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David's Contribution: First Vacations-Chapter 2
Paddy and Tom, unpacking after returning from their working vacation to Switzerland and Morocco, just looked at each other.
"That, lover, was a vacation for Andrew and Eric. I don't remember much lounge time for us during those weeks. I didn't expect any down-time and sure enough, it's a huge task taking care of Eric."
"As much as I love his ass (which is less than I love yours, of course) I'm ready for some sunshine where I can tear your clothes off, make mad, passionate love with you, and lie with you on a beach or bed without a summons to shake out a wrinkle in Eric's suit. I'm happy I have the job. I like my employer."
"I'm just tired, Paddy."
Paddy took Eric into his strong arms.
"I get you, Eric. It's an easy job sometimes and pays well except when it isn't an easy job. I'm guessing that nobody gets paid without working for their paycheck... but everyone deserves a break from time to time to pay some attention to their own body, mind, and soul, not to mention their lover's."
Paddy went on, "I could get used to you making love to me on a real vacation and maybe not want to come back to work. We both have paid time off, you know."
"I can't take mine until after the first year, I thought."
"I could ask Eric if he'll waive that if Alfred can fill in for us. Would you like that?"
"Yes."
That night Paddy told Tom that Eric had listened and had no problem with the two of them taking their paid leave. Eric had written Paddy a generous check to make the vacation a little easier.
Paddy told Tom that Alfred had jumped at the chance to work and make a little extra over his Social Security temporarily.
"I think half the fun of a vacation is planning it," said Tom.
"Right on boyo."
"I decide everything, and you have to do what I say."
"In your dreams, Mr. P."
"Wanna fight about it?"
"Only if we get to have make-up sex with me on top, Paddy. I've me standards to consider. It's red on red and I'm a trifle redder than you, my fine-ass friend... not to mention my cock is a little thicker, harder, and longer, not to mention more eager. My cock is a Paddy-hole inspector, very experienced."
"Details, details," replied Paddy, "and you have forgotten my superior strength, seniority and wit so soon?"
"Forsooth, my ginger stud, I've not forgotten. You won't let me forget." Tom licked his lips and moved a little closer. He reached down and shook his cock gently. "This is the instrument that out-performs your so-called superior mind."
"That's it," growled Paddy, "We're going to fuck it out right here in our suite. Last to come is... well... the last to come."
"Here's to fighting for the honors, Paddy."
The two wrestled around for a while, ended up on the bed, Tom on top, Paddy giggling, thrilled to bits; Tom's dick rubbed his crack, then with a full thrust up, shoved deep inside Paddy's butt, filling him up, then all the way out, followed by another shove up and through, over and deliciously over.
"Fuck my ass! Deeper. Harder."
On and on Tom plunged into Paddy's bubble butt, kissing the smooth, warm skin on Paddy's back, biting the back of his shoulder gently, reaching around to stimulate Paddy's already hard cock.
"I'll not be giving you a vacation from this," growled Tom, licking Paddy's ear. "Don't you be thinking your ass won't be tickled with the fuck-toy between me legs. We ginger men have a reputation to protect; a fuck a day keeps the doctor away. Apples... fuck-off."
With that Tom came, his semen jetting out into Paddy's ass.
For all that Paddy couldn't feel the warmth or amount of Tom's seeds, he knew precisely when Tom reached orgasm, when he released his load.
Tom's voice, his sudden slow-down, stop, and total body contraction trumpeted his success. His satisfaction, his ultimate pleasure was accompanied by a vague feeling that some translated as 'take that and that and that, bitch' (each 'that' paired with a hard thrust or a spurt of cum). He never said it out loud. He might have thought it for fun, but he didn't like the word 'bitch'. He didn't want a submissive partner; he wanted an equal partner, an equal partner who wanted him for a top as much as he wanted his partner to bottom. He'd found his man.
"Take THAT and THAT and THAT!"
