“It’s the world that’s wrong, not us.”
Bobby blinks, shuddering as James’ thumb brushes at his cheek again. Oh, he’s crying, how mortifying. Or maybe, as James rises on his tiptoes to kiss the tears away, maybe it’s beautiful. Maybe the two of them against the world is real, and right, and everything he’s wanted.
“James,” he whispers, trying to summon words—the right words—anywords—through the surge of feeling and love and overwhelm that’s coursing through him.
“I have to tell you something,” James adds, pulling back, his hands falling from Bobby’s face. He wants to chase after them.
Instead, James links their fingers together and looks up at him seriously. “Raverson’s coming for us, after Cowes. He wants a thousand pounds each from you and me, or he’s going to the papers.”
“Shit,” Bobby says, the absolute least elegant thing he could possibly utter.
“Albert is planning to convene the whole group tomorrow and we’ll figure something out. But I wanted to be the one to tell you.”
Bobby feels it bubbling up in him, the urge to solve the problem—to present their wild plan to end Raverson for good. “And you’re still here?” comes out instead.
Because Raverson—and all that he represents—was the fear, the very reason James ran away. And now he’s holding Bobby like he’s something precious.
James nods slowly, looking vulnerable and scared, and yet still here, still here, still here. “Raverson is going to come after us whether we stay apart or not. Theworldis going to tell us we’re sick and wrong and perverted whether we’re together ornot. And I’m—I’m tired of doing this alone. Better we face the wretched world together than apart... right?”
Joy and surprise and sorrow war in his chest, but the answer is immediate. “Yes,” he breathes out. “Yes, better together, I think.”
James’ smile stretches into a grin as he rises on his toes to pull Bobby into another fabulous kiss—this one tinged with laughter and glory. But Bobby still has something he needs to say, now that James has bared his soul. He can be the one to fix things—really fix things. He can be the one to solve this problem.
“What if it wasn’t a problem anymore?” he asks, squeezing James’ waist.
“What?”
“What if we could prove to Raverson that there isn’t a scandal to expose at all—that there’s nothing to blackmail.”
James stills, his hands going slack at Bobby’s cheeks. “I told you, he’ll stop at nothing. Pretending we’re not... it doesn’t matter to him.”
Bobby shakes his head, pulling back to hold James by his biceps, stroking at the defined muscles still hidden under his frock coat. “I don’t mean we keep hiding. Beth and I—well, actually, Gwen and Beth had a plan, and I think it’s a good plan, so I’ll say it’s our plan.”
“A... plan,” James repeats warily.
“A way to give all of us a permanent happy ending,” Bobby continues.
“A permanent happy ending? That sounds rather ominous—”
Bobby laughs, startled. “No. No, it’s good—I want to marry you,” he spits out, inelegant and impatient and imperfect.
James just blinks at him. “Excuse me?”
“That’s our plan. I get to marry you; Beth gets to marry Gwen. If—if you’ll have me, of course.”
“Marry you?” James says. “But—”
“Well, marry me through Gwen. God, I’m butchering this, aren’t I?” he asks, watching James’ bemusement grow. He laughs a little nervously, but James hasn’t pulled away. His hands are on Bobby’s chest, fingers curled into his lapels.
“The plan was that I would marry Beth, and you would marry Gwen, and then the four of us would go up and live in the country and it would be like it was at my manor, but... forever,” he says, his voice going tight as he speaks it into existence. “And then we’d have partners for everything social, and we could all live close together, and it was... just an idea.” He peters off as James’ eyes remain wide, his mouth still open.
Bobby feels his assurance fading in his chest. His fingertips go cold, worry creeping over him. What if this wasn’t what James wanted? What if he doesn’t actually want to betogether, really? What if he was still thinking he’d marry, really marry, in five years or so, to produce an heir? What if—
“You want to spend forever with me?” James whispers.
Bobby’s breath leaves him in a great whoosh. His heart pounds in his chest, but this part is easy. “Of course! I’m asking you to marry me. Well, marry me through our cousi—”
James suddenly drops and Bobby stumbles back, reaching out for him, only to realize James hasn’t fallen or fainted. Instead, he’s knelt on the ground. Kneeling like...oh.
