“I have enjoyed your company, also.”
Reginald clapped Harold on the shoulder in goodbye before joining his sister. As soon as the carriage started moving she let out a sigh, “That was a wonderful evening, don’t you agree?”
He smiled back at her, “It was.”
“I did not see you half the night, where had you hidden yourself?”
“The library, I once again ran into Mr Sully.”
“Oh,” she smiled at him knowingly, “So you did have a good evening then.”
“He is an interesting person to talk to,” she smiled at him but he rolled his eyes, “That reminds me, I have invited him up for a stay.”
Her eyes lit up at the possibility of a party so before she spoke he quickly shook his head, “No, Marise. I would prefer not, if you so desire to see Mr Pemberton again you may ask him up whenever you wish.”
She frowned minutely before laying her hands on her dress and smoothing out the creases, “I do not to know to what you refer.”
He laughed at her and she glared at him, pointedly refusing to talk to him for the remainder of the journey.
***
Reginald received the letter a scant few days after they last parted ways from Sully suggesting he visit that coming week for a short stay, he had quickly written his reply happily agreeing and starting to make arrangements for their guest. When he had informed Marise, she rolled her eyes and smiled at him, “This is rather well timed.”
“Oh?”
“I received a letter from Harold asking if I would like to visit.”
Reginald frowned slightly, he knew his sister would behave properly but it was not accepted for a young girl to visit another man without supervision, she noticed quickly and huffed, “The invitation extends to you too and he has already mentioned that Florentia, Isaac and Ambrose will be attending as well.”
“Oh.”
“I couldn’t possibly ask you cancel and so will go by myself, Florentia was already going to stay with us that week so can accompany me.”
“Your organizational skills amaze me, dear sister,” he said processing just how quickly she made managed to arrange her plans so she could attend a party and leave Reginald at home.
She smiled and hugged him briefly, “The gathering shall last the weekend so you can enjoy your sour brooding together.”
“You should take Cathy along with you, of course. I will also have Lodge accompany your carriage, it may not be his main job but he is a skilled horseman and I would rather someone accompany.”
She nodded reluctantly, they had a driver, Murphy, but he was a little old and would be no good should a situation arrived, Lodge was a valuable member of the household though not tied down to one roll. It was admirable that he was so flexible, happy to garden, valet, be a butler or chauffer depending on what the situation called for. After he had made her promise to keep safe on the journey he let her disappear off to go and pack.
The next day when he retreated from going over paperwork and went down for luncheon to see Florentia and Marise gossiping amongst themselves he couldn’t be shocked in the least. Florentia was practically a sister to them, “Hello, dear.”
She turned from her seat and stood, smiling and embracing him slightly, “Wonderful to see you, I missed you at the party.”
Marise shot him a pointed look but he ignored it and took the seat next to her, “I am sorry, we will have to catch up today instead.”
They quickly proceeded to do so, Florentia talking about how her father’s business was going well before Marise proceeded to embarrass her by gossiping that Isaac had been trying to stay close to her all evening. Reginald had chastised her but Florentia had smiled weakly and said it was okay, making the man wonder if there was in fact some truth to it then.
They retired to the drawing room following lunch and continued their conversation, “So are you leaving this eve or on the morrow?” Reginald asked having never fully discerned the details from Marise.
“On the morrow,” Florentia said softly, “Are you sure you can’t attend with us? It will not be the same without your presence.”
Reginald had to smile as he tried to think back to the last occasion he had stayed with the entire of the company for the full eve and realized he could not. “I am sorry to disappoint, my dear, but before Mr Pemberton’s plans were made light of I had already made plans.”
“I am sure Mr Sully would be welcome too,” Florentia tried to insist, “He has been part of our group of friends for over two years now and we are well adjusted to him.”
Reginald tried not to notice the way she hadn’t called him a friend but slowly shook his head, “The plans are in place, but I am sure it will not be long till I see you all.”
Florentia looked about to protest again but she sighed, “Very well, we shall have to do manage with just the five of us.”
“Now, ladies, I must excuse myself to take care of the necessities of business.” Reginald said as he stood and gave them a small bow.
Reginald had quickly been working through his business matters in the last week to make sure he had no concerns for the duration of the week. He was rather excited of the prospect of a few days in good company as he found no one challenged him quite so much as Sully and he found himself constantly captivated.
***
Not long after he had seen Marise and Florentia off, his butler Felton came into the study to inform him there was a carriage approaching. He quickly stood up and walked down to the front of the house, finding himself oddly nervous about the whole affair, even trying to smooth down his hair he had been told, on multiple occasions, looked like a wild beast.
His breath caught in his throat as Sully quickly disembarked from the carriage and he felt himself unusually captivated in the motion, watching as he stretched his body out, eyes tracing on the material that no doubt concealed taught lines from muscle and as his eyes reached his face and saw the harsh lines he felt his mouth go dry slightly.
