The Duke of Tremont

Chapter 14

Warning: unsafe sex

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Four days later the King arrived in a somewhat subdued fashion. Of course he traveled with a few of his close advisors and an honor guard, but Justin had to admit he was a bit disappointed by the lack of pageantry. Although to be fair Brian had warned him that his brother was a different sort of king, who really put up with all the pomp and circumstance of his title only when it was absolutely necessary.

Brian and his party were waiting in the castle yard to meet the king’s party; “brother!” King Jonathan called as he gracefully dismounted his horse and made his way to Brian, “it is so good to see you! You look wonderful.”

Justin watched the two men embrace and was shocked at the resemblance. Both men had the same shock of chestnut colored hair, though the king wore his a bit shorter than Brian, and both had the same profile with strong jaw and nose. The main difference was the king’s dark brown eyes to Brian’s hazel.

“It’s good to see you too,” replied Brian to his brother, “indeed it has been too long.” He led Jonathan over to the waiting party of men; “my liege,” he stated formally, “this is Justin Taylor, The Earl of Westlake’s son.”

Justin bowed to the king and the king signaled for him to stand up; “it is nice to meet you young Justin,” he said kindly; “your father is a very loyal supporter to our crown.”

“Thank you, Your Highness,” replied Justin; “he has always spoken very highly of you.”

The king inclined his head in assent while Brian continued the introductions; “this is Arms Master Benjamin Bruckner,” he continued, “he is Justin’s bodyguard and teacher. He has also become a trusted friend these past few months.”

Ben paid homage and the king spoke again; “well, Ben,” he said with a smile, “any friend of my brother’s is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you Your Highness,” replied Ben.

“Of course you know Bishop Vic,” spoke Brian again.

“Hello Bishop;” the king smiled; “you are late in reporting to me. I see you stopped here to be coddled by your family.”

“I do apologize,” Vic returned Jonathan’s smile; “yes, My Liege, I was a bit way laid, but can you blame me? Your brother keeps a very hospitable household.”

Jonathan laughed out loud; “that he does Vic!” With that two boys approached, one looked to be in his early teens and the other about nine or so. “Ah, here you are boys,” said Jonathan.

“Surely these two giants cannot be Hunter and Charles?” Asked Brian in mock surprise.

“It is we Uncle Brian!” Spoke the younger boy with a giggle as Brian reached out to tickle him.

“Justin and Ben, meet two of my nephews.” Brian put an arm around each of the boys; “this tall beanpole is Hunter, whom I am guessing is serving as his father’s squire?” He looked to the boy who nodded. “And this is the youngest of the brood, Charles, who must be a page by now.”

“Yes! I am a page to the King of Pennington,” said Charles with an air of self-importance.

The men laughed; “well Page Charles;“ said Brian with an air of importance, “please say hello to Lord Justin and Master Benjamin.”

“Hello,” the boy said as he held out a hand for the men to shake.

“It is nice to meet you, Your Highness;” Justin responded with a bow using Charles’ formal title as a prince.

The young boy beamed at him and his brother gave out a hand to shake as well; “I am pleased to meet you as well,” he added politely.

Justin took Hunter’s hand; “a pleasure Highness.”

Hunter smiled; “please just call me Hunter. It feels odd to be called Highness unless we are being boring at a formal function.”

Justin smiled and the King caught his breath at the brightness of it, glancing quickly at the way his brother was looking at the young man. Justin spoke again; “thank you Hunter I will.”

“Where is the rest of your family brother?” Brian asked. “We seem to be missing a few.”

Jonathan smiled; “I thought this would be a good time for young Brian to flex his muscles as heir a bit and Timothy is serving as his squire.”

“Lindsay will be so disappointed that Queen Elaine did not come.”

“Well as Queen, she thought it best to stay and help counsel the heir. Especially when there is some uncertainty going on in the Kingdom.”

The brothers exchanged looks, but knew they would have to talk privately later about their suspicions of their sister and her husband. “Well, I believe Deb has indeed, produced a banquet fit for a king tonight,” said Brian. “There should be just enough time for you to freshen up and also meet my new son before dinner.”