Paddy felt Tom's semen trickling across his balls. He felt a wave of intense physical pleasure in his own cock and even lower and deeper which triggered his own fabulous release on the bed. He bit the pillow, enjoying Tom's mouth on his neck and back, Tom's one hand smearing Paddy's cum on the tip of Paddy's cock with nearly unbearable pressure in the post-coital hypersensitive moment, Tom's other hand making small light circles on his lover's lower belly.
Tom relaxed onto Paddy, one arm, protecting, around Paddy's head, his cock still in Paddy, the other hand between himself and Paddy's butt as if harvesting its plumpness.
Tom burrowed down under the covers with his lover, withdrew his cock, turned his lover over, licked Paddy's cum clean, reached over for a hand towel in the drawer, and wiped them both. Tenderly, he wrapped his arms around Paddy, kissed him deeply for a few minutes, and they both slept.
Alfred knocked at their door the next morning and walked inside after hearing their response. "I figured you two might appreciate the day to plan your trip and recuperate from celebrating and planning it. I'll serve Eric today."
Alfred was older. He wasn't dead, however. His own cock twitched at the sight of the two naked red-heads swinging out of bed and making their way to the shower. He excused himself to attend to Andrew and Eric.
When Alfred knocked at the door, Andrew touched the bedside button to allow Alfred's entry. Eric was still half-asleep on face-down and naked. Alfred got a full-on glimpse of Eric's world-class ass and his cock twitched. Andrew followed Alfred's glance and noted his twitch.
The sun was streaming into the suite that morning when Alfred drew back the drapes and his eyes kept returning to Eric's ass, then to Andrew's face which looked thoughtful.
"I wonder if Alfred gets laid anymore at his age?"
Alfred laid out Eric's clothes for the day and woke Eric by just talking in a low voice, increasing the volume slowly.
"I see that it's daytime, Eric. You are waking up and I'm setting out your clothing for the day. It's cold out today but sunny. I'll make sure to bring out your warmest wool long coat, a cashmere today. Leather gloves would go well with it and a peach silk tie for the bank appointment today. I know you hate hats but will put one out in case you change your mind, sir. Your tall leather boots are polished. There are puddles here and there in the City today."
"Your shower is ready, sir."
That shower phrase usually woke Eric right up. His head struggled with wasting water or energy and the imperative usually got him out of bed. His eyes opened and without a thought, he threw the covers all the way off the bed and walked to the bathroom where the shower at perfect temperature was raining down. A fresh bar of his favorite soap, a citrus-based custom bar with hints of bergamot and rose, rested on the soap ledge. Eric unwrapped it.
He called out to Andrew to come wash his back and heard the phone ring out by the bed. He heard Andrew speaking. The shower door opened, and Alfred spoke, eyes averted.
"If you don't mind, sir, Andrew is on the telephone and asked me to wash your back. Would that be OK?"
Eric thought for a second. He had never allowed anyone to touch him since he had partnered with Andrew. He didn't have any particular objection to Alfred, a very correct footman that didn't work every day now and his age wasn't an issue for Eric and if Andrew knew and didn't care...
"Sure, Alfred. Thank you very much. I can't reach all of my back."
Alfred removed his clothing quickly and entered the shower. Eric saw that he was reasonably fit, and his cock twitched a bit. Alfred took the soap and once behind Eric began to soap his back, his own cock hard as marble and then Andrew, finished with his telephone call, entered the shower naked as well. Andrew, behind Alfred, began to soap his back and press his own cock into Alfred's crack.
Afterward, Alfred didn't remember who tugged his cock first, but did remember the warm rain, the excitement, Eric's thrusting, Andrew's ass, getting clean after a tempestuous orgasm, bending over to service both of them by mouth, and thanking them for the privilege of being their footman for the next week or two during Paddy and Tom's vacation.
Andrew and Eric had a long talk when Alfred left.
