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Chapter 2

Daniel

Daniel Stanton was a man who rarely hesitated. When he saw something he wanted, he went after it with vigour and with the confidence that the object of his desire would soon be his. In his youth, this had at times been a source of conflict between himself and his brother, Benjamin, who had a tendency to second guess himself, which meant, more often than not, that Daniel was the one to win whichever prize was coveted by the both of them in that moment.

This did not mean, of course, that Daniel was one to steal something that belonged to someone else. His mama had naturally ensured that he was inculcated with a proper Christian spirit towards his fellow man. It was just that his life experiences so far had taught him that very little was out of his reach. He had a natural academic aptitude and easily excelled in all his studies. He was blessed with wealth, good looks and charm, which made conquests of the opposite sex easy work. His kind nature and sense of humour meant that he was well liked in his society and had no shortage of friends. If anyone was born under a lucky star, it was Daniel Stanton.

At the age of four and twenty, Daniel had had his fair share of romantic adventures, though he would not go so far as to say he had ever truly fallen in love. Perhaps the closest he had ever gotten to that emotion was the six-week period in which he had been bedazzled by Agnes Lowe, the sister of Theobald, his closest friend at Yale. In his third year of college, Daniel had accepted an invitation to go stay with the Lowes at their summer home in Newport and there, he had met the lovely Agnes. He had spent the summer in thrall to her and had considered proposing marriage, for Agnes was not the type of lady to be seduced by any other means. He had left the Lowe home at the end of the summer determined to seek his papa's counsel on this matter.

A conversation had ensued with his parent, in which he had been advised to wait until he was older than his twenty-one years before entering the state of matrimony. "You are young and can afford to wait before settling down to marriage," had said his papa. "Let this be an opportunity to test your true sentiments. If in another two years you are of the same mind, by all means then do court this young lady."

Daniel had seen the sense of these words, and so, he had put aside his immediate inclinations. He and Agnes had pursued a correspondence all through the following year and met a few more times at social events. However, as the months went by, the fervour of his passion had waned, and when Agnes had accepted a marriage proposal from a rival suitor, Daniel had not been heartbroken or even mildly disappointed. The lesson he had learned from this experience was that "love" was an ephemeral emotion not to be trusted, for almost invariably this love was merely lustful infatuation.

He did, of course, have the example of his parents, whose enduring love for each other was undeniable. His father had given up immense wealth and privilege to make Charlotte Harding his wife. He had left England without a backward glance and forged a new life for himself and Charlotte in America, much to the anger and disappointment of the Earl of Stanton. To Daniel's mind, this was the true test of love. If he was willing to give up all his material riches and the home he knew to be with another person, then that was true love. Agnes had not managed to inspire such a degree of sacrifice from himself, nor any other young lady he had known since.

Daniel put aside thoughts of his disappointment in America. Here, in England, there were already many more intriguing possibilities. Earlier today, Daniel had met Ambrose Cranshaw. He had heard positive reports about the man from his grandfather before even coming to England. In letters to his grandson, the earl had written at length about the young man he had taken into his employ seven years ago and elevated to the position of estate manager some years later; a man on whom he had come to place a great reliance.

Daniel had long been curious to meet the person who had won the Earl of Stanton's confidence, for the earl was notoriously difficult to please. And now having met Ambrose, he understood why his grandfather thought so highly of him. Before and during luncheon, Daniel had observed him with avid interest. He had seen a soft-spoken gentleman of great intelligence and humility, who yet also displayed a subtle strength of character.

When he had first come across his grandfather's estate manager in the stable, he had thought him an angelic being, some immortal god sent to Earth—which made Ambrose a mightily fitting name for the man. From the windblown golden locks to the unblemished alabaster of his skin, long-lashed eyes the colour of a grey wintery sky and lushly formed mouth, everything about Ambrose's form was perfection. And in that instant, Daniel had wanted him.

Daniel knew enough of the world to be aware that there were some men that were attracted to each other and who engaged in sexual relations—sodomites they were called. He had never thought himself to be such a one, for he loved women well enough. However, an experience earlier in his youth had made him wonder if he was partly a sodomite, if one could be such a thing.

