A Regency Tale - 27

[ismenin]

Good afternoon! I hope you are all well, my dears! Here is the next part of my tale - which I hope you will enjoy. Thank you all, my faithful readers! Hugses.






Thanks to Lady Sunrope for beta.


Part 27 - Suspicions


Elijah said nothing, nor did he move to stop Dom. He gripped the arms of his chair and looked anxiously from one man to the other.

I want the truth from you - and if I have to shoot you to have it, I will, Dom had said - but did he really mean to kill his friend? Elijah had not been sure, until Dom had cocked that pistol.

"Well?" Dom said, his eyes not leaving Cedric for a moment.

Cedric appeared unruffled. He crossed his legs and settled more deeply into his seat. Then he smiled slightly at Dom, and said, in an impatient tone, "Oh, put it away, man. You, better than anyone, should know that it is impossible to get anything out of me by threats, or physical violence. Remember the French at Tarbres."

Dom did not move; neither did he make any attempt to put down the pistol. His face, however, told the whole story; he was as pale as milk, but his mouth had a determined set about it and his eyes blazed grey fire.

"You know, Ceddie, that at this range I can shoot, to within a hairsbreadth, a hole in any part of you I choose. And you must know this is Lij I am protecting, not a rat infested hole in the middle of nowhere. Enough!"

His voice grew rough, and temper blurred its edges. He looked as a man looks who is determined on a course whatever the outcome. He folded his arms and the pistol rested on the back of one of them.

He is ready to shoot, Elijah thought, wonderingly, and he is aiming at Ceddie's heart…

There was no perceptible change in his friend's demeanour, but Elijah knew that Dom meant what he said. Surely Ceddie would know it, too - as intimately acquainted as they were?

"Well, Dom, you have always asserted that I cannot keep a secret to save my life. It seems ironic that a secret is now about to deprive me of it - although I think your servants will be slightly shocked at being asked to sweep around my corpse. For how you will dispose of my body without anyone catching sight of it, I haven't the remotest guess."

Dom did not move, but his face grew even paler. Elijah was afraid of him - and for him.

Cedric spoke again.

"I am afraid, my friend, that I am unable to comply with your request for enlightenment. I have given my word of honour I will not tell, you see, just as you did in my case, if only to yourself. And I know you can keep a secret - I vow that you have not even told Elijah of my little...indiscretion ...with the cards. Is that not true, Elijah?"

Cedric cast a look, not totally void of amusement, at the duke and Elijah shook his head - he did not know what Ceddie meant - not at all.

Cedric smiled up at Dom again. This time the smile reached his eyes. "Little do you know it, either of you, but it really is in your best interests that you know nothing at this present."

Dom breathed out slowly, and putting the gun on the round table beside his chair, sat down. "Do you mean to tell me that you have deliberately kept information from us?"

Cedric nodded. "Didn't think I could do it, did you? But you see, I can. Wild horses would not drag out of me anything that...we... have done, or know. Y'see, Dom, I am very fond of you, and because of our close friendship, I have a care for your dear Lij, too, as he constitutes so great a part of your happiness. You will have to trust me, for you will get nothing from me, by fair means, or foul - on my honour, you will not!"

Elijah suddenly rose, and went across to Cedric, who stood to meet him.

"I am sorry, duke - but that is how it is. Even my cousin Devonshire could not prise any details of the duel out of me - and March, you must know, is a particular friend of his, and told him that he had attended the affair. Everyone knew Dom had called you out, Lij, for it was no secret, but no-one but us knew the whole story, and March is as close as an oyster if he don't want to tell."

"Devonshire was out of reason cross with me, of course, because he thought I'd gossip willingly of it. But an oath is an oath, nonetheless, and, as far as I was concerned, it encompassed the whole affair, not merely the end of it. Will you trust me?"

