Howard laughed. “I am most certain you are, darling,” he said. “But that is not what I have in mind.”
Contradicting his words, he leaned down and kissed Clermont’s temptingly parted lips. The man was more of an aphrodisiac than wine and oysters together. He kissed Howard back eagerly, grasping at his clothing as if he would peel Howard out of it.
It was a shame to end such a beautiful kiss, but Howard had other ideas.
“Not yet,” he said, pulling back and standing. “We have other things to occupy ourselves first. Come, get up, dress in something warm, and follow me.”
Clermont looked at him in confusion for a moment before muscling himself to sit, then to throw his legs over the edge of the bed to stand. He continued to look confused as Howard helped him gather warm things to dress in and to put his shoes on.
“Where are we going?” Clermont whispered once they left the room to tiptoe downstairs. “It’s well past midnight. Everyone has gone to bed.”
He was mostly correct. The Chameleon Club had a few night owls who preferred to be up when everyone else was fast asleep. Howard was certain London itself would be the same way.
When they reached the club’s front door, Clermont grasped what Howard had in mind.
“Oh, no,” he said, digging in his heels at they approached. “I…I cannot go out.”
“You can,” Howard said firmly. When Clermont shook his head and tried to back away, Howard moved to stand behind him, wrapping his arms protectively around his angel. “It is the middle of the night,” he said. “Most of London will be fast asleep. The streets will be all but empty. You will not need to worry about being seen or accosted.”
“I…I do not know,” Clermont said weakly.
Howard squeezed him tighter. “There is a carriage out there waiting for us. We will be inside through our entire journey. And I will be there with you.”
“Are we going somewhere in particular?” Clermont asked, glancing at Howard over his shoulder.
“Just for a drive about town to see London bedecked for Christmas,” Howard explained.
Clermont took a deep breath and stared at the door. “Alright,” he said, seeming to gather his resolve. “Lead me on.”
Howard smiled, so proud of his lover. He let go so that Clermont could walk forward on his own. The nighttime attendant who manned the club’s door smiled sleepily at them then opened it, letting in a blast of frigid air.
Clermont shivered, but Howard doubted it was from the cold. He moved boldly forward, though, one step at a time, crossing over the club’s threshold and out onto the flagstone terrace where he’d swooned earlier. He did not swoon this time, however, Howard could see the man’s panic in the puffs of frosted breath that escaped from him. He could practically feel Clermont’s rigidity as he hurried forward to the waiting carriage.
The driver whom Howard was paying an exorbitant sum to take them on their midnight journey held the door open with a smile. “Good evening, Mr. Clermont,” he said, tipping his hat to Clermont as though it were the middle of the day, as Clermont leapt into the carriage.
“Good evening, Ben,” Howard greeted the driver for them both as he followed Clermont into the safety of the carriage. “You know the route I’ve laid out.”
“I do indeed, sir,” Ben said, closing the door. Through the glass he said, “Let me know if there is anything you’d like to stop and see. Just knock on the roof.”
Howard nodded, Ben disappeared from view, the carriage dipped as he climbed into place, and a moment later they were off.
“I cannot believe I made it into the carriage,” Clermont said, somewhat breathlessly. “It is surprisingly warm in here.”
“I prepared for our little outing,” Howard said, nodding to the small tin box on the floor that must have contained hot coalswhen it was put into the conveyance. It was only passingly warm now.
Clermont nodded, but instead of saying more, he gazed out the window as if seeing London for the first time. “It has been three years,” he said softly.
Howard smiled and slipped his arm around Clermont, holding the man close. Simply watching his young lover look at the world he’d left behind so long ago with wonder and welcome made Howard feel as though he were seeing it after a long time, too.
It might have been the middle of the night, but London did not sleep in the same way the countryside did. Streetlamps flickered every few meters along the major thoroughfares they drove down. A lamplighter could be seen now and then, tending the flames and making certain they did not go out entirely. The glow of the lamps illuminated the shops and homes they passed in warm, almost mysterious light.
It was not just the lamps and their light that made the city seem magical. As Howard and Clermont nibbled on the snacks that the club’s kitchen had provided, they looked out on garlands of greenery, ribbons, and bells that festooned windows and doorways and hung between buildings in some of the narrower streets. A few houses still had candles lit in their windows, making them seem cheery and homey.
“It’s beautiful,” Clermont said, his eyes round with surprise as he looked out at the Christmassy world. “I never knew London could be so beautiful.”
“Everyplace looks beautiful with you in it,” Howard said.
He blinked at his statement. He had in no way intended to be so sentimental. He’d intended to say that everyplace looked beautiful at Christmas. He stood by his statement, though. Clermont was a gem, and he made the world around him shine just by being in it.