“Wonderful!” Exclaimed the King, “lead the way little brother,” he wrapped an arm around Brian’s shoulders and the two moved off into the palace together.

“Good, dinner soon;” commented Hunter, “I’m starving!”

Justin laughed, happy to see Brian so pleased to be with his brother again; “me too,” he agreed, “come on,” he said to Hunter and Charles, “I’ll show you where to go.”

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“Your Highness, My Lady,” Craig bowed stiffly and Janniver curtsied as they greeted the Duke and Duchess of Balybonne at the entrance to their home; “please be welcome. I’m sorry we are not prepared for a visit from you, I was not expecting your arrival.”

“We did not want you to expect it;” answered Claire briskly; “we have business to discuss with our largest landholder. Is there a place more private where we could meet?”

Craig was taken aback by the lady’s somewhat harsh tone. Truth be told he did not like Duke Sapperstein or his wife. It was only the unfortunate circumstance of his family lands being a part of Balybonne that he even tolerated the man. He thought him to be dishonorable and untrustworthy. Claire took after her father, King Jack in many ways, she was a cold and unfeeling bitch and Craig had always disliked the woman intensely just as he had disliked her father. He knew that Janniver felt the same way and could tell by her silence so far that she was feeling as uneasy about this visit as he himself was.

He cleared his throat to address the pair; “of course we can retire to my study right away, but perhaps you would like refreshment first.”

“No,” clipped the Duke, “we have no time for that. Please show us to your study immediately.”

Craig frowned slightly and exchanged a look with Janniver as he nodded to the pair and led them all to his study.

Once there The Duke made himself comfortable in Craig’s own chair with Claire seating herself next to him. Janniver and Craig reluctantly sat in the guest chairs across from them. Craig was surprised when a moment later the door opened and Father Ronald and his nephew Christopher Hobbs stepped into the room.

“May I ask what is going on Your Highness?” Craig asked politely as a feeling of dread rose in his stomach.

“Of course you may;” the duke replied with a smile that did not reach his eyes, “it is like this Lord Craig,” he continued, “my wife and I plan to separate Balybonne from the kingdom of Pennington to form a country which we will rule.”

Craig stared in disbelief; “surely this is some kind of joke? That is treason! King Jonathan will not let it happen!”

“Ah, therein lies the problem,” spoke the smarmy Duke, “of course King Jonathan will try to stop us, that is why we need your help.”

“Are you mad? I will not help you do this. Pennington is my country and I am loyal to it and her king!” Craig exclaimed loudly.

“Even when your king consorts with and takes advice from deviant heretics like The Duke of Tremont?” Asked Lady Claire in an icy voice, “my brother has lost sight of what is important for this kingdom. He is letting the morals that my father treasured so highly slip through his fingers and letting this land turn into a joke. The new laws he is passing are ridiculous; allowing women to hold titles and permitting people to love whomever they choose. It is sick and shameful. I blame The Duke of Tremont. He has put all those ideas into Jonathan’s head. He is marked with evil you know. I have seen it myself and now he has our king under his spell!”

“Correct me if I am wrong Your Highness;” Janniver finally spoke in voice equally as icy; “but is not the Duke of Tremont your very own flesh and blood as well?”

Claire fixed a hate filled gaze on the other woman; “do not speak of such things in my presence ever again. Brian is not my brother. He is perverted and evil, surely doomed for hell!”

“All of this simply because he prefers to bed men instead of women. Your judgment seems a bit harsh My Lady,” countered Janniver, meeting Claire’s eyes.

“Janniver!” Craig exclaimed in horror at his wife’s candor.

Claire narrowed her eyes; “perhaps you should not worry about my judgment of Brian and worry more about your own son who is now in the man’s clutches;” she sneered, “I have seen young Justin, surely he is too beautiful for the duke to pass up. I‘m sure by now your son‘s own soul is in jeopardy by Brian‘s antics.” Her final remark was aimed at Craig and from the look on the man’s face she could tell she had the desired affect on the him.

“Stop it!” Exclaimed Craig, “Please stop!”

