Vol 1 Chapter 6 (2/2)
“It was just a little trim, my Lord. The original length of Mr Robinson's hair was too long, obscuring his features. It is a lot better after having been cut, is that not so?” The clothing merchant stepped forward with a winning att.i.tude to offer an explanation; evidently he was immensely pleased with makeover he had given to Walker.
Wide-eyed and dumbstruck, Wilts.h.i.+re continued staring at Walker, and began to second-guess himself, wondering if his decision to bring Walker to the ball had been wise.
“Sir…” The merchant began to panic slightly as he looked at the expression on Wilts.h.i.+re's face.
Wilts.h.i.+re gave a wave of his hand, and using a deliberately casual tone of voice, he said: “There is no need for him to try on the rest of the articles. Just have them wrapped up, and charge the cost to my account.”
Hurriedly bidding the merchant --- who was grinning from ear to ear --- goodbye, Wilts.h.i.+re bundled the Scotsman up the horse carriage. Due to the l.u.s.t he was feeling, his usually translucent green eyes had taken on the hue and opacity of a piece of turquoise. Unable to exercise restraint any longer, Wilts.h.i.+re could not keep himself from crus.h.i.+ng Walker's lips against his own fiercely.
The degree of zeal that Henry, the Prince Regent [5], had for parties was something that was well-known by every single person living in London. Naturally, his residence, the Bulanmu Palace [6], would also contain the most luxuriously furnished ballroom in the whole of England.
It would seem that a large-scale soiree was held in Bulanmu Palace almost every week. But although they were held with such frequency, the aristocrats in London still view receiving an invite to one of the Prince Regent's parties as an honour. After all, almost everybody who wielded true power and authority in England would make an appearance at these parties.
Besides being known as ”the Westminster of the night hours [7]” because almost all of the important personages in England would gather here at night, Bulanmu Palace was also the venue of choice for young upper-crust girls to make their debuts into society. Having had no experience with men and still cheris.h.i.+ng their innocent dreams, the dearest wish of those young girls would be to meet their very own Prince Charming at Bulanmu Palace.
Tonight, as per normal, the Bulanmu Palace was brilliantly lit and would stay that way all through the night. Dapper gentlemen and ladies dressed in splendid gowns gathered in the ostentatiously decorated hall of the palace; the men were talking about politics and women, while the women were talking about fas.h.i.+on and men. On the surface, they seemed to disdain each other, but in their hearts, they longed for someone to notice them.
When Wilts.h.i.+re and Walker stepped into the imposing ballroom at Bulanmu Palace, they were met by this display of vanity and splendour. Dressed as he was in luxurious clothes that he was unaccustomed to, Walker put on a pokerfaced expression and tried to ignore the curious glances directed at Wilts.h.i.+re and him. Following behind Wilts.h.i.+re, they proceeded to approach the most powerful ruler in the whole of the United Kingdom, until they were face-to-face with him.
“Your Highness, it has been a long time since we last met.” Wearing a slight smile on the corners of his mouth, Wilts.h.i.+re bent at the waist as he bowed, perfectly performing the required etiquette expected of one when met with a royal, and Walker frantically tried to copy his movements as he too, gave a bow.
“My dear Brett, you have finally decided to make an appearance, and here I was thinking that you must have become besotted by some village girl in Stonehaven!” Though the tailoring of his luxurious formalwear was absolutely flawless, his clothes were still unable to disguise the enormous bulk of the Prince Regent, who tipped the scales at over three-hundred pounds. Earl Thuram, who was standing beside him, appeared to be abnormally dainty in comparison.
Wilts.h.i.+re's lips parted in a grin, even in front of this highly important and powerful Prince Regent, his elegant bearing and cool poise did not show even the slightest degree of change.
“I had grown tired of the drudgery of life in the countryside. But I have come back to London only to discover that a party in Bulanmu Palace does not make me any happier.”
It was rare that any of the n.o.bility would dare to criticise the Prince Regent’s party for being boring right to his face, but Wilts.h.i.+re's boldness only caused Henry to burst out laughing.
“And what could arouse your interest? My dear Brett, perhaps you would be willing to reconsider my proposal? You know that I shall welcome you at any time.” The Prince Regent caressed Wilts.h.i.+re with his eyes, which had a suggestive look in them, trying to use words to entice this fish that staunchly refused to take his baits.
By now, Wilts.h.i.+re had already become well-versed in the techniques of how to evade the fis.h.i.+ng hooks that the Prince Regent cast.
“Your Royal Highness, I think everybody is waiting for you to start the first dance; in addition... with regards to your invitation, I think David would be better suited to your expectations.”
Met with Wilts.h.i.+re's slick refusal, the Prince Regent laughed lightly and said: “Even so, Brett I think that you would not mind coming to the side hall after the ball ends to join me for a drink? I guarantee that David would also be there with us.” David was Earl Thuram’s name.
“Yes, of course I will go. Your Highness's dance partner for tonight [8] is the d.u.c.h.ess of Isleworth? Did you not notice that she has been looking in this direction with eagerness for a long time?” Wilts.h.i.+re pointed to the d.u.c.h.ess who was standing about three feet away from them, so overdressed that she looked like a Christmas tree. She was desperately casting glances at the Prince Regent, hoping that he would remember who his dance partner for the night was supposed to be.