It was about a month after he had turned seventeen on a scorchingly hot day in July. He had gone down to the lake on the edge of his father's land, along with his brother, cousins and a small group of other young men, wanting to have a cooling dip in the water. All the men had stripped bare, as was usual, and jumped into the lake with glee. They had spent an hour splashing about like children and enjoying the refreshingly cool embrace of the water on their naked skin.

Daniel had been towelling himself dry when Ezra Matthews, a labourer on the neighbouring farm, belatedly joined them. Daniel had watched him remove his shirt and pants, and had inhaled sharply on seeing Ezra's naked form—acres of sleek, muscled skin of the most beautiful shade of bronze, and a thick cock swinging proudly from a nest of wiry dark hair. Daniel had been struck dumb at Ezra's beauty, and his own cock had thickened uncomfortably in response. Thankfully, he had a towel draped around him, hiding this particular evidence from view. He had looked up then into Ezra's knowing gaze, and the man had winked at him before running to the water's edge and jumping in.

Daniel had dressed and returned to his house, wondering at this strange reaction he had had to one man's nudity. The following week, it had happened again. He had taken one look at a naked Ezra and gotten hard. This time, his lower body had been submerged in the water, hiding his arousal. There had only been himself, Benjamin and Ezra swimming that day. And when his brother had decided he'd had enough of being in the water, he had left them alone and gone back to the house. That was when Ezra had swum towards Daniel and floated gently on his back beside him, his naked glory on full display.

Daniel had stared, and Ezra had smiled. "Do you like what you see?" he'd asked lazily.

"Yes, I do," Daniel had said impulsively.

Ezra had stood in the water then, which lapped at his waist, and looked him straight in the eye, saying nothing, waiting for Daniel to make the first move. And Daniel was nothing if not decisive. "I would like to kiss you," he had said, feeling a sudden desire to experience the feel of this man's lips.

"Then kiss me," Ezra had replied.

Slowly, Daniel had pulled Ezra's body to his and brought their lips together. The kiss had started softly, a gentle exploration, but quickly it became something more. Tongues tangled and teeth tugged sharply with a ferocity that was unlike any kiss Daniel had ever experienced with a female—and he'd had many. This was unrestrained, almost violent. And throughout it all, he had felt Ezra's hard cock nudging his own engorged shaft, rubbing against him until they had both simultaneously come in sticky spurts to their chests. Afterwards, they had washed themselves in the lake and dressed without a word, each going their separate ways.

The incident was never repeated, but the memory of that day had stayed with him. What did it all mean? Several nights in bed, he had stroked himself to the recollection of what had happened in the lake and come spectacularly hard. But then his wondering was put to one side when he had started a dalliance with Rachel Hewitt and had a lusty time with her in a deserted hayloft. The feel of her soft, abundant flesh and the feminine scent of her had driven him wild with desire. That attraction to Ezra Matthews, he concluded, had been an aberration. There was no doubting that he enjoyed the fleshly delights of women.

Daniel had turned eighteen and gone to college at Yale where he had indulged in more seductions of pretty women, and then had become infatuated with Agnes Lowe. The episode with Ezra became a distant memory. Beyond an occasional fleeting attraction, he had not again felt that level of desire for another man as he had felt for Ezra. So, he had put the whole incident away from his mind, until now.

He wanted Ambrose Cranshaw—that tall, slim man with the face of an angel and clever mind. Could he take him as a lover? His body quickened with excitement at the thought of it. He would like to give it a try and do those things he had done with Ezra, perhaps taking it a step further this time, taking the time to explore a man's body with his hands and mouth.

However, the matter was a delicate one. Much depended on how Ambrose would respond to sexual overtures from another man. Looking back, Ezra had left him in no doubt of his interest, and Daniel was hopeful that he would be able to find out quickly enough, and without crossing any lines of acceptable behaviour, whether or not Ambrose reciprocated his attraction. With this in mind, he perched himself by the front steps of Stanton Hall and waited for him. He knew what he wanted, and he was going to see if Ambrose wanted it too.

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