Epilogue #2
He was not ready to be interrupted as he drank in the sight of his lover, but the footsteps that echoed off the stone of the courtyard as they came nearer told him he would have to enjoy a longer moment of intimacy with his boy some other time.
He stood, tucking himself back into his trousers and fastening them, before turning to find Brutus and Titus approaching. Jonathan’s good mood flattened considerably.
“Apologies for the interruption,” Titus said without a hint of bashfulness.
“Not at all,” Jonathan replied, though he actually did mind anything that took him away from Charlie.
“I see that this studio suits you,” Brutus said, grinning as he nodded to the staged area Jonathan had set up.
“The light is exquisite,” Jonathan said with a shrug. He was trying to like Brutus and Titus. Truly, he was. But unlike Charlie, he couldn’t bring himself to fully trust the brothers yet.
That changed slightly when Brutus said, “We thought you’d like to know that Lord Fabian has been found.”
Jonathan’s brow shot up. Behind him, Charlie scrambled off the chaise, reaching for a rag to clean himself.
“You’ve found him?” Jonathan asked. “Is he safe? Are you bringing him here?”
Brutus and Titus exchanged serious looks.
“We’ve located him,” Titus said, “but we have not rescued him.”
“Not yet,” Brutus said.
“But you are going to, aren’t you?” Charlie asked hurrying forward to stand by Jonathan’s side.
Jonathan took Charlie’s hand, but that didn’t feel like enough, so he wrapped an arm around him and held him close.
Brutus glanced between them, then said, “We are going to mount a mission to retrieve him, yes.”
Charlie sagged with relief, but Titus said, “He is being held at Trebarral Castle on the Cornwall coast.”
Jonathan frowned. “I do not know the place.”
“It’s a formidable fortress that was built in the seventeenth century to protect against smugglers and foreign invaders,” Brutus said.
“How do you plan to free Lord Fabian from whomever is holding him prisoner there?” Jonathan asked.
Again, the brothers exchanged looks.
“We know someone,” Titus explained. “Greer O’Toole. He is the greatest housebreaker in all of England.”
Jonathan stared at him. “You’re going to send a thief to rescue a captive lord?”
“Who better?” Brutus said. “Trebarral is rumored to be impenetrable. The only person I can think of who might be able to get in, steal something valuable, and get out again is a clever, Irish housebreaker.”
“Greer is mad enough to take the job as well,” Titus said with a laugh.
“This is not a laughing matter.” Jonathan frowned at him.
Titus lost his smile and nodded at him. “You are correct,” he said. “It is not a laughing matter. But I can assure you that Greer has the skills and the bravery to charge a castle and to rescue Lord Fabian.”
“You will bring him back here, won’t you?” Charlie asked, half hiding against Jonathan.
Jonathan embraced him more fully. Really, he needed to feel his arms tightly around his love as they talked about a man whose fate could have been Charlie’s.
“We will bring him back here once he’s secured, yes,” Brutus said. “But there’s no telling what sort of condition Fabian will be in by then or what will need to be done to save his soul.”
“You owe him everything,” Jonathan said firmly. “I owe him for not making a move to help him when I should have.”
He glanced down at Charlie, wanting to hide within his lover. If he had only listened to Charlie when he had first asked for help, Fabian might not be a prisoner in a castle now.
“We will rescue him,” Titus said with a definitive nod. “You will have the chance to make whatever amends you need to make to him. I promise.”
Jonathan hugged Charlie tighter. He certainly hoped he had that chance. Everything depended on this Irishman, Greer, saving Fabian. The young man deserved much better than he’d gotten. He deserved to be as happy as Jonathan was now, as happy as Charlie was. Lord Fabian deserved his freedom.
I hope you’ve enjoyed Jonathan and Charlie’s story and this leap into a whole new, different and darker world for me!
I’ve actually had Jonathan and Charlie, and The Zagreus Den, in my head for a while, and I’m glad I’ve finally been able to write it!
For those who have read some of the deep cuts in my catalog, I feel like these guys have some serious Peter and the Wolves energy. IYKYK.
One note about photography in the 1880s.
It was actually much more advanced than you might think at that point.
However, I’ve taken a teeny, tiny historical liberty by about one year, because 1888 was a massive year in the development of photography.
Dry plates were already widely available and cameras capable of split-second exposure were very, very new, but they did exist. Flash photography with magnesium ribbon is just a wee bit anachronistic, but again, only by a year or so.
The big photographic invention of 1888 was the very first celluloid negatives, which were invented by George Eastman of, you guessed it, the Eastman Kodak company, and were made available commercially in 1889.
That’s when photography began to move out of professional studios and into public hands.
Also, from the very beginning of photography in the early 19th century, people took naked pics.
Yes, pornography was born hand in hand with photography.
It’s always been the secret and profitable sibling of respectable photography.
And guess what people started filming immediately once moving pictures were invented? Yep.
Up next, Can Greer O’Toole rescue Lord Fabian from Trebarral Castle in Cornwall?
He might be the greatest housebreaker in England, but Brutus and Titus set an important condition for him.
He needs to work with an assistant, a red-headed pickpocket named Percival “Penny” Frey.
Greer despises working with anyone, but the stakes are too high for him to say no.
But will Penny say yes to the job? Can Greer convince him to leave London?
Maybe the undeniable sparks between them will help…
or cause a disaster. Find out next in The Housebreaker’s Assistant!