Havemercy Fic - Crossing the Line (14/28)
Title: Crossing The Line
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,252 for this chapter
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to the wonderful Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, although there may be one or two of my own creation :)
Summary: When he decides to search for an art tutor, little does sixteen year old Etienne know that he's about to embark on an adventurous summer of maturity, secrets and self-discovery. However, he's not the only one in the family who's been hiding things, as Castle Nevers will never be the same again.
Author's Notes: Half-way through! Thanks again to manyfacesofme22.
( Previous chapters)
Ethan
It wasn’t hard to see that something was wrong.
Between Etienne’s hurried departure and Jude’s stricken expression before he hid in his bedroom all afternoon, I pieced together what must have happened.
Jude was quiet over dinner, so I waited for Alfie to leave the table before questioning him.
“Are you alright?”
He nodded without meeting my gaze. I gave him a few seconds to see if he was going to venture any information, then tried again.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
His shoulders stiffened and he glanced at me quickly before looking away again. There was another pause, and I thought he might not tell me at all. Then he sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“I did something stupid,” he admitted.
“Alright,” I said carefully.
“Really stupid.”
“It can’t be that bad.” He ran his thumbnail along a grain in the table, alerting me to how nervous he was. I tried to reassure him. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can be fixed.”
His hand stilled. He seemed to consider my words and after a few more seconds he spoke.
“I was talking to Etienne in the garden. Did you know that he knows Hal? As in the famous Hal, and the Margrave Royston is his uncle?”
The information was unexpected, but through my surprise I could see that he was delaying the real reason for his behaviour.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That must have been a surprise.”
He smiled. “It was.” He paused for a moment. “Anyway, we were talking, and he told me that, and I remember thinking about Hal and the Margrave and - well, you know, their relationship and everything - and I thought that if he knows them then he must know about them and that obviously he doesn’t mind, because he still writes to them. So then I thought that he wouldn’t mind about me, and we’re quite close, you know how good friends we are, so I thought-” he paused his babbling, frowning at himself. “Well, I didn’t really think, so I just went for it, and, well, it’s him, you know how I-”
He stopped again, and I took his silence as time to try and work out what he was saying. It sounded like my earlier suspicions had been correct, and I hoped that Etienne hadn’t reacted too badly to the news.
“You told him how you feel, didn’t you?” I asked.
He swallowed. “Worse,” he confessed. He stared down intently at his hands. “I kissed him.”
I was surprised by his news. I knew that he sometimes didn’t think about the consequences of his actions, but I thought that he would tell Etienne about his feelings rather than act of them.
“Ah.” I wasn’t sure what to say. “And did he-”
“He left.”
The abruptness of his statement left me in no doubt as to his feelings about that. He was obviously disappointed and hurt by Etienne’s reaction. I studied the unhappy downturn of his mouth, his slumped posture and his thumb working against the grain. I knew he was upset, but I didn’t know how to stop it. This was not my area of expertise, and I couldn’t think of anything I could do or say that would improve his situation.
“Well,” I said lightly. “I’m sure he’ll be back.”
He shrugged, and neither of us pursued the conversation further. I could do nothing more than hope that Etienne would return, and not treat Jude badly.
Jude remained downhearted all weekend. He spent most of it in his room, hiding away, until even I started feeling troubled that perhaps Etienne wouldn’t return. He was a nice boy, I reminded myself. I’d never had any reason to doubt him, and he’d never been anything but polite.
I was still a little surprised when Etienne arrived on Tuesday at the usual time. I took him to my study and started the lesson like normal, the gaping absence of Jude making the room much quieter and the hours seem longer.
Jude still hadn’t appeared by time I’d started making the sandwiches for lunch, and Etienne started to look worried.
“How’s Jude?”
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. “He’s…been a bit down, the last few days.”
“Oh.” Etienne stared down at his plate. He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the nervous undercurrent to his voice. “Do you know why?”
I hesitated again. “Yes.”
Red bloomed in his cheeks as he seemed to shrink before me. He stared at me with wide eyes and I detected the same emotion in them I’d seen in Jude’s just a week ago: fear. I wanted to reach out and reassure him the way I had with Jude, but he was not my son and I had no way of telling what he was thinking or feeling.
“You should probably speak to him,” I said carefully.
Etienne nodded. He swallowed, opened his mouth then closed it again, as if he wasn’t sure about what to say.
“If you have any questions…” It was the only thing I could offer; I was at a loss about what to do.
