Gideon by Ashe Barker

Author:Ashe Barker [Barker, Ashe]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: gay romance
ISBN: 978-1-63477-708-7
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Published: 2016-10-05T00:00:00+00:00

THE ATMOSPHERE in the Porsche was electric. Gideon had been dozing in the passenger seat while Michael drove up the M6 headed for Cumbria. It was late afternoon, and the five o’clock news came on the radio. The final item was a brief mention of the Polish diplomat found dead in his holiday home in Florì, close to Rimini. The man, an outspoken opponent of the UK’s attempts to renegotiate the nation’s deal with the European Union, had apparently drowned in his bath. The British Prime Minister had been due to meet with the unfortunate Mr. Brzezinski later in the month, but would conclude the discussions with a Mr. Gajos, who was believed to be considerably more sympathetic to the British cause.

Michael listened, and as the broadcast switched to the weather forecast, he glanced across at Gideon. No words were spoken, and none were needed. Something intangible shifted. Michael knew, and there was nowhere to hide. Gideon’s course was clear.

Maybury was as beautiful and as cloying as ever. In recent years Gideon had come to better appreciate the timeless grace of the house and surrounding estate, though he never felt his roots were there. He wasn’t steeped in the land, like Richard, but the estate was his, even so, and he intended to hang on to what he had. He cast a critical eye over the silhouette of his elegant, stately home as Michael steered the car along the front drive to purr to a halt before the front steps. The crenellations on the west wing could do with some work. He should remember to mention it to Lydia and get her to find a decent stonemason. The lawns looked good, though. No doubt they were thriving on all the rain they’d had recently. The hills in the distance were as forbidding as they had ever been, and Gideon wondered at the masochistic fortitude that drew hikers up those slopes in their thousands to toil their way to an inhospitable summit. He preferred a helicopter any time.

“Lambton will help with the luggage.” Even as he spoke, the Maybury butler-cum-handyman emerged from the house and approached the car. “Unload, then drive round to the garage. I’ll let you know when I need you next.” Gideon hardly even glanced at his driver as he exited the Porsche and strode up the steps. He nodded to Lambton as he passed him and entered the cool grandeur of the great hallway. Lydia was already there and had just reached the foot of the ornate staircase. She rushed to him with her hands outstretched.

“Oh, you came. I didn’t expect you quite so soon. How was Italy?”

He kissed her on the cheek, then returned her hug. She made demands on him that he found less than comfortable. It was a liberty he permitted no one else, but he was fond of Lydia. She was his family—all there was left of it—and she was useful.

“Hot, sticky, but beautiful as always. And you?”

“Oh. You know. Much the same as ever.

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