The Captain and the Squire by Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead

Author:Catherine Curzon & Eleanor Harkstead [Curzon, Catherine & Harkstead, Eleanor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LGBT Romance Fiction
ISBN: 9781913186616
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Published: 2020-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eleven

Tarquin felt rather proud of the old place as he led Chris into the hallway, where the large wooden staircase curved its way up to the first floor. “Your house is a bit older than Bough Towers, but this has always been a farmhouse, so they say. It’s all stone and wood, and when the craze for covering everything in columns came along, my family resisted and the house remained more or less as you see it now. You’ll notice they weren’t big on family portraits and that sort of thing, but we’ve got lots of paintings of animals!”

As Tarquin led Chris up the stairs, he showed him the paintings—the cows and sheep, the dogs and chickens, rendered in oils. When Petunia had first visited, she had treated these heirlooms like a house clearance, pricing up the pieces as they went, but Chris had no such comments. Instead he seemed genuinely interested in the rich history of the Boughs and their age-old feud with their neighbors, the Hardacres, which went all the way back to that first Groom of the Stool. It had been the first time a Bough had bettered a Hardacre, and from that moment, the families had been thorns in each other’s sides.

Until now.

“My family love a portrait.” Chris chuckled as he followed Tarquin through the house. “Wearing as much bling as they could pile on. I’ve got a fantastic Hogarth of my great granddad a few times back, Mr Hardacre of the City. Brilliant!”

“I’d love to see that!” Tarquin grinned as he swept aside a heavy damask curtain. “Up this way to the attics.”

The ancient stairs creaked under their feet, and Tarquin hummed to himself, excited that he was going to show Chris his treasures. And he was so aware of Chris behind him, more aware than he had been of anyone for a long time. This was how a summer evening was supposed to be spent.

At the top of the stairs, Tarquin reached for Chris’ hand and kissed it. “I really hope you’ll love this.”

Chris touched his fingertips to Tarquin’s face and told him, “I know I will.”

Tarquin reached down inside his jumper and pulled out the key that he wore around his neck on a cord. He unlocked the ordinary-looking door and it swung open with a creak. The room inside was dark until he felt for the light switch and the space before them was illuminated.

Tarquin stood aside to let Chris see. It looked like a room in an old museum, with wood-framed display cases and artifacts under domes. Still other objects waited for them inside polished wooden boxes.

“Where would you like to start?”

“Why don’t you give me the guided tour?” Chris slipped his arm around Tarquin’s waist. “I can’t wait to see what you’re hiding in your respectable attic!”

“A lot of saucy stuff, I promise!” Tarquin kissed Chris’ cheek, then took him to the first case, where a slender riding crop lay on a velvet cushion. “Now, see the wood…what do

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