The Bridge of Silver Wings

by John Wiltshire

  It started to snow when they reached the outskirts of Exeter. It wasn’t settling, of course, this low, but as they began the familiar climb to the moors it became increasingly white. Ben had been extremely quiet the whole trip. For him. And he hadn’t asked to stop for food every half hour. Which, again, was unlike him. They came up the very familiar narrow lane to the collapsed gate. Ben steeled himself. He had to see it sometime, he supposed.

  § § §

  Nikolas had Ben stop the car at the top of the ridge with the view down into the valley. He’d timed it just right, as he’d planned. The sun had just risen in the east and was flooding the little valley with weak winter sunshine. The snow was thick on the ground now—something he couldn’t take credit for, but it did add to the impression he’d wanted to create. This was either one of the dumbest things he’d ever done in his life or one of the most right, and for the whole year of organising it, supervising it and paying for it, he hadn’t been able to decide.

  There was a house in the valley. Not an ancient manor house of stone with small, dark windows and heavy, wood-panelled rooms, but a house of glass. It appeared to float, which Nikolas supposed, in a way, it did. It was one of the most innovative designs for a house ever built in England, and he’d used his connections with someone who had very strong opinions about architecture and who owned most of Devon and Cornwall to push through his plans for this house on this site. It was built in two wings, one on each side of the stream, and the wings were joined by a glass bridge that enclosed a swim lane of pure blue glass alongside a walkway over the dark brown water of the river and pond. The rear wing was built out of the side of the tor, a vast prow of glass supported by tension cables anchored into the granite. It was a complete anachronism for what had once been a place that harboured secrets and lies and small, dark spaces.

  But it was Ben’s land, not his.

  Nikolas had commissioned this vast house of glass to be built on Ben’s land without asking or consulting him. It was his taste, his desire to live in the sunshine and not the shadows anymore that had driven its design, his desire to spend twenty million pounds of his own fortune on creating this for them. He’d done it. Always him. He knew this, and he was afraid.

  § § §

  Ben couldn’t take it in. His mind seemed to shut down on what he was seeing, just as it had shut down on the horror of his time in the coffin. He drove on down into the grounds, which were now not overgrown, but beautiful. The tennis court was restored with a small oak pavilion to one side, matching the design and construction of an oak stable block. He pulled up outside the house in the same place he had a year ago with his piece of paper alongside him declaring that as far as he was concerned he belonged to Nikolas for life.

  And suddenly, he got it.

  The fog and darkness that had lived in his brain for the whole year since the horror just lifted. It lifted on glass and sunshine and brilliant white snow, which crunched underfoot as they went into the house.

  This was Nikolas’s way of saying he too was Ben’s for life. He couldn’t actually just come out and say this, of course. He was still Nikolas, after all. But he’d acknowledged it pretty effectively, in his own way.

  No shadows, no darkness, no lies.

  To Be Continued in This Other Country…

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  John spent twenty-two years in the military, perfecting the art of looking busy whilst secretly writing. He left as a senior officer when his tunnel was ready for use. He is now living in New Zealand until he can raise enough money to leave. Although he has no plans to return to the army, he can occasionally be caught polishing his medals.

  TRADEMARKS ACKNOWLEDGMENT

  The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

  Time Magazine: Time, Inc.

  This Morning: ITV, plc.

  Jonathan Ross: British Broadcasting Corporation

  Google: Google, Inc.

  Financial Times: Pearson PLC

  Beechcraft: Beechcraft Corporation

  Ducati: Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A.

  Merc – Mercedes: Daimler AG

  Range Rover: Rover: Jaguar Land Rover, Limited.

  Lada: AvtoVAZ

  Louis Vuitton: Louis Vuitton Malletier S.A.

  Hugo Boss: Hugo Boss AG

  Hostel: Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation

  Armani: Giorgio Armani S.p.A.

  The Economist: The Economist Newspaper Ltd.

  The Independent: Independent Print Limited

  The Sun: News Group Newspapers Ltd.

