The Duke of Tremont

Chapter 11

Warning: unsafe sex

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Dear Father,

I hope this letter finds you well. I know you have never been one for unnecessary pleasantries so I will cut to the chase.

As you may realize in one week’s time I will be celebrating the date of my birth. As you know I will be eighteen, the age of majority. As an adult I will be able to make my own choices.

Father I am sorry but I will not be going to the Monastery in Harrisburg. I know you think it will cure me of my wicked ways, but believe me it will not. I am who I am father and that will not change no matter what you try to do to change me.

On that note I know you do not want a ‘pervert’ as your heir so I would like to officially renounce my title as The Heir of Westlake. I’m not sure I ever really wanted it to begin with. I am an artist, not a landholder; the business of running the holdings really never interested me. I would like to suggest that you give the title to Molly. You know how much she admires you and how she used to love to follow you around and watch what you do. Duke Brian has informed me that the King and his council recently voted that women may now hold such titles so there would be no problem there. Molly is a very sensible girl so I‘m sure she will marry someone whom will deserve to rule at her side.

I am sorry to disappoint you Father, but I hope you can understand. I will be staying here in Lofton if you need to contact me. The Duke is very kind and has said I may stay as long as I would like. I have met some very nice people and feel very comfortable here.

I love Westlake and will always think of it as home. I would very much like to return for a visit some day if you would allow it. I miss all of you.

Your Son,

Justin Taylor

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Justin finished the copy of his letter and folded it up tucking into his tunic. He folded the first letter and sealed it with a blob of hot wax. He pressed his signet into the wax and quickly called for Emmett. When he appeared Justin shoved the whole packet to him, which also included letters to his mother and Molly; “here, please see that a courier takes these to Westlake right away.”

“Yes, My Lord,” said Emmett as he studied his young master. “Justin, may I ask if you are feeling well? Is your shoulder bothering you?”

“What?” Justin said distractedly, then seemed to snap out of his daze, “oh no, I’m fine Emmett. My shoulder is fine. It is healing well, though still a bit sore. I just have a lot on my mind.”

“Is it your father?”

Justin smiled at Emmett, who was so kind and always trying to make him feel better. “Yes it is Emmett. I just wish he would accept me.”

“I wish that too, Justin,” Emmett said quietly as he squeezed the young man’s shoulder and turned to complete his errand. “Oh,” he called over his shoulder, “I almost forgot to tell you. A page came by earlier and it seems that the Duke has requested that you join him in his chamber for dinner.”

Justin’s face lit up in a brilliant smile; “is it to be just the two of us Emmett?” He asked almost shyly.

Emmett’s eyes twinkled at his young master; “that is what I understand My Lord.”

Emmett did not think it possible but Justin’s smile grew even bigger. Of course he knew of the affair between his master and Duke Brian, it was no secret in the castle, though it was not spoken about publicly. Emmett knew Justin was quite smitten with the handsome Prince and he thought the feelings were returned though it was harder to read the imperturbable Duke. Though Deb did tell him just the other day that Brian had never acted this way with any of his lovers before. Emmett sighed inwardly and hoped that Justin was not going to be hurt.

“Thank you Emmett,” Justin interrupted his thoughts; “please send a message to Duke Brian that I would very much like to join him for dinner.”

“Yes, My Lord,” Emmett nodded; “I shall not wait up,” he winked at Justin and then left the room.

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Father Ronald made his way to Earl Craig’s study for their nightly glass of Sherry. He was unsettled by his meeting earlier with the representative of a very different Duke and Duchess of the realm. It seemed that Duke Sapperstein and his wife, The Duchess Claire, who also happened to be a princess of the royal family, were not pleased with the little progress he had made with their vassal. Earl Craig was loyal to King Jonathan and therefore, a hindrance to the couple’s plan to renounce their ties to the kingdom of Pennington and make their lands of Balybonne into it’s own country.

It had been easy to convince the Earl to get rid of his son. The boy had practically done that himself with his own perverted behavior, but Father Ronald knew that treason was different story. The Earl was a man of honor who would never betray his king.

The priest paused before the door to Craig’s study and took a deep breath. He must move his plan along quickly or risk the wrath of The Duke of Balybonne, which was harsh at the best of times. He reached up and knocked gently on the door.

“Come in Father,” called Craig.

Father Ronald opened the door and entered; “good evening My Lord. I trust you are well.”

“Uh yes,” the earl seemed distracted by something he was reading. He glanced up for a moment with a furrowed brow, “I’m sorry Father, please sit.”

The priest sat across from Craig and poured himself a glass of Sherry. He was silent until Craig had finished what he was reading. The other man seemed rather troubled, but Father Ronald decided not to push so he waited until Craig made the first move.

