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Challenge: Diamonds and Pearls

Fandom: Jeeves and Wooster

Pairing: Jeeves and Wooster, Bertie and Rocky (implied), Bertie and Ginger Winship (implied), Jeeves and other

Rating: NC-17/R

Characters: Jeeves, Bertie, Rocky Todd, Aunt Dahlia, Ginger Winship

Summary: As the heyday of the Joosters comes to an end, Jeeves flees to Paris.  He hoped Bertie would follow but finally despairs

Word count: ~2300

Warnings: Jeeves gets weepy. Bertie is masterful. War looms in the background.

I had been in Paris many weeks, hoping that my young master would come to me.  The time passed not unpleasantly among my many friends and acquaintances there, but I was increasingly worried at the delay.  We had never been separated for so long in the more than ten years of our romantic attachment, and the separation followed on one of our longest periods of intimate estrangement. I had not had the heart to tell him why. It was only after weeks of solitude at home that I wondered if perhaps Mr. Wooster was gently removing himself from our attachment in the thought that I had lost sexual interest in him.

My residence was a small flat owned by Mr. Wooster, which we kept for casual use during the off season.  The flat was in a less fashionable part of the town, where we could live together without the constant fear of discovery.  Few of our connections knew where it was as Mr. Wooster tended to make his more formal visits during the season from the base of one of the more splendid hotels.  I had arranged to have our small shared home well fitted up and comfortable.  The bed was soft and commodious, covered with fine sheets and blankets, just as Mr. Wooster liked.  We had a small upright piano in the sitting room, deep cozy chairs, and a guest room that masqueraded as my ‘lair.’  I dearly loved this flat, this home, where we could live as a loving couple.

As the weeks stretched out, I slowly came to realize that Mr. Wooster might never come to join me, and that I had a difficult decision before me.  My flight from London was caused by a scandal—Mrs. Travers had written to assure me that it was all hushed up, but I still feared to return.  I could go back to the London flat and resume my duties, exposing myself to very grave danger, or I should leave and find myself another residence.  It was not right to continue to live in our flat without Mr. Wooster. The matter could not be discussed with any of our friends, and my heart throbbed with pain.  I found myself holding and treasuring a small jewel box, containing a ring adorned with a purple stone.  I had had it made for Mr. Wooster during our last trip to Florence.  He had purchased a ring as well, and I felt terribly foolish for thinking it had been intended for me. Perhaps he had already known that his heart truly belonged to another.

My housekeeping had grown lax under the strain of depression.  I spent sleepless nights in bed smoking, carelessly leaving the sheets for weeks. I had finally stopped at the Splendide to send Mr. Wooster a telegram, when I found a cable from him.  I could not possibly imagine a worse message.  He had turned to another, or possibly two others, casting himself like a pearl before swine.

To R. Jeeves

Rocky oozed back to New York although not in his pajamas. STOP

Good old Ginger taking me about the town. STOP

See how wrong you were about all that folderol with the slippers? STOP

Prepare for news. STOP

BWW

Had I been thinking more clearly, I would have sent the cable asking for his directions.  However, my emotions, much roughened by weeks of longing for my dear lover, were too much for me and I found myself seeking the company of my club acquaintances and drinking excessively. They understood that my heart had been broken and saw to it that I did not injure myself. I collapsed into the bed at dawn, heedless of the reek of smoke and spirits. How could he have succumbed to the advances of Mr. Winship or Mr. Todd? Had he given one of them the ring? I shuddered when I thought to the lengths I had gone to protect us.  Several months before, I had even had sexual congress with a woman.  The disgust I felt at my necessary indiscretions threatened to choke me

How would I ever bear this pain? I could not rest, and spent the day prowling the streets like a feral thing. The next night, I dressed myself neatly and again went out and drank to excess. As dawn began to redden the sky, I staggered into a cab and returned home, thinking regretfully that I likely would not be able to afford such indulgences again until I found another situation, worked twenty more years, and retired.  How could I reduce myself to mindless servitude again?

