted a glass of small beer, offered to them by a comely young wife, as her husband stood by indulgently, smiling at her. Elijah saw the man take his wife's hand as they left, and thought how unacceptable such behaviour would be thought in his own circle.
He remembered his father remarking once how a newly-wed young duchess, had, at a private party, actually sat on her husband's lap, and how embarrassed she had been when he had immediately risen, and coldly chastised her for such immodest conduct.
He thought carefully, and the only couple he knew who embraced each other before their intimate friends, was his friend, Victor, and his wife. They were undeniably well bred, but lived on the fringes of society, disliking very much the falsity of the haut ton. Elijah wished he, too, could do so. But a Duke could do not hide in a corner or behave in such a free manner. The family name was everything, and could not be besmirched by any form of unacceptable behaviour.
Dom, seeing the strained look on his lover's face, asked him if he was well. Elijah threw off his reflective mood, and answered Dom with light words. He was determined to enjoy this time together. It would not come to them often - it had to be grasped in both hands whilst it lasted.
Five Mile Farm, Dom remarked as they came to the lane that led to the farmhouse, was one of the largest on this estate. As the lane widened out into a large forecourt, there were seen many farm servants, both men and women, going about their daily duties.
Elijah smiled as he saw a large sow being pushed by three big men into a pen. At least he knew what a pig looked like, now, outside a picture book. As they rode into the yard, a young man came forward, touching his forelock, and asked what they required.
When he heard Dom's identity, he bowed, and called another boy over, and told him to take his Lordship into the mistress.
The young boy stared at Dom and Elijah as if he had never before seen anything like them.
Requesting them to follow him, he took them into the kitchen, where several young maids were working on pastry on a large scrubbed table, and a plump, pleasant looking woman of middle years, was stirring something in a large pot on the range.
"His Lordship and Mr..." began the young boy, and his mistress swung around in surprise, the ladle she was holding suspended in midair, dripping gravy onto the immaculate floor.
"Jim, why did you not bring his Lordship around to the parlour, through the front door? It is just like you to bring him into the kitchen to be covered in flour!"
Mrs O' Shaughnessy looked distressed and Dom smiled at her. "There is no need for that, Mrs O' Shaughnessy. I have spent many happy hours sitting at this table, covered in jam, making tartlets with you. Indeed, do not deny me your kitchen."
Mrs O'Shaughnessy, remembering Dom in his younger days, visibly relaxed, and gesturing to a small table against the wall, invited them to sit down and take a cup of tea with her.
Dom privately thought that the O'Shaughnessy's must be doing very well indeed if they could afford to drink tea during the day, but then thought it must be kept for special occasions. At eight shillings the pound, it was still an expensive commodity.
Dom introduced Elijah to her as Mr Retford, and they sat there, sipping their tea, whilst Mrs O'Shaughnessy bustled about, sending a boy for her husband who was in the lower field, and offering them all kinds of refreshments. They accepted some of her excellent plum cake, and a few slices of bread and butter, which they spread with strawberry jam. Elijah thought he had never tasted such nice bread, and, embellished with the butter and jam, it came close to being ambrosia.
He had just finished his last mouthful, when Farmer O'Shaughnessy hurried into the room. He was a gruff, tall man, who towered over everybody else in the room, but Elijah could see that he was an amiable person, for he chucked his wife on the cheek, and asked for a pint of ale to wash the dust out of his throat.
" I’d be obliged if you’d be removing yourselves into the parlour, your lordship - Mr Retford - and let the women get on with their pies, or there will be no dinner tonight for the farm hands. My boys know how to eat, they do, so!"
A pleasant hour was spent in the company of Mr O'Shaughnessy; kippers were obtained for Elijah, and also some of the butter and jam which he had so much admired.
One of the daughters of the house, blushing hotly, presented Elijah with two panniers to put on his horse, and when he, raising his hands in mock horror, stated that he did not know how to accomplish such a task, tied it on for him, blushing even more. She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and when he demanded of Dom whether a smut from the kitchen fire had got onto his face, that she stared at him so, Dom merely laughed out loud, and grinned affectionately at him.
They had ridden for about half an hour; deciding to take back their treasures, and have luncheon, then go out again for another ride, when they saw a horse impeding their path, and a young man lying on the ground to the side of it.
Elijah realised, from Dom's inward breath, that he thought it might be a trap. But then, looking at the young man, he knew immediately that the lad was hurt.
They dismounted, tied up their mounts, and hurried forward to see how badly he was injured.
