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fellowshippers2005-10-19 01:45 pm
precious-rosie.livejournal.com) wrote in fellowshippers2005-10-19 01:45 pm
FIC: The Captain's Boy [REVISED] - (11/14) Andy Serkis/Elijah Wood - NC-17
Title: The Captain’s Boy [Revised]
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
precious_rosie
Pairing: Andy/Elijah.
Series: 11/14
Type: RPS AU
Rating: NC-17 for sexual situations
Disclaimer: Total fiction, from the depths of my imagination.
Summary: Set in mid 1880's, Elijah is working in a high- class male brothel. The madame has fixed him up with a very special client.
Warning[s]: prostitution, language, implied incest
Feedback: is always welcome! *bg*.
Beta:shy_nerthuserce as always. *hugs* :-)
Archive: Mirrormere, various LOTR RPS Yahoo groups
Author’s note: This is a story that I started back in April 2003 and it received high praise. Sadly thanks to that awful thing called “real life , I’ve still got to complete it, along with several other projects. Perhaps this LJ is the kick up the backside I need!
Author's Note 2: One of Andy's more extreme characters that he has played, is a featured cameo in this chapter *and* yes, he really is that decadent! *vbg*
Author's Note 3: The song sung at the end of this chapter is from Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta Patience.
x-posted to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
rockabillyblue
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten
“An’ I tell ye that I was coughin’ so hard I was scared in case I should go an’ bite off his lordship’s knob!” Billy chuckled as he recounted the tale of his aristocratic client of the night before.
“That’ll teach you to go guzzling on champagne before you go and suck someone off!” Dominic retorted. “You’ll never end up as a kept lad with a place all to yourself if you carry on like that, Billy!”
Billy giggled. “Not like our sweet Lijah here, met and fell in love with a handsome soldier!” He looked at the quietly reflective Elijah seated opposite them in the carriage, fiddling with his opera cloak and running a hand through his maccassered curls. He looked hugely uncomfortable. Billy nudged Dominic, indicating the younger boy. “An’ this little puss ended up with her nose in the cream!”
The trio were off to a private party at the residence of one Lord Wenham, a friend of the Duke of Clarence. Dominic and Billy had coaxed Elijah out of the brothel to an exclusive address in Belgravia and got him to wear the evening suit that Elijah detested.
“Stop fiddlin’ wi’ the suit, Elijah!” Billy scolded him as the carriage rattled on.
“But I 'ate this collar!” Elijah complained glumly.
“Aye, but like I told ye: I don’t think that anyone will have a taste for the ‘Scarlet Fever’ tonight, hen. We were told it was ‘formal evening dress’.”
“I don’t have the uniform now, anyway – it was getting too tight for me,” Elijah replied wanly, gazing out of the window and unaware of the looks exchanged between Billy and Dominic.
*************
The carriage halted outside a nameless, faceless house. As they alighted, Elijah’s cloak became caught on the door and he tugged recklessly at it, ripping a small tear in the blood-red lining.
Fuck! he grimaced, thinking that if he were with Andrew, he wouldn’t be all fingers and thumbs. He felt awkward and, despite the elegance of his dress, felt far too restricted in the starched white collar and tight-fitting waistcoat.
Looking up at the high, pale villa in the well-swept square, he yearned for the tiny, cosy terrace in Crouch End; its intimate, warm rooms with their glowing firesides, the aroma of the bread baked by the ever-discreet housekeeper, the wonderful scent of his beloved Andrew as he licked and sucked at Elijah’s soft, tender flesh...
Gazing at the house’s wide front door and the tall casement windows with their stained panes of glass and hearing the sounds of chattering and the clinking of glasses, Elijah almost turned and got back into the carriage before an amiable servant opened the door and enquired as to their names with more grace than Hugo had ever managed to muster.
As the three boys walked into the spacious hall, they could see that while its decor was by no means as grand as the brothel’s, it was equally as expensive.
Billy looked up the vast chandelier that hung low down over their heads and whistled though his teeth.
“Fuck me! I’d hate to be the poor bastard who has to clean that!”
*****************
“...Put your pretty arse at my service – or your pretty lips. Or put your pretty white hand through the slit in my trousers whilst no-one is looking. Whatever you prefer. Only cease your teasing, pretty child: I’m aching to spend...”
“...No-one as pretty as you should be allowed to die without knowing the touch or taste of a real woman. Come, child; let me show you the way...”
The voices – some masculine, some feminine, and others falling somewhere between the two echoed in Elijah’s ears through a heady mixture of opium, absinthe and cigar smoke. Sharp-witted, practiced remarks followed him as he drifted around the rooms of the grand house.
“...Come, boy. Let me make a man of you!” The celebrated actress Lillie Langtry eyed Elijah with all the greedy verve of a black widow spider about to capture her prey. Her long white fingers with their red painted nails stroked his face as she drew on a thin cheroot. “You’ll never desire a man again once you have been with me...”
Elijah leapt back and panicked. What was he doing here? Where were Billy and Dominic? He shouldn’t be here: he should be with Andrew. Stumbling over a mumbled apology, Elijah backed even further away – then turned and ran from the room, pushing blindly past bemused, languid faces as mocking laughter echoed behind him.
**********
Finding himself at length in a small, seemingly empty ante-room, Elijah stopped and drew in gulps of air, trying to still his racing heart and frenzied thoughts. It was only when he at last felt calm that he realised with a sinking heart that he wasn’t alone.
“What a little jewel ye are! Nae wonder gentlemen admire ye: ye look like a wee painting from a bugger’s compendium!”
The accent was like Billy’s own Glaswegian brogue, only deeper, richer, and huskier, like a well-matured whiskey.
