*Masquerade*
“Have you ever been to one?”
“Oh, yes, a couple. In my foolish youth.”
That last sentence was so evidently a joke that Horatio smiled. Both he and Archie were barely of age now, after all. But he knew Archie was talking of the days before the Navy, when he was still barely more than a child, living in his father’s London house. From all he had heard, however, Archie had not been one to let youth shut him out of anything he took a fancy to, and the party of men and women in gaudy costume they had seen last night had certainly looked like something that would pique the interest of the Archie Kennedy he knew.
“So what was it like?”
“Like? Oh, entertaining. Colourful. Not,” he grinned, “exactly respectable, you know.”
“Meaning we shouldn’t go to one?” Horatio asked.
“I didn’t say that. Gentlemen are allowed to be not respectable once in a while, it’s only ladies who are barred. Besides, who would know?” He cocked his head slightly. “Did you want to go?”
“I know little about them,” Horatio hazarded, surprised by the quality of his own temptation.
“But would you like to find out?” Seeing Horatio’s hesitation he encouraged gently, “There’s really no reason why we shouldn’t, if there’s one before we need to be back on board.”
“We don’t have costumes.”
“We don’t need costumes. Just a domino. It’s a sort of robe, covers your clothes.” Archie made a vague sketching motion with his hands. “Some of that party last night were wearing them, if you remember. Shouldn’t be too hard to get hold of. And we’re both in funds at the moment.” That was true, a recent rush of released prize money had left Horatio the bemused possessor of a surprising amount of wealth. He had arrived in London with every intention of being careful, but the heady temptation of actually being able to afford for once in his life had gone quickly to his head. Already he had paid for a much better inn than usual, a new watch, two pairs of chased silver shoe buckles and more than one expensive meal.
“It shouldn’t be too costly, should it?” he said anxiously all the same.
“Oh no, I shouldn’t think so.” Horatio was prepared to trust that. Archie had grown up in a household where finances fluctuated according to his father’s luck at cards and was presently as dependent on his pay as Horatio himself. “These diversions aren’t just for the wealthy, Horatio,” Archie went on, “In fact they tend to be more popular with the not so rich.” He grinned, mischievously, but before Horatio could wonder whether he had ignorantly suggested a vulgar expedition Archie went on, “I daresay two off-duty lieutenants would fit right in. We can find out if there will be one in the next few days easily enough.”
That seemed to settle things, and Horatio was a little taken aback by how an idle notion had quickly become a settled plan.
*
“Well try it on,” Archie urged. Horatio touched the crimson fabric tentatively. He’d been unconsciously imagining some more sober hue, but Archie it seemed had had other ideas.
“I’ll be too conspicuous in this.”
“Conspicuous, Horatio? At a Vauxhall Gardens masquerade? The only way you could be truly conspicuous would be to go stark naked.” Archie quirked an eyebrow. “Now, that would be entertaining.”
“Cold though,” Horatio said firmly. “Well, I’ll try it.” He swathed himself in the cloth and promptly felt awkward. It covered him from head to foot, with wide sleeves and strings which tied in front. Horatio fumbled a little with those, and Archie helpfully fastened the lower ones for him so that so his clothes could not be seen at all. Horatio did not much like it. The long heavy folds felt restrictive, he was certain he would trip and wondered how on earth women put up with wearing similar things all the time.
“Don’t forget your mask.” Horatio was now feeling a little silly about the whole thing, but could think of no protest that would not sound foolish. Seeing his hesitation, Archie reached up and tied the piece of black velvet carefully about Horatio’s face.
“There. Now see yourself.” The room held a large mirror and under Archie’s persistent hands Horatio turned to face it.
The sight surprised him. The crimson cloth fell elegantly about his figure, masking what he always thought of as his own ungainliness. The mask was no mere token, it hid quite a lot of his face and his eyes seemed to glitter from within it.