The young man was dressed in well-cut riding breeches and coat, and hailed them in an accent only slightly tinged with an Irish brogue.
"Please, sirs - I have broken my leg, I am sure of it. My father's house lies a couple of miles past the left turning in the lane. Do you think one of you could ride there and ask my father to send some of the servants with a hurdle, for I am sure I cannot stand. My name is Giles Monaghan. He is Sir Gerard Monaghan. I beg you, sirs, I have been lying here for a full half hour, and I do not feel at all the thing. Please help me!"
Dom knelt down by the young man's side, not showing for a moment that he recognised the name. "I will go, Elijah, for I know where the house is, and you do not. Stay with him, I shall not be long."
As Dom remounted his horse, he called Elijah over to him, and whispered urgently, "do not mention who we are. You may tell him we are visiting Lord Monaghan, that is all. It must be twenty years since I've seen this sprig, so I hope they will not recognise me at the house. I will explain it later. I love you."
Elijah whispered his love in return, and watched him ride off at a gallop down the lane. He turned to the young man - Giles - and tried to make him more comfortable, taking off his cloak and placing it under the lad's head.
"How did you manage to part company with your horse, Mr Monaghan? The road is not particularly pitted here. What happened?"
Giles Monaghan gritted his teeth. "Some creature dashed into the lane from under the hedge, the horse reared, and I fell off. I could not hold him, for it is only six weeks or so since I broke my arm at a hedge during a ...race with my friends. My father will not be pleased with me, sir."
"You are injured, sir. He can hardly ring a peal over you when you are hurting so."
The young man tried to laugh. "I dare say he won't, my mother will see to that - but be sure he will do it when I have sufficiently recovered."
He suddenly gripped his bottom lip between his teeth, and grew even paler.
"It hurts like the very devil, sir. I never thought..." he broke off to the sounds of men running and horses cantering, and very soon an older man with grizzled grey hair dismounted and came straight over.
"Well, Giles, this is a fine mess, and no mistake. Are you much hurt?"
Giles took a deep breath. "I have broken my leg, Papa. I am sorry."
His father humphed in impatience. "Well, talking pays no toll, Giles. We have to get you home, for your mother is most upset by this accident, and I will not allow her to be incommoded, not for worlds!"
Elijah stared at Sir Gerard in amazement. It was a peculiar man who cared more for his wife's nerves than his son's most serious accident. Broken legs were not to be sniffed at - they could prove complicated.
The six men who were to carry the hurdle lifted Giles onto it, not without difficulty, and proceeded to carry him slowly along the lane.
Dom was looking pale, and Elijah wondered why. It was not like him to be disturbed by a broken leg, after the wars, and his own recent injury. Once the hurdle had vanished out of sight, the three men mounted their horses, and for the first time, Sir Gerard turned towards Dom, and Elijah could see the disgust in his face and eyes.
"I will not ask you back, my Lord. You will receive no invitation to dinner. No message about my son's health will be welcome from you. I would guard him from all such... creatures as you."
Sir Gerard swept his eyes over Elijah, intending, no doubt, to speak his mind. Elijah, already shocked by the loathing in the man’s words slipped into his ducal persona and the arrogant calm of that handsome face silenced the older man. Sir Gerard turned once more to Dom.
"This, no doubt, is your catamite. What your father would say, were he alive, I cannot conjecture. I cannot allow such people as you were under my roof, contaminating my children, turning my sons into..."
“Sir Gerard,” Elijah interrupted in a voice as cold as chipped ice, "His Lordship and I do not need company such as yours for our comfort. Nor do we wish to visit your home or interfere with your family. Why you should think we would wish to do so, remains a mystery to me."
Dom still said nothing - Elijah could see he was still deeply shocked, his knuckles white on tightly clenched reins.
Sir Gerard turned and shot an angry glance at Elijah. "Because, my fine buck, this young man is my nephew. I am his father's younger brother, and it would seem odd in me not to invite him to my home once the relationship had been discovered. I can only be grateful that he did not announce himself with his true name. No doubt you are used to men such as he, who cannot acknowledge their own name because of their ways, but I am not.”
"I knew him immediately he opened his mouth, he is very much like his father. I had heard from an acquaintance in Spain what sort of life you had now taken up, Monaghan. Could you imagine it was a secret? You and Bernard's boy? Well, it was not. However, we are fortunate that neither Arthur's father nor myself would want to acknowledge your sinfulness abroad."