Elijah turned to see an exquisite creature in evening attire behind him, holding a glass of absinthe. Luxurious dark curls fell over the vision’s shoulders and down its back like the mane of predatory lion. Two deep blue eyes looked directly at Elijah with such intensity that he felt that he would be engulfed in them if he were foolish enough to stare into them for too long.
The man – it was his low, resonant voice that gave him away – wore make-up. Elijah assumed that like Hans, this creature was a Mary Anne – but one who preferred masculine attire with the feminine touches of make-up and perfume.
“Ma name’s Bunny,” he whispered. “You sad and lonely? Just call on me!”
Elijah squirmed. “I – I’m neither!”
“I say ye are!” Bunny smiled. “I’ve been watchin’ ye all evening. Ye’re a whore, like the rest of us, but ye aren’t behavin’ like one.” He took a swig of the pale green liquid in his glass, clearly relishing the aniseed taste on his tongue. “Ye have the look of one who has lost a sweetheart!”
“Hey, Bunny! Leave our pet alone, ye raddled old whore!”
Elijah’s heart leapt when he heard Billy’s voice. “You – you know each other?” He looked on in amazement at Billy being engulfed by a remarkably overjoyed Bunny, who was squeezing Billy’s arse affectionately.
“This piece of arse taught me every single trick in the book!” Billy winked at Bunny. “When ye’re a wee laddie on the dark streets of Glasgae, ye need a few tricks ter get by!”
Bunny laughed, the deep throaty sound seeming to penetrate Elijah’s soul. Those luminous blue eyes of his appeared not unlike Andrew’s in regard to their colour, shape and size and Elijah found himself staring in fascination.
“Just leave Elijah alone,” Billy chuckled. “He’s out o’ your league!”
“No-one is out of my league!” retorted Bunny, taking another swig of absinthe. His black pupils dilated further as the liqueur’s hypnotising effect took hold of him. “An’ daen you forget it, Billy boy!” He turned back to Elijah, now standing quietly in the corner. “I’ve got ma eyes on ye, ma wee angel!” he purred before winking at him and moving off as Elijah watched silently, fascinated by the older man’s lazily graceful progress from the room.
Billy squeezed Elijah’s shoulder. “Careful, wee yin,” he cautioned Elijah seriously. “If you thought that Mortensen was a freak, Bunny could still have taught even him a thing or two. Still, she’s got more customers than ever and they are literally beggin’ for more.”
Elijah gave a small smile. “I want to go home, Billy.”
“Och, ye only just got here!”
“Three hours ago!”
“Oh stay, please! Look –” Billy pointed at a familiar face that had just arrived. “There’s Oscar Wilde – he wants to meet you!”
Elijah smiled wanly. “Says who?”
Billy tutted. “Och, it’s well known in society what a handsome wee gentleman ye are – ye’re quite the wee legend.”
Elijah merely shook his head and laid his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Billy, I just want to go home – I’m so tired!”
**************
As he collected his cloak from the footman, who then offered to hail a hansom for him, Elijah was halted by a shy, polite voice from behind him.
“Not leaving, are you? Did the party bore you? Damn and blast! I knew I should have been more selective with the guest list!”
Elijah turned to see a fair-haired man of about thirty years of age standing awkwardly by the door to the main room. His pale blue eyes displayed concern as he studied his departing young guest with some regret.
The man put out his hand. “I’m so sorry – you must think I am awfully rude! I’m Wenham. Lord David Wenham. I’m the host of this party. I’m afraid I have not been around much this evening...” He lowered his voice. “I have been trying to avoid that dreadful Langtry woman!”
“She’s very pretty,” Elijah said diplomatically. “But what are you avoiding her for?”
“A society beauty she may be – but frankly, she scares the hell out of me!” Lord Wenham explained. “I had to invite the bloody woman though – it’s all the rage to have the damned harpy at one’s soirées!”
“Like ’aving pricey ‘hores at your parties, as well?” Elijah asked, before kicking himself when he realised what he had said.
Lord Wenham blushed, but was clearly not offended. “I’m afraid so. Your two companions – the little Scot and the taller, thinner one with the Northern accent – are rather a hit at court. Prince Albert Victor raves about them all the time; they go everywhere with him. Even the Princess of Wales adores them. Well, I suppose you knew that, of course!” He shrugged diffidently, and gave Elijah a warm, shy smile. “I suppose I’m looking for approval in a way – well, aren’t we all? – so, I simply had to invite them. You were the bonus!”
“Do you mind?” Elijah retorted, not sure about being a side show attraction for horny aristocrats at their parties.
“I suppose most of the chaps back there like having something pretty to look at!” The young lord smiled, before blushing again. “I’m sorry – have I have offended you...er, 'Elijah', isn’t it?”
Elijah smiled and nodded. Something about this bashful young man and his gentle, apologetic nature was gradually warming Elijah to him. Elijah smiled again and shook his head. “It’s all part of the job, I suppose, my lord. Part of the entertainment – that’s what we are!”
Lord Wenham sighed heavily. “And I – I suppose I am the puppet master, controlling all the pretty marionettes, am I not?”
“I – I’m sure I can’t say, my lord,” Elijah stammered, astonished and surprisingly touched by the young aristocrat’s candour.
Lord Wenham coloured again and shook his head. “Well, no matter.” He gave Elijah another disarming smile. “That chap with the amazing hair and the Scottish accent...” Lord Wenham was referring to Bunny, whom Elijah had met earlier. “He is quite a character isn’t he? I never knew that Prince Louis of Battenburg was quite so...” He struggled politely to find the correct word. “...*Depraved!”