Elijah stared long and intently at Cedric's face, and then nodded, briskly. "By god, I will! I cannot tell why I should, but I will!" He shook Cedric's hand, and both men looked at Dom, sitting quietly in his chair, the gun at his elbow.

"Dom?" asked Elijah, not at all sure what his love would make of it.

"Very well," Dom spoke at last, in a voice not completely devoid of the anger he was so patently feeling. "I will trust you because I must - but I am not happy about it, indeed I am not! It is outside of enough that you cannot - will not - tell me what you know of the matter. Lij is my lo...is...oh, damn! You know how it is!"

Cedric rose. "I do know, because I know you. I will not stay to dine, Dom, to have you glaring over the table at me as if I was a bloody cockroach. I promise you that I will do my best to ensure that nothing happens to you, or to your Lij. Will you accept my word on it?"

He put out his hand and Dom hesitated for a moment before grasping it within his own. "Damn you, Ceddie!" he said, with a reluctant grin. "I know you for what you are - best and worst - but I have never known you to lie - not to me at any rate. Now, go, before I succumb to my baser instincts and plant you the facer you so richly deserve!"

Dom buffeted his friend on the shoulder with a blow than was slightly harder than friendship allowed, and Cedric, taking it with an answering grin, bowed to Elijah and swiftly left the room.

The two men sat in silence for a few moments. Dom was thinking, hard. Ceddie was in league with someone to protect himself and Lij. Was it Victor? He would go to see Victor in the morning, before they left. He may have been some years older than Dom - but Dom was far from pleased that these plans were being laid without consulting either him, or Lij.

Dom excused himself from Elijah for a moment and going to the study, wrote a hasty message to Victor informing him of his projected visit the next morning and concluding it thus:

...we are leaving for Dover at nine, so I shall be with you shortly after six thirty. Be sure to be up, or I shall hammer the damned knocker off the door. Yours, etc., Dom

He sent a footman to immediately deliver it, and on discovering from his butler that dinner would be served in half an hour, informed the man that he was not to be disturbed until then.

He came back into the room and drew Elijah into his arms. "I am sorry, Lij. I am truly sorry. Ceddie is a bastard not to tell us, but if he has given his word, then, of course, he must stick by it. Do you see it?"

Elijah kissed him, hard, and communication of a verbal nature ceased between them. Elijah could feel that Dom was still trembling slightly, so set himself to gentle the anger out of his beloved.

He succeeded so well that Dom was in such a state of arousal by the time dinner was announced that he had to wait a full five minutes before he dared to escort Elijah to the dining room.

Dinner, of course, was attended by the servants waiting upon them, so the talk was of a desultory nature, with each man attempting to find a topic on which they might converse before the servants' interested ears.

Over the excellent roast duck, Dom saw no danger in mentioning their projected journey together, and said, with a smile, that he hoped Lij would enjoy their voyage through the eastern seas as well as he had liked sailing to the west.

This brought something to Elijah's mind. "I hope you have no objection, Monaghan, if I bring Achilles with me?" he asked, finishing his portion of duck and refusing a helping of the broiled lamb. "I have grown very fond of the little dog, you must know, and if he is not allowed to sleep outside my bedroom door, he is not above pining, and will not eat. I would wish no harm to come to him by leaving him behind.”

Dom's mouth turned up slightly at the corners, and his lips twitched, but he preserved his countenance. "Not at all, duke..." he replied, shaking his head at a dish of ratafia pudding the servant was holding beside him. ""...I will be very glad to have your little dog on board, as long as he does not attempt to come into my cabin. I like to sleep unmolested."

Elijah choked over his portion of gateau millefleur and glared at Dom with enormous accusing eyes.

When the servants removed the covers from the table and brought in the port, Dom dismissed them, and poured Elijah a half-glass as he knew he did not overmuch enjoy the drink.

