Jus Primae Noctis Vol 2 Chapter 8

Jus Primae Noctis Volume 2, Chapter 8

Over time, as the two of them spent all of their days and nights in the other's company, their relations.h.i.+p had developed into a finely nuanced state of affairs, however, facts were facts --- the Princess had still not been found, and their only lead had seemingly been broken.

Although he had already been cooped up in the hotel with Walker for three days, the Marquess still seemed to have absolutely no intention of deciding on their next course of action, instead choosing to pester him all day to engage in some intimacies. Although he did not, in actual fact, detest the life he was leading with the Marquess, and how the two of them were living together so closely, Walker really could not see the point of this purposeless waiting.

Compared to Walker, who looked to be somewhat troubled and crestfallen, Wilts.h.i.+re seemed to have an ace up his sleeve --- on this morning, he was sitting in a sun-drenched spot on the green lawn of the hotel, enjoying his delicious French-style breakfast with an unperturbed look on his face.

“Don’t tell me we are going to wait here until Count Wainwright comes back?” Three days of fruitless waiting had caused Walker to be a little antsy; he really did not know where Wilts.h.i.+re's c.o.c.ksureness had come from.

“Of course not, who knows when he would come back. Besides, he may not even necessarily return to Paris.” This whole incident was obviously a well-engineered plot, although it could not be said to have been extremely complex, it was also not simple --- it would seem that someone hated the Prince Regent very much, and that person must also possess tremendous wealth and influence.

“Then the next step… we…” It wasn't that he was unwilling to remain in France with the Marquess, Walker also knew that the relations.h.i.+p between the two of them would be confronted with many variables once they returned to Britain, but even so, he did not want to sit down and watch as the situation dragged on to a standstill.

“Of course we still start from Joseph --- since there are no new leads, of course we can only repeat the original series of steps, and see if we can make a breakthrough.”

Walker had to admire Wilts.h.i.+re a little bit for the way he could make such a rotten idea sound so matter-of-fact, but he still had to admit that he himself really could not think of a better solution than this either.

Walker exercised his patience as the Marquess slowly and deliberately savoured his breakfast, and when the two of them reached Joseph's shop after travelling by horse carriage, it was already nearly noon. But what was startling was that the door of that draper's shop was tightly closed, and the despondent woman they had previously met was nowhere to be seen.

After making enquiries of a neighbour, they followed his directions and found the new house of Joseph's family, located two blocks away. Surprisingly, it was a clean and bright building with a small courtyard, which was rather commodious for that cla.s.s of residence --- although it could not be termed as luxurious, it was still a considerable improvement from that lowly shop house with its narrow attic.

After ringing the doorbell, Walker almost did not recognize Joseph's mother when she opened the door --- her melancholy look had been swept clean, the clothing she was wearing was also obviously much neater and smarter, and more than that, the smile on her face told them that she had come into luck.

“Oh, it’s the two of you?” Joseph's mother had apparently recognized the two men. Naturally, the mood of someone who had recently been blessed by Lady Luck would be good, and she warmly greeted the two of them and invited them to have a seat in the parlour.

“It’s like this… I have gone to visit that doctor friend of mine who lives in Paris, he said that recently, he has become busier, but he would come over to take a look at Joseph in a few days. Today, I actually went to Sa.s.sen Street to tell you about this matter but a neighbour told me that you have moved…” Although what he was saying was definitely all just a bunch of lies, Wilts.h.i.+re's demeanour totally looked to be one of a sincere gentleman.

Evidently moved by Wilts.h.i.+re’s warmheartedness, Joseph’s mother heaped thanks upon Wilts.h.i.+re, as she explain the reason for their move: “Much thanks to you, Mr Stone, and please convey my thanks to your doctor friend. However, there is no need to bother him anymore. Two days ago, a friend of my late husband suddenly visited us; he said that during his lifetime, my husband had once gone into business with him. Now, the venture has made a lot of money and he wanted to give my husband's share of the profits to us. He found a doctor for Joseph, and also said that my husband once promised to betroth Joseph to his daughter… his daughter is such a beautiful girl, she doesn't at all mind that Joseph is ill, and Joseph likes her very much too... everything is like a gift from G.o.d, oh, even now, I still feel like I am in a dream...”