Again, the young aristocrat’s openness made Elijah smile. “Oh believe me, there are plenty of that type out there, my lord,” he laughed. “If you want to look!”
“I’m not sure I want to!” Lord Wenham chuckled. Then he looked at Elijah sadly. “Please stay – you seemed so lonely earlier standing there in the conservatory. And besides...” He lowered his voice. “You’re the only sane person in the house!”
Elijah giggled for the first time since he was with Andrew. “Since you put it as well as that, I’ll stay!” he nodded, handing his cloak back to the patient footman. “And you can tell the ‘ansom driver to go – thank you!”
****************
Billy homed in on a giggling Elijah and Lord Wenham as they sneaked back into the party, gamely trying to avoid the attentions of Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde, who had both eyed Elijah like predatory vultures. “So, ye changed yer mind, then?”
“I suppose so!” Elijah agreed as another glass of absinthe was thrust into his hand. Then he leaned in. “I think we should make a fuss of Lord Wenham, though,” he whispered to Billy. “It is ‘is party!”
“Ah!” Billy’s eyebrows rose. “Shy, is he?” He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. “Right; leave it to Billy-O, then!” And with that he went off in search of Dominic, who had last been seen entangled in the web of Mrs Langtry.
“So, the wee butterfly decided not to fly away, then?”
Elijah turned to see Bunny emerge from behind a gilded Doric column, grinning like a cat who had caught the mouse and taken all the cream.
“Och, ma wee angel!” he crooned softly, coming to stand close enough for Elijah to feel the warmth of his body and his senses to be captivated by the exquisite cologne perfuming the older man’s hair, skin, and clothes. “Fancy runnin’ off like that! What were ye thinkin’ of?”
Of Andrew! thought Elijah sadly as he downed the remains of his drink.
“Tell ye what,” Bunny whispered as he slid his hand gently down Elijah’s back. “We’re here to entertain the gentlemen and ladies...” He put his full moist mouth to Elijah’s ear, nibbling gently at the tender lobe. “But fuck ‘em. We should entertain ourselves. You an’ me. There’s a little room we could go to...”
“No, fanks.”
“Ye won’t regret it – no-one does with Bunny! I can teach ye a few things that will have your punters cryin’ out for more...”
“No!”
But Bunny was persistent and his sinfully seductive voice was slowly drawing Elijah under his spell. His hand on Elijah’s arse was pressing the boy firmly against a very hard, solid body, the immaculate evening suit Bunny wore failing to conceal the tightly-coiled muscles beneath. It also failed to conceal a rock-hard erection.
“C’mon Elijah, ye know ye want to relieve some o’ that tension. I know all about that handsome Captain of yours. It’s all over the brothels in London. ‘The Captain’s Boy’, that’s what they call ye! So, I know as ye prefer a real man.”
He was smiling as he spoke to Elijah, who looked round frantically for a friendly, helpful face. But Lord Wenham had disappeared, as had Billy and Dominic.
“How about a wee game, eh? Let’s pretend – let’s pretend you’re ma wee brother, eh?”
Bunny’s hand moved up from Elijah’s arse and around to his crotch, where he could feel the first stirrings of the younger man’s newly-aroused cock. “Ohh! That’s gunna be a real treat for Bunny! Now where was I? Ah yes...” He leaned forward against Elijah, his mouth on his ear, forcing him up against the wall. “Och, ye smell so sweet. I bet ye taste like ye smell – all sugary an’ sweet!”
The effects of the absinthe, the opium, and the heat of the room were making Elijah giddy. He placed a hand on Bunny’s shoulder for support, feeling a mixture of loneliness and lust rising in his body. “If you say so,” he murmured as he felt Bunny’s mouth against his own, and dipped his fingers tentatively into the whore’s thick, lush curls, so much like Andrew’s when he didn’t grease them back with that awful sticky maccassar.
Bunny took this as a very positive sign and smiled. He started to rub his hand against Elijah’s now swollen cock, straining against the fabric of his trousers.
“Oooh!” Elijah breathed softly as for that delicious moment he let his mouth be taken amidst the heat and noise and scents of that crowded room where, for the most part, the two of them were being ignored.
But this was so wrong.
Being here, with this man.
This other whore.
He wasn’t Andrew.
Yet there was something in those deep, rich blue eyes, the long dark eyelashes, the low timbre of the voice that reminded Elijah so much of Andrew.
And yet...
He pulled back, still giddy and now feeling nauseous.
“What’s up, wee pet?” Bunny asked, lust darkening his eyes.
“Got to go. Got to go...” Elijah muttered as he gamely tried to move away.
“I don’t think so, ma wee chickie!” Bunny’s grip on Elijah tightened. “Ye’re not leavin’ me with a hard-on, ye fuckin’ wee tart!”
“Lemme go! Got to see Andrew. I love him – I need to be with him. Not you!” Elijah was faintly aware that his voice was getting louder and louder and that people were looking at them.
Lord Wenham hurried over with a servant, a look of concern on his face. “Is everything alright, Elijah?”
“Och, we’re just enjoyin’ ourselves, yer Lordship!” Bunny insisted, clearly perturbed at being interrupted.
The bile in Elijah’s stomach was now filling his mouth. He started to gag. He was aware of the room spinning, and then of the weightlessness in his body as he leaned forward and threw up all over Bunny before blackness overtook him.
**************
“I think he’s coming around, now!”
Dominic’s voice was the first to greet Elijah’s ears as he came to, the familiar surroundings of his bedroom in the brothel growing clearer as he focused his eyes.