“Here.” Archie’s hand reached up and pulled the wide hood of the domino over his dark hair. Now he was wholly cloaked. Horatio half-turned experimentally, hearing the soft rustle of cloth. He didn’t feel awkward any longer. He felt… mysterious?
Oddly held he tried a couple more moves before the mirror, finding them surprisingly graceful. “Perfect!” Archie applauded. “Well, almost.” He caught Horatio’s coat sleeve beneath the domino, and touched the buttons. “These show too easily. If you don’t want to be known for a naval officer they’ll have to go.”
Normally the thought of not appearing as a naval officer would have seemed quite unattractive, but with his mind still dwelling on that stranger in the mirror Horatio only said, “Won’t the colour show?”
“Not well under lantern light. Keep the strings closely tied and no-one will have a notion. We can sew the buttons back tomorrow.”
Horatio allowed the buttons to be severed without protest, but he was now longing to see Archie in his own domino and to know if the same fascinating transformation would be worked on him.
“Here, let me,” he said lifting the heavy cloak from the bed. Archie’s domino was blue, but a brighter, richer shade than naval garb. Horatio draped it around his shoulders, then reached to tie the strings, kneeling down to reach the lower ones. By the time he was done Archie was fastening on his mask.
Horatio stepped back, and drew in his breath. Different, yes, different, and yet still Archie, even when he reached up and drew the hood over his bright hair. The blue glimmered richly in the candle-light, the exotic folds of the cloak hid the strong lines of his figure, and lent a strange enchantment. The man before him was at the same time a stranger, disguised and romantic, and his own beloved friend. “There,” Archie said with satisfaction. “Not likely anyone will know us now!”
“I’d know you,” Horatio said softly. It was true. That strong, straight mouth was unmistakable, and so were the clear blue eyes which showed behind the mask, suiting the blue of the cloth, and something in the way he held himself.
“You aren’t just anyone,” Archie said seriously. There was a still moment which some part of Horatio recognised as dangerous, before Archie smiled and said, “Now, let us go!”
*
He was dazzled. The gardens were brightly dressed, fantastic golden lanterns glittering on the trees which lined the walkways and, although gardens were not something that Horatio knew much about, he could tell that these were beautiful, their artful arrangement seeming rarer and more lovely for the contrasts of golden light and deep shadows which the lanterns spread.
Yet it was the shifting crowd that really held him. There were many dominoes in all possible hues, fading mysteriously in shadows or springing into brilliant life, but there seemed to be almost as many costumes, all of them spectacular. Historical dress of all periods, harlequins and milkmaids, a few fantastic feathered costumes, a Britannia under a high crowned helmet, one or two bold souls in classical dress although these looked as though they felt the cold. Most were masked, although a few gentlemen and fewer still women had dispensed with the disguise. Horatio felt as though he had stepped into the pages of a storybook, and he was unabashedly liking it.
He could tell what Archie had meant by saying that such affairs were not respectable. Although the evening was not well advanced already there was a good deal of immoderate laughter and even some frolicking which he knew would never happen in a well-run drawing room. Lt Hornblower would have frowned in disapproval but he did not have to be Lt Hornblower now, so he looked on and smiled.
Some of the bolder girls had directed laughing remarks at the two strolling men, which Archie answered lightly and confidently. Normally Horatio would have felt embarrassed, but knowing that they did not see the awkward, impoverished lieutenant but a masked man in crimson he was able to smile in response, and even to essay a few answers of his own, whilst continuing to drink in the spectacle before his eyes.
For a long time they simply strolled and enjoyed, but at last Archie announced that he was hungry and they found their way to a booth where a most appetising cold supper was laid out. Horatio was no sybarite, but there were few officers indeed who, released from naval food, did not make the most of the opportunity to dine well. Archie, for his part, attacked his meal with determination and there was scant conversation between them for some time. Not that Horatio felt the desire to speak much in any case. The spell was weaker here, with the everyday business of eating and drinking before them, but he was still enjoying the sights presented by his fellow guests.
