Page 15 of The Demons of Wychwood
THE GREAT ESCAPE
After cleaning ourselves up and getting dressed, I crept to the bedroom door, put my ear to the cool timber, and listened. Blimey, some of the fellows were goin’ at it hell for leather, grunting and groaning their pleasure with erotic abandon. I turned back to see Kit buttoning his waistcoat and couldn’t restrain a filthy leer. I’d never had such an intimate encounter before and if I’m honest, I was far from done with this man. I was giddy with the way he was looking back at me, his eyes full of intensity, and sweet affection. My belly was full too, of joyful fireflies that fluttered and burned. Kit sent me a wide licentious grin as if he finally understood the salacious look in my eyes.
“Stop distracting me!” I scolded, trying to hold in a laugh.
“I could say the same to you! Seeing you there, bent over with your ear to the door…your comely backside is most distracting!”
Heat rushed through me. I’d never had a fellow speak to me so, and I liked it.
“You ready to skidaddle?” I enquired returning to the bedside table and picking up my brass pocket watch, then attaching it to my belt loop. Kit did the same, threading his gold watch clasp onto his silken waistcoat and popping it in the pocket. I pulled my jacket and topcoat on and wrapped the woollen scarf around my neck.
Kit’s eyes met mine and he nodded that he was ready. I paced to the mantle and banked the fire while Kit made his way around the room blowing out the candles. I headed for the door and unlocked it. The hall was empty and the doors I could see were all closed. We had to chance it even though didn’t know where Napier was. Had Mr. Joshua thrown General Edward Napier out on his arse for causing a commotion? If the General was still in the house we’d do well to avoid him. I reached back and gripped Kit’s hand and we made a run for it, heading towards the servants back stairs. The gentlemen never used the back stairs, well, they weren’t supposed to. I opened the door and stepped into the stairway. When Kit closed the door behind us the stairway became dangerously dark, something I hadn’t thought about! All I could hear then were our raspy breaths and the thudding of our hearts. Kit’s front was pressed to my back, and he leaned in then, and turning my face to his, he took advantage of the darkness to taste my lips again .
I broke away from the kiss, “You’re incorrigible. We’d best be careful here; one slip-up and we’re done for,” I said in a rough whisper.
“Very well, but you owe me another kiss. I’ll take my payment later!” I wished I could have seen the way he was looking at me, but in my imagination his eyes were bright and he had a filthy smile on his handsome face.
I took Kit’s hand and placed it on the railing cos I knew this back staircase and Kit didn’t. “Put your other hand on my shoulder,” I said and then I stepped and slowly made my way down, feeling with my feet and my hands. Kit matched me step for careful step. When I got to the bottom, I heard voices on the other side of the door in the kitchen. Kit pressed his cheek to mine.
“What’s going on?” he whispered.
“Listen.” We tuned-in to a furious argument.
“Sir. I must insist! Sit down! I’m not permitting you to leave until you’ve finished at least one cup of coffee,” the deep voice of Mr. Joshua ordered.
“Damn your eyes! Who the bloody hell do you think you are… Joshua …telling me…ME what to do? I should tan your hide, man! If you were in my regiment—” Napier barked haughtily.
I felt Kit’s body tense beside me.
“Oh, God. That’s Edward, and he’s in a beastly mood,” Kit whispered fearfully .
“Sir, I’m not in your regiment and we are not at war,” Mr. Joshua said with a calmness that surprised me. “We are at an establishment with particular rules of behaviour, and they apply to all, no matter the social or military rank. Now, sir, our members have been discomforted by your outburst. For dignities sake, the least you can do is to take the cup of coffee I have provided and allow me to arrange for your carriage.”
“Insolence! How dare you, how dare you speak to me in such a way,” Napier roared.
“You are forgetting yourself General Napier,” Mr. Joshua continued sternly. “I am here to ensure the safety and best interests of all members of Club Fifty-five. You know the rules. You agreed to abide by those rules, and you know full-well what happens if you do not. If you bring attention to this house, you will be barred from attending future gatherings. I cannot say what damage will be done to your reputation, but it will be savage. I recommend sobering a little and leaving Wychwood with the grace and decorum expected of a man of your station. If you do as I say I will ensure you remain in good standing.”
“Rules…rules, bloody rules! Bah…it’s all tish and piffle!” Napier harrumphed drunkenly. Silence fell, and we waited…and waited. No one spoke for several minutes, and I racked my brains about what to do if General Napier didn’t fuck-right-off pretty sharpish!
Miss Georgette sang ‘Oh what a queer sensation’, while Mr. Hugo tickled the ivories. Mr. Joshua remained with Napier in the kitchen and so the front door was unattended. Those members who weren’t getting a seeing-to upstairs were in one of the downstairs rooms, eating, drinking, gaming, and enjoying Miss Georgette’s performance. Maybe, if Napier didn’t budge soon we’d have to backtrack and try to leave unseen through the front door? The sound of a China cup clinking loudly on a saucer pulled me from my thoughts.
“There! Are you satisfied man? I’m tired of you standing over me like my damnable nanny,” Napier grumbled. “My driver should be here by now. Stand aside man,” he ordered, and I heard the scraping of a chair on the flagstone floor.
“Very well sir, I’ll collect your hat and coat and wait with you in the foyer.” Mr. Joshua’s voice faded as he left the kitchen. I took my chance then and opened the stairway door a crack. The coast was clear. Like the sneak thief I was trained to be, I scurried across the kitchen not making a sound. I reached inside my pocket and clutched the back door key, then quietly unlocked the back door. Kit was by my side and as I pulled the door open a fierce gust of wind rushed into the house and made a door somewhere slam. Gods, we were out of the back door like there truly was a demon after us. I locked up, and when I was sure no one was coming to check where the draft had come from, we legged it through the garden to the back gate. When we were both in the alley I put the key back behind the secret brick.
“Fuck me!” I sighed with relief as I leaned back against the wall.
“You can say that again. If he’d seen me while he’s in that mood I doubt I would have been able to sit down for days,” Kit said morosely.
I tugged my flat cap from my coat pocket and planted it on my head and then pulled on my fingerless gloves. It was bloomin’ freezing, but the fog wasn’t too bad tonight. There were a few gas lanterns around the back of the house as there was a stable where coaches and horses could wait for their gentlemen, so we had a little light.
“You alright?” I asked Lord Kit.
“I forgot my blasted top hat!” he said in a low voice.
“No matter, we ain’t going back for it. Now, button your coat up,” I took out my pocket watch to check the time. It was eleven-thirty.
“If we leg-it we can get the last omnibus into town, then we can find a hack,” I said and started to hurry down the track. I didn’t fancy having to walk all the way into town. Turning onto the street a horse and carriage suddenly pulled out of the driveway for Wychwood. It was the same liveried carriage that had taken me back to the GPO that fateful day I’d hand delivered the letter to Kit.
“Thank God for that!” Kit said as he saw the carriage with an angry, drunk Edward Napier inside vanishing down the road. His countenance relaxed a little as he walked by my side.
I heard the approaching horse-drawn omnibus before I saw it. “Come on, quick!” I said, pulling Kit’s sleeve. We crossed the road and I thrust out my arm just in time to alert the driver to stop.
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