Part 6

Orlando could not help the smile that stayed on his cherry lips as he walked 
back to the property. The rain had not ebbed, but Orlando did not even notice 
it. All he could think of was Sean…of what they did…

Orlando bit his lip and he looked at the ground as he felt the slight burning in
his rectum that was a reminder of the bond that they had made, and a promise 
that it was not all just a dream. He loved the sweet pain of it, wishing it 
would never fade. 

The boy entered the back of the manor house through the kitchen entrance. He saw
Miss Blanchet at work cleaning the mass pile of dishes from the dinner. She 
heard him enter and turned to him, slightly startled. “Oh...Orlando!” she said,
ushering him to the table. “There you are…It is getting late, hurry and take 
that tea to the Lord Lee’s room before it gets cold. Hurry now!” she shooed him
out of the room without another word, turning back to her cleaning. Orlando 
hurried out of the kitchen and headed for the stairway.

Orlando hurried up the stairs and down the Hall to Lord Lee’s room. He hoped he
was not too late to pull down the bed and serve the master his tea. The tray 
wobbled in his unsteady arms as he quickly walked. 

As he reached the door, he gave a tentative knock on the heavy oak door, waiting
to see if there was a response. Sure enough, he could hear the deep cultured 
sound of Lord Lee’s voice, and he balanced the tray on one arm and turned the 
knob with the other, opening the door. 

The old man turned to him and his face put on a pleased look. “Ah, there you are
Bloom, just in time with that tea. Would you put it down on that table there and
pull down the bed.” Orlando could see that the man had already changed into his
bedclothes and wore his long gray robe, his pipe held in his hand but 
immediately replaced between his teeth when he was done speaking. 

“Yes, sir” Orlando said, nodding to him and getting to his task. He placed down
the tea and pulled down the bedding as asked. He could hear Lord Lee 
approaching, and he was surprised to hear the concern in his voice. “My boy! You
are soaked through to the bone, however did you manage that?” The man pet 
Orlando’s shoulder and hair to feel the extent of the wetness. “Quickly, get out
of those wet clothes and have a seat by the fire.”

Orlando looked at him in shock when he said this to him. Did the lord really 
want him to undress in his chambers? There was no need, he could go back to the
servants’ quarters after Lord Lee was ready for bed and get changed them. There
was no fire there, but he could make one...

“No need to feel unnecessary modesty, boy. Now take off those clothes at once 
and wrap this around you, and then we can dry those wet ones of yours.” Lord Lee
was very commanding in his voice, and Orlando knew better than to ignore an 
order, so he slowly raised his trembling hands to his jacket and removed it, 
before moving his fingers to the fastenings of his shirt and undoing them, 
peeling the drenched fabric from his body and exposing his bare flesh to the 
chill of the room. He went to reach for the blanket, but Lord Lee gave him a 
pointed look.

“The trousers too” he said. “As well as your shoes and socks. All of it off.” 

Orlando blushed furiously. He wondered if he should turn his back to preserve a
little modesty, but he did not know which view would be worse to present. Lord 
Lee chuckled at his young servant’s shyness and waved it off. “Posh, boy. I have
a set like yours myself and have seen it all before, now off with them before I
have to do it for you. I will not have my valet catching a fever only to put him
out of service or pass it on to me, I detest illness.” He motioned with his hand
for Orlando to hand him the rest of hi clothes. 

Orlando looked at the floor as he opened the trousers and peeled them down his 
slim hips and long legs, before kicking them off and bending over to pick them 
up. Lord Lee allowed himself to be a dirty old man for a moment and sneak a peek
at the young man’s ass as he was bent over, and then returned to the concerned 
parent figure. 

When Orlando finally handed his trousers over he kicked off his shoes and toed 
off his socks. He looked up at Lord Lee and saw the man walking towards him. 
Lord Lee wrapped the warm blanket around his shivering shoulders and around his
body so that his nudity was covered. Orlando felt instantly relieved and touched
by the man’s gesture. He had never known a Lord or Lady in his life of servitude
that would have performed such kindness and concern for one of their servants.
The old man put an arm around Orlando’s shoulders and led him over to the fire,
sitting him down on his own couch before proceeding to hand Orlando’s soaked 
clothes on the grill in front of the fire to dry. 