It was after the eating was done, when they had filled their glasses from a vast bowl of punch – an infusion Horatio found he liked – that they somehow became caught up within a larger group. There were two men, a Cavalier and a Turk, both laughing and at ease, and several women who Horatio felt certain were not respectable at all. Not that he minded. Other than his brief friendship with Kitty Cobham, his acquaintance with women had included little between demure damsels and respectable matrons on the one hand and dockside drabs on the other. Tonight seemed like a good opportunity to broaden his horizons.
He found himself the object of attention for one young lady dressed as an improbably befrilled shepherdess and another in glittering medieval clothes. Rather than acting as rivals they appeared to have joined forces and neither seemed to mind that he left most of the talking to them. He smiled easily, gave ready answers where they seemed required and his eyes slipped over again and again to Archie who was talking merrily and laughing often, the brightness of his smile infectious. Even against such a colourful background it seemed to Horatio that Archie stood out, life radiating from him and colour in his every movement, and he wondered that he was not the centre of all eyes. Then he felt glad of it, for it seemed as though Archie was some delightful secret of his own, and he continued to talk and laugh with the young women with the knowledge of it warm inside. Then when his eyes slipped over once more Archie met them directly and smiled, and this time it seemed to Horatio that the smile was just for him and the moment the more precious for the others who stood around.
He felt light-headed, and he didn’t mind at all. He wanted this to go on for hours.
But all things have to end and what ended this was the decision that ran through the group and suddenly reduced the man in the crimson domino once again to Lt Hornblower, stammering excuses. Although his refusal seemed taken in good part he wished himself far away as the others left, still bright and laughing, all of them except for Archie. A part of Horatio wished that Archie would leave too, but he stayed, and this time Horatio regretted the mask and domino that made his Archie half a stranger.
“Why didn’t you want to dance?”
“You know I can’t,” Horatio replied miserably. He knew the necessary steps, true, but his tone-deafness meant he could never suit them to the rhythm of the music.
Blue eyes regarded him thoughtfully through the holes in the black cloth. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to. You don’t need to hear the tune, just stick to a set beat. Like maths, Horatio.”
“Maths?”
Archie suddenly grabbed his hand. “Come on!”
As he was towed forward it occurred to Horatio that they were both more than a little drunk. He was quite happy to stay that way. There was no feeling of muzziness, rather a heightened sense of concentration on a few things. Or on just one thing. On Archie.
There were several small, decorative summer-houses scattered around the grounds, and it was into one of these that Archie tugged him. In the middle of the little pavilion he stopped and turned to face Horatio, a shadowy figure now in the enveloping domino, but no less fascinating. Colour had been leeched away in here, but Horatio knew that it was there and the greyness that he saw did not seem plain.
“Can you hear the music?” Archie asked. Dancing had been set up in a large rotunda, Horatio had seen the twirling couples earlier that evening. He knew that music was being played, although the sound meant nothing to him. Here it was no more than a faint background hum, not really grating, but certainly present.
“I don’t know what they’re playing,” he said.
“You don’t need to,” Archie reached out and grasped Horatio’s hands, “just find the rhythm. Count. One, two. One, two. Fit your steps to the rhythm.”
“You’ve put me on the woman’s side,” Horatio complained.
“We can swop later if you like,” Archie shrugged it off. “One, two. Count with me Horatio, One, two. One, two” As Archie led him through the first steps of a cotillion and back to repeat, Horatio did find himself moving to a rhythm, although one which had nothing to do with the dreary hum in the background. It was more like the beating of a pulse, a steady, softly intimate, thing which seemed made for just the two of them. “There,” Archie said, “Are you feeling it?”
“Yes,” Horatio admitted, “but I don’t think I would with anyone else.” He let the feeling hold him for a few more steps. “It’s a shame we can’t dance together in public.”
A soft breath of laughter, “Not unless you wear a dress.”
“You could wear the dress,” Horatio objected.
“I’m too broad in the beam,” Archie said complacently. “I’d look silly in a frock.” Horatio had to acknowledge that was true, Archie’s sturdy frame and square jaw would hardly suit female garb. Nonetheless he was not prepared to yield the point so readily.