“You knew?” he asked quietly. “About Jude, I mean?”
“Yes.”
He looked up at me, surprised. “How did you know?”
“He told me. About a week ago.”
He stared at me a little longer, then studied his hands. “And you - you didn’t have a problem with that?”
“Jude is my son,” I answered firmly. “I love him, and nothing’s going to change that.”
He looked back up at me, surprised, blush deepening. “Sorry,” he apologised hastily. “I didn’t mean to sound-”
“No, it’s fine.” I waved his apology aside. “I take it you don’t feel the same way as Jude?”
He looked away, eyes fixated on his hands in his lap. “I don’t know.” I waited for him to continue. “Mama says-” he cut himself off, shaking his head.
“You’ve spoken to your parents about this?” I asked, surprised.
“No. No, I…it’s just…Mama doesn’t exactly approve of people like Jude, and…” he sat up a little straighter in his seat, shoulders slumping as he exhaled. He looked up at me earnestly. “It’s not easy when you’re brought up to believe one thing then discover quite suddenly that perhaps the opposite is true.”
Ah, so that was the root of the problem. “No, I suppose that wouldn’t be easy,” I agreed lightly. “And what do you believe?”
He bit his lip. “I’m not sure.” He took a minute to consider my question. “I feel that Mama is wrong, but…”
“But you don’t wish to go against your parents. Understandable.”
He nodded.
“You know, in Thremedon, things like this are more accepted,” I informed him.
“Yes, I know. My uncle, he - well, he’s in a relationship with a man.”
“Ah yes, the Margrave Royston.”
He sat up a little straighter. “You know of him?”
“He’s quite a prominent figure in Thremedon, as is his - Hal. As is Hal.”
“Oh.” He sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what we had been discussing. “Jude is my friend,” he said finally. “And I don’t want that to change.”
He seemed content with his decision, and I didn’t want to push the matter any further.
“He’s in his room.” I pushed a sandwich across the table. “You can take this to him, if you like.”
To my relief, Etienne took the plate. As he headed upstairs I sat back in my chair, thankful that my teenage years had never been this troublesome.
Next
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1,252 for this chapter
Disclaimer: All recognisable characters belong to the wonderful Jaida Jones and Danielle Bennett, although there may be one or two of my own creation :)
Summary: When he decides to search for an art tutor, little does sixteen year old Etienne know that he's about to embark on an adventurous summer of maturity, secrets and self-discovery. However, he's not the only one in the family who's been hiding things, as Castle Nevers will never be the same again.
Author's Notes: Half-way through! Thanks again to manyfacesofme22.
( Previous chapters)
Ethan
It wasn’t hard to see that something was wrong.
Between Etienne’s hurried departure and Jude’s stricken expression before he hid in his bedroom all afternoon, I pieced together what must have happened.
Jude was quiet over dinner, so I waited for Alfie to leave the table before questioning him.
“Are you alright?”
He nodded without meeting my gaze. I gave him a few seconds to see if he was going to venture any information, then tried again.
“Are you going to tell me what happened?”
His shoulders stiffened and he glanced at me quickly before looking away again. There was another pause, and I thought he might not tell me at all. Then he sighed, his shoulders slumping.
“I did something stupid,” he admitted.
“Alright,” I said carefully.
“Really stupid.”
“It can’t be that bad.” He ran his thumbnail along a grain in the table, alerting me to how nervous he was. I tried to reassure him. “Whatever it is, I’m sure it can be fixed.”
His hand stilled. He seemed to consider my words and after a few more seconds he spoke.
“I was talking to Etienne in the garden. Did you know that he knows Hal? As in the famous Hal, and the Margrave Royston is his uncle?”
The information was unexpected, but through my surprise I could see that he was delaying the real reason for his behaviour.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“That must have been a surprise.”
He smiled. “It was.” He paused for a moment. “Anyway, we were talking, and he told me that, and I remember thinking about Hal and the Margrave and - well, you know, their relationship and everything - and I thought that if he knows them then he must know about them and that obviously he doesn’t mind, because he still writes to them. So then I thought that he wouldn’t mind about me, and we’re quite close, you know how good friends we are, so I thought-” he paused his babbling, frowning at himself. “Well, I didn’t really think, so I just went for it, and, well, it’s him, you know how I-”
He stopped again, and I took his silence as time to try and work out what he was saying. It sounded like my earlier suspicions had been correct, and I hoped that Etienne hadn’t reacted too badly to the news.