“I won’t stop,” retorted Claire. “Is this the kind of behavior you want running rampant in this kingdom? That is why we want Balybonne; to make a haven for moral, upstanding people.”

Craig stood and moved to the window trying to clear his mind. He thought of Prince Brian and his son and the things they might be doing together. It was wrong and a sin, it went against everything he was taught. He thought of Janniver’s staunch support of Justin, clinging to a mother’s love no matter what. He thought of how much he detested Sapperstein and Claire and what a terrible king and queen the two would make. He thought of how his people would most likely suffer under their rule. Then he thought of Molly, his beautiful young daughter, and a terrible idea dawned on him.

He slowly turned to Father Ronald and Christopher; “you are in this aren’t you? You have been all along. That’s why you wanted Molly; to gain access to my title legally.” His heart lightened inside to know that Molly was safe with Justin. Yes safe with his son, who lived a life he knew he would not approve of yet was a much better choice than the traitorous snakes he almost gave her to.

Father Ronald stepped forward; “of course that was our plan. We must break away from Pennington before all of our souls are compromised. You must help us My Lord. Help to save your own soul even if it is too late for your children.”

“By God!” Craig snapped at the man; “you leave my children out of this! Their souls are no one’s business but theirs and God’s. You have no right to judge them or our King for that matter. Jonathan is a good and wise man and has been a much better king than old Black Jack ever thought to be. I’ll not help you! Get out! Get out of my house and off my land!”

Sapperstein stood slowly; “you forget Craig that this is technically our land too and since you refuse to help us we have no choice but to remove your title as Earl of Westlake and arrest you for treason.”

“You do not have that authority!” Sputtered Craig, “only my King can strip my title away from me.”

“And so that is what I am doing as King of Balybonne. Consider it my first official act. Guards!!” He called and three of the guards they had brought from their own household came in and took Craig by the arms.

“My God you are crazy,” commented a stunned Craig.

“Take them both away,” Claire commanded, “place them under house arrest until further notice.”

“Craig!” A frightened Janniver called to her husband.

“This will never work!” Craig called as he was dragged out of the room; “the King will not let you get away with it!”

When the couple had been taken away the four remaining occupants of the room turned to one another and smiled; “so Christopher,” Sapperstein addressed the younger man; “how does it feel to be the Earl of Westlake.”

“It feels very good My Lord,” came the satisfied reply; “very good indeed.”

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Brian’s dreams were disjointed and disturbing. He had visions of a man and woman that he recognized as Justin’s parents, having seen them at his father’s court when he was younger. There was a lingering sense of danger around them and it somehow tied in with his sister and her much reviled husband.

Then the dream image shifted and he was in pain. He moaned out loud as he felt the searing pain throughout his body. He felt sluggish, like he could not think straight, then as if sent by God a familiar face came into view. He smiled at the blond, who returned the smile with his own dazzling one as he spoke. Brian could not understand what Justin was saying to him, but before he could figure it out he once again sensed danger.

All of a sudden Justin’s smile turned to a grimace of pain and the beautiful young man was sinking to the ground. Brian could do nothing to stop it, seemingly stuck in molasses and unable to move.

He called out loudly as he sat up in his bed. Justin was up and next to him in an instant; “what is it Brian? Was it a nightmare?”

Brian raked a hand through his hair, ’please God let it just have been a dream,’ he thought to himself; “yes it was just a dream,” he told Justin as he tried to quickly regain his composure.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Justin asked as he gently rubbed circles on Brian’s back to calm him.

“No, I don’t remember,” Brian lied to the younger man.

“All right;” Justin knew that Brian was not telling him the truth, but he did not want to push. He then replaced his hand on Brian’s back with his lips, “since we’re both up now how about we do something other than talk about your dream?”

Brian laughed; “you are insatiable. I swear you’ll be the death of me,” he said even as he pulled Justin down on top of him and caught his lips in a fiery kiss.

Justin pulled away for a moment to get air; “at least you’ll die happy My Lord;” he whispered softly as he began to devour Brian’s neck.

“That I will Sunshine, that I will,” Brian whispered back and then let himself get lost in his young lover.

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