“There we are,” he said in that deep voice. “Better?” he raised an inquisitive 
eyebrow at the boy, his one hand stuffed in the pocket of his robe, the other
holding the pipe. Orlando nodded; his wet curls flopping on his forehead. “Oh 
yes sir, thank you.”

“Indeed” Lee said giving Orlando a small smile before walking to the table where
his tea was. He took a sip. “Ahhh” he said with a mighty exhalation of breath.
“This is the tea of Blanchet. The woman knows what she is doing. No sugar or
milk to dilute or detract from the full body and flavor of the tea, so the 
brewing is most important. Not too watery, but not steeped to death. She is an 
artist, that Miss Blanchet.” Lord Lee took another long sip of his tea, before 
walking back over to Orlando and sitting across from him on an old overstuffed 
chair. 

“So tell me, my boy...do you make it a regular habit or running about in the
pouring rain?” He asked comically, deciding to pass the evening with 
conversation. 

Orlando smiled and shook his head. “No sir, I was had to go out to the woods to
get the firewood when it started and walk back in it was well. I did not have 
time to go to the servant’s wing and change, as I knew you needed me.”

“An old man even can get on well enough for a few minutes. Next time, take care
that you watch the weather and change your clothes. However, that excuse cannot
be used all the time, if the sun is shining, you had better not say that you had
been caught in the rain again. I may be old, but not senile.”

“Of course not sir” Orlando said quickly. He flushed when he realized that Lord
Lee had only been teasing him. The man was so unconventional at times. 

“I saw you conversing with my friend, Lord Ian.”

“Yes, sir. I hope you do not mind...” Orlando said, knowing that servants were 
not supposed to converse with the guests and those higher than them in status. 

“No, I had no doubt he would engage you somehow. With your pretty looks, you 
were bound to catch his eye sooner or later, I just wondered when. Ian is a bit
of a rascal, he was especially in his youth and even as he aged, but he means 
you no harm. Can you blame an old man for wanting to talk to and have an excuse
to stare at a beautiful boy?”

Orlando did not know what to say to this. He would never deny his lord anything,
as it was not his place. “I would not deny you or Lord McKellen such things if
you truly find it pleasing…but…” Orlando trailed off.

“But what, boy?” Lord Lee asked.

“What if I were in love…and I wanted to know my true love’s true feelings for 
me…”

“Go on, young one” Lord Lee coaxed. “I know a thing or two of the ways of love.

“How do I know my true love sees more than my beauty?” Orlando asked quietly, a
serious tone to his soft voice.

Lord Lee sighed. “Lie down if you like child, cuddle up and keep warm…there’s a
good boy. A man that truly loves you…let me see. Sometimes, Orlando, love cannot
be expressed in words. Words can be spoken by anyone, but it is in the touch, in
a kiss, where you can feel true love; and there can never be true love when all
a man sees are looks. He could enjoy you, maybe care for you, but only as one 
cares for a precious painting, a possession. Someone who truly loves you would 
never wish to own you or cage you, and this you can feel in his touch, is it 
owning, or worshipful?”

Orlando thought to their kisses and caresses they shared, and he knew one and 
for all it was the touch of love. He smiled at this realization, and leaned down
to lie on the couch, snuggling the blanket around him to stay warm and finish 
drying. Lord Lee seemed pleased at Orlando’s comfort around him. “There boy, 
does that calm your beating heart? Who then have you fallen for? Confide in an 
old man and let me feel young again.”

Orlando bit his lip, his eyelids feeling heavy from fatigue. “I would not wish 
to cause trouble around the house” he said quietly, trying to gage just how much
he could say to his lord. The man gave him a face that indicated he wanted to 
know every detail and so Orlando complied. “I am in love with your grounds man,
Sean Bean.”