“Oh you stupid, adorable little child!” Madame Louise was chiding him softly. “You know you can’t drink absinthe! Remember last Christmas? I don’t think Hugo has ever forgiven you for the mess you made of the stair carpet!”
Elijah was then told that he had been sent home with Billy and Dominic in a cab by a very concerned Lord Wenham. The young lord had called for a doctor and had also placated a thoroughly annoyed Bunny by offering to buy him a new jacket to replace the one that had been ruined by the contents of Elijah’s stomach.
“Ye know that Bunny would have probably have charged a client a few guineas to do that!” Billy told Dominic wryly, recalling the events of the previous evening.
Elijah felt Madame Louise’s cool, gentle hand on his forehead, accompanied by a cloth scented with eau de cologne pressed to his skin. “You alright now, babby?” she asked, wiping his brow tenderly.
He nodded, relaxing against the pillows and relishing the touch of the gently-applied cloth.
“There’s a parcel for you when you are feeling better,” the Madame added. “It arrived earlier today. And you will be glad to hear that both Jack – I mean, Sean and Dhani arrived safely in Liverpool. I got a telegram this morning!”
At least *Dhani* is getting what he wants! Elijah thought gloomily. I’ve lost Andrew now. The only person I’ve ever loved is gone!
**************
“I ‘ope Bunny isn’t too pissed off!” Elijah told Billy and Dominic, as they bounced onto the bottom of his bed.
“Nae worries about that,” Billy replied, as he and Dom got comfortable. “She’s got a room full of suits, from the money she earns! She was quite upset about not gettin’ anywhere with you, though!” He laughed. “Ye wee tart!”
Elijah’s head pounded with the worst hangover that he had ever experienced. Not even when he was simply drinking cheap gin on the streets in Whitechapel did this type of throbbing pain occur.
“Well?” Orlando, the yapping Mitzi under his arm and looking immaculate in tennis whites and a crisp pale blue jacket appeared at the door. “Has he opened it yet?” he enquired, clearly trying not to appear too inquisitive. “Just off to play tennis with Sir Ian,” he added airily when no-one commented on his appearance.
“Really,” snorted Billy. “An’ there’s me thinkin’ you were off to do the gardenin‘!”
“Really, William; you have no sense of style!” Orlando tutted. “But I certainly have a sense of smell – pooh!” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You stink, Elijah! Really, you must learn to drink like a gentleman and not like a common docker!”
“Oh yes?” Dominic’s eyes twinkled. “And how would you know how a docker drinks?”
“Unless he’s not tellin’ us something!” Billy giggled.
Orlando flounced off in a huff leaving the terrible trio with a very distracted Madame Louise.
“I suppose I should give him the parcel,” she mused, moving over to the dressing table where a brown box sat. “It arrived this morning – no note, and no forwarding address,” she added, placing it on Elijah’s lap. For a moment Elijah simply blinked – and then quickly unwrapped the parcel, struggling with the knots and the string.
When the brown paper had been dispensed with, he wrenched off the box lid – and then sat and stared in amazement, his heart pounding in his ears.
Billy and Dominic crawled up the bed towards Elijah and peered into the box. At once both boys gasped in astonishment – for inside, wrapped in delicate tissue paper, lay a bright scarlet tunic, its shiny brass buttons gleaming like fresh-minted guinea pieces.
Elijah knew who had sent this, and his heart began racing.
Madame Louise clapped her hands and bounced up and down on her heels excitedly. “I knew my Jack would make him see reason!” she exclaimed in delighted satisfaction.
As Elijah removed the tunic, he found a jaunty little cap and a smart black pair of red-trimmed trousers with matching braces underneath.
His Andrew hadn’t forgotten him. His Andrew had seen sense after all.
“What are ye waitin’ for?” Billy exclaimed, tugging at the box. “Get up and try it on!”
As Elijah pulled out the cap, a folded piece of paper fluttered onto his bed. Although he could barely read, Elijah recognised the handwriting and his breath caught in his throat. “Wot’s it say?”
He handed it to Madame Louise, who opened and read it. “It’s from your ‘Commanding Officer’,” she giggled, growing pinker by the second. “Oooh, I say – well I never*!”
“What’s it say, what’s it say?” Dom and Billy demanded impatiently, grinning with excitement.
Madame Louise cleared her throat. “Oh, my! It says: ‘I’ll be at Hanover Square at noon for an inspection; so, my pretty boy, you had better be ready by then!’”
Elijah, forgetting his hangover, leapt out of bed. “It’s nearly eleven now!”
With that, the three boys began to rush about in a dizzy fashion, running baths and polishing boots while Billy, in his fine strong tenor voice, started to sing:
“When I first put this uniform on,
I said, as I looked in the glass,
‘It’s one to a million
That any civilian
My figure and form will surpass.
Gold lace has a charm for the fair –”
Elijah joined in, his voice not as strong as Billy’s, and lighter in timbre:
“’And I've plenty of that, and to spare,
While a lover’s professions,
When uttered in Hessians,
Are eloquent ev’rywhere!’
A fact that I counted upon,
When I first put this uniform on!”
Finally, Elijah, Billy, and Dominic sang the refrain together in perfect unison as they helped Elijah dress:
“By a simple coincidence, few
Could ever have counted upon,
The same thing occurred to me,
When I first put this uniform on!”
Madame Louise stood and watched the little scene with mixed feelings, holding the note to her bosom. She knew deep down that she was about to lose her favourite boy; but even though he’d been a great asset to the brothel, Elijah was like a son to her and, at heart, all she truly wanted was for him to be happy.
Sighing, she re-read the postscript that Andrew had written, and which she had not yet read out to Elijah:
“I have resigned my commission. I now know where my life and duty truly lie.”