The sight of our shared bed nearly prostrated me, and after vomiting for several minutes, I retired into the bath with several slices of cucumber and a bottle of aspirins.  I scented the bath with my favorite salts, the ones Mr. Wooster did not care for. Tremblingly, I washed the reek of smoke and spirits from myself. My exhaustion of body, combined with the ravaged state of my heart and mind, soon dragged me into a deep slumber in the soothing warm water.  A banging noise awoke me some hours later.  The water had gone cold, and I was shriveled like a prune.  I swallowed more aspirin against the pain in my head and began to fish the slimy cucumber slices from the cold water, when I heard Mr. Wooster’s dear voice directing the disposition of a great number of packages and parcels.  I began to rise from the tub to greet him, but the emotions were simply too much, and I curled over sobbing in abject relief. I did my best to muffle the noise, intending to calm myself before welcoming Mr. Wooster home.

He heard me, dear man, and gently soothed my distress, tended to my evident exhaustion and even fed me dinner. This was unusual in our relationship. I will never forget the welcome feeling of his soft, warm hands on my bare flesh, or the uneasiness in his manner as he tucked me against his shoulder, stroking my hair and weeping himself.  He kissed each of my wrinkled fingertips and told me that I was a ‘bally lovely chap.’ He was so afraid that he was doing something wrong, and I was too distressed to help him.  He even tidied the flat without losing or breaking anything.

That evening, we exchanged rings and reaffirmed our mutual attachment. Darling Mr. Wooster became tongue-tied as we snuggled.  It had been many months since we had done more than kiss and cuddle, and we were both quite nervous.

“Reg, er, ah whatsit,” said Mr. Wooster in his sweetly endearing way.  I stroked his golden hair and kissed his forehead and each cheek before bending to taste his delicious lips.  He threaded his fingers into the hair at the nape of my neck, made a tender, hungry noise in the back of his throat, and moved forward, crawling into my lap to better press our bodies together.

“Darling,” I murmured as he wriggled sensuously against me pulling my robe open to expose me fully, his throbbing member straining in his trousers. “The guest bedroom is freshly made up.”

“Yes,” he gasped, fumbling open his buttons to press our bare skins together.  I pulled him up from the couch, and led him to the bedroom. We paused only to wrench the clothes from his body and kiss passionately.  How I had missed the sight of his lovely naked body.  He was so beautiful, and I will never forget the almost innocent way he gave himself over to our pleasure, falling on the coverlet, his proud member standing to attention, the small pearl of his desire glinting in the dim light. I could feel the way his breath caught in the back of this throat as he pulled me atop him and wrapped his legs around me.

“Reggie, I missed you,” he murmured, thrusting against me. “I love you.” I fumbled in the drawer for our usual unguents, but he reached down to cradle me with his tender hands and clasped my member between his thighs, sending me over the edge of ecstasy. I cried out his name. The sight of me coming undone led to his own release, and we huddled together, kissing and murmuring endearments to each other until we grew chilled.  I moved to crawl into the bed, but Mr. Wooster grasped my arm. “Let’s have a bathe together.  It’s been so long.”  He slid his fingers down to turn the ring on my finger.  “I wanted to buy you diamonds, Reggie.  Diamonds and pearls.”

“You purchased me a very fine set of pearl studs three years ago, sweetling,” I said, drawing him up and kissing him.  

We cleaned each other as the bath filled and then settled together, Mr. Wooster resting back against my larger form.  He pulled up my leg.  “Your toes are still pruney.”

“I fell asleep in the bath,” I said, kissing the sensitive skin at the back of his neck. “Thank-you for seeing to me.  It was the most wonderful sensation to feel you take charge.”

“It was?”

“Oh, yes.  I do enjoy your attentions.”  Mr. Wooster wriggled and said ‘whatsit,’ which often indicated that he was keen for amorous activities.  I could see his body confirm my suspicions and reached down to fondle him, whispering in his ear.  “You are very, very sexually appealing when you assert you mastery.”  He groaned and arched his back, and then, surprisingly, shifted and turned.

