ok my darlings...we are coming down to the final chapters of The Worth of Love.
This is the first of the final three, and in part 2 will be a moment I think
most of you have been waiting for. Please do let me know what you think, if 
anything was too rushed or awkward. The end is near!!!! WOOHOO!!!!



Orlando’s head jerked up at the sound of his bedroom door opening. It was four 
days after the party and although most of the other guests had departed, a few 
including Lord Mortensen and his stunning spouse had been asked to stay on at
Lord Trevelyan Lee’s manor house. 

The blind beauty had remained in his room for those days, either laying in bed 
or sitting on his balcony in the sun. Not only did he want to avoid his husband
and the other lords that had been asked to stay, namely young Lord Bale and Lord
Pitt, but he also wanted to think on his odd feelings towards their host.

Orlando felt like he was going mad…ever since meeting with Lord Trevelyan Lee on
the balcony, he had been dreaming of Sean. His every night was filled with 
images of his true love when he first saw him tossing hay at Lord Lee’s manor. 
He remembered the first time they kissed and made love in the rain…he thought of
Sean’s touch but instead of making him despair as such thoughts had in past 
months, they made him elated. When he woke he was excited as though he knew he 
were going to see his beloved that day.

The young man had buried all hope that his Sean could possibly be alive months 
ago as his heart could no longer bear it. These new dreams plagued him during 
the day when he was with his husband the first few times, but now he had opened 
up to them and allowed them to fill him with joy. 

There was something in the house that he could not place…a scent of some kind 
that lingered in the walls that was oddly familiar. He did not mention this to 
anyone else though, and he was not sure he wanted to, for even he did not 
understand its significance. 

He also had not had another real conversation with Lord Trevelyan Lee since 
their last encounter on the balcony. The only times Orlando had been near him 
were at meals, where he merely sat and listened to the conversation around him 
while he nibbled at the food before him. 

Shivers would run up and down Orlando’s spine whenever Lord Trevelyan Lee spoke.
The man’s rumbling voice filled his head with memories of kisses in dark corners
and breathless lovemaking on rumpled sheets or in dusty haylofts. He would 
tremble under the caress of that voice and more than once he was asked if he 
felt ill, for his cheeks took on a rosy hue.

Orlando did not know how much longer he would be able to put up with all of 
these uncertainties. He did not have enough evidence to approach Trevelyan Lee 
yet, and he certainly would not set his heart out to only have it burned. 

Breakfast that morning was a horrid affair. It seemed the men intended to talk 
only of business, and that meant that each of their egos was at maximum 
expansion. They talked endlessly of their investments, their companies, their 
titles. It was all so childish and tiring. His charming husband would listen 
with perked ears while his ‘friends’ spoke of their assets, counting his own in 
his head to make sure he was still superior to them in wealth and prestige. 
Orlando could almost hear the blond lord’s incessant comparisons as Bale and 
Pitt spoke back and forth, waiting for the moment when he would prove himself 
above them.

Orlando sighed as he delicately sipped his morning orange juice, the tart liquid
stinging his dry lips. He was so very tired of this song and dance. He wanted to
leave but Colin was currently having his favorite outfit cleaned for that day’s
activities, in case there were any.

Lord Trevelyan Lee’s presence still loomed over him though. He could swear that 
he could almost hear the man’s steady breaths as he listened to his guests. 
Orlando found it odd that he would only listen, and the young beauty’s sensitive
ears detected no more than the occasional amused chuckle. He shivered whenever 
he heard it and closed it eyes to let the sensation warm him.

“Forgive me if you are bored, dear Orlando,” Lord Trevelyan Lee said in a casual
rolling tone. “We businessmen have such egotistical tendencies. What do you 
prefer to do in your free time at your home?”

Orlando flushed as he felt the eyes of the other men on him. “I…I fear I do 
nothing that would possibly interest you my lord…”

“My darling is right,” Viggo interjected. “I don’t understand how he can 
possibly spend so much time doing so very little. I dare say it would drive me 
quite mad.”

The other men laughed but Orlando could hear no laughter from Lord Trevelyan 
Lee. 

“Surely” the lord’s deep voice rumbled. “It cannot be as bad as all that. You 
seem utterly charming, as I would not expect someone on the edge of insanity to
be.”

Orlando felt his lips spread into a smile at the man’s words. “No…it is not so 
bad for me. I quite enjoy my solitude…I can forget myself in the woods among the
sounds and smells.”

“Yes, he does quite like to wander…and wander is what I mean for my love cannot
see at all so he circles for hours in the woods or just lays in the grass of the
fields.” Viggo laughed and his friends joined in as well, making a mockery of 
the blind youth.