The woman's head was clearly spinning because of the sudden arrival of good fortune; without reserve, she enthusiastically told these men who were still nearly strangers of her happiness.

Wilts.h.i.+re only smiled as he listened, but Walker was already a little flummoxed by this fantastical story that seemed to have come out of the Arabian Nights.

“Madame, may I meet with Joseph? Monsieur Portland would be very happy if I could tell him of Joseph’s current situation.” After the woman finished narrating her tale, the Marquess politely brought up the purpose of this trip.

“Of course, Joseph also said that he wants me to tell Monsieur Portland not to send medicine here anymore. It would be great if you would help me to pa.s.s this message to him.” The woman stood up, indicating that the two men should follow her.

They walked to a pristine and verdant lawn at the back of the house; Walker saw that Joseph was sitting on a chair in the centre of it, and a beautiful lady who was tastefully dressed was sitting beside him.

“Joseph, Mr. Stone has come to visit you. This is Mademoiselle Joanna, she’s Joseph’s fiancée.”

It would seem that his vitality had been revitalised because he had met with good fortune and was going to get married soon, Joseph's appearance had undergone a complete change from the ailing and weak man he had been just a few days ago --- his face was tranquil and handsome, he was dressed tidily, and although he was still somewhat gaunt, the air about him was now entirely that of a beautiful, golden-haired youth.

When he saw Wilts.h.i.+re and Walker, his att.i.tude was also not as bad as it had been previously. He said to Wilts.h.i.+re: “Please go and tell Simon Portland, he does not need to send medicine to me anymore and I have already sent someone to return him the money I owe him. Also, please ask him not to come and bother me any longer.”

Hearing that, Wilts.h.i.+re very graciously smiled and said: “No problem, I will pa.s.s your message to him. I believe Simon would also be glad to hear that you are so cheerful now.”

Joseph was just about to say something, but he spotted his mother leading yet another person into the garden. When Walker took a careful look, he found that it was none other than Portland.

Oh G.o.d --- in his heart, Walker gave a groan, but when he looked at Wilts.h.i.+re obliquely, he found that he still looked as unruffled as ever.

Portland had evidently spotted them, his face clearly froze. Already ashen, the look on his face grew even colder and more sombre. However, Wilts.h.i.+re seemed not to have noticed; he approached, putting on an expression that suggested a serendipitous meeting of two old friends in a foreign land, and expended a hand to grasp Portland as he said: “Ah, Monsieur Portland, this is such a coincidence! It just so happens that I have come to find Monsieur Joseph because of some matter…”

Portland was evidently in no mood to play along; brus.h.i.+ng off Wilts.h.i.+re's hand, he headed straight towards Joseph like an arrow.

“What is the meaning of this?” He fished out a heavy pouch from a pocket at the breast of his jacket and tossed it in front of Joseph. When the pouch landed, the clang of metal striking against metal rang out, and it opened to reveal the gleam of gold coins inside.

“I am returning you the money for the medicine, please accept it. From now on, we are even.” Joseph’s expression was very cold, and also very heartless.

“You…” A pang of pain flashed over Portland's face, and he unconsciously pressed a hand over his chest, looking as if he were trying to protect something, “You… you…”

Three times he said the word “you”, but he could not continue on. Slowly he retreated a few steps, but then, he turned his despairing and anguished eyes to Wilts.h.i.+re's face and said: “It’s you, it’s you… you two must have told him, am I right?”

