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Category: Erotica/Gay-Lesbian Erotica/Romance
Description: Edward Munrow has had a change in circumstances. Going from being a gentleman of few means to being a wealthy land owner in less than a day is difficult enough to imagine, but being blackmailed into a marriage he doesn't want by a Duke is just too much. Ned agrees to the marriage to keep his name out of the scandal sheets, and soon enough he is meeting Lady Jane, a member of the Duke's family, and her son, Henri, the Viscount Langton. Langton is a delightful surprise for Ned, a young man just coming into his own, ripe for the sorts of debauchery Ned is best at. The problem is that Langton brings out all of Ned's protective instincts, and that, along with a warning that the Duke will ruin him if he so much as lays a hand on the young man has him keeping his hands to himself. Until Henri won't let Ned protect him from himself, that is. Add one of Ned's old lovers to the mix and the combination is unbeatable. This Victorian romp has it all, from family intrigue to marriages of convenience and naughty fun between the sheets. Take it to bed with you today.
eBook Publisher: Torquere Press/Top Shelf, 2006 http://www.torquerepress.com
eBookwise Release Date: September 2006

120 Reader Ratings:

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Available eBook Formats: OEBFF Format (IMP) [310 KB]
Words: 78476
Reading time: 224-313 min.

It was intended to be an evening's entertainment. How little I knew.

I had, in point of fact, been looking forward to the occasion--a ball to celebrate a milestone birthday, followed by a week in the country. The diversion came at a welcome point in my life, as I had little to do in London, and the constant reproachful looks my brother cast my way over the dinner table were weighing heavier upon me than usual. He never actually told me to make myself useful and less of a drain on the resources our father had left, or for that matter on society in general, but his opinion was obvious and one I did not share.

It was therefore with anticipation that I had accepted the invitation to Red Oak Hall, looking with a keen eye to the company I would find there. Of course, most of the assemblage would be boring in the extreme, but there was almost always something, or someone, to capture my interest there.

The journey had been easy, as the weather had cooperated for once. The carriage did not break a wheel as it had the previous year, there was no rain, and the horses all seemed to be in splendid health. Even the usual bumps and knocks were more gentle than I had hoped. So pleasant was the travel, I was almost regretful as we arrived in the late afternoon, but that soon passed as I saw a familiar shape in the entry, the light of the open door falling upon him.

Trusting my man Griffith to do his job and make sure my belongings eventually found their way to my rooms, I left the carriage and made my way up the steps. The butler, Dobbs, was as ever in control, managing to greet me, instruct Griffith where to take my cases, and direct the driver to the back of the house. With a few simple words I was made to feel welcome, assured that everything would be handled with ease, and escorted into the Hall to greet my host.

Barrett, the current Earl and master of Red Oak Hall, stepped forward with a smile and clasped my shoulder with one warm hand. "So good to see you, Munrow," he said. "I trust the journey was tolerable?"

"Pleasant," I replied, returning his smile. "Things look well in hand here." They did indeed. The Hall, from what little I could see, was already set to celebrate. There were no servants rushing about, yet the air seemed filled with anticipation, and the scent of summer flowers was strong. Barrett himself looked splendid, his smile genuine and natural, the tension I'd seen in him a few months before, gone. Yes, his hair was still grey and his skin a little slackened with middle age, but he was tall and fit, carrying his years well.

"It will be wonderful, my friend. But now is not the time to bore you with the details--you'll see them soon enough." He cast his gaze to my left and nodded to Dobbs. "No doubt Mr. Munrow would like to rest after his travel." To me he said, "I'll see you at dinner, Munrow."

And with that, I was handed over to Dobbs, who very politely informed me that due to Lady Sophie's demand for morning light, I would be in the gold room rather than my usual suite, and would I please follow him?

I did not care into which room I was put, honestly. I knew that, as there were many guests for the next two nights--after all, one cannot throw a ball and expect two hundred guests to make their way back to residences all over Berkshire that same night--there would be less than a dozen for the week. As such, those of us staying on would get the better rooms.

Dobbs silently led me up the staircase and down the main corridor; I could see ample evidence of the preparations. The Hall gleamed, almost literally. Everything had been polished and cleaned to within an inch of its life, and Dobbs, when I happened to remark on something, informed me that the drawing room would be open for the gentlemen, the morning room for the ladies' cloaks, and the larger parlour was set up for card play. Of course, following him down the hall to the east wing, I was unable to see any of this, but it was good to know where I would be able to find certain people once the music started.

Griffith, for once, was already in my room when we arrived, putting my clothes away and laying out things for dinner and further clothes for the ball. Most of everything else was put away in the cabinet.

"Did you see about the brandy?" I asked, already tugging off my waistcoat, wrinkled from sitting in the carriage.

"Yes, sir. It shall be here when you return from your meal. Would you care to rest before dinner, or shall I send for water?"

I thought about if for a moment and shook my head. "I'll wash and then decide. If there is time I may rest, but I rather doubt I'll need it. A ball is a ball, and I suspect I'll be doing far more talking than dancing."

"Yes, sir," Griffith replied. He hung up the last of my shirts and crossed to the door--I assumed for the water.

"Griffith?" I asked, a sudden thought occurring. "See what the talk is about this ball. I'd like to know how much truth is in the rumours before I walk into anything."