Page 41 of The Labours of Lord Perry Cavendish

Perry smiled at him. “All right,” he agreed, amiably.

The maidservant arrived then, with the soup tureen, and as soon as Perry smelled the savoury broth, he realised he was famished. By the time he'd finished his soup, the next course was already being brought in: a large turbot, a platter of small roast birds, sliced roast beef, several dishes of dressed vegetables and jugs of different sauces. It looked delicious and smelled even better.

Jonny asked Huxley and Alderton about their itinerary on the Continent, and Perry listened with fascination as they described their plans, the two of them taking turns talking. Their gazes met often as they mentioned each new place, their affection for one another plain.

Their principal destination was the Italian peninsula, where they intended to spend at least a year, but more likely two years. However, they were in no great hurry to arrive and anticipated spending several months travelling through France.

“We dock at le Havre,” Huxley said, “As it happens, I have an artist friend in Honfleur who has invited us to stay. So we’ll spend perhaps a week there, then on to Paris for a few weeks before we go south.”

Perry glanced at Jonny, who was listening raptly, ignoring his dinner.

“We plan to amble through Burgundy on our way to Lyon,” Alderton added, “Then onto Grenoble and the Alps before we travel to Turin.”

“That's when we really get started on the good stuff,” Huxley added with an excited grin.

“Theart, he means,” Alderton added, meeting Perry’s gaze. “For my part, it’s the Alps that will be the high point.”

Huxley spoke at length about the places they’d be going to in Sardinia, Lombardy, Tuscany and the Papal states. Perry would never have known there were so many academies and galleries and palaces to see. So many famous art works to gaze upon: the Sistine Chapel andThe Birth of Venusand Michelangelo’sDavid—and those were just the ones Perry could remember.

They ate and drank, dishes coming and going and more wine being brought. Huxley and Alderton were an entertaining pair, and they generously drew Perry into the conversation too, asking him all sorts of questions, with every appearance of genuine interest. Once Alderton, who had been a cavalry officer, discovered Perry’s love of all things equine, they settled into a long and satisfying conversation about horses, which Jonny eventually declared he was bringing to a forcible end.

“I thought Jasper and I were bad with our constant talking about art,” he complained. “But you two are worse.”

Alderton laughed. “I’m getting my own back for all the evenings I’ve spent listening to you two jabbering on about frescoes and pigments and what not.”

Perry knew that Huxley and Alderton were lovers, but he would not have assumed that was the case had he not known. No one would be in any doubt that they were the best of friends, constantly finishing one another's sentences and sharing endless private jokes, but they were far less physical with one another than Zander and Adam, keeping their hands strictly to themselves—though of course, Zander and Adam were only able to show their affection to one another in the private areas of their own home.

While their romantic partnership might not have been obvious, though, one thing was very plain to Perry—Huxley and Alderton werehappytogether. Their joy in each other’s company was palpable, and Perry found he wanted to just… watch them together. There was something wonderful about knowing what they were to one another. Witnessing first-hand the full, rich life they shared together.

By the time the maidservant had cleared the last of the dishes away, leaving them with a bottle of Port, Perry was feeling pleasantly full of good food and wine and was in excellent charity with the world.

“Well," Jonny said, smiling at his friends, “It sounds like you're going to have a marvellous time. I will miss you terribly, though, so you must write to me often and share all the details of the things you see and the people you meet.”

“I just wish you could see it all for yourself, Jonny,” Huxley said, a little sadly. “I know you’d love it. Whydon'tyou come? You needn’t sail with us now—you could meet us later.”

Perry glanced at Jonny. He was staring down at where his hands rested on the table, and he looked so damnedsad. The worst thing about this, it seemed to Perry, was that Jonny wasn’t making excuses not to go on a trip he had no desire to undertake. He reallydidwant to go to the Continent. Hedidwant to visit the Uffizi gallery in Florence and the Pantheon in Rome and that academy-whatsit place in Milan.

It wasn't fair. If he wanted to go, he should be able to do so without worrying his head off.

Perry was feeling sentimental, and he was in his cups besides. Perhaps if he had not been, he would have retained a shred of sense and not spoken. But he was bosky, and tender-hearted, and somehow he found himself turning to Huxley and blurting out, “It’s only the travelling that bothers him.”

Everyone went quiet and looked at him, and Perry felt like he needed to explain.

“When you have a mind like Jonny’s,” he said, “so full of imagination and cleverness, I mean—well, it must be very overwhelming to think about all the things that might go wrong when you embark on such a long trip.”

“Yes,” Huxley agreed. “Especially when you’ve been held up and robbed in the past.”

What?

Perry turned to Jonny, who was still staring down at his hands.

“Jonny?”

Jonny glanced up and met his gaze. He nodded. “It happened when I was fifteen and travelling to my uncle’s house for the summer holidays. I’d done the journey on my own several times before, but on that occasion, the carriage was held up by highwaymen.”

“Fifteen?” Perry echoed. “You must have been terrified.”

Jonny gave a strained laugh. “You read about highwaymen, don’t you, and it always sounds so romantic. A masked man on a black horse, stealing kisses as he slides the rings from the ladies’ fingers. Well, there wasnothingromantic about this. There were three of them, and they were brutal. They shot the coachman through the shoulder and pulled me out—then beat me and robbed me.”