Shepushed the door tentatively wide.“I know.I won’t tell.I washaving bad dreams, or I wouldn’t have…” She trailed off.“Laurie.Do you know there’s someone in your dressing gown?”
Lauriesighed, dying adrenaline shivering off him like glitter.“I’m awareof it.Yes.”He took an unsteady step back, seeing Sasha unfoldfrom the rug and rise to stand beside him.“He’s Sasha.He’s…”Laurie thought quickly.If he asked her to keep quiet, she would doher best.But she was so clear, so straightforward, that the truthwould fall from her over the breakfast table straight into herfather’s lap.Ask her to keep a romantic secret, however, and she’dprobably take it with her to the grave.“He’s a gypsy prince.”Heheard Sasha’s faint choking sound but forged on, deadpan.“And he’sin exile, so you mustn’t tell anyone he’s here.”
Claragazed at them both, her eyes enormous.“A prince?I won’t sayanything.I swear it on my life.”
“Just a promise will do.Well, Clara, this is Prince Sasha ofRomania.Sasha, my sister, Lady Clara Fitzroy ofMayfair.”
“Enchanted,” Sasha replied with impressive solemnity andstepped forward to give her a courtly bow.“I’m sorry to hear youhave bad dreams.”
Lauriewatched with a painful tightness in his throat while she triedvisibly to rise to the occasion.“Oh, they’re nothing,” she said.“A childish phase, apparently.Forgive my intrusion.”Bobbing him aneat convent-school curtsy, she began to back out.
“Wait, Clara.”She was pale, Laurie thought.He’d assumed shewas too young to feel the constant low-level sense of oppression inthe house.Assumed she’d been happy enough with her father.Godknew what she took in, what she knew.“Hannah’s with you, isn’tshe?”
“Yes.Snoring.”
“You can wake her up, you know, if you havenightmares.”
“I know.But she doesn’t…”
“Doesn’t what?”
“She doesn’t know Reduced Shakespeare,” Clara whispered, goingpaler still, eyes filling with tears.Laurie forgot with instanttotality any shreds of irritation, strode to her, and swept herup.
She saidto Sasha over his shoulder, as if making apology for somebody else,“Oh, dear.I’m not normally such a nuisance.”
“Not a nuisance at all,” Laurie said, sitting down with her onthe bed.“Which one in particular doesn’t she know?”
“King Lear, I think.”
“Good.A cheerful one.”This was easier than opera, Lauriethought.He’d been to see the whole Reduced Shakespeare Companyseries twice last year, not that it had taken much time—they’d donetragedies one night, comedies the next, and grouped togetherhistories and mysteries on the third.He’d reduced them stillfurther for Clara’s benefit on his return home, and they’d become afrequent choice for repeat performance.Settling her on a pillow,Laurie darted an apologetic glance at Sasha, but he’d gone back tosit by the hearth once more and was watching him with smilingcuriosity.Laurie took up a position roughly central in the roomand bowed to his small audience.“There once was a mardy oldking…”
Theperformance took less than ten minutes in limerick form.Itrequired all of Laurie’s ingenuity to leap from wicked Edmund todoomed and dim-witted Cordelia, and he almost sprained an ankle inthe mad scene on the heath, but the effort was well worth it.Theshadows left his sister’s face—and, to his astonishment, when heglanced across the room, he saw that Prince Sasha of Romania wascurled up by the fire, tears of silent laughter streaming.Givingthe ending his usual twist, Laurie had the old king and hisdaughter tango offstage together, alive and well and discussingtheir plans for revenge.
Heemerged, sweating and trembling with exhaustion, to noisy applause.“Ssh, both of you, for God’s sakes.Lady Clara, will that do foryou?”She was too far gone to reply, but he took her weak nod forassent and gathered her up.“I’ll be back in a minute,Sasha.”
She wasalmost asleep by the time he shouldered open the door of her room.He took her quietly over to the bed and laid her down besideHannah, who was sleeping the sleep of the innocent but smiledvaguely and threw an arm around Clara when she felt her weight.Hestraightened up, ran both hands through his hair and stood in thestreetlight for a moment trying to convince himself of hersafety.
In hisown room, Sasha was waiting.He stood up as Laurie reentered.“You’re a good, kind brother,” he said, holding out a hand.“And anamazing bloody actor.”
Lauriewalked into his arms.
The bedwas narrow.Their limbs tangled, awkward, Laurie’s now colder thanSasha’s.They sank down wordlessly, no time even to pull back theduvet and blanket.No time to divest Laurie of more than hissweater, though he almost died of fright and excitement when Sashaseized that and pulled it over his head.Sasha lay looking up athim, then ran both hands across his naked chest with a dry sound oflonging and hauled him down to lie beside him.In the dark theyfound again the interrupted kiss, picked it up with bruisingurgency.This time Laurie felt Sasha’s mouth open to admit him, andflickered his tongue uncertainly inside and back.“Oh, God.Sasha.”
“Yes.It’s all right.”
“Is it?Am I doing it right?”
Sashagave a soft, half-choked chuckle.“Yes.Doing it fine.Come on;come here.”
Moaning,Laurie obeyed him.It was as easy as obeying gravity, easy asfalling.He pushed his hips forward and felt Sasha shove back hardagainst him, then subside before pulling him up to lie on top.Together they undid his dressing gown’s belt and opened the garmentwide.Then Laurie held breathlessly still while Sasha deftly undidhis jeans—hesitated for a moment, as if he had shown too muchexpertise, dark eyes troubled, seeking Laurie’s in the amberstreetlight.Laurie said, in his turn, “It’s all right,” addedincoherently, “Please,” and shuddered in relief when Sashaunderstood him and shoved jeans and boxers down around hiships.
Theirbodies met, hard and hungry.Laurie cried out at the feel ofSasha’s cock against his own, a hot, dry slide.He wonderedfleetingly if he ought to be doing something more sophisticatedthan this, more than thrusting for contact as if his life dependedon it, but Sasha didn’t seem to mind—had opened his thighs as if towelcome and direct his efforts.His hands on Laurie’s backside werefirm, his face rapt, lips parted on quickened and quickeningbreath.“Oh, Laurie,” he whispered hoarsely, beginning raggedthrusts up to meet him.“Come on.”
Lauriegasped.He’d thought he was fully erect, but the whispered commandsent a surge through him.His movements took rhythm, barelyvoluntary, some ancient music that had been there all the time onlynow becoming audible to him.He briefly longed for his cock to beenclosed—he knew what gay men did, though it seemed barelyfeasible—and Sasha, as if reading him, reached a hand down betweentheir bodies.“Lift up a sec,” he murmured, hot against Laurie’sear.
Thebrushing caress of his mouth, his sudden clasp on Laurie’s cock,almost brought Laurie over on the spot, but he hung on; the touchwas full of intent, pushing his shaft down so that at his nextthrust, it was caught and clenched hard between Sasha’s thighs.Heheard his own astonished cry with shame.That was it; that was thegrip he had needed.
Instinct told him it was vital to keep Sasha with him, not tolet the soaring pleasure take him yet.If he came first, he mightleave Sasha thinking he had only served him, likea…like a client.The words whispered coldly through Laurie’s mind, and he pushedthem away.