"We crossed a line this morning. I'm not upset. I'm just stating the fact. We had reserved your ass for me and vice-versa. He told me that you had a phone call and suggested that he wash my back."
"I saw him looking at your fine naked butt when he came in and wondered if he ever got laid at his age."
"Sounds like you were giving out a mercy fuck by proxy without us talking about it first."
"You didn't complain during the fun."
"No, I didn't, that's true."
"Are you thinking we need to revise our understanding of the ground rules, so to speak?"
"I'd like to discuss them from time to time," Andrew said. "People and times change. Who knows? Both of us might enjoy broadening our horizons a little."
"As long as I know you love me and want me and stay healthy, I guess we could talk about things, Eric replied."
"I have to say that you are my guy. You interviewed me and gave me 'the job' and I fell in love with you, not someone else."
"Eric, you should know that this family has pioneered sexual freedom for decades now. It's a Schuyler tradition since the beginning. I don't want to go out and fuck every cute guy in the city. On the other hand, if we find one or two guys that we can love in addition to each other, I wouldn't mind discussing the possibility of a gay throuple or even two couples together."
"Andrew, are you missing something I cannot give you or just curious about how sex might be with someone else or have so much love to give that you need to love another guy or do you believe that your heritage asks you to be a pioneer also or what?"
Andrew didn't reply but looked down to the floor, unable to articulate his lust, unable to look Eric in the eye.
"I am committed to you, Andrew. Period. What if a guy that you fall in love with is someone that grates on me or, worse for me, competes for your love and attention? I let you down this morning. Looking back on it, the sex with Alfred blurred work lines, it had nothing to do with love, and I regret my decision."
"I wish I had told him 'no'. He may have been curious about my ass, but no more than that. I washed my own back for years before this and don't need anyone else to do that for me."
"I'm going to Kenya in a week or two to volunteer at a Hospital and Rescue Center for girls who have had female genital mutilation surgery and some girls who were rescued before the surgery could be performed.
They could use a hand with building new dormitories and a well too. There's a group called Maranatha International who is planning and organizing the trip and I'll bunk with them.
"I'm going by myself on my first vacation alone since we got together. I need to think about us. I'm still committed to you, as I said, and need to think through what form that commitment is going to take."
"You need to be able to talk to me and look at me in the face and tell me exactly why you need another guy to fuck."
"I'm exasperated with myself and my own behavior. I expected better from myself, hope I'm not over-reacting, but I am certain that unless I confront this thing inside, I won't heal."
Eric took Raspberry to Paris, spent a few nights at the Place des Vosges refuge to overcome his jet lag, and flew only from Orly airport to Nairobi, then with his security team to the hospital.
Andrew stayed behind.
Eric met up with the other volunteers, most of whom had no construction experience, and their supervisors, all of whom had construction knowledge.
The overcrowded students and staff welcomed them with dancing and song in the intense heat. The food was simple and nourishing, mostly vegetables and fruit.
Eric noted that African peanuts had great flavor and thought that the small bananas, some a green color when ripe, were fantastic. The pineapple was on a par with and usually better than the unripe pineapples in the grocery stores in the US, at least a lot sweeter and softer.
He enjoyed the mangos and papayas, the spinach and potatoes, and wasn't surprised to see water rationed a little.
The place needed a new well dug which required equipment not available locally. Maranatha had some funds set aside for equipment but not the pump yet or PVC pipes to the various outlets.
Eric talked to the supervisor of the project and volunteered the funds. The guy began to cry, wiped his eyes, and told Eric they had been praying for funds and had expected God to come through and at this point were waiting to see how it all unfolded.
The equipment arrived, funds guaranteed to a bank in Nairobi, in turn guaranteed by the Schuyler bank in Cairo. Eric made a note to ask Andrew to open a branch in Nairobi or Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Fresh, pure water was struck and the well dug even deeper to account for future decreases in the water table depth. The dormitories were built and the overcrowding relieved.
