Vol 1 Chapter 5 (2/2)

Although the fiefdom of Wilts.h.i.+re's family was Stonehaven, but the Marquesses of Wilts.h.i.+re had began residing princ.i.p.ally in London starting from the previous generation. In reality, he viewed the ancestral home in Stonehaven as merely a vacation home. And as for his residence in Leicester Square, it was superior to his manor in Stonehaven in every respect, from its amenities to the number of servants employed.

By the time the horse carriage had reached London, the sky was already pitch-black, but the whole of Leicester Square was brightly illuminated by the glow of candlelight [4]. More than forty servants were lined up in two rows before the front door to welcome their master upon his return. As Wilts.h.i.+re stepped out of the carriage, the a.s.sembled servants bowed deeply and shouted out in unison: “Welcome back, Lord Marquess.”

Walker, who had followed behind Wilts.h.i.+re as he alighted from the carriage, was a little bit alarmed at this display. He had already felt that the manor house in Stonehaven was too excessively magnificent, but the scale of the residence in Leicester caused him to finally understand the true meaning of aristocratic extravagance --- the three-storied edifice was huge but exquisitely designed; like a white-coloured giant, it towered over the east side of Leicester Square and beautiful carvings decorated every feature of the building. Hanging above the porch was a huge family crest; comprised of complex curlicues and lines, it was a brilliant example of the extravagant style that was currently in fas.h.i.+on.

“The journey must have been hard on Your Lords.h.i.+p. Your room has already been made ready for your use, and hot water has also been prepared for your bath. Does your Lords.h.i.+p have any further instructions?” A man came forward, he looked like a butler and seemed to be over fifty years old, and he spoke to Wilts.h.i.+re with an att.i.tude of humility.

Wilts.h.i.+re was evidently rather fond of this butler. He smiled as he turned back and said to Walker: “What do you think? This butler of mine is not bad, right? Franklin has been serving our household ever since he was a boy, even the Prince Regent has praised him as being even more outstanding than the stewards of the royal court.”

As he listened to his master's commendations of him, the butler, whose name was Franklin, did not even register the slightest change in his facial expression. Even the incongruous and shabbily dressed Walker only merited a bland look from him, and without speaking further, he led the two of them into the entrance hall.

“Get them to have the bath water sent up. Walker, follow me upstairs.” After Wilts.h.i.+re pulled off his gloves and handed them to Franklin, a maid immediately came forward to help him remove the heavy travelling coat he had been wearing. He turned around, intending to lead Walker up the stairs but was blocked by Franklin, who had moved to stand in his path.

“My Lord, may I enquire as to who this gentleman is…” Franklin looked at Walker, although his expression was deferential, a gleam of suspicion showed in the depths of his eyes.

“This…” Wilts.h.i.+re was momentarily at a loss for words, not knowing what sort of t.i.tle he should give to Walker.

“He is a friend I met while I was in Stonehaven.” A long time pa.s.sed before he finally managed to concoct an ident.i.ty for Walker that was not too farfetched.

“Please allow me to arrange a guestroom for this gentleman's use.” Franklin bowed slightly as he spoke, but there was an unmistakable ring of authority in his tone of voice.

“No need…” Wilts.h.i.+re wanted to say that Walker could sleep together with him, but the sternness in the old butler's eyes caused him to swallow the words in his mouth --- after all, London was a capital of vice where rumours always seemed to be spreading as if they were carried by the wind itself; if he insisted on sharing a bed with Walker tonight, it was very likely that by tomorrow, rumours would have spread throughout the city about the Marquess's male pet. At this period of time in England, although many members of the aristocracy did seek out the company and services of rent-boys in private, but even someone as powerful as the Prince Regent would also never dare to openly discuss the intimate h.o.m.os.e.xual relations.h.i.+p he had with Earl Thuram.

When he thought of what vicious things the mouths of the upper-cla.s.s ladies would be saying about the relations.h.i.+p between Walker and himself as they hid them behind their fans, even someone as wanton and iconoclastic as Wilts.h.i.+re did not dare to insist on having his way. His demeanour was calm and collected as he nodded, deciding that he would heed the advice of the highly experienced butler.

“Franklin, then I must trouble you to handle this matter.”

“Yes, my Lord. In addition, do you wish for Maggie and Sophie to serve you when you have your bath?”

When he heard the butler's question, Wilts.h.i.+re's departing footsteps paused for a beat.

“Sure.” Nothing abnormal could be detected from the sound of his voice but somehow, Walker could vaguely sense his displeasure.

Followed by two young and pretty maids, Wilts.h.i.+re went upstairs. The Butler's eyes followed his master until he finally disappeared from view, before he finally turned his attention to Walker.

“Sir, please come with me.” Although his manners were still irreproachably impeccable, the Butler's att.i.tude was clearly much colder than it had been when he was speaking to Wilts.h.i.+re.

Walker hurriedly grabbed a hold of the luggage by his feet before following in the Butler's wake. At first, he had thought that the Butler would bring him to a random room within this huge building, but in the end, under his leaders.h.i.+p, Walker pa.s.sed through the vast gardens before he was finally brought to the door of a small building that was some distance away from the main mansion. After pus.h.i.+ng the door open, the Butler handed the candle in his hand to Walker.

“Sir, it is already very late and we do not have enough help on hand. Therefore we must trouble you to tidy up the room yourself.” Obviously, the estate employed dozens of servants, but the Butler said things like ”do not have enough help” nonchalantly, clearly showing that he was bullying Walker.

To be able to escape from whatever tortures Wilts.h.i.+re had in store for him already had Walker jumping for joy in his heart, so of course he would not be bothered about whether the butler's att.i.tude towards him was good or bad.

“Thank you very much, I can tidy up by myself.”

Walker looked on as the butler departed, before he proceeded to enter the small building while carrying the candlestick. Mindful of the creaking stairs, he went upstairs and very quickly he found the bedroom.

He could not tell the last time the little bedroom had been occupied, from the bed sheet to the quilt, everything exuded a musty smell. Walker had long been accustomed to doing housework since it was part of his duties at home, but it still took him quite a while to clean up the bed. By the time he got undressed and went to bed, it seemed to be nearly midnight [5].

As he scented the damp air wafting up from the pillow, Walker felt as though he had been transported back to that little cottage in Stonehaven. At that place, he pa.s.sed each day peacefully with his family, their lives might have been arduous and impoverished, but they loved one another... however, Wilts.h.i.+re had cruelly ripped him away from that warm and loving home. Even if the money he had provided did indeed save his mother's life, Walker was still unable to feel any sort of grat.i.tude towards him.

End of Jus Primae Noctis Chapter 5

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[1]: A note on the language used here: I’m not softening it by calling it love-making/making love. The words used in the original text are “做爱”, the first word is make and the second is love. So, that’s exactly what the author calls it.

[2]: Spring is often used as a metaphor for s.e.xuality in the Chinese language.

[3]: 莱希克广场 (lái xī kè guǎng chǎng): Leicester Square is my best guess. Many grand mansions were built in the area, starting with Leicester House in 1635. By the 19th century, Leicester Square was known as an entertainment venue, with many amus.e.m.e.nts peculiar to the era. Several hotels grew up around the square, making it popular with visitors to London. The square remains the heart of the West End entertainment district today.

[4]: Oil or gas lighting would probably have been more accurate if the setting is indeed Regency London.

[5]: Walker might be unsure of the time because it was unlikely that he owned a watch. Watches were a luxury item at that time, because they were not ma.s.s-produced yet.

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