Lord Lee gave a low chuckle from deep in his throat. “Is that so, pretty? I must
admit I am a little surprised at this, but pleasantly so. I am a man unlike most
Lords in that I know most of my servants very well. I have known Sean for many 
years, and if he is truly as smitten with you as you are with him, that makes me
most pleased indeed. He is a good man and deserves happiness.”

Orlando smiled, and rubbed his cheek into the pillow on the couch, so pleased 
that his master approved of his beloved. “Are you and Sean close then? It seems
very unusual for a Lord to be amicable or on terms of friendship with his 
servant.” He blushed after he said the words, knowing that with some masters, he
could be sacked for it. He did not think Lee would sack him, but it was still 
highly inappropriate. 

Lord Lee smiled at him and leaned in. “Well, I suppose some would say having my
lovely young servant naked, and laying on my couch would be a little unusual as
well. Much less discussing love lives with said lovely naked servant. Do you not
agree?”

Orlando’s lush lips curved into a smile, he curled the blanket a little closer 
around his naked frame, the warmth flushing his face as though he had drunk too
much wine. “I suppose so, my Lord.” He said softly, but mirth was in his voice. 

The young man yawned delicately, trying to hide it from his employer. Lord Lee 
saw it, of course and eyed the boy carefully. He saw how fatigued the boy was, 
and felt for him. He knew how hard his staff worked, and it was rather late. He
doubted that Orlando’s clothes would be dry yet, and he certainly did not mind 
gazing upon the young man’s fresh young face. 

“Tired, boy?” he asked, leaning back.

Orlando looked into the old man’s eyes, trying to judge whether or not he should
lie. He did not want to bother Lord Lee with his troubles any more than he 
already had. But the evening had been one of the most bizarre, so he might as 
well keep things the same as they had been.

“A little” he admitted. “But I can wait to go to sleep, I would hate to impugn 
on you, my Lord…you have been so hospitable…”

“As I have been so hospitable, it would be odd for me to suddenly turn to some 
wicked old man who throws you from my rooms the second you feel the pull of 
fatigue. That would not be very gentlemanly.” He waved at the boy to lie back 
down on the couch. “Lie back and rest your eyes for a moment, cherub. I will 
tell you when your clothes are done, and then you may return to the world you 
know and are so very comfortable with, and I shall return to playing the bitter
old Lord of the manor. Until then, let us pretend that you are my guest, and I 
am your host, and sleeping here is the most natural, comfortable thing to you.”

Orlando sighed and lay back. He allowed himself to give in to the urge to give
himself over to his fatigue and close his eyes. Lord Lee found a book to occupy
himself with as he sat and soon looked up to see that the young man was drifting
off to sleep. He turned back to his book, letting the boy sleep without a dirty
old man staring at him. He tried to read the drab book, something Ian had 
suggested, but they had such different tastes. Ian had taste, and Christopher 
got more enjoyment from the trash novels sold on street corners. He grunted to 
himself at the poetic lines of the prose before him, and continued to read for a
while.

Lord Lee looked up from the book he had begun to gaze upon the quiet form of his
servant to find the boy sleeping peacefully. He let a sly smile grace his lips 
and he saw the steady rise and fall of the boy’s chest from his deep slumber. He
must have been more tired than he let on, as it had taken him so little time to
fall under. 

The old man looked at the curves up Orlando’s curled body that were outlined by
the crimson blanket. He followed the body on the couch, sketching it out in his
mind. Eventually, Lord Lee returned to his book for a while, nit much interest 
in the pages he idly read.

The minutes wore on, and soon he heard a soft sigh come from the sleeping form.
His gray eyes lifted from the pages and he looked to the boy who sighed again,
turning in his sleep, his warm body trying to twist away from the blanket that
was now making him too warm. Lord Lee found interest in this, and his book was 
soon resting forgotten on his lap as he looked appreciatively at the smooth 
hairless chest exposed by the shifted blanket. Even in the flickering firelight,
he could tell that the boy’s tan was uniform across his body. Orlando turned 
from his side onto his back, the blanket caught beneath his feet and pulled down
even lower, past the flat belly and stopping low on his hips. Lord Lee swore he
could see the boy’s downy pubic hair peeking out from the top of the blanket. 
Orlando raised one arm gracefully to curl above his head, his hand resting above
those silken curls. 