Finally the earl stood dropping the letter on the desk in front of Father Ronald as he moved to stand by the window staring out into the night.

The priest picked up the letter and began to read:

Dear Father...

When he finished reading it was all Father Ronald could do not to jump up and shout for joy. Young Justin had just removed himself as heir and now all it would take was a little convincing on his part to get his nephew into place as The Earl of Westlake.

“Well,” said Craig when he saw that Father Ronald was done reading, “what say you about this?”

The priest cleared his throat; “I think the boy has made a wise decision My Lord. He had obviously been in the clutches of Duke Brian for too long and cannot be saved. He has just saved you the trouble of taking his title away from him.”

Craig sighed; “he is still my son,” he said with a hint of sadness in his voice; “I had hoped...”

Father Ronald did not let him finish; “forgive me My Lord, but you do not have time to hope. You are not getting any younger and you must secure an heir.”

“I’m hardly an old man yet Father;” Craig snapped back; “I believe I do have a little time to work this out.”

“I am sorry My Lord. I did not mean to imply anything, it’s just that one never knows what could happen and I know you will feel better if the future of Westlake is taken care of.”

“Yes, I know you are right Father;” Craig moved to return to his desk and sat down; “I suppose it will be up to Molly now.”

“My Lord I hardly think the management of your lands should be left up to a woman. You must choose a husband for Molly as soon as possible.”

“Husband?” Craig looked at the father as if he was mad; “she is only fourteen!”

“Almost fifteen My Lord, which is the legal age of marriage in Pennington.”

“That is hardly observed anymore and well you know it! My daughter is still but a child!”

“My Lord you must secure an heir and train him properly. All of this takes time. Surely Molly knows that she would one day have to fulfill an arranged match.”

“I had hoped as our youngest and a girl that she could marry for love,” Craig ran a hand through his hair.

“Perhaps it could be both My Lord.”

Craig looked at the priest sharply; “what do you mean?”

Father Ronald smiled innocently and leaned forward as if sharing a secret; “my nephew Christopher is quite fond of the her and I think she likes him,” he lied. Think on it My Lord. He is from a good family; he is educated and shows excellent leadership abilities. He is not so much older than Molly so that it would be an unpleasant match for her.”

Craig looked at Father Ronald thoughtfully. He liked Christopher very much and had come to think of the boy as a son; especially in Justin’s absence. He did not like having the future of his lands up in the air. With Justin off doing God knows what and being a disgrace to the family name he very much felt a need for things at home to be settled. “I shall think on it Father. I will talk to Molly first thing tomorrow.”

“That is fine My Lord, but do not let her make your decisions. She is just a woman and cannot know what is best. It is her duty to do what is best for Westlake and the kingdom. Things cannot be left unsettled for long,” the priest had guessed Craig’s thoughts and was using them to manipulate the other man; “I think it should be done as soon as your daughter turns fifteen.”

Craig once again ran a hand through his hair as he tried to think clearly; “I think you are right,” Craig responded in a somewhat defeated voice.

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Janniver and one of her ladies stood outside the door to her husband’s study. She had started to open the door to speak to her husband about a letter she had received from Justin when she heard voices and realized Craig was not alone. She opened the door a tiny crack and listened in on the conversation. Now she was leaning against the wall willing her heart to stop beating erratically. She gathered her wits and grabbed her lady’s arm moving both of them down the hall quickly to her suite. “Grace;” she said in an anxious tone; “find a page and have him go to my uncle;” she scribbled a note as she spoke; “no one is to see this but him. Do you understand?” Janniver sealed the note and handed it to the girl.

“Yes My Lady;” Grace curtsied and hurried out the door.

Janniver stared at the door for a moment wondering just when her husband had completely lost his mind. She didn’t trust Father Ronald as far as she could throw him. The man had obviously been instrumental in making Justin leave and Craig had obviously fallen under his spell. Well Molly was not going to marry that boor Christopher if she had anything to say about it. Her baby was not going to be forced to marry at fifteen, or any other age if she did not so choose. If Justin did not want to be heir, as he had said in his letter to her, then Molly was perfectly capable of running this land with or without a husband. Janniver knew the law and knew first hand the pain of an arranged marriage to a stranger. She moved to her wardrobe and pulled out a black cloak making ready to meet with her uncle and plead with him to take her baby to safety.

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Back in Lofton another Taylor child who would certainly never marry ran a hand lazily up and down the body lying next to him in bed. The two had once again shared an intimate dinner, which had led to yet another sordid session in the duke’s rather large bed.

