Chapter 11
THEO
George allowed Theo to take charge of their leave-taking, hovering behind him as he approached Mr. and Mrs. Hewitt.
“Unfortunately, Sherrington and I have to leave now,” he began smoothly, “but thank you for your kind hospitality. It’s been a memorable day.”
“Surely you are not leaving already?” Mr. Hewitt exclaimed. He craned his neck, trying to peer around Theo to where George stood behind him. “It’s early still, and we've not had a chance to speak, my lord!”
Theo shifted to block his view again. “I’m afraid we must,” he said firmly before George could speak. He was determined that George, who could be soft-hearted, would not be browbeaten into staying.
Hewitt grumbled for a while longer, but Theo held his ground, not even offering an explanation for their departure, and eventually, Hewitt grudgingly subsided.
They approached the bridal couple next, and, unlike her father, the new Mrs. Fletcher, made no protest over their departure.
She thanked them both profusely for attending, then George specifically for his toast. She seemed, Theo thought, like a pleasant young woman.
As she spoke to George, she clasped her hands at her breast, her eyes shining with sincerity.
He hoped she wouldn’t be made unhappy by her marriage to Fletch.
Fletch wasn’t even looking at her. He was watching George, his expression faintly wounded, and when his new wife stopped talking, he said tightly, “I thought you’d have stayed a little longer than this, Sherry. By God, you’re the first to leave!”
Poor George looked mortified. He clearly didn’t know how to reply, and Theo decided not to give him the chance. Instead, he leapt into the fray with yet more jovial congratulations, seizing Fletch’s hand and pumping it up and down so vigorously the man visibly winced.
“You're a lucky man, Fletch,” he said at last, “We’ll leave you to enjoy the rest of your celebration with your lovely new wife.” And with that, he deftly shepherded George towards the door and hustled him out of the room.
When they finally got outside, and began their walk back to Mayfair, Theo began to laugh.
“Did you see Hewitt’s face as we were leaving? I thought he might actually send some of his footmen to apprehend us!”
George chuckled too. “Thank God we managed to escape without me having to talk to him again. Four hours last night was quite enough for one lifetime, thank you.”
Theo saw the tension that had been gripping George all day beginning to seep away. As they continued on their walk, chatting lightly, the grim set of his shoulders began to relax and the tension left his jaw.
“It must feel strange,” Theo said after a while.
“You and Fletch—” He broke off at the sight of an older gentleman walking towards them, waiting till they'd passed him before continuing in a lower voice. “The two of you were as thick as thieves for all those years. And now he’s married. That’s a big change. ”
“Not so much as you might think,” George said. “We used to be inseparable, it's true, but not for a while now. Before yesterday, I hadn’t seen Ollie in months. And before that it was—” He shook his head. “Hell, I don't even know how long.”
“Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he wants you back at his side now that his bride has been secured.”
“I’m quite sure he does not want that,” George replied.
“If you think that,” Theo said, “you didn't see how he was looking at you when we left.”
George sighed. “You don’t understand. Ollie isn’t… he isn’t like us.”
“In what respect?” Theo asked, though he thought he knew. But good lord, could George still be so damned na?ve, after all these years?
“Regarding—well, regarding what he likes in the bedchamber,” George said, flushing.
“He told you this?” Theo pushed.
“Yes,” George sounded a little exasperated. “He likes women in his bed, not—not the other.”
“Excuse my bluntness,” Theo said lightly, “but I’m not sure I believe that. Fletch used to hang all over you at school, and he was jealous of anyone you so much as spoke to. He left no one in any doubt that he considered you his. He was always putting his damned arm around your neck.”
George shook his head stubbornly. “That's just his way. It doesn’t mean he wanted me.” He looked a little ashamed. “I should have accepted it the first time he told me, but I thought he was saying it because his father—” He stopped, swallowing hard.
“Because his father thrashed him?” Theo asked bluntly. “What exactly did Sir Joseph see when he discovered you?”
George closed his eyes briefly. “It was almost nothing,” he whispered.
“A stolen kiss behind the stables after we’d been swimming in the river.
But we were just in our breeches, carrying our shirts while we dried off.
” He closed his eyes, his jaw tightening.
“I’m sure it looked more debauched in his eyes than it was. ”
Theo’s gut clenched at the thought of Sir Joseph’s response. After a moment, he said, “I take it he was angry?”
