Chapter Twenty-nine
Armand was intrigued by the two young foreigners who had employed him. Obviously they had money, their apartment was well appointed and the room they had allotted to him was more than he could have hoped for as a mere house servant. He was convinced that they had employed him without too much attention to his past or qualifications for the job on account of his looks; after all it was clear to him that they were both homosexuals. It was as well that they did not delve into his past otherwise they may have been less inclined to employ him. His references were supplied not by former employers but his friend Mario. He had once been in honest employment but his recent past had been spent in jail. Not that he was a criminal in the real sense. His crimes were those of opposing the government of the day. Like many young men in France he was guilty of speaking out against the oppression of working class people, the poor wages and harsh working conditions. The French Revolution was supposed to have swept away the rich aristocrats who lived off the backs of the down trodden poor. The old aristos had been replaced by a new elite that in its way was just as bad. Factory owners and the
nouveau riche who treated the working classes as little more than slaves. The reality of a new revolution was becoming a strong possibility.
Armand had been arrested in the very early hours of the morning and hauled off to prison where he was held without trial. During his incarceration he was beaten and assaulted by interrogators who were hell bent on discovering the names of those who were stirring up unrest in the capital. Loyal to his friends and their cause, Armand resisted all attempts to obtain information from him and in the end he was released without charge. His employment by Felix and Bruno gave him the opportunity to remain in the city and in contact with his friends. His new employers were very reasonable men and he had free time in the evenings to meet with his co-conspirators in a back street bistro.
Felix and Bruno were very satisfied with their new employee. He proved to be a prudent shopper and their household bills less extravagant as they had been when they looking after themselves. Armand could also cook as well as keep the apartment clean and tidy. All in all he was considered a godsend. The trio slipped into an easy routine and although Armand was the servant he was treated fairly and with respect by his employers. Conscious that the relationship between Felix and Bruno was more than just house mates Armand tended to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to all he saw and heard. As a student he had experimented with sex in most of its forms and was not averse to what occurred between male lovers. He had found fellatio stimulating while anal sex such as he had been obliged to endure while in prison less so. Felix in particular was uninhibited and would walk naked around the apartment. Bruno was somewhat more reserved but even he could be seen going from bedroom to bathroom as nature intended. Armand had to admit to himself that he found their exposed bodies arousing. On those occasions when he could hear the two men making love in the confines of their bedroom, he closed his eyes and imagined what it would be like to join them and relived his tension in the time honoured fashion with his fist. Masturbation was a poor substitute for one to one sex and he longed for more.
There was no shortage of prostitutes and bordellos in
Gai Paris and Armand had sampled more than a few in his time. There were bars where it as possible to pick up a male prostitute, there were stable lads and jockeys at the race course who were willing to go with a gentleman for a couple of drinks or a few francs. Armand was not averse to taking francs from a presentable punter and as he was not reliant upon income from selling his body, he could afford to be choosey.
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Some weeks after Armand had been employed Felix received a letter from his sister. She said that Emmaline’s brother, Rudolf had been enquiring after him and was proposing to travel to Paris. He was angry with Felix as he had called off his betrothal to his sister and was threatening to challenge him to a duel. Nicholas was a serving cavalry officer and of a similar age to Felix. A known hot head and a bully, Felix had reason to be fearful of Nicholas. They had never been on good terms as Nicholas regarded Felix as a weak man more interested in art than the manly pursuits of an army officer.
Armand had overheard Felix discussing the content of the letter with Bruno and was concerned by the thought that if Felix were to be killed by Rudolf the income that was sustaining all three of them would be lost as Bruno would not be able to afford the apartment neither would he be able to pay Armand his wages. It appeared that Rudolf knew that Felix was in Paris and had an idea in what part of the city he might be found but he did not know the actual address. He did learn that there was a stranger asking around trying to locate Felix and this gave him an idea. Without too much trouble, Armand was able to find Rudolf as he sat questioning patrons of a nearby bistro.
‘Excuse me, sir,’ he said. ‘I think I know where the man you seek lives and I could deliver a message to him on your behalf. Rudolf handed Armand a note and a couple of coins. ‘Deliver this for me and return with an answer and I will pay you more my man,’ he said. Armand quickly left the bistro and making sure that Rudolf was not following him, he opened the note. It said, ‘Meet me at dawn on Friday of this week behind the church of St. Vincent de Paul together with your seconds. We fight with pistols.’