He pointed to Wilts.h.i.+re and Walker as he spoke, his voice full of hatred. Walker knew that he must have a.s.sumed that Wilts.h.i.+re and he had told Joseph about the matter of him selling his body to other men; he was just about to refute the accusation, but Joseph beat him to it: “"Your Lords.h.i.+p, Count Portland, they have not had the time to tell me anything at all. If there are no other matters, I hope that you will leave quickly. When my agent pa.s.sed the money to you, he should have also pa.s.sed on this message: please do not appear before me anymore. You must clearly know... I shall be getting married soon, and this is my fiancée.”

He pulled Joanna, who was at his side, to him, and stared at Portland with his face full of mockery.

“Mr. Portland, we really have not told Mr Joseph anything yet…” Upon seeing that Portland’s expression looked like that of a dead man, Walker could not help but to tell him the truth.

The tension on Portland's face finally eased a little, he took a step towards Joseph but was held back by Wilts.h.i.+re.

“Monsieur Joseph, I think it would be best if we ask the two ladies to withdraw first.” He gave a reminder.

“Oh, yes.” Joseph also looked as if he had just been startled out of a dream, and he quickly turned to his mother and said: “Maman, please help me to send Mademoiselle Joanna back home, there are some money matters that I have to discuss with Monsieur Portland.” He put deliberate emphasis on the two words "money matters", evidently not willing to let his fiancée have any doubts about the reason for his a.s.sociation with Portland.

Joanna also seemed to be an intelligent and discreet girl, she very quickly understood that her fiancé did not wish for her to be present, and after giving them a slight curtsey, she followed Joseph's mother and left the garden, leaving the four men in the eye of the storm.

“Joseph… please don’t leave me…” Suddenly, Portland broke free of Wilts.h.i.+re's grasp, rus.h.i.+ng to Joseph, he seemed to want to embrace him --- but Joseph dodged out of the way.

“My Lord Baron, please conduct yourself with some dignity! Your friends are still here.”

Portland, however, seemed as though he had not heard a word, and continued to hound the beautiful golden-haired youth.

“Joseph, please don’t leave me! Don’t get married! Oh, I love you, Joseph…” He seemed to have forgotten about everything else, the only thing he could remember was the love he bore for this boy in front of him.

“Love me? Humph! Do you think that hypocritically taking care of me after raping me const.i.tutes love towards me?”Joseph’s hatred towards Portland also seemed to be boiling over, not caring at all that other people were present, he laid bare the biggest secret between the two of them.

Ah, so the two of them had this type of relations.h.i.+p --- when he heard the word “rape”, Walker couldn’t help but dart a glance at Wilts.h.i.+re, only to find that he was currently looking at him and smiling… he quickly turned his face away, but traitorously, even the back of his ears had turned red.

“No… I love you, but you would not even look at me, I really did not have any other way of making you notice me…” Portland desperately tried to take Joseph into his arms, but time and again, he was pushed away.

“Not caring about my wishes at all and using force to compel me, how dare you even bring up the word ‘love’ to me? Whatever the case, there are no longer any ties between us, we became strangers on the day that your father drove me out… I don't wish to pursue the matter of your crimes against me, but you have kept on hara.s.sing me relentlessly. I have already returned all the money I owe to you… Baron, you should take this sum of money and use it to repay your debts.” Joseph's expression was cold and hard, his words were cruel and absolute, leaving no room for Portland to have even the slightest doubt about his intentions.

“I know that I’ve wronged you, but Joseph, I beg you… beg you not to leave me… beg you not to marry that woman… I beg you…” Portland was much taller and stronger than Joseph, but at the moment, he seemed to be exceptionally feeble, as he kept on begging and pleading for Joseph to take pity on him.

“Say no more! I don’t wish to hear it at all!”

Joseph said those words viciously, before turning to say to Wilts.h.i.+re and Walker: “Aren’t the two of you his friends? You should urge him not to make a fool of himself here, quickly take him away!”

“No! I’m not leaving! Joseph, don’t abandon me…” Portland desperately tried to break free of Wilts.h.i.+re, who was dragging him away, but he was simply no match for the Marquess's strength and he was hauled out of Joseph's home and onto a carriage.

