Page 16 of Love, Will

Chapter 3

“When Love speaks, the voice of all the gods

Makes heaven drowsy with the harmony.” – Love`s Labour Lost

My closeness to the Earl increased in the weeks to come. His visits to the theatre multiplied and the invitations for supper arrived every couple of days. Henry loved to discuss theatre. He even told me that he fell in love with plays when he first sawThe misfortunes of Arthuracted for the Queen and he had been a member of Gray’s Inn before taking his degree. He always looked beyond excited to discuss my work and ideas and even gave me his opinion and advice on certain matters.

Another subject that kept us talking for hours was Italy. We were both fascinated with its culture and history, the richness of its flavours and all the stories that came to us from merchants. Henry dreamt about travelling there one day, in the service of the Queen, visiting the beautiful churches and admiring the marvelous art.

The time spent with the Earl had become precious to me, to the extent that my days had become stolen moments in between our supper exchanges and secret glances. I don’t remember how my day to day living played out during those months, but I can recall every single moment Henry and I shared, the times I made him laugh and every debate we had on different subject matters.

I’d come to admire the dreamer in him, the young man who wanted to see the world and experience it all. The eagerness of his youth and the unashamed desires had succumbed to the deepest of inspirations, to the point when my entire life revolved around the young man. He had become my muse, his presence the object of my desire, and his company, my most prized possession.

I must confess that I adored his interested looks, the way he absorbed my thoughts and opinions, with thirst and passion. Every time he welcomed me into his household, he did so with enthusiasm, confessing how I had become his favourite guest.

Another gratuity I unexpectedly received from becoming friends with the Earl was full access to his personal library. An honour that I could have never imagined coming upon me. One evening, he excitedly asked me to accompany him through the mansion, so I slowly walked behind him, admiring all the decorated columns and paintings in the hallways I hadn’t had access to before.

Henry stopped in front of a tall wooden door and smiled at me widely, showing how pleased he was with this moment. He then stepped aside and asked me to push the doors open, so I obeyed and found myself opening the gateway to thousands of books, all leather bound, stacked carefully on massive bookshelves.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. During my days at the baron’s house, which was the only time I had access to a library, I only had two bookshelves through which I could wonder and even then it was a sublime feeling. But this, this was the heaven of literature laid bare at my feet. I still have flutters in my stomach when I remember the moment and the best part of it was Henry’s smile.

“Master poet, I welcome thee into our personal corner of literature,” he said emphasizing his court tone and pushed me forward.

I spun in place like a bee trapped in a jar of nectar, looking at all the wall-high book stacks, at the hundreds of leather-bound pages sitting in close proximity to me, waiting to be uncovered.

“Henry, this is amazing.” I looked at him with tears in my eyes, overwhelmed.

“It’s all yours, Will.” He smiled even wider, content with my reaction.

“I don’t know how I could ever thank you for this kindness.” I was completely in shock, afraid to touch the books from fear that if I did, I would never stop reading them.

“I could think of some ways.” The Earl winked and headed towards the bookshelves, to pick me some of his favourites for me.

“Will, another letter from your lover,” Richard announced, waving the sealed paper like a maiden bidding her lover goodbye. We were rehearsing theTaming of the Shrewthat day and Henry was expected to be joining us for the performance, but something must have happened.

“Richard, look, it’s your lady friend Amina from the brothel,” I told him, pointing behind, towards the theatre entrance.

“Where?” he turned to look, completely forgetting about the letter. Amina was a lady friend Richard sometimes ‘forgot’ to pay. Taking advantage of his slip, I grabbed the letter and laughed.

”Sucker.” Then headed behind the curtain so I could read the message in peace while I heard Richard cussing me from the stage.

“Dear Will,

Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the theatre tonight. My suspicions were correct and I am extremely untranquil. I bid you join me tonight for supper and comfort as soon as you finish acting.

In desperate need of a friend,

Henry”

I did not have a horse, but I think I ran faster than one to Henry’s estate as soon as the applause finished. I kept my clothes underneath the costume and immediately after I stepped backstage; I took the stage jacket off and started running to Henry, without waiting for my pay and trying to avoid all the muddy puddles the rain had caused that afternoon.

When I arrived and was let in by the maids, I found him in his study, drowning his sorrows in wine. I had entered unannounced and searched the entire floor - I visited so many times and spent so much time in the library that I felt comfortable finding my way through the estate, till I remembered he had the tendency to write when upset, so the study made most sense.

“Henry, what is the matter?” I took a few steps towards him and felt the poignant smell of his breath when he turned towards me. He must have enjoyed more than a bottle or two on his own.

“Oh Will, what I’d give to be you right now.” He rose from the writing chair and stepped towards me to… hug me. Unexpectedly, I found myself between the Earl’s arms and felt his warmth and the soft fabric of his shirt. His breath lowered on my neck, tickling my skin with a pleasant tingling. The last time I felt that was during my very first romantic encounter with Anne, while I thrusted inside her and she grabbed my neck to breathe into me. To say I had goosebumps is an understatement. My blood started boiling and my stomach jumped. The embrace only lasted a second, but the sensation persisted on my skin for the entire evening.

“Do you want to tell me what happened?” I asked while taking a seat on the reading chair next to his desk.

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