“Very well, then, Reggie,” he gasped, pulling me up from the water.  “Let’s back to the bed and I’ll master you a bit.”  I felt myself unfurl and harden. “Ah, I think you like that idea.”

We managed only to stagger to the master bedroom, which adjoined the bath, and Mr. Wooster pressed me down and made love to me in the smelly, sweaty sheets, looking a veritable god of perspiration and desire and he bent up my legs and entered me.  As young men, we had sometimes indulged in such activities for hours on end, but our endurance had waned somewhat as we aged.  Not so our enjoyment.  I thought I would die of the feeling of pleasure being joined to him intimately after many long weeks. My climax was so powerful that I lost myself. Afterward, I lay trembling and shaking in his arms, while he stroked my back and kissed me.  Then we slept.

Mr. Wooster’s gentle kisses woke me some hours later.  “Sorry, old fruit,” he murmured.  “I didn’t mean to wake you, but you look so dashed lovely.” I smiled and gave him a squeeze.  “Reggie, I er, that is…”  I stroked the golden hair from his forehead and rubbed the back of his neck while he composed himself. “The day you left so suddenly, I realized how much I loved you, that you are all-in-all to me.”

This surprised me deeply. “Then why did you stay away so long?”

“I didn’t understand how you felt.  It took weeks to find out what really happened, and then I needed to shake Rocky and Ginger. And there was business to do.  You know how slow I am about it without you.  I… we can’t go back really, can we?  It’s awfully dangerous for you.”

“Mrs. Travers attended to the matter.”

“So she says, but I…” Mr. Wooster’s face worked. “I love her dearly, but I do not think she understands.  It’s not safe for you any longer, even though you slept with that beazel.  Unless you leave me and work for another.  I won’t have it, so I had to do something.”

“What did you do, sweetness?”

He flushed in his darling way.  “I bought a country house for us in wildest Italy.  It’s a bit of a ruin, but it has gardens and a lake for fishing and we can grow our own vegetables and keep a cow and pigs and chickens.”

The image of Mr. Wooster tending to chickens rose up in my mind’s eye and I could not suppress a chuckle.  “Do you want to raise chickens, my own darling delight?”

“Don’t tease, Reg,” he said sternly, sending a shiver down my spine.

“I love it when you scold me,” I said.

“It’s…it’s dangerous.  We have to get out of the way for a while.  Something bad is going to happen."

His serious tone caught my attention. “The situation in Europe is bad, my love.”

“Yes, but we can probably ride it out there, or decide whether to join up when the war comes.”

“Darling?”

“I hadn’t been telling you everything I heard at the House, Reg, but it’s very bad.  We haven’t much time, and I wanted to… well, before we need to decide anything.  You’re too old to be drafted, but I, well, I may be…”  A cold fear gripped me. “I had to make arrangements with the solicitors about so many things, and when I go back next year for the House, if I… I just want you to be safe somewhere, and it will not remain safe here for long, I fear.”  He wrapped his arms and legs around me. “It’s not anywhere strategic. No one will want to invade it.”

How I wished he were slightly older, dear heart.  How could I have deserved to win him?  “When will we leave?”

“We have a few months, at least,” he said.

“Then let us have the honeymoon you discussed, my dearest love.”

“You are the most specific dream rabbit, Reggie.” And suddenly I knew that he was the very hero of my heart.

“Perhaps you will be so good as to master me again?”

His breath caught in his throat and he said “Er, whatsit,” and we made love until the dawn lighted the sky.  Although many years have passed and many joys have followed, that morning in Paris is burned in my memory as one of the happiest of my life. I never have forgotten Mr. Wooster's musky scent, the comforting feeling of his naked body in my arms or the fall of the rosy light across his dear features.  He was the very dearest man on earth and my heart swelled at the thought that he was my very own.