“Let go of me! Let go of me, I want to go find Joseph, I want to go find him!” Seemingly on the brink of frenzy, Portland struggled wildly, until the Marquess struck him a forceful blow on the side of his neck. Immediately, he fainted and peace was finally restored to the carriage compartment.

“To h.e.l.l with it! So d.a.m.n heavy!” After searching Portland for the key to his home, he opened the door and tossed the man he was carrying over his shoulders onto the sofa, mumbling his complaints all the while.

“Don’t be like this, he is really quite pitiful.” Walker walked over, thinking to move Portland to a more comfortable position, only to discover that he had already regained consciousness.

Portland stared at the two men with sharp eyes, and said in a hoa.r.s.e voice: “Who are you people, really? Didn't I already tell you that it is Wainwright who knows where the Princess is, why don't you go and find him? Don't bother me anymore, I've very tired... would the two of you please leave at once.”

“We have already gone to find him; Wainwright is not in Paris [1]…” Walker started to speak, but he was interrupted midway by Wilts.h.i.+re.

“Monsieur Portland, we know that you are in much pain right now, but Monsieur Joseph really does not bear any love for you --- just like how you were with the Princess. No matter how much she may have loved you, you weren’t willing to be with her. I hope you can empathise with the Princess's feelings a little; even if you broke her heart and disappointed her, at least do not let her be stranded in a foreign land.” It was rare that Wilts.h.i.+re would speak with such a serious tone of voice, and yet to the listeners, his words sounded exceptionally righteous, and were quite convincing.

Portland also seemed to have been moved by his speech, but the incessant pain in his heart made him unwilling to consider anything that was unrelated to Joseph: “My apologies, I know that I have done wrong by Caroline, but I am really unable to think about matters related to her… I am in much turmoil now, I beg you to let me be quiet for a while.”

A small part of Walker could not bear to see how Portland looked to be on the verge of collapse; he lightly tugged on the Marquess's sleeve and whispered into his ear: “Let’s go now, we can come back at night when he’s calmer.”

Of course, Wilts.h.i.+re also knew the truism that one should not push somebody too far. He nodded when he heard Walker's words; turning towards Portland, he said: “Since that’s the case, we shall not disturb you further.”

Portland only nodded weakly from the sofa, his whole person gave off an air of desolation, as if he no longer wished to bother about the world beyond himself.

Even after he had gotten onto a carriage with Wilts.h.i.+re, Walker still could not help feeling a bit pensive, sighing with regret at the intricacies of love in the mortal world --- even at the expense of sacrificing all of his ego, Portland still wanted to strive for an all-consuming love, but the actual result was that all of his efforts had come to naught, and even as he was fighting for it, he had been roundly defeated by a woman who had just popped out of the blue. Come to think of it, the Baron was really very pitiful.

“What’s so pitiful about it, it’s all because he’s too stupid.” The Marquess was totally disdainful, finding the whole thing beneath contempt. “If you should stubbornly refuse to like me, or if you start posturing like you want get married and take some woman to be your wife, even if I have to s.n.a.t.c.h you away, I will make sure that you will end up in my hands. I'll absolutely insist on having you admit that you have fallen in love with me.”

When Walker heard this, his head immediately began to throb. He knew that Wilts.h.i.+re wasn't just kidding around, if he really wanted to do as he had originally planned, and tried to part ways with him once they returned to Britain, he really did not know what ploys Wilts.h.i.+re would use to recapture him.

His heart could not help but to secretly heave a sigh, he really did not have any inkling how best to wind down their relations.h.i.+p.

Back at the hotel, they found that the rus.h.i.+ng back and forth had tired out the two of them a little. Wilts.h.i.+re pulled at Walker, and the two of them tumbled onto the bed together. After that, the Marquess's hands inevitably started to get unruly.

The b.u.t.tons of his s.h.i.+rt had been yanked open and Walker could feel Wilts.h.i.+re's long and elegant fingers caressing his bare chest. Walker slowly closed his eyes --- all of a sudden, Portland's world-weary expression flashed before his eyes. Immediately, a shudder overtook his whole body. Pus.h.i.+ng Wilts.h.i.+re away, he sat up.

