Page 24 of An Earl's Bet
“But it’s not?Are you certain?Because I’m not certain.I’ve seen you at your most glorious and I’ve seen you scared and angry and frustrated, and I want to know everything about you.”
Hugo swallowed down the rush of emotion.“And then what?Once we know everything about each other, what then?”
“I don’t think I’ll get bored with you, Hugo.”
“Why not?”
“Because we both have demons to deal with and they are sneaky devils that will take a lifetime to figure out.We could spend years together and still never figure it out.I’ll never be bored with you, Hugo.”
Hugo wished that would be enough.“And what about the world?”
“Oh, bollocks to the world.If the Duke of Edenwick can live with his stablemaster, then you can employ a poet to write your family histories, or whatever.”
“You want to work for me?”
Earnest grinned.“Not really.I want to live with you and be inspired to write poetry whenever the muse comes to me.Besides, it’s the perfect cover for being with you.No one will care about us, and many will applaud the way you support the arts.You might have to occasionally support other artistic ventures.Look at Lord Lawndry – he has that strange woman who works for him as a watch collector.”
“The Viscount of Rookwood has a hermit in his garden.It’s very old fashioned, but apparently the man is wonderfully entertaining for guests.”Hugo had always thought it was indulgent.He’d never wondered about it from the hermit’s point of view, and as Earnest intimated, it was probably quite a good job to have for someone who didn’t have an Earldom.
“So you see, no one will blink if you employ a poet and writer to work on a project so big it will take a lifetime.”
“I’d rather put my energies into changing bad laws.”Hugo understood what Earnest was saying, but it wasn’t really like him to fund the arts.He’d always been too serious; a dry bore to his peers in Lords.
“Then you’ll need someone who has many newspaper contacts and can write pretty words to convince the public that your perspective is the correct one.”
Hugo considered this.“Convincing the public won’t matter if I can’t convince the peerage who have the power to make changes.”
“Very true.”Earnest brushed his finger down Hugo’s temple.“Maybe it would make more sense to create outrage.Let me write about the peers who own plantations and enslave people.”
Hugo opened his mouth to retort about how it still wouldn’t matter, but then ...“You are very persuasive.”
“Then let me persuade people.I can simultaneously make villains and create heroes and write stories that will help you.”
Hugo leaned forward and kissed Earnest on the forehead.A short kiss, because they were outside his house under a tree with a public roadway not too far away and he couldn’t stop worrying about the consequences.“Come inside, Earnest, and we can figure out the details.”
Earnest winked.“Is that what you call it?”
“We can do that too.”Hugo almost smiled at Earnest’s keenness to be with him.“You can’t sit here, disgracefully dressed, where anyone might see.”
“Oh, Hugo.You sound like you care for me.”
He smiled.“I do and I hope I won’t regret the day that I welcomed a dramatic poet into my life.”
“If that’s not love, I’m not a wordsmith.”
“Shall we make a start on determining if that is true?”Hugo stood up, gave Earnest’s hands a tug, then walked beside him back to his father’s house.“It really is a monstrosity, isn’t it?”
“It’s lovely, if you like an ostentatious mixture of architectural styles where more is more and then more on top of that.”
“I thought I hated the house for what happened to me in there, but it’s really not my taste at all.”
Earnest elbowed him in the ribs, a jovial almost fun jab that made Hugo’s heart skip a beat.He really was going to fucking do this; be with Earnest and fall in love.And then he remembered the panic he’d felt when Earnest had left and he knew the truth.
“I really could fall in love with you.”
“Do it.I bet nothing will go wrong.”
Hugo’s whole body warmed.“You are a menace, Sir Earnest Pashley.”