Kidnapped

“Shit. What the hell am I going to do with you now?”

Jack watched as Byron Montesse struggled to walk in a straight line through the pub they had visited after a hunting trip. Jack had warned him not to drink too much, knowing the man well enough to know he couldn’t really hold his liquor, but he did so anyways. Jack was a little taller and heavier than Byron so he was still able to function, but he wasn’t the one that was the center of attention the next few days.

Byron stumbled a bit and fell into a chair with a snort and a laugh. He picked up another glass, but Jack was quick to take it back from him and replace it with water.

“It’s a pale ale,” he lied. “Really, really pale. Chug it down.”

Byron was too tipsy to notice the difference between water and ale, and a couple of girls were now noticing them in the pub. They giggled and bagged their eyelashes as they approached, and Jack quickly straightened himself out a little bit.

“Can we buy you boys another drink?” one of them asked.

Byron started to say yes, but Jack cut him off.

“No thank you, ladies,” he said with a charming smile. “I’m afraid I have to take my man here back home. He’ll be getting married in a few days.”

“Oh,” the woman frowned, disappointed.

“Jaxie is still a free man,” Byron blurted, using Jack’s childhood nickname. “And he’s a senator.”

“Oh,” she repeated, interested again.

Jack and Byron had done a lot of hopping around pubs and picking up women over the years with their world travels, and ordinarily Jack was more than willing to have a little more fun, but he really did need to sober Byron up and get him home before they were in trouble.

“Sorry, maybe another time,” Jack told her.

The girls scowled and walked away, and Jack made Byron drink a few more glasses of water before they left the pub. While the two of them came from different worlds, Jack considered Byron his best friend. When he was taken in as Theron Montesse’s ward he had been terrified, but learning the man had a son his age and the son was willing to play with him was comforting. They had grown up close, and when Jack’s studies shifted towards politics, Byron had been his top supporter. A year from now Jack would finally be eligible to run for a position in the senate, and he was terrified all over again. But Byron had been there for him through it all, and now it was up to Jack to make sure he didn’t fuck up his own wedding.

As they walked back to Willowgate Manor, Byron was sobered up enough to walk in a straight line. It didn’t mean he felt good, though. He ended up vomiting into a bush on their way back, and Jack held back an amused snicker.

“Ugh,” Byron groaned, wiping at his mouth with his sleeve. “Shut up, Jack. Don’t act like you were any better in Cartwright. Or Goldhaven.”

“It wasn’t my wedding,” Jack reminded him, handing him a flask with some more water in it. “Come on, you need to get cleaned up before Nadine sees you and tears my head off.”

As they approached the manor, Byron’s face turned pale. He recognized his parents’ carriage outside.

“They weren’t supposed to be here until Wednesday,” he said frantically.

“It is Wednesday,” Jack said.

“Shit.”

“It’s fine, you’ll be all shiny again by dinner time.”

Jack helped Byron clean up and get into a new suit, making sure he didn’t reek of alcohol or BO as he slicked back his auburn hair and slapped some color back into his face. Jack quickly got ready himself, though his appearance was less important. Getting cleaned up and smelling nice was enough. He quickly pulled a comb through his sandy blonde hair and stood next to Byron, the two of them straightening themselves out in front of a mirror.

“You know, I think we’ll be okay,” Byron said.

“Good,” Jack nodded. “Ready to see your family, then?”

“Yes. Ready.”

The Duke and Duchess were waiting for him just outside the banquet hall, but Byron hardly had a chance to greet them before a little flurry of red hair and frills burst through and threw herself at him with an excited squeal.

“Brielle!” Duchess Georgiana scolded. “Please, show some restraint.”

Byron didn’t seem to care, picking Brielle up and twirling her around. When he set her down, Jack finally got a good look at her. And my, she had grown. He felt like he was staring a little too much. They had both been lanky tweens when he first left for his extended studies, but she was quite the gorgeous woman now. She noticed Jack too, and blinked a few times in surprise.

“Jaxie,” she said. “It’s been so long.”

“Yes, it’s good to see you,” he told her.

They had a formal, but somewhat awkward handshake before Duke Theron stepped forward and gave Jack a firm on the back. Jack smiled back at him and shook his hand in greeting. He owed a lot to Theron. The duke had plucked Jack off the streets when he was just an orphan selling penny shoe shines to try and feed himself. Without Theron, Jack wouldn’t even have been literate. Let alone involved in the countries politics.

As they made their way into the banquet hall, Jack spent some time discussing his recent travels and accomplishments with Duke Theron. Byron walked a little further ahead with Georgiana on one arm and Brielle clinging to the other. Shockingly, he was able to keep it together through appetizers. Jack was actually kind of proud. Nadine and her family hadn’t even noticed something off with Byron. That is, however, until dinner was served along with a glass of wine. Byron tried to keep it together, but one whiff of the alcohol was all it took.

“Shit,” Jack grumbled under his breath.

“Ah, excuse me just one moment,” Byron said, clearing his throat and rushing away a little too quickly.

Nadine awkwardly shifted in her seat, then plastered a smile on her face and raised her glass.

“Well, here’s to the wedding festivities!”