New classrooms were planned for another visit and Eric gave the hospital funds for an architect in Nairobi to design a master plan for the small campus. The outdoor bathrooms and showers for the girls were planned and some built.
Day by day, Eric worked hard physically in fresh air, muscles bulking naturally.
At the same time his outlook on life in general improved and he realized that he had been suffering from a disease, the 'it's all about me and mine' disease.
He realized that he required time off on occasion to do something for others, enabling others to choose the basics he took for granted.
Clean water, adequate food, comfortable housing, education, community, easily accessible healthcare... these were not a 'right' for the rich or the poor... they were basic human needs.
Participation in providing those needs was therapeutic on any number of levels, waves of positive influence that affected the planet like ripples on a pond from a polished stone thrown in the water.
He didn't think about sex while he was there more than about ten times a minute. He missed Andrew, wondering if Andrew was thinking about him or missing him, until he looked up one day and saw Andrew in front of him, disheveled, tears in his eyes, a pleading look...
He figured that Andrew had figured out what he wanted and that it might be himself...and was right.
Eric gathered Andrew into his arms and in front of the scandalized girls and staff, held him for a while.
"I couldn't wait to see you, Eric. I don't want anyone else ever, don't want to pioneer anything, and I'm sorry I put you in a difficult place with Alfred. I am so glad to see you and want to talk to you and listen too."
"I missed you, Andrew. Can I show you around the hospital and the school?"
"I'd rather take you to bed, but doubt these nice people would allow it, so sure, show me what you've been doing."
Andrew, interested in the well details and the stories of real danger to the girls, asked lots of questions. That night, in a hammock alongside Eric, they both slept well. Andrew began work alongside Eric the next day.
No one at the site was aware of Andrew's wealth or position. They saw him as a friend of Eric's who had come to work.
Andrew's electronic equipment worked just fine. The satellite data connection got busy that night. The Schuyler Bank made immediate plans for the establishment of a branch in Nairobi.
A vast amount of money was established to endow the hospital and school in a location a couple of miles away on a far larger campus with its own gardens to grow food, a very deep well, new buildings for the hospital and school, a separate dormitory for orphan boys, brothers of the girls in many cases, endowed teaching positions, a technical school for farm workers on nearby coffee plantations, and a school for many other professions.
Two weeks later, Andrew and Eric flew back to New York, stopping in other East African countries to assess Maranatha projects and ADRA projects there before returning home.
Andrew's mom, aware of her son's recovery on his return with Eric, asked her son what he'd learned in the last month. He told her some of the details, about the intense happiness that returned to him from meeting the needs of others not related to him, the healing, the projects in Kenya and elsewhere.
"If I'm not mistaken, I think that Michael Schuyler's mom, Carol, was very interested in Africa and her nurse Blossom Jones' Trust went primarily to assist ADRA projects on that continent. She had interested some other very large charitable Foundations of the time in African needs, Valentine said."
"That's a Schuyler tradition, also. By the way, it's time to donate another fusion reactor. The budget allows it. Do you know of a country that doesn't have one that needs cheap electricity to improve their economy, Andrew?"
"I'm glad you asked, Mom. Kenya doesn't have one. I think Eric and I would be delighted if Kenya was chosen, but any country that needs it would be fine."
The government of Kenya wasn't particularly gay-friendly. Likewise, most of the countries in East Africa had little tolerance for those of their citizens who loved differently than their particular preferences and/or religions dictated. They did, however, welcome the donated fusion reactor and promised it would benefit all the citizens of Kenya.
Andrew and Eric decided that taking a vacation by themselves every few months was a good idea. "Time-out" Eric called it. They had learned just how much they meant to each other and the make-up sex was so amazing, they decided to make the time-out idea routine.
Andrew's first vacation alone was a Sweet Pea run to Japan. He had seen YouTube videos of the fast trains in Japan and wanted to study their system and ride the trains. He had the time, the money and hired a translator.