“I take comfort in my solitude,” Orlando said coldly. “It keeps me from sitting
idly waiting to be led from one place to another. I allows me a little of my own
independence…or at least the pretense of it. I do not have many choices of how 
to spend my days.”

“I understand,” Sean said softly. “I cannot imagine what I would do in your
place. You must be very brave to live your life as best you can, and not allow 
yourself to whither because of any of your…shortcomings…” 

Orlando’s blank eyes searched the darkness for the deep voice that spoke of so 
many truths to him…but was it more truths than the obvious? Could it be that the
lord knew he had found comfort in the arms of another man other than his 
husband?

The youth feared that this were true not because he was worried of the 
information becoming public, he could almost see a sort of poetic justice for 
his husband in that. It was more that he did not want this one man to know of 
his infidelity…or his comfort he had found in Colin. Was it guilt that he felt 
pulling at his chest?

“Forgive me, Orlando, have I said something that has made you ill at ease?”

Lord Trevelyan Lee’s voice broke through his thoughts and cleared his head back
to the present. “My lord?”

“Viggo, it seems that your lovely Orlando’s head is not quite with him this 
morning,” Lord Bale said with a dry chuckle. 

“Yes…Mornings have never been friend to my darling. He seems to not find himself
until at least midday.” Viggo rubbed a hand up and down Orlando’s slight arm and
was rewarded with the smallest yet most obvious of flinches. 

“I like mornings quite well enough,” Orlando said. “This one merely does me no 
services.”

There was a moment of silence before Trevelyan Lee’s voice broke through again.
“If you so enjoy the outdoors, perhaps my grounds may offer you the solace you 
are denied while away from your home. I myself have quite an extensive wood that
has yet to be properly explored…and there is a large bathing pond with a
beautiful field. I would love to show it to you.”

“Show!” Viggo laughed. “It seems Orlando is not the only one whose head has 
abandoned him this morning. Do you forget, good sir, that my beloved cannot 
see?”

“Really Lee, it is unfair to tease the boy in such a manner,” Lord Pitt spoke,
laughing and waiting for man to join in.

Sean did not.

“I do not taunt him at all,” Sean said. “One forgets that one does not always 
need vision to see.” The man’s eyes forced the young beauty to feel his gaze, 
letting Orlando feel the sincerity of his words. “And there are many things I 
would greatly like to show you,” Sean said to his beloved. 

Orlando could feel his breath become a little labored under the intensity of the
man’s heavy gaze and he nodded. “I would love to see them.”

Viggo stared hard at Sean, his lips curling into a sneer. “You know sir, from 
any other man it would almost sound as though you were trying to seduce my 
spouse.”

Sean Bean stared hard at the blonde lord from behind his guise as Lord Trevelyan
Lee. “From any other man indeed,” he said, his voice firm as stone. “But I know 
a man should never try and take what does not belong to him without expecting
the consequences. One should expect what they do in life to come back to them…
and besides…a real man would never try and force anything that was not 
reciprocated…am I not right?”

Silence spread around the table and all eyes were on Mortensen as the men around
him waited with bated breath for his response. Green eyes bore into blue as Lord
Trevelyan Lee waited for his answer, and he cocked a brow when it did not 
immediately come.

“Quite right,” Viggo said through clenched teeth. “And as you are a gentleman, I
therefore feel quite safe entrusting my darling to you today. I do hope you 
enjoy showing him your fields and shrubs…Orlando darling do be sure to wear 
enough clothes today…I heard there will be a chill.”

Orlando nodded to appease the man’s temper but said nothing. He felt his husband
squeeze his shoulder as though in warning. 

The breakfast ended quickly after that, the whole mood tainted by the small 
battle of wills of the two Lords. Both Lord Bale and Lord Pitt knew that 
something had passed between the two, but neither had any idea of what it could 
possibly be. 

Orlando excused himself, and Sean requested that he allow Marton to lead him 
back to his rooms and find his valet. Orlando accepted the offer and the 
Russian’s arm and allowed himself to be led through the quiet halls of the 
house.

They walked quietly side by side, and it was Orlando that ended up speaking 
first. “May I ask you something, Mr. Csokas?”

“Of course, sir,” the man said, his voice as leisurely as their pace.

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Yes.”

“Were you ever married?”

“Yes, in my homeland many years ago. Why do you ask this?”

Orlando flushed. “Forgive me, I do not mean to pry…I was merely wondering…”

Marton waited a moment to hear the youth’s question, but none came. He smiled 
and placed his warm hand atop the boy’s. “I am not angry…you may ask what you 
like.”

Orlando smiled shyly and nodded. He cleared his throat and pressed on. “May I 
ask what happened to her?”