**************
Chapter 12 to follow
Author:
precious_rosiePairing: Andy/Elijah.
Series: 11/14
Type: RPS AU
Rating: NC-17 for sexual situations
Disclaimer: Total fiction, from the depths of my imagination.
Summary: Set in mid 1880's, Elijah is working in a high- class male brothel. The madame has fixed him up with a very special client.
Warning[s]: prostitution, language, implied incest
Feedback: is always welcome! *bg*.
Beta:
shy_nerthuserce as always. *hugs* :-)Archive: Mirrormere, various LOTR RPS Yahoo groups
Author’s note: This is a story that I started back in April 2003 and it received high praise. Sadly thanks to that awful thing called “real life , I’ve still got to complete it, along with several other projects. Perhaps this LJ is the kick up the backside I need!
Author's Note 2: One of Andy's more extreme characters that he has played, is a featured cameo in this chapter *and* yes, he really is that decadent! *vbg*
Author's Note 3: The song sung at the end of this chapter is from Gilbert & Sullivan's operetta Patience.
x-posted to
rockabillyblueChapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten
“An’ I tell ye that I was coughin’ so hard I was scared in case I should go an’ bite off his lordship’s knob!” Billy chuckled as he recounted the tale of his aristocratic client of the night before.
“That’ll teach you to go guzzling on champagne before you go and suck someone off!” Dominic retorted. “You’ll never end up as a kept lad with a place all to yourself if you carry on like that, Billy!”
Billy giggled. “Not like our sweet Lijah here, met and fell in love with a handsome soldier!” He looked at the quietly reflective Elijah seated opposite them in the carriage, fiddling with his opera cloak and running a hand through his maccassered curls. He looked hugely uncomfortable. Billy nudged Dominic, indicating the younger boy. “An’ this little puss ended up with her nose in the cream!”
The trio were off to a private party at the residence of one Lord Wenham, a friend of the Duke of Clarence. Dominic and Billy had coaxed Elijah out of the brothel to an exclusive address in Belgravia and got him to wear the evening suit that Elijah detested.
“Stop fiddlin’ wi’ the suit, Elijah!” Billy scolded him as the carriage rattled on.
“But I 'ate this collar!” Elijah complained glumly.
“Aye, but like I told ye: I don’t think that anyone will have a taste for the ‘Scarlet Fever’ tonight, hen. We were told it was ‘formal evening dress’.”
“I don’t have the uniform now, anyway – it was getting too tight for me,” Elijah replied wanly, gazing out of the window and unaware of the looks exchanged between Billy and Dominic.
The carriage halted outside a nameless, faceless house. As they alighted, Elijah’s cloak became caught on the door and he tugged recklessly at it, ripping a small tear in the blood-red lining.
Fuck! he grimaced, thinking that if he were with Andrew, he wouldn’t be all fingers and thumbs. He felt awkward and, despite the elegance of his dress, felt far too restricted in the starched white collar and tight-fitting waistcoat.
Looking up at the high, pale villa in the well-swept square, he yearned for the tiny, cosy terrace in Crouch End; its intimate, warm rooms with their glowing firesides, the aroma of the bread baked by the ever-discreet housekeeper, the wonderful scent of his beloved Andrew as he licked and sucked at Elijah’s soft, tender flesh...
Gazing at the house’s wide front door and the tall casement windows with their stained panes of glass and hearing the sounds of chattering and the clinking of glasses, Elijah almost turned and got back into the carriage before an amiable servant opened the door and enquired as to their names with more grace than Hugo had ever managed to muster.
As the three boys walked into the spacious hall, they could see that while its decor was by no means as grand as the brothel’s, it was equally as expensive.
Billy looked up the vast chandelier that hung low down over their heads and whistled though his teeth.
“Fuck me! I’d hate to be the poor bastard who has to clean that!”
“...Put your pretty arse at my service – or your pretty lips. Or put your pretty white hand through the slit in my trousers whilst no-one is looking. Whatever you prefer. Only cease your teasing, pretty child: I’m aching to spend...”
“...No-one as pretty as you should be allowed to die without knowing the touch or taste of a real woman. Come, child; let me show you the way...”
The voices – some masculine, some feminine, and others falling somewhere between the two echoed in Elijah’s ears through a heady mixture of opium, absinthe and cigar smoke. Sharp-witted, practiced remarks followed him as he drifted around the rooms of the grand house.
“...Come, boy. Let me make a man of you!” The celebrated actress Lillie Langtry eyed Elijah with all the greedy verve of a black widow spider about to capture her prey. Her long white fingers with their red painted nails stroked his face as she drew on a thin cheroot. “You’ll never desire a man again once you have been with me...”
Elijah leapt back and panicked. What was he doing here? Where were Billy and Dominic? He shouldn’t be here: he should be with Andrew. Stumbling over a mumbled apology, Elijah backed even further away – then turned and ran from the room, pushing blindly past bemused, languid faces as mocking laughter echoed behind him.
Finding himself at length in a small, seemingly empty ante-room, Elijah stopped and drew in gulps of air, trying to still his racing heart and frenzied thoughts. It was only when he at last felt calm that he realised with a sinking heart that he wasn’t alone.
“What a little jewel ye are! Nae wonder gentlemen admire ye: ye look like a wee painting from a bugger’s compendium!”
The accent was like Billy’s own Glaswegian brogue, only deeper, richer, and huskier, like a well-matured whiskey.
Elijah turned to see an exquisite creature in evening attire behind him, holding a glass of absinthe. Luxurious dark curls fell over the vision’s shoulders and down its back like the mane of predatory lion. Two deep blue eyes looked directly at Elijah with such intensity that he felt that he would be engulfed in them if he were foolish enough to stare into them for too long.