He took the Shinkansen trains back and forth, tried a luxury train or two, was impressed by what was packed into the relatively small spaces compared to the Schuyler building in Manhattan, but was impressed no less. As he rode back and forth, he snapped pictures and took notes.
The crumbling Amtrak infrastructure would one day be replaced by fast trains in the US but that would take leadership. Not from congress or the White House, he decided. The budget deficits and national debt were too high to afford this progress.
He hired a company in the US to research the startup costs of a network of similar trains in the US. The amount was staggering, first of all. The power sources had been problematic when the trains had been first considered. Other regions, including Europe and Japan and China had nuclear reactors.
In the US, a lot of people objected to these reactors as dangerous and their views had been supported by reactor failures in the Ukraine and Japan.
Now, fusion reactors were available which could replace nuclear energy. China had come up with a copy of Alain Industries' fusion design and had begun to produce it for local and international sale.
The White House had told the premier of China that if he didn't halt the theft of American inventions, the US would halt all imports of Chinese goods, halt incoming student visas, expel all Chinese nationals and freeze all Chinese assets in the US and boycott all international banking networks that dealt with China. The premier had considered that for an hour or two with the Politburo and promptly shut down the Chinese fusion factory, not without grumbling.
That left the train network to compete with the prospect of tube travel in the US. A lot of work and marketing had gone into the idea of putting people into pods that traveled rapidly through fixed tubes in a vacuum levitating just above rails to minimize friction.
That industry had not tested the system in a huge earthquake or flood conditions, the same weather conditions that could halt trains.
Japan had a very advanced earthquake early-warning system which halted trains immediately to prevent some damage. They might be induced to sell a similar system to the US, which already had early versions.
The sole remaining issue beside land acquisition was startup costs which, Andrew realized, would need to be managed by a consortium of owners, a private network authorized by Congress to serve the public, granting tax benefits and utility status to the venture.
Congress would likely need to authorize bond issues as well as land acquisition incentives for buyers and sellers, perhaps even granting an exception or addition to the Interstate Highway legislation to allow use of space beside, under, on, between, or over... existing travel corridors.
A consortium between Schuyler and other billionaires certainly seemed possible. He knew of one who would not participate since that source had projects which would compete with the rapid trains.
He knew that the wealthier states and those with a surplus of cash, and those with unmet transportation needs would be more likely to consider financial participation in a consortium, especially if income was considered.
In general, states didn't pay federal income taxes like individuals did but had incentives to solve transportation problems.
He thought about New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Louisiana, and the states in between those on his list as candidates to approach.
The 'in-between' states wouldn't want to be bypassed or swallow up by better transportation in neighboring states. In other words, they would have a dog in the hunt, he thought, and want at least one stop in their state so might at least pay for the station(s) in their state.
Alain Industries would want to be a part since they would supply the power units. They would need the support of railway unions and transportation groups and the legislators in those states, the governors and the Washington D.C. crowd from those states.
He added lobbyists from different affected industries to his growing list, then made a very long call to his father and mother.
They were impressed with his research and planning and now wanted to talk to him face to face.
After he got home, they sat with Andrew and discussed the history of the Schuyler Fortune and its management based on business they knew well. Their mission, they reminded him, was a preservation of assets, not spending a huge amount of money on a business they knew little about.
Andrew promised he would take their advice seriously. He also told them he would continue his research.
Eric and Andrew formed a company which bought computer programs able to map out tiny parcels of land across broad ranges of territory in the US. They asked the programmers to begin looking at potential routes in the 18 states and the states in between those 18.
Where immovable objects like mountain ranges and military bases got in the way, routes around them were calculated, including in some places, concomitant use of interstate highway route right of ways.
So, before any significant public or private opposition formed, the men had the routes planned, the finances figured out, the energy sources obtained in theory.