The beautiful boy reminded him of a classic painting, in which some lovely 
virgin was resting innocently on a couch amongst flowers and vines. The 
firelight suited him, and made him radiate a passionate glow, as though he were
of the fire himself. 

Lord Lee reveled at the perfect slender body. It was the body of youth. He could
almost feel the softness of the skin with his eyes. The boy was completely 
unblemished as far as he could tell. He reminded him of his own youth, when 
everything seemed so fresh and sweet. He thought of the lovers he had and lost,
how they had made him feel as perfect as this boy looked. He had the innocence 
that only the young could possess. Lord Lee was mesmerized, completely overtaken
with the sight before him. How he would love to stroke that supple flesh bared 
before him...so sweet...so innocent...but he would not, could not. He would 
never betray the trust of this lovely young beauty. He merely accepted the gift
of the moment. 

Orlando moved again in his sleep, shifting onto his stomach, trying to escape 
the heat of the blanket. The cloth was now pulled down again, exposing the round
swell of firm buttock, the shadowy crevice exposed as his knee slipped down over
the side of the couch, bent so that his foot still rested on the edge of the 
couch. His arms curled beside his chest, hands in loose fists by his face. His 
tousled curls hanging over his forehead across his closed eyes, almost dry. Lord
Lee’s breath caught as he looked upon the young body. 

He immediately stood and slowly walked to the couch. His hand ghosted over, but
never touching, the curves of Orlando’s body. Over his graceful back and over 
his rump, across his shoulders and down his sides. This was a perfection he had
to capture. 

The old man walked to a desk into a drawer he rarely ever opened. From it, he
withdrew several pieces of parchment and a kohl pencil. He took the wooden tray
that was used to place his meals on and brought the things to the stuffed chair
where he sat. He placed the paper on the tray and took the pencil in hand. His 
old but expert eyes flashed to Orlando’s body before carefully drawing the 
pencil across the parchment for the first time in nearly thirty years.

He worked diligently, giving as much care to drawing the boy’s form as his 
perfection deserved. He could smell the kohl and could hear it scratch against
the parchment and could feel the old pleasure he used to receive when sketching
again. He took a wrinkled yet steady finger and blended in the shadow of the 
crevice of the boy’s slightly arched back. He scratched harder to get the 
darkness needed for the wild hair. There was not one thing that went unnoticed 
as he went. Orlando’s sweet sighs only gave him more fuel to create, to 
remember. He would never again forget this beauty and innocence. 

He finished and reached for another parchment. He may have not drawn for many 
years, but his old skill came to him quickly. Some things refused to be 
forgotten, and for this he was glad. The second drawing was even more precise 
than the first, and he found himself making pleased low sighs as contours and
shadows came out the way he wanted. 

The boy turned again and kicked, the blanket not falling to the floor, 
abandoned. He now lay completely naked on his back in a pose that was quite like
the one he had taken before. His steady breathing more audible as his pink lips
slightly parted in his sleep.

Lord Lee now saw the long legs, seemingly hairless except for the faintest soft
down. He saw the dark curls that surrounded the graceful sex. The boy’s limp 
member was well proportioned to his body, and only further reminded Lord Lee of
a classic youth from a fresco, or of Ganymede from the famous painting. Lee 
began another drawing, keeping the memory of those classic frescos in mind as he
drew Orlando lying across his couch.

He did not know how long he continued. He did not care that he would get very 
little sleep and probably be unpleasant as a result in the morning. He would not
allow himself to stop until he was content with his work, and had captured the 
essence of this boy. 

Finally, as the sun began to make its presence know, he looked down at his
drawing as smiled, pleased at its appearance. He took the parchments and pencil
and replaced them in the desk drawer, then walked over to the couch. He picked 
up the discarded blanket and covered Orlando’s perfection, insuring his modesty,
and retreated to his own bed.

TBC....


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