George’s expression was bleak. “He was incandescent. Even so, I didn’t imagine he’d beat Ollie quite so viciously.
He sent me back to the house to pack before he did it, and I just obeyed him.
I only learned what had happened when I was sitting in the carriage, waiting to leave, and I overheard one of the grooms telling someone that he and another servant had had to carry Ollie back to his bedchamber after. ”
“It wasn’t your fault,” Theo said. He meant to say it gently, but it came out exasperated.
“But it was, you see,” George insisted. “I initiated that kiss. We were on our way back to the house when I pushed him behind the stables.” He swallowed. “We were laughing.”
Theo didn’t know what to say. At last he asked, "What happened when you returned to school after the summer?”
“Ollie told me he’d made a mistake in responding to my overtures and that he preferred girls. I didn’t really believe him at first, but, regardless, in the end I agreed that we’d never do anything like that again. With each other or anyone else.”
“Anyone else?” Theo gaped at him. “Why would you agree to that?”
George considered that for a moment, his expression thoughtful. “I truly believed we’d both get married one day. I thought that indulging in my preferences wasn’t compatible with marriage. Not the sort of marriage I wanted.”
“What sort of marriage was that?”
George’s mouth twisted into a rueful half-smile. “A real one, with a family, and both parties fully committed. One with a strong foundation of respect and love.”
Theo’s chest ached at the wistful note in George’s voice, and at something else—the idea of George with his perfect duchess and their brood of perfect children. He would be a good father, Theo thought. Patient, kind. Attentive.
And then he remembered what George had said the other night in Redford’s.
“Up until quite recently, I had been planning to marry too…”
When had George given up on that dream?
They were turning onto Curzon Street now. George began to slow his pace and, a minute later, came to a stop outside one of the houses.
“This is your house?”
George nodded. “My sister’s actually. Though she and her husband are not in town presently.”
It was time to part ways, but Theo found he was reluctant to do so. “Will you be staying in town for a while?”
George shook his head. “I don’t think so. It involves too much fending off of marriageable young ladies. What about you? When do you leave for Wales?”
“Tomorrow morning,” Theo said. “My only regret is that I can’t fit in another visit to Redford’s before I go.”
George blushed hotly, and Theo felt a strange pang of affection at the sight. He had to suppress the inexplicable urge to lift a hand and touch George’s pinkened cheek, just to know how warm it felt beneath his fingers.
Suddenly, he realised that he didn’t want this day to end. He didn’t want to walk away from George—not without some kind of plan to see him again. It was so very far from his usual feelings that he wasn’t sure what to do with himself, or what words he needed to say to make that happen.
“If not town for you, then what?” he asked, inwardly cringing at his own, surely obvious desperation to keep the conversation going.
“Back to Wiltshire, I suppose,” George said, shrugging, “though God knows I could do with a change. I’ve just spent the last seven months there. I must have walked and ridden every inch of the estate a hundred times over.”
“A change usually does a man good.”
George gave a rueful smile that Theo found far too appealing. “Any suggestions?”
Theo didn’t decide to say it. He just blurted the words out the instant they entered his mind.
“Why don’t you come to Wales with me? You could give me your considered opinion on how Blackfriars is being run.
In fact, we could take a quick diversion and climb Snowdon on the way there if you fancy. What do you say?”
He wasn’t sure where the idea had come from, but suddenly it seemed like the best one he'd ever had.
George’s gaze snapped to his, his expression surprised. “Wales? It’s quite a distance.”
“Oh, come on!” Theo urged him. “It’ll be an adventure. You said yourself you wanted to visit Snowdonia, and I’ve been before so I can guide you. I was planning to ride rather than taking the coach. Would you like that? You used to love riding.” Oh hell, was he babbling?
“I still do,” George agreed, “though I’ve never done such a long journey purely on horseback. How long would it take?”
“A week to ride to Blackfriars,” Theo said with an airy wave of his hand. “An extra day or two to for a quick diversion to Snowdon. You’ll get plenty of rest on the other side—you can stay at Blackfriars as long as you wish.”
George bit his lip. “Are you serious?”
“I am,” Theo assured him, his confidence growing now. "You’ll have to make your mind up quickly, though. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.”