They began to talk to the industries that would receive the huge orders for the steel to form tracks and rail-side towers to support the overhead power cables, the state construction companies that would build the stations, for overhead wiring, the unions that would provide labor both building and operating the trains, the companies that would build the interiors and systems for operating the trains safely, the firms that would market, insure, and provide financial services for the trains, legal firms, real estate firms, supply and grocery wholesalers to provide food on board, linen supply firms...the list went on and on.
A social media company was formed to help provide accurate information and debunk rumors, a series of meetings with media consultants planning the publicity campaigns...there was a lot of work to do.
Andrew and Eric flew to Japan to try to license the Shinkansen technology. The Japanese were reluctant but agreed to provide needed technology under another American name as long as they were given credit in some form and lots of money. Andrew and Eric felt the US public would rather ride in cars built in the US but knew that no American company had built trains to that level yet.
They dangled the possibility of Siemens building the trains or the Chinese and decided in the end to put the train car project out to bid when the time came, the old-fashioned RFB (request for bid) procedure.
The American people knew about profit and money and would accept those reasons no matter who built the train cars.
The race to beat the tube transportation system was on.
Americans loved races.
Andrew and Eric got their parent's permission to spend the first trillion from Schuyler capital after enough states signed on to the consortium and enough banks, venture capitalists, other billionaires and Alain Industries bought in.
Half of that trillion came from the sale of 15 masterpieces from their basement to collectors around the globe.
Congress passed legislation in the form of a private bill with the Interstate Amendment, incentives to invest including massive tax benefits in return for not having to spend federal money on the project.
The rollout was smooth. The predicted pushback came from the predicted sources, but the media preparation and social media campaigns blunted most of that. A few more states signed on after some debate.
The consortium wasn't political so that part was easier than it might have been. The real estate firms swung into action, informing those whose property was needed of the percentage over assessed value being offered, the federal incentives for selling.
The first route whose land acquisition became complete was the New York to Seattle run. It included Illinois and Michigan along the way, two of the original consortium states and Idaho was tough but got done, Montana went along, South Dakota wasn't easy, Minnesota was easier than expected as was Wisconsin.
The first completed land acquisition on a shorter run was New York to Bangor. Connecticut and Massachusetts were two of the original consortium and New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine were happy to sign on. Maine had not had a decent east-west route of any kind for a very long time.
The other longer routes took longer because more land parcels and natural obstructions had to be traversed including the Rockies, the Sierras, the canyons of the desert Southwest.
California was surprisingly difficult. The place was densely packed from South to North, but the land was eventually acquired.
Some land in between lanes of Interstates was used in otherwise difficult areas. Crossing the Colorado and the Mississippi rivers wasn't easy.
It took five years for land acquisition to be completed. Construction on the longer routes began quickly, managed by the state governments to specifications given them so they could hand out the plums to favored contractors.
Very complicated, long automatic machines were used to build track bed and lay track. These required very long supply lines and very close computerized attention to making enough track and bed materials just in time.
The Schuyler supercomputers easily kept track of the entire project for the consortium. All of the members of the consortium could log in and see progress as time passed, including new and revised projections of revenue.
The public was excited.
A tentative start date had been leaked on purpose, pictures of the train cars had already been seen in the media, cars were being built, contracts with dozens of companies for services were completed and most of them were on schedule.
The President wanted to take the first trip from New York to Los Angeles and received ticket #1. At 200 MPH the trip was scheduled to take 12 hours plus stops or perhaps a total of 14 hours, much slower than a jet, but without the hassle of jet travel, great meals, comfortable seats and beds, on the ground travel, scenic views...a better way to travel.
From Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach to Manhattan, a distance of 1217 miles as the crow flies (great circle distance) meant that counting 40 minutes from Miami to the Fort to West Palm Beach, then flat out to Manhattan without stops (express), the train might take 6-7 hours again longer than the jet, but without the hassles.
The decision had come early on to run the trains on dedicated tracks saving frustrated auto drivers having to stop for them, safer passage with cows on the tracks or people for that matter.