The man – it was his low, resonant voice that gave him away – wore make-up. Elijah assumed that like Hans, this creature was a Mary Anne – but one who preferred masculine attire with the feminine touches of make-up and perfume.
“Ma name’s Bunny,” he whispered. “You sad and lonely? Just call on me!”
Elijah squirmed. “I – I’m neither!”
“I say ye are!” Bunny smiled. “I’ve been watchin’ ye all evening. Ye’re a whore, like the rest of us, but ye aren’t behavin’ like one.” He took a swig of the pale green liquid in his glass, clearly relishing the aniseed taste on his tongue. “Ye have the look of one who has lost a sweetheart!”
“Hey, Bunny! Leave our pet alone, ye raddled old whore!”
Elijah’s heart leapt when he heard Billy’s voice. “You – you know each other?” He looked on in amazement at Billy being engulfed by a remarkably overjoyed Bunny, who was squeezing Billy’s arse affectionately.
“This piece of arse taught me every single trick in the book!” Billy winked at Bunny. “When ye’re a wee laddie on the dark streets of Glasgae, ye need a few tricks ter get by!”
Bunny laughed, the deep throaty sound seeming to penetrate Elijah’s soul. Those luminous blue eyes of his appeared not unlike Andrew’s in regard to their colour, shape and size and Elijah found himself staring in fascination.
“Just leave Elijah alone,” Billy chuckled. “He’s out o’ your league!”
“No-one is out of my league!” retorted Bunny, taking another swig of absinthe. His black pupils dilated further as the liqueur’s hypnotising effect took hold of him. “An’ daen you forget it, Billy boy!” He turned back to Elijah, now standing quietly in the corner. “I’ve got ma eyes on ye, ma wee angel!” he purred before winking at him and moving off as Elijah watched silently, fascinated by the older man’s lazily graceful progress from the room.
Billy squeezed Elijah’s shoulder. “Careful, wee yin,” he cautioned Elijah seriously. “If you thought that Mortensen was a freak, Bunny could still have taught even him a thing or two. Still, she’s got more customers than ever and they are literally beggin’ for more.”
Elijah gave a small smile. “I want to go home, Billy.”
“Och, ye only just got here!”
“Three hours ago!”
“Oh stay, please! Look –” Billy pointed at a familiar face that had just arrived. “There’s Oscar Wilde – he wants to meet you!”
Elijah smiled wanly. “Says who?”
Billy tutted. “Och, it’s well known in society what a handsome wee gentleman ye are – ye’re quite the wee legend.”
Elijah merely shook his head and laid his hand on Billy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Billy, I just want to go home – I’m so tired!”
As he collected his cloak from the footman, who then offered to hail a hansom for him, Elijah was halted by a shy, polite voice from behind him.
“Not leaving, are you? Did the party bore you? Damn and blast! I knew I should have been more selective with the guest list!”
Elijah turned to see a fair-haired man of about thirty years of age standing awkwardly by the door to the main room. His pale blue eyes displayed concern as he studied his departing young guest with some regret.
The man put out his hand. “I’m so sorry – you must think I am awfully rude! I’m Wenham. Lord David Wenham. I’m the host of this party. I’m afraid I have not been around much this evening...” He lowered his voice. “I have been trying to avoid that dreadful Langtry woman!”
“She’s very pretty,” Elijah said diplomatically. “But what are you avoiding her for?”
“A society beauty she may be – but frankly, she scares the hell out of me!” Lord Wenham explained. “I had to invite the bloody woman though – it’s all the rage to have the damned harpy at one’s soirées!”
“Like ’aving pricey ‘hores at your parties, as well?” Elijah asked, before kicking himself when he realised what he had said.
Lord Wenham blushed, but was clearly not offended. “I’m afraid so. Your two companions – the little Scot and the taller, thinner one with the Northern accent – are rather a hit at court. Prince Albert Victor raves about them all the time; they go everywhere with him. Even the Princess of Wales adores them. Well, I suppose you knew that, of course!” He shrugged diffidently, and gave Elijah a warm, shy smile. “I suppose I’m looking for approval in a way – well, aren’t we all? – so, I simply had to invite them. You were the bonus!”
“Do you mind?” Elijah retorted, not sure about being a side show attraction for horny aristocrats at their parties.
“I suppose most of the chaps back there like having something pretty to look at!” The young lord smiled, before blushing again. “I’m sorry – have I have offended you...er, 'Elijah', isn’t it?”
Elijah smiled and nodded. Something about this bashful young man and his gentle, apologetic nature was gradually warming Elijah to him. Elijah smiled again and shook his head. “It’s all part of the job, I suppose, my lord. Part of the entertainment – that’s what we are!”
Lord Wenham sighed heavily. “And I – I suppose I am the puppet master, controlling all the pretty marionettes, am I not?”
“I – I’m sure I can’t say, my lord,” Elijah stammered, astonished and surprisingly touched by the young aristocrat’s candour.
Lord Wenham coloured again and shook his head. “Well, no matter.” He gave Elijah another disarming smile. “That chap with the amazing hair and the Scottish accent...” Lord Wenham was referring to Bunny, whom Elijah had met earlier. “He is quite a character isn’t he? I never knew that Prince Louis of Battenburg was quite so...” He struggled politely to find the correct word. “...*Depraved!”
Again, the young aristocrat’s openness made Elijah smile. “Oh believe me, there are plenty of that type out there, my lord,” he laughed. “If you want to look!”