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  GLBT RESOURCES

  RAINBOW ROMANCE WRITERS

  Raising the Bar for LGBT Romance

  RRW offers support and advocacy to career-focused authors, expanding the horizons of romance. Changing minds, one heart at a time. www.rainbowromancewriters.com

  THE TREVOR PROJECT

  The Trevor Project operates the only nationwide, around-the-clock crisis and suicide prevention helpline for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Every day, The Trevor Project saves lives though its free and confidential helpline, its website and its educational services. If you or a friend are feeling lost, alone, confused or in crisis, please call The Trevor Helpline. You’ll be able to speak confidentially with a trained counselor 24/7.

  The Trevor Helpline: 866-488-7386

  On the Web: http://www.thetrevorproject.org/

  THE GAY MEN’S DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PROJECT

  Founded in 1994, The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project is
a grassroots, non-profit organization founded by a gay male survivor of domestic violence and developed through the strength, contributions and participation of the community. The Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project supports victims and survivors through education, advocacy and direct services. Understanding that the serious public health issue of domestic violence is not gender specific, we serve men in relationships with men, regardless of how they identify, and stand ready to assist them in navigating through abusive relationships.

  GMDVP Helpline: 800.832.1901

  On the Web: http://gmdvp.org/

  THE GAY & LESBIAN ALLIANCE AGAINST DEFAMATION/GLAAD EN ESPAÑOL

  The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.

  On the Web: http://www.glaad.org/

  GLAAD en español: http://www.glaad.org/espanol/bienvenido.php

  SERVICEMEMBERS LEGAL DEFENSE NETWORK

  Servicemembers Legal Defense Network is a nonpartisan, nonprofit, legal services, watchdog and policy organization dedicated to ending discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT).The SLDN provides free, confidential legal services to all those impacted by DADT and related discrimination. Since 1993, its inhouse legal team has responded to more than 9,000 requests for assistance. In Congress, it leads the fight to repeal DADT and replace it with a law that ensures equal treatment for every servicemember, regardless of sexual orientation. In the courts, it works to challenge the constitutionality of DADT.

  SLDN Call: 800-538-7418

  PO Box 65301 or (202) 328-FAIR

  Washington DC 20035-5301 e-mail: sldn@sldn.org

  On the Web: http://sldn.org/

  THE GLBT NATIONAL HELP CENTER

  The GLBT National Help Center is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that is dedicated to meeting the needs of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community and those questioning their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an outgrowth of the Gay & Lesbian National Hotline, which began in 1996 and now is a primary program of The GLBT National Help Center. It offers several different programs including two national hotlines that help members of the GLBT community talk about the important issues that they are facing in their lives. It helps end the isolation that many people feel, by providing a safe environment on the phone or via the internet to discuss issues that people can’t talk about anywhere else. The GLBT National Help Center also helps other organizations build the infrastructure they need to provide strong support to our community at the local level.

  National Hotline: 1-888-THE-GLNH (1-888-843-4564)

  National Youth Talkline 1-800-246-PRIDE (1-800-246-7743)

  On the Web: http://www.glnh.org/

  e-mail: info@glbtnationalhelpcenter.org

  If you’re a GLBT and questioning student heading off to university, you should know that there are resources on campus for you. Here’s just a sample:

  GLBT SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES

  http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/tell-us-about-an-lgbt-scholarship

  Syracuse University

  http://lgbt.syr.edu/

  Texas A&M

  http://glbt.tamu.edu/

  Tulane University

  http://tulane.edu/studentaffairs/oma/lgbt/index.cfm

  University of Alaska http://www.uaf.edu/woodcenter/leadership/organizations/active/index.xml?id=61

  University of California, Davis

  http://lgbtrc.ucdavis.edu/

  University of California, San Francisco

  http://lgbt.ucsf.edu/

  University of Colorado

  http://www.colorado.edu/GLBTQRC/

  University of Florida

  http://www.multicultural.ufl.edu/lgbt/

  University of Hawaii, Mānoa

  http://manoa.hawaii.edu/lgbt/

  University of Utah

  http://www.sa.utah.edu/lgbt/

  University of Virginia

  http://www.virginia.edu/deanofstudents/lgbt/

  Vanderbilt University

  http://www.vanderbilt.edu/lgbtqi/