Recomposing himself he walked forward, hand outstretched as the other man finished disembarking, “Sully, so glad you could make it.”
The other man’s face was a neutral mask but his eyes betrayed a touch of warmth as he accepted the hand in a firm shake, his hands were oddly soft but warm, something Reginald missed the second it disappeared.
“Please come in,” he said gesturing back at the stairs that led into the house, turning to gesture to Felton, “Take Mr Sully’s things up into the guest room, please.”
The butler nodded and so the two gentleman entered the house and he watched the occasional flicker of Sully’s eyes as he scanned their surroundings, “You have a magnificent house.”
“Thank you. Though I am loathe to say it, I have very little input in the décor of the place, Marise can be quite strong-minded in that regard.”
Sully’s lip quirked, “Yes, from the impression I garnered from our brief conversation, I would concur. Any man who marries her would have their work cut out.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” he gestured to the small library on their left rather than the sitting room he would take most guests to, “Shall we?”
They settled into the room on two arm chairs with a small table in between, “I hope your journey wasn’t too arduous.”
“Not at all, we do not live that far apart after all.”
“Yes, I forget that, living here amidst all this grass. It is easy to forget you are not alone in the world.”
Sully was looking past Reginald at the gardens through the window behind him, “The grounds do seem quite handsome.”
“We shall have to take a walk together sometime.” Reginald found having to remind himself to not stare at Sully’s face for prolonged period of time somewhat taxing, “On a side note, it will just be us two for the weekend.”
The man met his gaze, a curious expression, “Indeed?”
“My sister has gone with friends to Mr Pemberton’s for the weekend.”
His eyes softened in underst
anding, “Were you not invited?”
“I was, but I declined, Miss Slade tried to convince me to bring you along but I assumed you, like I, would prefer a weekend in solitude.”
Their conversation picked up from where they had left discussing the pros and cons of society’s constrictions and they found themselves lost within it until a gong sounded signaling dinner in an hour. The noise caused them to shift and only then had Reginald noticed how much the two men were leaning in towards each other.
“Another of societies trivialities,” Sully considered, “Dressing again for dinner.”
Reginald chuckled leaning back slightly, “For what other excuse would we have to wear our best?”
“If it weren’t for dressing for dinner, would we need a best?” Sully counted.
“Touché.”
Sully nodded with a realer smile than he had seen on the man before playing on his lips, “That being said though, perhaps a chance to freshen up would not go amiss.”
Reginald then realized he had monopolized Sully to the extent he hadn’t allowed the poor man to get properly settled, “Oh, please accept my apologies, I should have offered you a chance sooner. Marise would scold me for such poor hosting.”
“Nonsense,” Sully said, “Your hosting skills this far have thus far left me thoroughly entertained.”
They stood simultaneously, forcing them a little too close together, so close that he could feel Sully’s heat as if it was his own and he found himself wanting to close the gap yet still, found his eyes meeting Sully’s who seemed entranced as well before Reginald remembered himself and took a step back, “Please let me show you to your room?”
Sully nodded curtly and followed him out and up the stairs, “As you can imagine we have a rather large number of guest rooms,” Reginald said as they walked, “But as there are only the two of us I set you up in one of the family rooms, it is much nicer.”
“How very courteous of you,” he responded and there was something amused in the way he said it.
“We have more than Marise and I could fill, even if we tried.”
He walked past his own room, pointing it out in passing, if the other man even registered the information he made no show of it and they shortly arrived at Sully’s room, two doors down from his. “The girls rooms are obviously on another floor, but this is yours,” he said as he opened the door into the room. Within it there was a wardrobe, chest of draws, a fireplace with two arm chairs in front of, a dressing table and of course, a four poster bed. It was tastefully decorated in greens and Reginald had to admit it was perhaps his favorite bedroom aside from his own.
Sully’s eyes swept across the room before he looked down at Reginald, “I’ll leave you to get settled in,” the smaller man said, moving back and making the short journey back to his own room. He tried to get dressed as quickly as possible, hurrying his poor valet along perhaps cruelly, but he wanted to get back to Sully as quickly as soon as he could. He took a deep breath and opened the door and moments later he heard the sounds of the other man stepping out, he looked down at him and smiled.
The other man looked even better than before, his hair slicked back where it was loose before and the way his close hung against his body, Reginald felt his heart clench.
“All ready?” he asked as the other man walked towards him, “Shall we then?”
They slowly walked downstairs together before turning into the parlor for pre-dinner drinks and he found he wanted to know everything about the man before him, “Tell me about your estate?”
Sully smiled briefly as he sat next to him on the small sofa, “It is not as grand as yours but it has its perks. It is set across from a small lake I often swam in as a boy. There are trees surrounding most of the walls and I am rather partial to the gardens, when it is spring and everything is in full bloom it creates a beautiful picture, I remember when my mother and I used to just sit out in the evenings.” Reginald was beginning to get the impression the other man was very fond of them, the way he spoke with subtle longing but that could also be from his reminiscing but he soon stopped himself.