“I’m not sure I want to!” Lord Wenham chuckled. Then he looked at Elijah sadly. “Please stay – you seemed so lonely earlier standing there in the conservatory. And besides...” He lowered his voice. “You’re the only sane person in the house!”
Elijah giggled for the first time since he was with Andrew. “Since you put it as well as that, I’ll stay!” he nodded, handing his cloak back to the patient footman. “And you can tell the ‘ansom driver to go – thank you!”
Billy homed in on a giggling Elijah and Lord Wenham as they sneaked back into the party, gamely trying to avoid the attentions of Lillie Langtry and Oscar Wilde, who had both eyed Elijah like predatory vultures. “So, ye changed yer mind, then?”
“I suppose so!” Elijah agreed as another glass of absinthe was thrust into his hand. Then he leaned in. “I think we should make a fuss of Lord Wenham, though,” he whispered to Billy. “It is ‘is party!”
“Ah!” Billy’s eyebrows rose. “Shy, is he?” He cracked his knuckles and flexed his fingers. “Right; leave it to Billy-O, then!” And with that he went off in search of Dominic, who had last been seen entangled in the web of Mrs Langtry.
“So, the wee butterfly decided not to fly away, then?”
Elijah turned to see Bunny emerge from behind a gilded Doric column, grinning like a cat who had caught the mouse and taken all the cream.
“Och, ma wee angel!” he crooned softly, coming to stand close enough for Elijah to feel the warmth of his body and his senses to be captivated by the exquisite cologne perfuming the older man’s hair, skin, and clothes. “Fancy runnin’ off like that! What were ye thinkin’ of?”
Of Andrew! thought Elijah sadly as he downed the remains of his drink.
“Tell ye what,” Bunny whispered as he slid his hand gently down Elijah’s back. “We’re here to entertain the gentlemen and ladies...” He put his full moist mouth to Elijah’s ear, nibbling gently at the tender lobe. “But fuck ‘em. We should entertain ourselves. You an’ me. There’s a little room we could go to...”
“No, fanks.”
“Ye won’t regret it – no-one does with Bunny! I can teach ye a few things that will have your punters cryin’ out for more...”
“No!”
But Bunny was persistent and his sinfully seductive voice was slowly drawing Elijah under his spell. His hand on Elijah’s arse was pressing the boy firmly against a very hard, solid body, the immaculate evening suit Bunny wore failing to conceal the tightly-coiled muscles beneath. It also failed to conceal a rock-hard erection.
“C’mon Elijah, ye know ye want to relieve some o’ that tension. I know all about that handsome Captain of yours. It’s all over the brothels in London. ‘The Captain’s Boy’, that’s what they call ye! So, I know as ye prefer a real man.”
He was smiling as he spoke to Elijah, who looked round frantically for a friendly, helpful face. But Lord Wenham had disappeared, as had Billy and Dominic.
“How about a wee game, eh? Let’s pretend – let’s pretend you’re ma wee brother, eh?”
Bunny’s hand moved up from Elijah’s arse and around to his crotch, where he could feel the first stirrings of the younger man’s newly-aroused cock. “Ohh! That’s gunna be a real treat for Bunny! Now where was I? Ah yes...” He leaned forward against Elijah, his mouth on his ear, forcing him up against the wall. “Och, ye smell so sweet. I bet ye taste like ye smell – all sugary an’ sweet!”
The effects of the absinthe, the opium, and the heat of the room were making Elijah giddy. He placed a hand on Bunny’s shoulder for support, feeling a mixture of loneliness and lust rising in his body. “If you say so,” he murmured as he felt Bunny’s mouth against his own, and dipped his fingers tentatively into the whore’s thick, lush curls, so much like Andrew’s when he didn’t grease them back with that awful sticky maccassar.
Bunny took this as a very positive sign and smiled. He started to rub his hand against Elijah’s now swollen cock, straining against the fabric of his trousers.
“Oooh!” Elijah breathed softly as for that delicious moment he let his mouth be taken amidst the heat and noise and scents of that crowded room where, for the most part, the two of them were being ignored.
But this was so wrong.
Being here, with this man.
This other whore.
He wasn’t Andrew.
Yet there was something in those deep, rich blue eyes, the long dark eyelashes, the low timbre of the voice that reminded Elijah so much of Andrew.
And yet...
He pulled back, still giddy and now feeling nauseous.
“What’s up, wee pet?” Bunny asked, lust darkening his eyes.
“Got to go. Got to go...” Elijah muttered as he gamely tried to move away.
“I don’t think so, ma wee chickie!” Bunny’s grip on Elijah tightened. “Ye’re not leavin’ me with a hard-on, ye fuckin’ wee tart!”
“Lemme go! Got to see Andrew. I love him – I need to be with him. Not you!” Elijah was faintly aware that his voice was getting louder and louder and that people were looking at them.
Lord Wenham hurried over with a servant, a look of concern on his face. “Is everything alright, Elijah?”
“Och, we’re just enjoyin’ ourselves, yer Lordship!” Bunny insisted, clearly perturbed at being interrupted.
The bile in Elijah’s stomach was now filling his mouth. He started to gag. He was aware of the room spinning, and then of the weightlessness in his body as he leaned forward and threw up all over Bunny before blackness overtook him.
“I think he’s coming around, now!”
Dominic’s voice was the first to greet Elijah’s ears as he came to, the familiar surroundings of his bedroom in the brothel growing clearer as he focused his eyes.
“Oh you stupid, adorable little child!” Madame Louise was chiding him softly. “You know you can’t drink absinthe! Remember last Christmas? I don’t think Hugo has ever forgiven you for the mess you made of the stair carpet!”