“David, I will leave Brett to you. I hope that I will be able to see the two of you right after the party ends.” The Prince Regent dragged his heavy body over to the d.u.c.h.ess of Isleworth and the pair of them proceeded to the dance floor together. After the musicians struck up a melody, one after another, the impatient men of the n.o.bility also led their chosen dance partners onto the dance floor and the couples began to spin around.
“My dear Brett, I think you have forgotten to introduce this gentleman by your side.” After looking at the Prince Regent dancing at the centre of the dance floor with a smiling expression, Thuram turned his attention to Walker, who was by Wilts.h.i.+re's side.
“Oh, of course. This is Walker Robinson, he is a distant relation of mine, who has been living in Stonehaven.” Casually making up an ident.i.ty for Walker on the spot; to Wilts.h.i.+re, fibbing could be said to be an activity that came so naturally to him that it was merely an easy drive on a familiar path.
“How do you do, Walker! I am Davidson Nello Thuram, but you can call me David.” The pet.i.te Earl Thuram had a face that was even more delicate than a woman's; when he extended his hand to Walker in a gentle movement, his enchanting smile caused the poor Scotsman to be totally at a loss, not knowing how he should respond. When Walker shook the Earl's hand, the feel of that delicate hand in his own caused a blush to overtake his face.
Wilts.h.i.+re seemed to be quite unhappy when he saw Walker's reaction. Rudely, he tore Walker's hand from Thuram's. He forced himself to give a fake smile and said to his friend: “My dear David, I've suddenly remember that there is something I must attend to, I'll be right back.”
Not waiting for Earl Thuram to recover from his surprise, he turned and dragged Walker away, heading for another part of the humongous ballroom. He only let go of Walker when they were in a corner that was far away from Thuram.
“You may be an aristocrat, but I find that your upbringing must have been worse than mine.” Once they came to a stop, Walker shook off Wilts.h.i.+re's hand and displeased, set about criticising him.
“Who asked you to look at him with your whole face flushed red like an idiot, d.a.m.n it!” Wilts.h.i.+re lowered his voice and gave vent to his own dissatisfaction.
“I… I was only…” Walker's face grew even redder, but only a small part of his reaction could be attributed to anger, it was mainly due to his embarra.s.sment at having Wilts.h.i.+re bring up what was on Walker's mind.
Frankly speaking, in Wilts.h.i.+re's eyes, Walker's crimson cheeks looked extremely attractive. If he didn't have any qualms about the setting, he would have kissed Walker fiercely right then and there, until he could be certain that the blush on his face was caused solely by himself.
Realizing that Wilts.h.i.+re's green eyes had darkened with obvious l.u.s.t, Walker was given a fright.
“G.o.d, don’t tell me that right now, you want to…” He did not have enough time to finish his speech before he was pounced upon by Wilts.h.i.+re and pressed up against the wall. Using the enormous floor-to-ceiling curtains that were beside them to s.h.i.+eld them from the prying eyes of others, he hungrily kissed Walker on his lips, while his right hand impatiently gravitated to the protruding body part that was between his legs.
“Are you mad... there are so many people here...” Walker desperately tried to resist, but Wilts.h.i.+re had seemingly committed all strength in his body into pressing him against the wall, and no matter how hard he tried, Walker could not struggle free.
End of Jus Primae Noctis Chapter 6
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[1]: This is supposed to be a tapping sound.
[2]: h.e.l.lo was already in English in the Chinese text.
[3]: This kind of shop would probably be called a haberdashery in most parts of the world (meaning, a shop that specialises in men’s apparel). But in Britain, this term means a shop that sells small items (such as needles and thread) that are used to make clothes.
[4]: The original Chinese text is 领巾 (lǐng jīn), which my dictionary translates to neckcloth / neckerchief but cravats were what aristocratic men wore around their necks at that time. One way to tie a cravat:
[5]: So, this book is set in a made-up period since there was only ever one Prince Regent in English history and his name was George, not Henry. There are many parallels though, both between the fictional Prince Regent and George IV, and other details. I’ll probably continue to use the Regency as a reference for context.
[6]: 布兰姆宫 (bù lán mǔ gōng): I can’t think of any palace with a name resembling this, so I’m leaving it in the pinyin. Google Translate says that this is Blenheim, but Blenheim isn’t in London.
[7]: 夜之西敏寺 (yè zhī xī mǐn sì'): literally “Night of Westminster”. Probably referencing the Palace of Westminster which is the meeting place of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
[8]: Typically the attendees of b.a.l.l.s in the 18th and 19th century would not have “dates” or a single designated partner for the night. A gentleman might request a dance in advance, but saving more than two dances for a particular partner was detrimental to a young lady’s reputation. Even two dances signalled to observers that the gentleman in question had a particular interest in her. The day after a ball, a gentleman would typically call upon his principle partner, so a young lady who danced two sets with same gentleman might rightfully expect continued acquaintance with him.
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