“She died,” Marton said. “There was little food and she became very sick. It is 
not like here…many suffer.”

“I’m sorry,” Orlando said softly. “And since her…have you ever fallen in love 
again?”

Marton shook his head, but then remembered the youth’s condition and spoke his 
answer. “I have yet to find another that takes my heart…and I often think that 
no other woman shall ever replace her.”

Orlando’s face fell as though in shame and he nodded. “I see.” He bit his lower
lip delicately with his teeth and then stopped, stopping the valet as well with
his arm. “Mr. Csokas, do you find it wrong for someone to allow their heart to 
feel love for another after their true love passed on?”

“Do you mean Mr. Farrell?” Marton asked quietly, receiving a little gasp from 
the youth. He placed his heavy hands on the slender shoulders to calm the young 
man before him and spoke softly. “I know what I saw in your chambers the other 
night, but that is only the matter of you, Farrell, and your lost love. I shall
say nothing to any other than those three.”

“But my hus…”

“I know the ways of your English marriage. I see how it is made through my 
lordships guests. Very different from my own…it seems in your country you do not
join for love.”

“Only those lucky enough,” Orlando said, a tear slipping free at the memories of
a proposal in the setting sun. 

A labor roughened finger brushed the tear away. “No need for this.” he said. “As
my lordship said today, it seems people get what they deserve. You are not one 
meant for sadness.”

Orlando’s eyes softened at the words, his brows furrowing and lips pursing 
slightly as he raised a hand to the taller man’s lined face. He felt the man’s 
face and felt his truth, eventually letting his palm rest against the weathered 
cheek. 

“You are a good man, Mr. Csokas,” Orlando said. “And as such, you then share my
same destiny.”

Marton smiled and took Orlando’s arm again, once more leading Orlando to his
bedchamber.



Colin shifted the shirts he held to one arm so that he could open Orlando’s 
chamber door. He hated to admit it, but he had been avoiding his beauteous lover
ever since he had discovered the truth of their hosts identity. He was unsure 
how to now act around Orlando, for though he wanted to hold the young man and 
kiss him as he had for the past few months, he knew there was no way he would 
ever be able to again.

Orlando’s heard jerked up towards the door when Colin opened it, and the dark 
haired Irishman smiled a little as he watched the beauty listen for any sign of
who had entered his room, his blind eyes searching. 

“Colin?”

The Irishman loved the sound of his voice on the English youth’s tongue. He 
would certainly miss hearing the affection in Orlando’s voice when he learned 
the truth of Sean’s existence for he knew then the boy’s attentions would be 
turned to those of his true beloved. 

“I’m here,” Colin said. He walked forward and set the clothes on a chair before
opening the wardrobe and slowly hanging the clothes before putting them away. He
heard no movement from Orlando, and when he turned to glance at the young man he
saw his dark brows furrowed in question as to why his friend was being so cold 
to him that morning, and the mornings previous. There was nothing he could do 
though, for he knew that if he touched Orlando now he would not be able to stop. 

“Colin? Is something wrong?” Orlando’s voice was small as he spoke. He 
tentatively lowered his foot to the floor and searched with his toes until they 
hit the plush carpet. He stood and found his balance before taking a step
forward towards the other man. “Colin…would you please speak to me so I know 
where you are?”

Colin stared at Orlando for a moment, his arms limp at his sides and his fingers
barely holding onto the shirts he still carried. He looked at the brunette 
before him and knew that this had to be goodbye. The end of their affair.

“I’m here,” he said, his voice on the edge of breaking. 

Orlando listened carefully and then a little smile broke across his lips as he 
stepped towards the sound, his steps more sure now that he had an idea of where
the man stood. He held out his hands like a little boy, his doe eyes wide. “Lord
Trevelyan Lee wants to take me on a walk this afternoon. I don’t know if I want
to go though, he makes me uneasy…I think I might be afraid of him.” Orlando 
waited for a reply and pouted slightly when he did not receive one.

The youth found Colin with his questing fingers and wrapped his slender arms 
about he man’s shoulders from behind, resting his cheek against the man’s broad
back. “Do you think I should go?” he asked, hoping for even a small word from 
the man to let him know his friend was not upset. He could feel Colin’s muscles
taught beneath his hands, which was all Orlando needed to know that there was 
indeed something the matter. 

“Go, if you want to,” Colin said shortly. “I can’t tell you one way or the 
other.”

“I did but ask for advice,” Orlando said, nuzzling Colin’s back a little. “Are 
you angry with me, Colin?”

“No,” the man said shortly, the pain in his voice sounding more like the anger
Orlando had thought he’d detected. 