Each train had one luxury car with suites that included butler service, free drinks, condoms and lube, fabulous food delivered to the suite, en-suite bathrooms and toilets, a few suites had hot tubs, queen size beds, high thread-count linens, designer soaps and shampoos, manicurist, stylist, and makeup artists.
The President enjoyed her ride. It took, as an express, 13 hours to Manhattan. Her helicopter took a while to get her back to Washington.
The trains, wildly popular, ran express trains between major cities and fast local routes stopping at stations in large cities in states that had not joined the consortium.
The new high-speed routes across the country were to be Andrew's last legacy. Andrew and Eric married after two years together. Andrew, a week before the wedding revised his will so that Eric would inherit in all and asked his father and mother to do the same. Not having any feeling about it with no sign of impending trouble, they changed their wills to include Eric as if he were Andrew's husband to inherit the Schuyler Trust and the Alain Industries fortunes and assets in case of Andrew's passing.
Sweet Pea carried Andrew to his death a year after they were married. Unstable snow on Mt. Everest swept him and a group of Sherpas along with half his security team a thousand feet down the mountain and buried him very deep and very quickly.
It was ten o'clock in the morning and two hours later, the event was processed in Kathmandu and the phone call at 2:15 a.m. at the Schuyler Campus via the State Department from the Ambassador to Nepal there woke the house.
All the footmen were called in. The campus went to day high-alert status. A grief counselor was called to speak with employees. Valentine and Isaac, stunned, tried to make sense of the news, could not.
Valentine collapsed, had a heart attack, was taken to New York Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center where she died within an hour.
Isaac, bereft, asked Eric to join him in his office.
"I'd rather not be alone right now, Eric. Would you be able to stick by for a while?"
"Sure, I will, replied Eric observing Isaac shivering. "Are you warm enough? Hungry? Would you like a little brandy?"
"I want my son and wife back. A little brandy wouldn't go badly."
Eric rang for Paddy. "Would you or Tom or both of you bring up a bottle of good brandy and two clean snifters?"
"I can go out for really good brandy or we've a fine old precious Louis XIII Remy-Martin Cognac, some of it a hundred years old, one unopened bottle. Would that do?"
"Sure, bring it up."
"Paddy has an unopened bottle of Louis XIII cognac and a couple of snifters on the way. Can you drink cognac?"
"That would go down well too."
"This will be the first alcohol I've ever had. I need something, said Eric."
"I haven't told my mother. I'm delaying because as soon as she knows, we won't be able to pry her out of 'helping'."
"Thank you, Eric."
"Does someone at Alain Industries need to know?"
"They have a night operations manager who might want to know, but he'll hear the news like everyone else. He wouldn't call her for anything before morning and shouldn't get anyone out of bed for this."
"Who informs the press or her family elsewhere?"
"I can't do it. Would you consider calling her family in the morning? Paddy should be able to get their contact information from the footmen's office in the morning... "
"Sure, I'll do it."
"The footmen all know now. The rest of the employees, the travel office, the Schuyler trust can work on Valentine's papers tomorrow. I don't feel so good and will sleep in."
"I'll tell Gerald and Alfred myself in the morning," said Eric. They deserve that, not just a 'guess what happened' from the footmen's office."
Eric called the footman's office to retrieve the Cognac (expensive stuff) and keep the rest in case Isaac wanted more later. Eric, not used to alcohol, felt a little wobbly, but Paddy helped him back to his room. Tom stripped him down to his silk under gear and looked over to Paddy's face for an intense minute. Paddy looked back and nodded. They both stripped to the skin and climbed in the bed on either side of Eric after locking the door and kept him warm while he slept that night.
There was a knock at the door the next morning. They all woke up and the two footmen dressed and answered the door. Isaac's footman was standing there, tears in his eyes.
"They say Isaac died of a broken heart."
Eric cried out, "Oh, God, no!"
Paddy and Tom held him up or he might have collapsed. "No more, please."