"You need bring nothing with you except for your immediate needs, Lij - your shoes, of course, three or four coats, waistcoats and pantaloons and a dozen or so shirts should do it, besides other necessaries - oh, and your riding gear, and boots, just in case - and a warm overcoat or two, in case it is windy at sea on the outward journey. We shall stop over in Paris before meeting with the yacht, and we may order clothing there. There is a tailor I know who can provide a whole wardrobe of the finest garments in under a week."

Elijah nodded, abstractly, but his thoughts were elsewhere. "I wonder if Billy has found Jack? I know you gave to him letters of authorization including one for the shipyard to release the boat to him, and money enough to stock and man it - but how will he know where to go to find us?"

Dom reached over the table and grasped Elijah's hand. "I have sent a dozen copies of a letter, both by post and by messengers, informing Billy of our whereabouts. Copies were sent to the shipyard, the docks, my factor, my agent, I even left a copy at the bank. Indeed, everywhere that I informed him that he could ask for news of us, I have left directions. Everywhere I thought might be safe."

Elijah looked relieved. "You are so careful of my interests, Dom, and I thank you for it. You have relieved my mind of much distress during past days. I am most grateful to you, my love."

Dom rose from his seat, and, glancing at the door, pulled Elijah into a rough embrace, kissed him, and breathing heavily into his lover's neck, murmured, "I do it because I love you, Lij, you must know this. There is nothing in this world, or the next - nothing - that I care about as I care for you, and there is no effort I would spare to keep you safe."

They parted from the embrace with reluctance, both men realising that discovery was only feet away, behind doors that were likely to open at any moment. Dom retook his seat.

"Nor expense, either," Elijah commented, smiling. "That new yacht must have cost a pretty penny. But, with Billy as captain..." here, he lowered his voice..."we will be able to lie together and ...fuck as often as we please..."

"Lij!" Dom whispered, in a voice filled with yearning. "It cannot be too soon for me. I need you so much, now, I feel...God! I want you, you bastard! You are teasing me, again...”

Elijah coughed as the door opened. Dom's butler entered bearing a small silver tray. "An urgent note for his Grace, m'Lord," that worthy intoned, offering the duke the missive.

Elijah took the letter from the tray and tore it open, quickly possessing himself of the contents.

"I thank you, but there is no reply," he said, and the butler bowed himself out.

As the door closed behind him, Elijah said, quietly, "it is from Harry. He said he will meet us tomorrow night at the Green Man on the post road to Dover, about forty miles along the London Road. He says we cannot miss it, as it is a post inn where we must change the horses. It will be best if we are not all seen to be leaving London together, he writes - which is true - but you know, Dom, I have not informed anyone but Barney of my leaving, except Harry, and my household."

"I trust one of them will tell Gil, and the others that I will be absent for some time, or all my acquaintance will be once more calling at Stanford House to ask for my direction. Which will, I am sure, cause comment until Harry returns to tell people he has escorted me to the port - or until Barney finishes whatever it is that occupies him so urgently out of town."

Dom pushed away his empty glass. "Come to think of it, I did not tell Ceddie we was leaving, either. It will do him good, for he has been far too high handed for my liking. A set-down is chiefly what he needs at this present. I hope he has to chase after us, if that is his intent - and I trust there will be no room for him, either, at that inn where we stop for the night. He may sleep with the horses, the bastard, for all I care!"

They moved into one of the salons, and talked quietly together until past eleven, when Dom remarked that Lij should go home to bed and rest.

"I am tired, and it will not be long before I retire. I know Morlock can pack the little I need in a moment. And it would not do for us to be seen setting out with enough luggage to furnish us for the Grand Tour."

Elijah laughed at that and said he would be ready to leave promptly at nine, and that he looked forward to that time with the greatest pleasure. "For how I have kept my hands off you tonight, is more than I can tell," he whispered as they left the salon.

