Arthur caught Jesse’s hand and kissed it. Afterwards, he took the very wrinkled sketch of the mostly finished modified Jobber off of the mattress and placed it on the nightstand next to his frames. He’d take it home as a keepsake.
When Arthur righted himself, the two men began to kiss. Arthur became lost in it, his shame and sorrow and regret waning, the emotions becoming replaced instead by a warm happiness.
Arthur hooked one of his legs over Jesse’s hips and pulled him closer.
“It’s late, isn’t it? I thought you had to leave for church soon,” Jesse said, though Arthur still felt the man’s cock starting to stiffen next to his.
Arthur let out a sound that was a mixture of a wicked laugh and a hum. Placing a hand on Jesse’s shoulder, Arthur urged his beau onto his back and then rose to his knees.
“Oh, but what better way to be closer to heaven than to be inside you?” he teased.
“You’re ridiculous,” Jesse said as he lifted and curled his legs.
Arthur leaned over to reach for the bottle of oil they kept by the bed.
“I know.”
***
That night, once Emma was asleep, Arthur removed a bottle of wine from the cellar while Charlotte took two wineglasses from a kitchen cupboard, and then the two headed back to the library, both of them exhausted from the time they’d spent entertaining Arthur’s parents.
After Arthur and Charlotte settled on the sofa, Arthur poured each of them a glass of wine. They took a sip at the same time and simultaneously let out long sigh-hums, which then had both of them chuckling.
“Are you that tired, too?” Arthur said.
“Unfortunately.” Charlotte’s small smile faltered as she swirled the red wine in her glass. “Not for the same reasons, though.”
“No, I should think not, since it was me who spent hours monopolizing the conversation earlier this evening.” After taking one more sip, he turned to face her, lifting one of his legs to rest his ankle on its opposite knee and stretching out his free arm before resting it on the back cushion. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
“Yes and no,” she sighed. “I had the most wonderful time with Claire today. But we finally broached the subject of what will happen next year when Lizzie no longer needs a tutor. Probably Claire will need to find some other family to workfor. Or, even if Lizzie’s family keeps her as a maid or something, Claire says that Lizzie’s parents are thinking of moving up to the Gold Coast.”
Arthur scowled. “Why’s everyone leaving Prairie Avenue lately? It’s strange.”
“It’s not everyone.”
“No, not everyone. I’m sure that my parents, as well as some of their closest friends, for instance, will stay here forever. Until their mansions become tombs.”
Charlotte chuckled and nudged him. “Stop.”
Arthur held up his free hand, feigning innocence.
“Anyway,” she continued, “I’m worried that regardless of what happens, I won’t be able to see her anymore. I mean, if she returns home, her parents will probably want to find someone for her to... marry.”
“No,” Arthur said emphatically. “No, Irefuseto let that happen.”
Charlotte’s lips curled to form a small bemused smile. “Apologies, Arthur, but I’m not sure that you’d have a say in it.”
“Why not? I’ll hire her here.”
“For what?” Charlotte asked through a light laugh.
“I’ll think of something.”
“We’ll see. Obviously, it will be up to Claire. Well, to Claireandto her parents.”
“Oh, who cares what they think?” Arthur jested.
“Youcare whatyourparents think,” Charlotte countered.