"Fortunately, I spend most of my days in the English countryside, and rarely visit the metropolis. Now I realise I had better stay there, for I do not wish to be living in such close proximity to you or...him. Good-day to you - and thank you for the services you have rendered my son."
The man rode off quickly, and Dom slumped in the saddle. Elijah dismounted and drew him off, holding him tightly in his arms, feeling Dom trembling even through his riding cloak.
"Oh, Elijah! What have I brought to you? My only consolation is that my uncle never comes to town, so would never see you in your own milieu. I thank God for that."
Elijah kissed him. "Do not let it worry you, Dom. My skin is thicker than you would think. My behaviour may be unacceptable, according to society's rules, but I am a Duke, and people will toady to me whatever I do. And if you fall under my aegis, my lovely man, you, too, will be protected. I do not care what people say, I will have you, no matter that your relations protest."
Dom managed a watery smile. "Thank you, Lij. You are the greatest comfort to me. Let us return to the house - I could do with a very stiff brandy and a warm fire. I do not deny that rejection from one's family stings like the very devil."
They returned quickly to the house, and as soon as they had divested themselves of their outer wear, went into the drawing-room, and sat by the fire.
Dom stared into the coals, clearly mulling over his thoughts, and Elijah did not interrupt him. Dom had to form his own conclusions as to what he would do next.
Dom looked up after a few minutes, and smiled at his companion. "It is a good thing that my uncle has said he will not be returning to this part of the country again, for, if he had, we could no longer use it, and I like this house."
Elijah agreed. "It has, indeed, been a most comfortable haven, and one in which I have learned a lot that I am sure your uncle would shudder to know."
A chuckle showed Elijah that Dom was recovering his equilibrium. "My God! I can imagine him breaking in on one such scene. He would suffer an apoplexy, and be dead within a week. My father always said he was a gudgeon, with no spirit and even less intelligence."
Dom leaned forward in his chair, and said in a low voice, "Papa would have understood me perfectly, Elijah. He was that kind of man. He must have known how things stood with me, for he told me once to follow my heart, and not to heed convention if it got in the way of my happiness. "Just be discreet, my boy, and don't let your mother get to hear of it," and I never have."
"Does it not concern you that your uncle may say something, Dom?"
Dom shook his head. "He will say nothing. He is a proud man, and he will think my behaviour would reflect badly upon him. He will remain silent - but I'm sure that he will inform Giles to avoid my company when he is next in the city."
Here he grinned. "If I know anything of young men, I will be the first person he seeks out when he next returns to London. He will wish to thank me. If his father informs him who I am - and even if he doesn't, he would surely recognise me. He was well acquainted with my father - young Giles - I remembered Papa saying that the young chap had come to visit when he was under a cloud after displeasing his father in some way. I am very like my father, as Uncle Gerard noted."
Matty tapped on the door and came in. "Those are very fine kippers, Master Elijah - I mean, your Grace," she said, stuttering. Both men looked at her in amazement.
"Matty?" Dom said in an even voice. "How..."
Matty reached into the pocket of her apron and took out a small leather purse which she handed to Elijah with a small curtsy. He opened it and found inside several gold coins, two crowns, two fobs and his signet ring.
"You left them behind after you left Master Dominic last time," she said, in embarrassed tones.
"Both the fobs had a coat of arms engraved on the back, and we was anxious to see what it was. We didn't think there was any harm in it, Master Dominic, I'm sure. Ben found it in a big book of heraldry you had in your library and I put the things away, ready to give to you when you had recovered. But because of one thing and another, it slipped my mind, and I put it in one of my shoes to keep it safe."
"It was only this morning, when I took the shoes out that I found it again. I hope I didn't do wrong, your Grace."
"Matty, Matty, you will do me great wrong if you keep "your Grace-ing" every five minutes, Elijah said, chuckling. "Here, I am very happy being plain Mr Retford, and, I assure you I have enjoyed being called Master Elijah more than any title I possess."
Matty threw him an indulgent smile. "Very well, Master Elijah - will you require the kippers for dinner?" she said with a saucy look.
"Get on with you, woman!" Dom waved his hand at her. " Master Elijah will have his kippers with his breakfast like a Christian should. What is there for dinner, either way?"
"Some nice chickens and the saddle of lamb Ben got us yesterday," Matty said to she went out through the door.
When she had gone, Elijah turned to Dom and took his hand. "How do you feel, now? Any better?"
Dom squeezed the hand holding his. "Whilst you are by my side, I will always feel happy. Together, nothing can touch us."