This comment inflamed Dom so much that he had to place his hand in his breeches pocket and grasp himself firmly, so as not to reveal his condition to those footmen standing in the hallway, who would not miss observing such a sight. Nor would they refrain - he thought bitterly, as he escorted Lij to the door - from laughing about it with their fellows in the low taverns they frequented in the seedier parts of town.

********

Dom's interview with Sir Victor early the next morning did not meet with unqualified success. Sir Victor denied in vehement tones that he was concerned in any plot with Cedric. "I spoke with Barney, as you know, and I put Bert Slugger to watch you - but that is all, Dom. I trust you have at least informed Bert that you are leaving? He, or one of his men is always to be found watching your door. He is not difficult to find, after all."

When he received a negative answer he frowned and sent a swift note to Slugger informing him of the projected trip, and asking him to follow the men at a discreet distance. "Yes, yes, Dom, I know you say Lij's cousin Harry is going with you - but is he used to handling any gang of murdering thugs who may attack you?"

Dom was unable to give an answer, being uninformed in the matter, and resigned himself to the inevitable. "He will see you onto the packet at Dover," Victor remarked in tones that brooked no dissent, "and then you must fend for yourselves. I wish you all possible good luck, and hope your sojourn in warmer climes will be pleasant. Give my regards to Lij."

And with that Dom returned to his house, none the wiser, but more anxious than ever to leave for France and comparative safety.

********

They had set out a little later than intended as the man of business Dom had sent to the bank to withdraw funds for the journey had lost the draft he had given him to a careless gust of wind. Another had to be written, and the first one cancelled, delaying everything. Consequently it was a little after ten when they eventually left the City.

Whatever else Dom thought of spoilt little dogs whining outside their masters' bedchambers in the fastnesses of the night, he had to admit that Achilles' daytime manners were above reproach.

He sat at his master's feet, and even when they entered the tree-lined avenues leading out of the City, and Dom took the opportunity to kiss his lover most passionately, the dog did not stir.

When they left the town completely and there was nothing but trees and grass on either side of the road, and Dom knelt at Elijah's feet, undoing his breeches buttons and taking him in his mouth, the animal obligingly moved out of the way to give Dom room.

And when his master moaned and gasped, his legs trembling - almost beating a tattoo on the floor in his ecstasy - the dog merely put his head on his paws and regarded both men with large, soulful eyes.

Later, Dom, now equally satisfied, took the little dog onto his lap and stroked him fondly. Really, he thought, he might become quite attached to the little beast - as long as the creature did not make a fuss about Dom sharing sleeping quarters with his idol.

Elijah laughed at Dom when he voiced this hope, and ruffled his pet's ears, which caused a sigh of delight and much wagging of the dog's tail.

They had travelled just over twenty miles before stopping for luncheon a little after midday. Dom had declared that he needed to stretch his legs and that he was sure that Achilles needed most urgently to find a tree.

They enjoyed a leisurely meal at an inn on the road that Dom's driver knew well, and they continued their journey much refreshed. Dom quietly remarked, as they approached the carriage, that if Bert or one of his men was nearby, he was an adept, for there was no sign of them being followed.

The postilion leapt onto the left lead horse, and the two platemen took their places at the back. The driver gave the horses the office to start, and his companion, who held the pistols, sniffed loudly and spat copiously into the road.

Morlock, who was in the second carriage which housed the luggage, took advantage of the luxury of being alone, and promptly fell fast asleep.


Neither man had had time to grow weary of travelling by the time they reached the Green Man. It was a fine summer's evening, and the sun was glowing red in the west.

As the coach drove into the yard it was seen that it was a commodious building covering two floors, and the yard staff were prompt and efficient at dealing with the horses.

A young lad who had been told to keep an eye out for the travellers, rushed indoors and soon Harry strode out into the yard and greeted his cousin and Dom with his customary affability.

"Here's a damned coil, Lij. The landlord, you must know, has hopped his twig and we are left with his cousin, or some such man in charge. Still, it was used to be a clean house, with good, plain food and plenty of fine beer, and that cannot have changed in a day. I shan't repine."