“It sounds lovely, I should love to visit sometime,” Reginald said to fill the air after the other man’s abrupt change.
“You are welcome any time.”
“I may take you up on that sooner rather than later, Marise has decided recently she wants us to throw a party and I can scarcely hide away if I am host. Hiding from her may prove useful.”
“I am sure a party thrown by you would be most enjoyable,” Sully said earnestly which did surprise considering how they both disliked them.
“Would you come then? If I were to hold one?”
“Of course.”
He found himself smiling even though he knew it was most likely more to do with what society dictates, “Thank you, my friend.”
***
The following morning Reginald was surprised to find Sully’s already at the table before him, they had parted not long after dinner but the smaller man had had a hard time drifting to sleep, thoughts of Sully’s body plaguing his mind. It wasn’t the first time he had found himself attracted to another male and he had gotten quite adept at ignoring his desires to maintain a friendship, unfortunately with this particular inclination he had been stuck unable to surpass it.
“Good morning,” Sully said from behind the paper.
“I really most apologise for being such a bad host,” Reginald responded sitting next to him, accidentally knocking knees as he did and feeling a pleasure at the touch.
Sully snorted and said nothing, continuing his reading of the world events. They had never much interested him and he had to rely on any big news from Marise, “Anything interesting?”
“Scandal, misery or politics, take your pick?”
Politics had always bored Reginald, he found both parties views biased and not to be representational, and it was far too early for misery, “Scandal, I suppose.”
“Do you know of a Miss Theodosia Templeton?”
“I believe I have heard the name before, yes,” Reginald mused, another rich family but they ran in a different circle to him.
“She has apparently run away and married the chauffer.” Sully sounded completely uninterested.
“I should have hoped that they have better things to report than that!” Reginald said, once more exasperated and societies need to gossip. “I do not believe who any person loves or marries should be subject to such condescension from society.”
Sully lowered his paper, “That is quite forward thinking on your behalf, Rowe, I commend you.”
“Reginald, please,” He said smiling before continuing, “I would not think to choose for or judge who Marise were to marry as it is her decision who she spends the rest of her lifetime with.”
“Quite rightly so,” the other man considered, “Have you travelled much, Reginald?”
He loved the way Sully wrapped his mouth around the word and had to quickly pull himself together to answer the question, “Not much,” he admitted, “With my parents dying when I had scarcely finished schooling, I never had the opportunity.”
“I am sorry,” the other said automatically.
“It’s quite alright,” It had been almost a decade now and he’d come to terms with the loss, “It was quite sudden, my father had a heart attack and died and my mother drowned he wallows away. It was barely two months before she passed as well. Marise didn’t take it too well, as you can imagine, but she’s back to herself now. I still miss them.”
“Of course you do,” Elias said placing a gentle hand on his arm.
“Thank you, my friend,” Reginald said smiling a little weakly.
He removed his hand and the smaller man ate another slice of toast before it was clear they were both finished, Felton clearing the table for them, “How about that walk?” Reginald asked as they stood to leave.
Elias nodded and they went straight outside. It was a nice day, a subtle chill and breeze in the air signaling the turn of the s
eason but not enough so to require any extra layers. He took them down past the house and considering what the man had previously say regarding the garden opted to take him through his own.
“I do like the gardens, but I did always prefer playing in the trees,” Reginald said as they weaved their way amongst the shrubberies, “Marise and I used to get ourselves into such states,” he chuckled at the memory, “My mother used to look scandalized when we returned.”
“It must have been nice to have a sister to share all of this with,” the other man commented, occasionally glancing down to where Reginald stood by his side.
“It was, I cannot fathom how I would have survived should I have been subjected to all this on my own. I remember when I had to first deal with the estates, it was rather arduous and frustrating to not know what I was supposed to do, I had worked myself up a bit and looked myself away in stupor only for her to come and find me and comfort me later that day.”
“How old were you?” Sully asked his voice somewhat softer due to the nature of the conversation.
“Scarcely eighteen, and lucky I were for I fear what would have happened to my sister otherwise,” the other man nodded in agreement and Reginald realized he had been talking purely about himself, “But that is enough about me, have you any siblings?”
“No,” Sully admitted, “I should have liked one, though. My mother and father were good to me and I never went without attention.”
Noticing the past tense, Reginald slowed the walk to look him in the eye, “Are they-?”
“Yes, five years past.”
“My apologies my friend, I may be comfortable talking about what has past but it was not my intention to dredge up any bad memories for you.”
Elias chuckled a little and looked at him with soft eyes, “Worry not, I am not as fragile as that.”
They continued to walk a little while further and where just leaving the shrubberies when a rogue branch tripped Reginald up sending him to the ground, Sully turned immediately, face full of worry, “Reginald!” He crouched down to where the smaller man had changed position to favor his ankle, “Are you okay?”
Omega's Joy: An MPREG Romance Page 11