Brian lay with an arm slung over his head trying to catch his breath from their latest bout of lovemaking. He was enjoying Justin’s gentle caresses more than he would ever admit to the boy. Justin ran a hand over the soft hair of Brian’s armpit and started to move up his arm; “what’s this?” He sat up to examine a small mark on Brian’s bicep.

Brian quickly moved his arm down; “it’s nothing.”

Justin tried to lift the arm again; “is it a birthmark? It looks to be the shape of a star.” When Brian refused to budge his arm again Justin leaned in to place gentle kisses on his neck; “please show me My Lord,” he purred; “you know I will just look after you fall asleep.”

“Oh all right!” Brian bit out in frustration; “you are the most maddening person I know. And stop calling me My Lord!” He lifted his arm and let Justin examine him.

“I think you secretly like it when I call you that;” Justin said conversationally as he once again moved to inspect the mark. Brian just rolled his eyes as a response. “It is a perfect star!” Justin exclaimed, “how did you do that?”

“I didn’t;” Brian answered, “I was born with it.”

“That’s amazing,” Justin replied as he outlined the mark with his finger.

“Not amazing,” Brian responded wryly, “just another reason for my father to hate me.”

“What?” Justin asked confused.

“When he saw the mark, he thought it was the mark of evil spirits. I’m sure he was probably drunk at the time. He said I had been marked and that I had tainted blood. When he really got into his cups he would sometimes go so far as to say he was not my real father at all. That I was demon seed planted by the devil. Of course he thought I proved his point when he found out I preferred men.”

“That’s ridiculous!” Exclaimed Justin, “how on earth could a king be so ignorant?”

Brian smiled at his young lover’s indignity for him; “the love of wine and ale can do strange things to a man Justin, even a king. My father had many strange notions and this kingdom did not fare well under his rule. Lucky for all of us my brother vowed to be different.”

“Well I still think it’s stupid, too much wine or not. I think it is just a very beautiful birthmark; just one more thing to love about you.”

Brian laughed; “you are amazing,” he kissed Justin firmly on the lips and then pulled him into his arms laying them both back onto the pillows. “If you talk with Mel she will tell you it is not just a birthmark,” Brian said with a hint of humor and something else in his voice.

“Oh, what does she say?” Justin asked with great curiosity, having come to greatly respect Mel’s gift of healing and the craft she practiced.

Brian sighed heavily; “she says it is a mark of favor from the Faeries.”

Justin tried to pull away and sit up, but Brian held him firm in his arms; “what?!” Justin exclaimed.

“Just as I said; she said that the Faeries leave their mark on certain people, giving them special talents and gifts.”

“Then what are your gifts?” Justin breathed out with a bit of awe in his voice.

Brian could not believe he was telling all this to Justin. Mel had seen the mark one day while stitching a cut he had gotten on his side and had been very excited about it. Brian had sworn her to secrecy when she had explained to him what it was. He had never told another sole, not even Michael or Lindsay, and now he was spilling everything out to Justin. He sighed again; “I have the gift of The Sight,” he said quietly.

This time Justin did sit up; “you can see the future?”

“Yes and no,” replied Brian as he placed a hand over his eyes; “I have dreams that sometimes come true, or partially true and I get feelings.”

“What type of feelings?” Justin asked eagerly.

“Sometimes they are feelings of danger; that’s what led me to you that day in the woods. Something drew me to the clearing, I didn’t really hear anything, I just felt I needed to go in that direction.”

“Amazing,” Justin gushed; “Brian, that’s so exciting!”

“It does not scare you?” Brian was certain the boy would have been out the door by now.

“Of course not,” said Justin sensibly, “you do not scare me so why should your gift?”

Brian shook his head at the boy’s simple logic; “you are the one who is amazing Sunshine;” he said as he pulled Justin back to him. “You cannot tell anyone. You and Mel are the only ones who know and I want to keep it that way.”

Justin smiled at the thought of holding one of Brian’s secrets. It was just one more thing to keep him linked to this man that he loved so much. He decided this would be a good time to show Brian the letter; “I promise I won’t tell anyone,” he vowed. Suddenly he moved off the bed and began to sort through the clothing on the floor.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Looking for something,” said Justin as he tossed a shirt out of the way, “ah here it is.” He pulled the folded parchment out of his tunic and climbed back onto the bed, “I wanted to show you this.”

He handed the paper to Brian who unfolded it cautiously, “what is this Justin?”

“It is a letter I sent to my father days ago. I did not want you to see it until I knew it would have had time to reach him. I knew you would have tried to stop me.”

At that Brian quickly opened the letter and his heart tightened in his chest as he began to read:

Dear Father...

He finished the letter and looked to his young lover; “Justin, what have you done?”

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