He greeted Dom with equal warmth, and after they had been shown their room and left for an hour to brush off the dust of the road, they met Harry in a private parlour he had ordered, quite ready for their dinner.

Achilles had not consented to remain in the bedroom with Morlock, and Elijah paused at the bottom of the stairs and asked the new landlord if he had any objections to a small dog in one of his parlours.

"No, indeed, sir!" came the hearty reply. "Do you take him in, and I'll have some ale brought in to you directly."

He was a large, bluff man, with a red face and long whiskers. He reminded Elijah of nothing so much as a country yokel, which, he reasoned, he must be, out here at the back-end of nowhere.

They had not seen a house for several miles, but Elijah did not mind that. The countryside reminded him forcibly of the green fields of Ireland, where he had come to love Dom more than he had thought possible.

Although it was midsummer, the evenings in such an exposed place were chilly, and a modest fire was burning in the room when he joined Dom and Harry for dinner, Achilles hard at his heels.

It was a little after nine, and late for country dining, but Elijah did not mind, for he had discovered that the bed in their chamber was very comfortable indeed, and although the presence of Morlock attending to their luggage, had, regrettably made lovemaking impossible, he consoled himself with the thought that the night ahead was long enough for that.

Within a quarter of an hour a waiter and two girls were carrying in their dinner and placed before Elijah a steaming capon, large enough to feed six men. Harry rubbed his hands happily at the sight of it.

"I am quite ready for that, you know, and I ordered a good pigeon pie, too, and escallops of veal. I will make a good dinner, I promise you - but first, you must excuse me, I have drunk too freely and am in need of immediate relief!"

Elijah laughed and bade his cousin to make haste or the chicken would be eaten when he returned.

"I am quite used to carving, you know," Elijah remarked to Dom, picking up the steel and running the knife along it a few times to whet it. "My father thought every man should know how to comport himself at his own table."

Dom, as hungry as he was, politely waited as Elijah expertly carved the chicken, and did not demand to be given a piece, as he might have done in Ireland.

Achilles had smelt the meat and came to the side of the table hoping for one of the titbits he often got at his master's table.

Elijah took pity on his pet sitting quietly staring up at him with desperate, dewy eyes.

"Oh, give him a piece, Lij, for god's sake! He looks as if he has not been fed in a month!" Dom commented, laughingly taking a long swallow of the beer he had brought with him to the table.

“It is not a habit I want to encourage too much, Achilles, remember that,” Elijah said as he slipped the first moist piece of chicken to the dog.

Dom, nearly past hunger by now, nibbled on a morsel of bread in lieu of anything more tasty but nodded.

“Remember indeed, although there are some things I want first claim upon. Chicken is not, of necessity, one of them.”

Elijah’s blush showed he had heard Dom’s amused comment but soon his attention was concentrated solely upon his task. He did not see Dom grow pale, or hear him rise hurriedly from his seat.

Suddenly the carving knife and fork were wrested from his grasp and he was pulled from the table, his hands held in a vice like grip.

"Hold! Do not move your hands, I beg you!"

Dom picked up the jug of beer and a napkin and frantically washed Elijah's hands in the foaming liquid. "Quickly! Out to the pump! We must...Oh, God! Oh, God, Lij..."

Elijah did not understand anything except his Dom was looking at him with desperate eyes.

Dom pointed a shaking finger, and Elijah saw Achilles lying quite dead beside the table, a white froth trickling from his mouth.

Comments

[frolijah-fan-54.livejournal.com]

OMG - poor Achilles - and poor Elijah!! This is going to devastate him. The plot just gets thicker and thicker - so many suspects - I am on the edge of my seat and holding my breath!! This just gets better and better - can't wait for the next chapter!!

[ismenin.livejournal.com]

Grins in a mad style! Sit tight, don't fall off the seat! ;D xxx