“I’m too tall for a woman.”
“I could wear heels,” Archie said, causing Horatio to snort with laughter.
“Now I’ve lost the rhythm,” he complained when he could speak again.
“Here, let’s try this another way.” This time Archie stepped round behind him, clasping his hands around Horatio’s forearms, standing close enough that Horatio could fell Archie’s chest against his own back. “Now. One, two. One, two.”
The pressure was light, so many layers between them, yet Horatio’s breath quickened, his body recalling the memory of forbidden things. He left the memories float easily, just a little way outside full consciousness. Here in this time and place he could linger on the feel of Archie’s cheek against his jaw, of a stray strand of hair brushing his cheekbone, and the soft litany in his ear, surely finer than any music could be.
Suddenly the moment was jarred, though not destroyed, suddenly there were voices, a smothered outbreak of wild laughter, and two people stumbled into the little summer-house already wrapped around each other with unmistakable intent. It was clear they had no idea others might have been before them and as they sank to the ground, still laughing, still wrapped together, Archie acted quickly, making a rapid escape through one of the large open windows at the building’s side. Horatio followed hastily, landing abruptly on the ground almost on top of Archie, once again aware that he had drunk too much. Archie was sitting up on the ground, rocking with immoderate laughter and taking no particular pains to keep it quiet.
“Shh,” Horatio hissed, although he was starting to laugh himself. “They’ll hear you”
“Not they!” Archie laughed harder than ever. Without stopping to think, Horatio leaned in and kissed him.
He’d made himself forget how beautiful this was. He remembered now, and none of the reasons against it mattered at all, because they weren’t lieutenants of His Majesty’s Navy now, they were masqueraders whom no others knew. And he could feel and taste and touch and this was freedom….
But he was not wholly lost to sense and nor was Archie, for before the kiss got too intense they moved apart again, both a little breathless, both knowing, without words, that this could not be continued here. There were trees and bushes behind the summer-house, some kind of shrubbery, Horatio did not look too closely, for it was a shelter from the eyes of any who passed by, and without conscious thought they were inside, with only leaves and thin branches above their heads, and light from one of the gold lanterns filtering softly through so they could see and were in shadow both at once. And all the things that he had refused to remember came back to him, without guilt or shame, and this time it was no matter of being swept away, he knew what it was that he did, that they were doing together, and he chose it, they both chose it, it was what they wanted and the Navy had no power here.
The dominoes were discarded, fingers fumbling over the ties, with more kisses and soft, smothered laughter. Coats and neck-cloths followed at once and they lay full length on the ground. He could see Archie, all shades of gold in the gentle light save for the black cloth about his face, and Horatio wanted to see clearly so he reached up to pull the mask away. Archie laughed back, breathlessly, so beautiful, and then Horatio’s own mask was off and fingers tangled in his hair, loosening the confining ribbon. A moment later Archie’s ribbon was off as well, loose hair falling about his shoulders. They tumbled on the ground together, running their hands across each others bodies, and there was nothing in the world but this, nothing in the world but Archie and the waves of feeling holding them together, not simply lust although their bodies shuddered with sensation, but the connection that was always there, and the joy of it and the sheer glory of celebration, and then there was no room for even half-formed thoughts and the world was full of light.
When it was over and they lay still tangled, uncaring of the hard ground beneath them, he felt nothing but lazy bliss. Not like previous times, when shame had gripped him, that he should have forgotten himself so far. Here beneath the trees, with stars glimmering down upon them, he felt no sense that what had been done was wrong. The ugly words the world would use had no place here.
Archie had leaned back a little, not breaking the closeness, but enough to see Horatio clearly, his smile drowsy and content.
“You’re just like silver,” he murmured gently, one hand running gently down Horatio’s throat.
“Silver?”
“I like silver,” Archie assured him, smiling, “Always did. Silver,” he twisted a strand of Horatio’s unbound hair around one finger, “and ebony.”