“You told him how you feel, didn’t you?” I asked.
He swallowed. “Worse,” he confessed. He stared down intently at his hands. “I kissed him.”
I was surprised by his news. I knew that he sometimes didn’t think about the consequences of his actions, but I thought that he would tell Etienne about his feelings rather than act of them.
“Ah.” I wasn’t sure what to say. “And did he-”
“He left.”
The abruptness of his statement left me in no doubt as to his feelings about that. He was obviously disappointed and hurt by Etienne’s reaction. I studied the unhappy downturn of his mouth, his slumped posture and his thumb working against the grain. I knew he was upset, but I didn’t know how to stop it. This was not my area of expertise, and I couldn’t think of anything I could do or say that would improve his situation.
“Well,” I said lightly. “I’m sure he’ll be back.”
He shrugged, and neither of us pursued the conversation further. I could do nothing more than hope that Etienne would return, and not treat Jude badly.
Jude remained downhearted all weekend. He spent most of it in his room, hiding away, until even I started feeling troubled that perhaps Etienne wouldn’t return. He was a nice boy, I reminded myself. I’d never had any reason to doubt him, and he’d never been anything but polite.
I was still a little surprised when Etienne arrived on Tuesday at the usual time. I took him to my study and started the lesson like normal, the gaping absence of Jude making the room much quieter and the hours seem longer.
Jude still hadn’t appeared by time I’d started making the sandwiches for lunch, and Etienne started to look worried.
“How’s Jude?”
I hesitated, not sure how to answer. “He’s…been a bit down, the last few days.”
“Oh.” Etienne stared down at his plate. He tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the nervous undercurrent to his voice. “Do you know why?”
I hesitated again. “Yes.”
Red bloomed in his cheeks as he seemed to shrink before me. He stared at me with wide eyes and I detected the same emotion in them I’d seen in Jude’s just a week ago: fear. I wanted to reach out and reassure him the way I had with Jude, but he was not my son and I had no way of telling what he was thinking or feeling.
“You should probably speak to him,” I said carefully.
Etienne nodded. He swallowed, opened his mouth then closed it again, as if he wasn’t sure about what to say.
“If you have any questions…” It was the only thing I could offer; I was at a loss about what to do.
“You knew?” he asked quietly. “About Jude, I mean?”
“Yes.”
He looked up at me, surprised. “How did you know?”
“He told me. About a week ago.”
He stared at me a little longer, then studied his hands. “And you - you didn’t have a problem with that?”
“Jude is my son,” I answered firmly. “I love him, and nothing’s going to change that.”
He looked back up at me, surprised, blush deepening. “Sorry,” he apologised hastily. “I didn’t mean to sound-”
“No, it’s fine.” I waved his apology aside. “I take it you don’t feel the same way as Jude?”
He looked away, eyes fixated on his hands in his lap. “I don’t know.” I waited for him to continue. “Mama says-” he cut himself off, shaking his head.
“You’ve spoken to your parents about this?” I asked, surprised.
“No. No, I…it’s just…Mama doesn’t exactly approve of people like Jude, and…” he sat up a little straighter in his seat, shoulders slumping as he exhaled. He looked up at me earnestly. “It’s not easy when you’re brought up to believe one thing then discover quite suddenly that perhaps the opposite is true.”
Ah, so that was the root of the problem. “No, I suppose that wouldn’t be easy,” I agreed lightly. “And what do you believe?”
He bit his lip. “I’m not sure.” He took a minute to consider my question. “I feel that Mama is wrong, but…”
“But you don’t wish to go against your parents. Understandable.”
He nodded.
“You know, in Thremedon, things like this are more accepted,” I informed him.
“Yes, I know. My uncle, he - well, he’s in a relationship with a man.”
“Ah yes, the Margrave Royston.”
He sat up a little straighter. “You know of him?”
“He’s quite a prominent figure in Thremedon, as is his - Hal. As is Hal.”
“Oh.” He sat in silence for a few minutes, contemplating what we had been discussing. “Jude is my friend,” he said finally. “And I don’t want that to change.”
He seemed content with his decision, and I didn’t want to push the matter any further.
“He’s in his room.” I pushed a sandwich across the table. “You can take this to him, if you like.”
To my relief, Etienne took the plate. As he headed upstairs I sat back in my chair, thankful that my teenage years had never been this troublesome.
Next