“What is it?” The l.u.s.t-swollen tumescence at his lower body having no outlet for release, Wilts.h.i.+re looked at Walker with some confusion, watching as he hurriedly gathered together his clothes and also tossing Wilts.h.i.+re's own jacket to him.

“We’re going back to Portland’s place.”

Someone as clever as Wilts.h.i.+re would of course immediately understand that Walker was afraid that Portland would commit suicide. Hurriedly, he put on his jacket. Following behind Walker, they raced out of the hotel together, hailing a carriage and heading straight for Portland's home.

They rang the doorbell desperately, but even after what seemed like the pa.s.sage of half a day, there was no response. At that, Wilts.h.i.+re could not help but to secretly grow fearful. Throwing caution to the wind, once again, he dragged Walker to the back door and he stole into Portland's home in the same manner as the previous time. After searching the entire second floor and finding not so much as a person's shadow, he rushed down the stairs.

Once he was in the drawing room, he heaved a sigh of relief --- Simon Portland was still lying on the sofa in the same position as when they had taken their leave of him. He was clutching a half-empty bottle of wine in his hand, and was staring at the ceiling in a daze with his eyes dull and empty.

Hearing sounds of activity near him, Portland turned his head in their direction, but when he saw that it was the two of them, he remained expressionless. His movements were so torpid, they seemed like those of an aged person long past his prime.

“Baron…” Walker did find that there was something rather strange about him, but the Portland before his eyes was clearly still conscious --- he couldn't resist taking a step forward, but when he discovered that Portland's opened eyes were now a despairing dark grey, his heart couldn't help but to tremble, and he stopped in his tracks.

On the other hand, Wilts.h.i.+re had already discerned that there was something not right about the situation. He rushed up and grabbing hold of Portland, he shoved a finger into his mouth, trying to make him regurgitate the drugs he had taken. All the while, he was berating the Baron in a stern voice: “Portland, you coward! So just because you have been jilted by a man, you don't want to live! b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Quickly tell us where the Princess is! She loved you with all her heart, can you really bear to let her die in a foreign land under such shady circ.u.mstances?”

With Wilts.h.i.+re gouging his throat, Portland retched repeatedly, but in the end, nothing was expelled.

“I… I’ll go and call for a doctor…” There was a feeling of acidity in Walker's heart, he rushed to the door with unsteady steps, still wis.h.i.+ng to preserve the Baron's life, which was flickering like a candle in the wind.

“Fairmont... Château Fairmont... Wainwright is in... in Fair... mont...” The effort it had taken to say those words seemed to deplete the last of the Baron's strength, after struggling to force them out of his mouth, his head slumped to the side and he collapsed onto the sofa.

“There’s no need to call for a doctor.” Wilts.h.i.+re's voice was so cold that it was frightening, after probing Portland's nose and mouth with his hand, he had stopped Walker, who had wanted to go and find a doctor. “He’s beyond help, he took an overdose of opium, d.a.m.n him!”

The two people stood there and stared blankly, watching as Portland's breaths grew shallower, and in the end, they gradually cease altogether. In this way, he pa.s.sed out of this mortal world, which had brought to him too much pain and misery --- his dark gray eyes still remained staring at a corner of the ceiling, as if there was something that he could not bear to leave behind there.

“f.u.c.k this! Was he still a man?” Finally, the Marquess swore savagely.

Walker had never heard Wilts.h.i.+re, who always carried himself with the elegant poise of a gentleman, use foul language before. He could not help but to glance at him and slowly walked over to stand beside him --- as the two of them looked at the deep bitterness in Portland's wide-open eyes, they could not help reaching out with their hands, so as to grasp the other’s hand tightly.


End of Jus Primae Noctis Volume 2, Chapter 8

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[1]: The source text I’m using has him say that Wainwright is not in London, but I’m thinking this is probably a typo.