Colin could feel the youth’s lips spread into a little smile against the back of
his neck. “You are angry. I can always tell…the tendons of your shoulders feel 
as though they will break and you stand perfectly still.”

“I told you I am not angry,” Colin said, taking Orlando’s slender wrists in hand
and drew the youth from behind him. “I have to finish this Orlando, and I can’t
with you hanging all over me.”

The young man refused to be deterred and let his fingers brush Colin’s chest 
instead, raising them to the man’s face to find his lips. He raised his own to 
the other man’s to kiss him but Colin pulled back.

“What is going on?” Orlando asked, dread building in his stomach. “Have you 
tired of me? Why will you not touch me?”

Colin could see determination in Orlando’s face and wondered what he could 
possibly say to Orlando that would not sound absolutely crazy. 

“We have to end it, Orlando.”

Orlando’s brows furrowed. “End it? What do you mean…?” The beauty raised a hand
to his lover’s face but his wrist was carefully caught.

“This, Orlando…I cannot touch you anymore…I cannot take you or lie with you. It 
all ends now…”

“Why Colin?” Orlando asked. “Do I not please you any more?”

The horror in Colin’s voice reflected that which was wrought across his face. 
“Of course not! How could you even think such a thing, Orlando? I love you…you 
know I love you…” He was unable to look into those sad eyes any longer and 
lowered his own gaze, escaping the betrayal in them. “I have my own reasons…
though I cannot tell you.”

“You have been my salvation through this horrible marriage,” Orlando said 
softly. “And I have been yours…we have saved each other through our bond…why now
are you so swift to end it? What could possibly be the reason?”

“I already said I cannot tell you,” Colin said regretfully. “Know only that you
will understand in time. Things have gone so wrong…Orlando…I wish I could have 
known it all from the beginning, for I fear that my actions will only serve to 
bring us both pain…”

Tears escaped Orlando’s dull eyes as he stepped back with a gasp. “Do you regret
me?” he asked in a hushed voice. “Do you regret our bond then?”

Colin stepped forward and took Orlando’s warm face in his hands. “You shall 
never be a regret,” he vowed. “I loved you then and I love you still…but I have 
been destined to love you from afar, and now is my time to return from this 
heaven to my fate.” 

There was a knock at the door and the Russian valet’s muffled voice could be 
heard through it.

“Lord Orlando, my master requests your company for a walk of the grounds…are you
ready for him?”

“I shall be ready in a moment,” Orlando called through the closed door to the 
manservant. He did not move from Colin though and did not wait for a reply from 
Marton. He listened to the breathing of the man before him, trying to gage what 
was going through the man’s mind.

Colin looked down at the beauty for a moment before taking the flushed face in 
his hand. “My one desire, Orlando, is that no matter what happens, you never
regret the time you had with me. I never want you to worry for me or think you 
have caused me pain. You could never cause me pain, Orlando. Any grief I have is
that which I have brought on myself.”

Orlando’s brows furrowed in confusion. He had no idea what his friend could 
possibly be speaking of, but knew he would not get an answer if he asked. 

Colin cupped Orlando’s face in his hands and lightly kissed his forehead 
tenderly in farewell, salt tears welling in his eyes. He forced himself to 
retain his composure as he led Orlando to the door and opened it, revealing both
Marton and ‘Lord Trevelyan Lee’ himself. Colin’s eyes darted from his previous
colleague’s emerald ones before he managed to raise then again. He expected to
see animosity but instead found pity. 

It seemed Sean was indeed as noble as he had thought him to be after all.

“My lord,” Colin said quickly. “Had I known you were here I would have hurried 
my master along.”

“No need to rush him, I would say,” Lord Trevelyan Lee said, taking in Orlando’s
angelic visage with wide wondrous eyes. “Are you ready to go, Orlando, or do you
need more time to prepare?”

“I am ready no, my lord,” Orlando said softly, his mood shifting as a 
realization crept into his mind. Odd that Colin would chose this moment…and 
those words…to end their affair. Very odd indeed…and very suspicious. He knew at
that very moment that Colin’s reason had to do with the illusive son of Lord 
Lee. Orlando knew that his time with the Lord would determine of the tiny 
flicker of an unlikely theory could be correct.

“Please, Orlando…call me Alec. I do not wish for our relationship to be formal 
or distant.” Sean smiled at his beloved and gently took his slender arm. “If you
are ready, may I lead the way?”

“Please,” Orlando said with a small nod, offering his permission. He breathed 
deeply before stepping forward at long last. He knew at this moment that his 
time with Colin was indeed over, and his time with Lord Trevelyan Lee was 
beginning.

TBC...

Please do review this section as well though, as always I love to hear from you