Elijah was then told that he had been sent home with Billy and Dominic in a cab by a very concerned Lord Wenham. The young lord had called for a doctor and had also placated a thoroughly annoyed Bunny by offering to buy him a new jacket to replace the one that had been ruined by the contents of Elijah’s stomach.
“Ye know that Bunny would have probably have charged a client a few guineas to do that!” Billy told Dominic wryly, recalling the events of the previous evening.
Elijah felt Madame Louise’s cool, gentle hand on his forehead, accompanied by a cloth scented with eau de cologne pressed to his skin. “You alright now, babby?” she asked, wiping his brow tenderly.
He nodded, relaxing against the pillows and relishing the touch of the gently-applied cloth.
“There’s a parcel for you when you are feeling better,” the Madame added. “It arrived earlier today. And you will be glad to hear that both Jack – I mean, Sean and Dhani arrived safely in Liverpool. I got a telegram this morning!”
At least *Dhani* is getting what he wants! Elijah thought gloomily. I’ve lost Andrew now. The only person I’ve ever loved is gone!
“I ‘ope Bunny isn’t too pissed off!” Elijah told Billy and Dominic, as they bounced onto the bottom of his bed.
“Nae worries about that,” Billy replied, as he and Dom got comfortable. “She’s got a room full of suits, from the money she earns! She was quite upset about not gettin’ anywhere with you, though!” He laughed. “Ye wee tart!”
Elijah’s head pounded with the worst hangover that he had ever experienced. Not even when he was simply drinking cheap gin on the streets in Whitechapel did this type of throbbing pain occur.
“Well?” Orlando, the yapping Mitzi under his arm and looking immaculate in tennis whites and a crisp pale blue jacket appeared at the door. “Has he opened it yet?” he enquired, clearly trying not to appear too inquisitive. “Just off to play tennis with Sir Ian,” he added airily when no-one commented on his appearance.
“Really,” snorted Billy. “An’ there’s me thinkin’ you were off to do the gardenin‘!”
“Really, William; you have no sense of style!” Orlando tutted. “But I certainly have a sense of smell – pooh!” He wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You stink, Elijah! Really, you must learn to drink like a gentleman and not like a common docker!”
“Oh yes?” Dominic’s eyes twinkled. “And how would you know how a docker drinks?”
“Unless he’s not tellin’ us something!” Billy giggled.
Orlando flounced off in a huff leaving the terrible trio with a very distracted Madame Louise.
“I suppose I should give him the parcel,” she mused, moving over to the dressing table where a brown box sat. “It arrived this morning – no note, and no forwarding address,” she added, placing it on Elijah’s lap. For a moment Elijah simply blinked – and then quickly unwrapped the parcel, struggling with the knots and the string.
When the brown paper had been dispensed with, he wrenched off the box lid – and then sat and stared in amazement, his heart pounding in his ears.
Billy and Dominic crawled up the bed towards Elijah and peered into the box. At once both boys gasped in astonishment – for inside, wrapped in delicate tissue paper, lay a bright scarlet tunic, its shiny brass buttons gleaming like fresh-minted guinea pieces.
Elijah knew who had sent this, and his heart began racing.
Madame Louise clapped her hands and bounced up and down on her heels excitedly. “I knew my Jack would make him see reason!” she exclaimed in delighted satisfaction.
As Elijah removed the tunic, he found a jaunty little cap and a smart black pair of red-trimmed trousers with matching braces underneath.
His Andrew hadn’t forgotten him. His Andrew had seen sense after all.
“What are ye waitin’ for?” Billy exclaimed, tugging at the box. “Get up and try it on!”
As Elijah pulled out the cap, a folded piece of paper fluttered onto his bed. Although he could barely read, Elijah recognised the handwriting and his breath caught in his throat. “Wot’s it say?”
He handed it to Madame Louise, who opened and read it. “It’s from your ‘Commanding Officer’,” she giggled, growing pinker by the second. “Oooh, I say – well I never*!”
“What’s it say, what’s it say?” Dom and Billy demanded impatiently, grinning with excitement.
Madame Louise cleared her throat. “Oh, my! It says: ‘I’ll be at Hanover Square at noon for an inspection; so, my pretty boy, you had better be ready by then!’”
Elijah, forgetting his hangover, leapt out of bed. “It’s nearly eleven now!”
With that, the three boys began to rush about in a dizzy fashion, running baths and polishing boots while Billy, in his fine strong tenor voice, started to sing:
“When I first put this uniform on,
I said, as I looked in the glass,
‘It’s one to a million
That any civilian
My figure and form will surpass.
Gold lace has a charm for the fair –”
Elijah joined in, his voice not as strong as Billy’s, and lighter in timbre:
“’And I've plenty of that, and to spare,
While a lover’s professions,
When uttered in Hessians,
Are eloquent ev’rywhere!’
A fact that I counted upon,
When I first put this uniform on!”
Finally, Elijah, Billy, and Dominic sang the refrain together in perfect unison as they helped Elijah dress:
“By a simple coincidence, few
Could ever have counted upon,
The same thing occurred to me,
When I first put this uniform on!”
Madame Louise stood and watched the little scene with mixed feelings, holding the note to her bosom. She knew deep down that she was about to lose her favourite boy; but even though he’d been a great asset to the brothel, Elijah was like a son to her and, at heart, all she truly wanted was for him to be happy.
Sighing, she re-read the postscript that Andrew had written, and which she had not yet read out to Elijah:
“I have resigned my commission. I now know where my life and duty truly lie.”
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And Andy's back for Elijah -- hurrah!
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As for Elijah and Captain, did you think I would keep them apart for so long? ;-)