Horatio felt he had just been handed something precious. “You’re warm,” was all he could say in answer, “always warm.” His fingers found the pulse in Archie’s throat and pressed against it, feeling the strong beats. So much life….
They lay still a while longer, Horatio wondering gently at the sense of completion gained simply from the light pressure of Archie against him. He could have lingered here, in happiness, for hours, but just as a remaining practical part of him was starting to find the hard ground uncomfortable the quiet was broken by a ‘pop’ above their heads, followed by a flash of colour.
“Fireworks!” Archie sat up swiftly, animation flashing across his face. Horatio did the same, certain he too was showing eagerness, if there were fireworks then he wanted to see. Yet the costumes must first be donned again, and he groped in the dim light for his clothes, aware that all his garments must be stained and not minding the fact at all, heedless too, for the moment of whether he was masked and cloaked. There were no disguises needed here. Still it was not until all strings were tied again, that they ventured out, reaching up at the last moment to pull the hoods up over still disordered hair.
The fireworks were spectacular, or so it seemed to the country boy who still lingered in Horatio. They found a bank to watch from, a slope covered with soft, mossy grass. Above them stars of gold and silver burst and faded, and coloured balls of light soared, then fell. The colours of the shifting hoards below were lit by those above, some of the crowd were watching, as enrapt as the two young men, but some were frankly romping. Definitely not respectable Horatio thought, and smiled.
*
He awoke, still on the grass bank, sometime before dawn with chilled stiffness in his limbs and a headache that suggested he had drunk quite a lot last night. He also had his head pillowed on Archie’s shoulder, and that seemed to make his physical woes unimportant by comparison. A brief thought as to what passers by would have thought of them flitted through his mind and was discarded. They would have seen two strangers in dominos, nothing else.
Still, it could not go on, and he shifted gently, enough to bring Archie, accustomed to quick waking by his years of naval service, out of the sleep he had been in. Horatio looked around and found that the grounds were not quite deserted. A few hardy individuals appeared to be still revelling, and there were others who looked as though they wished to leave but were not sure of the way.
“How long do these things go on for?” he asked quietly. Archie shrugged, trying to brush some of the winkles out of his cloak.
“No idea. Perhaps someone comes to sweep up any leftovers in the morning.” Horatio gave a breath of laughter.
They walked back through street which had the clear crisp feel of the hours that led to dawn, the feel Horatio had grown familiar with through long night watches. His headache and stiffness soon wore off, and he enjoyed the stroll, cherishing what was left of this most unusual night. He still felt the strange sense of liberation, still had the sensation of being somehow outside his normal self.
The inn fortunately was large one, with doors open all the night. On the landing outside their rooms Horatio paused, aware that it was still not dawn and that he did not want this magical night to end. They had had enough money to pay for separate rooms, and at this moment he regretted that.
“Archie…” His hand reached out to grasp fingers still slightly chilled from the night air. He saw the sudden flash of a smile beneath the mask, and knew that Archie understood. Archie’s other hand came up to push their hood back, even as he urged Horatio through the open door. Horatio groped to close it, then slid the bolt home, even as he was pressed back against the wood and Archie’s mouth found his.
*
They slept late that day, which was the last of their leave, and the next morning found them bound once again for Portsmouth and their ship. Archie slept out most of the journey, leaning comfortably against the carriage side. Horatio could never sleep in a jolting coach, but he settled close to Archie’s side and let the miles pass contentedly enough. Still with Archie so close beside him it was impossible not to remember two nights back.
It had been an adventure outside normal life, Horatio told himself. Nothing to do with anything outside those few hours. He had worn a costume and played at being someone else, and he did not regret it now. And yet there was a strange doubt within his mind. As he looked down on the familiar blue coat with the gold buttons, he wondered if this was as much as costume as the mask and domino, he wondered if Lt Hornblower was in truth more real than the man who had gone two nights ago to the Vauxhall Gardens masquerade.
**End**