Muffled Drum by Erastes

Author:Erastes
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: M/M Historical, Source: Amazon
ISBN: 9781426891861
Publisher: Carina Press
Published: 2011-07-01T00:00:00+00:00

The shock of discovering that the pretty-boy Ernst who Mathias had assumed to be Goertz’s catamite was actually Rudolph’s…companion was enough to effectively silence Mathias and make him concentrate on drinking rather than attempting any kind of sensible conversation. He should have realized how unlikely it was that Goertz of all people would be able to land and to hang on to something as purely decorative as Ernst. It looked as if Goertz hoped Rudolph had forgotten Ernst as well, which explained why he had hidden Ernst’s likeness.

Mathias studied Ernst Fetter. As his daguerreotype had promised, he was indeed offensively attractive, with his slanting eyes and high cheekbones. After an hour in his company, Mathias felt that if he never met the man again in his entire life, it would be entirely too soon. The man was everything he despised. From the conversation as the wine flowed, it seemed he had scant respect for the army, even though Rudolph had been keeping the little bastard safe in Berlin while risking his own life at the front.

He didn’t find it surprising that he hated Ernst almost on sight. After all, he’d hated the very idea of Ernst since Rudolph had mentioned him. Every hour since then, on the hellish journey from Dresden, he’d nursed the bitter knowledge of Rudolph’s lover like a glass shard in a closed fist.

The picture in Goertz’s bag hadn’t entirely done Ernst justice. Mathias hadn’t been prepared for quite how beautiful Ernst was. He was like some small but sleek jungle cat, lithe and elegant. No movement unrehearsed, with a seductive smile which went all the way to the center of his dark brown eyes. But Mathias couldn’t help but notice the smile turned on and off. When it wasn’t needed, it rested, out of sight. A prop, like Yorick’s skull—only to be brought out when needed. He wasn’t surprised, either, that Rudolph didn’t notice this—because the smile was reserved entirely for Rudolph. When Rudolph no longer had his attention, the smile slid from Ernst’s face as snow on a roof slides into the street in the spring thaw.

He stayed no more than an hour at the ball. By then Rudolph’s return and generosity of spirit—that is, his generosity with schnaps and champagne—had gathered a large crowd around the table. There was general amusement at Rudolph’s condition, which infuriated Mathias, together with a great deal of teasing about whether he’d know how many children he had when he returned home. And through it all, Ernst sat, now next to Rudolph, singing and joking and laughing, a very queen by the side of his king. Every now and then he threw a look at Mathias which seemed to say, “And stay clear—it’s my place, and always was.”

And Mathias knew then it was hopeless, that Goertz was right for all the wrong reasons. He should have made his excuses in Dresden and never got on that bloody train, and never heard the name Ernst Fetter.

He stood, and Rudolph immediately noticed, which was a small triumph, as it wiped the smile from Fetter’s face.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.