The note was short and to the point and Armand was determined not to deliver it. Instead, with two days to spare, he contacted some friends with a view to recruiting their aid. The next morning he delivered a note to Rudolf that purported to have been written by Felix. It accepted the challenge and Rudolf, rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of annihilating the man who had humiliated his sister, gave Armand a gold Louis as a reward.
Felix meanwhile was anticipating contact by Rudolf and as each day passed felt that the threat of his arrival in Paris contained in Amelia’s letter was unfounded. Armand had said nothing about his encounter with Rudolf and prayed that the man would be satisfied to wait until Friday without making any further enquires about Felix’s whereabouts. Armand’s hopes were fulfilled and he crept out of the apartment before dawn on Friday morning to meet his friends. Together they made their way to the place Rudolf had nominated for the duel and waited for the challenger and his seconds to arrive. Before long they heard voices as three men approached through the mist that swirled around the buildings that stood black against the sky that was slowly brightening as the sun crept above the eastern horizon.
At a given signal the small group of men that had been recruited by Armand ambushed the unsuspecting Rudolf and his two seconds. The three were quickly disarmed and trussed up like chickens. They were then bundled protesting loudly into a coach that was driven at speed out of the city. Rudolf and his friends were unaware of where they were being taken and demanded to be released. Their demands were unmet and eventually they were dragged from the coach into a barn where they were sat on bales of straw. They had not been able to see their assailants and were now confronted by three masked men with pistols aimed in their direction while another also masked and who seemed to be the leader spoke to them.
‘You, monsieur have arrived in Paris hell bent on causing trouble. We can give you two alternatives. You can return to your own country and leave Felix in peace or if you refuse and do not give us your word that you will go home, we shall have you forced into service with a new military force that is being planned. It is intended to create a foreign legion that will be based in North Africa. There will be French officers, one of whom will be me. The men under our command will be dissidents, revolutionaries and mercenaries who have no place in normal society. The life will be hard. We shall give you just one hour to consider our proposal.’ The masked man then turned to the guards and said ‘Watch them well and shoot to kill if anyone tries to escape.’
Rudolf and his companions muttered to each other so that their captors could not hear their deliberations. When the officer returned Rudolf demanded, Did Felix put you up to this?’
‘No, Felix does not even know of your presences here in France. Your note was never delivered to him. We are his friends and we do not condone what you had in mind. Now what have you decided?’
‘We shall go home, the alternative is not acceptable. You have our word that we shall not harm Felix now or in the future.’
‘You will each sign a declaration to that effect and if he does suffer any harm we shall report you to the authorities as these papers will be evidence of your guilt whether or not you are responsible. So, messieurs it is in your interest to ensure his safety at all times.’
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Armand was pleased to learn that his contacts had dealt with Rudolf and happy that the threat against his master had evaporated, continued with his duties.
‘You seem unusually happy today, Armand,’ Bruno remarked.
‘Yes sir, I have had some good news concerning an acquaintance of mine. He seemed to be in some danger but the danger has passed.’
‘What’s that?’ Felix asked as he came into the room.
‘Armand has had some good news about someone he knows; that is why he is so happy.’ Bruno replied.
‘Good to know someone is happy,’ Felix said. ‘I am still worried about the fact that Rudolf may be headed in this direction.’
‘I doubt it,’ Bruno said. ‘After all, if what Alicia said made any sense at all, he would have got here by now and it would not be so difficult for him to track you down. Forget about him.’
‘I’ll try,’ Felix replied. ‘You’re going out this morning I think?’
‘Yes,’ Bruno said. ‘My cousin is in Paris and I have arranged to meet him. He has invited me to stay over with him at his lodgings, so I will be back tomorrow.’ Felix left the room and Bruno collected his overnight bag saying to Armand, ‘Keep an eye on him and I’ll see you tomorrow.’
With Bruno out of the way Armand saw an opportunity to approach Felix. He had hoped for such a break as he felt horny whenever Felix as near and he had a massive crush on his employer. He felt Felix unknowingly owed him a debt and he wanted to collect. Felix had gone to lie down, so Armand made some hot chocolate and took it to the bedroom.
‘M. Felix, I have brought you some chocolate,’ he said as he placed the cup on the bedside table. Felix looked up, his face sad as Bruno had left for the day and he was still worried about Rudolf’s threat.
‘I think a massage would help to lift your spirits,’ Armand offered. ‘I have some skill learned from a previous employer. I a sure it would help,’ he said.
‘If nothing else, it will help to fill the time,’ Felix said. ‘And thank you for the chocolate; I’ll drink it once it has cooled a little.’
‘While it is cooling I can give you that massage,’ Armand said.