The Island
 by: Hankster

© 2010-2011 by the author

The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...

Chapter 7 
 

Samuel Morse invented the telegraph during the 1840’s.  As the year 1880 approached, it was in general use throughout the world.  That was how Martin got the news.  He was in his study doing the bookkeeping required for his business and Samuel was in the fields supervising the workers.  There was a sharp knock on Martin’s door, and he said in a loud voice, “Enter please.”

Livia entered waving two telegrams.  She had no idea what they contained, but receiving a telegram in those days was rare, frightening, exciting and just about any other adjective you can imagine.  Livia was actually hyperventilating.  She managed to blurt out, “The man who delivered these telegrams told me that one of these is for you, Martin, and the other is for Amy Dorchester.  I guess hers was delivered here since the Endicott place doesn’t exist any more and her name was the same as yours.”  She was shaking so much, she just dropped both telegrams on Martin’s desk and waited expectantly to hear what was in each one of them.

Martin tore open his telegram.  As he read its contents, he gasped.

“What does it say?” Livia needed to know.  Martin handed her the telegram.  She shied away from it.  “You know I can’t read,” she lamented.  “Please read it to me.”

Martin began to read in a very shaky voice:  We are rescued at last.  Have lived on a deserted island all these years.  We are doing well and are overjoyed at our good fortune.  Can’t wait to see you, my dearest love.  Jon.

Martin wisely did not read the last three words to Livia.  He was shaking like a leaf.  “I imagine the other telegram is from Victor to his wife.  I must inform her.”

Martin had stayed in touch with Amy and Mary when they moved to London .  They corresponded on a regular basis.  He knew that Amy was married.  Victor had been declared dead before her marriage.  He wondered if she could be a bigamist.  This situation was terrible.  He ripped open the second telegram.  The contents were much the same.

“I must send a telegram to London ,” he told Livia.  “While I am gone into the city, please send someone to find Samuel.  We will have much to talk about.”

The ship which rescued Vic and Jon was British.  That was an extra stroke of luck.  The captain provided them with clothes, which truth to tell, they found annoying to wear.  They told the captain that they had claimed the island for England , named it Eden , and had staked a claim for themselves.  They would be much obliged if he would inform the proper authorities, so that the legal registrations could be made.  The captain fixed the position of the island and it was now officially charted, a mere thirty miles off the mainland coast.

The captain listened in awe to their story of survival.  They never mentioned sex of course, and he thought nothing of their occasional show of affection.  They were brothers in law, after all. 

At the first port the ship stopped, the steamship company graciously provided Vic and Jon with passage back to Capetown, and a small stipend each.  The company was grateful that two souls could be erased from their list of those lost at sea.  They stayed in a hotel for two nights, where they made love as much as they could.  They both believed this would be the last time. 

They found a barber and got clean shaven at last.  “I forgot how handsome you were,” Jon said to Vic. 

“And you have matured into an even more handsome young man.  Those green eyes of yours are sure to dazzle my brother.”

They treated themselves with steak dinners at a fine restaurant, savoring every mouthful, and still they had enough stipend money left over to buy some fashionable attire.  Fully dressed and ready to board the ship which would take them home, they admired how wonderful they both looked.  They shared a cabin and had more opportunities to make love before it would be over between them.  Fear and regret pervaded their space.

As they waited to disembark the ship in Capetown, Vic whispered in Jon’s ear, “My arse is sore, little brother, and it’s your entire fault.”  Vic still called Jon little brother even though they were about the same height.  Jon laughed and pinched Vic’s arse.

Martin had wired Vic that for reasons best understood by Jon, he would not meet them at the port.  He wanted to greet them in private where the public need not be exposed to his happiness.  He made no mention of Samuel nor his father.  Vic had a bad feeling that Martin did not mention their father, but he shrugged it off.  After all Martin and his father had never loved each other.

For days Martin had to reassure Samuel that nothing had changed between them.  How could he make Samuel understand, when he didn’t understand himself, that he loved him and Jon equally.  He had no notion yet at how complicated the equation would get.  He could not conceive that Jon and Vic loved each other also.  At the moment he was obsessed merely with the idea of fucking Jon in the next few days.  Could he do it and betray Samuel?  He wondered how Jon would feel about inviting Samuel, a black man, into bed with them.  Even though Samuel was his blood brother, he was sure that Jon would balk at a man of his race sleeping in his bed.

Livia met the two survivors at the dock.  She had come down in a coach driven by one of the farm hands.  She and Vic embraced warmly.  He didn’t care who saw him embracing a black woman.  This woman had been mother to him for many years.  Jon shook her hand in a gentlemanly fashion.  Poor misinformed Jon actually felt that she would somehow feel dirty, even smell.  He was relieved that her touch felt like any other woman’s that he could remember.  He discreetly smelled his palm and there was no odor.

In the coach, Jon began to ask after his parents and his sisters, and Vic asked after his father.  Livia looked sad.  “I have been instructed not to answer your questions.  Martin wants to bring you up to date himself.”   Vic’s fears were renewed and now Jon worried as well.  Indeed, where was Amy; wife and sister?  Both men realized that things must have changed drastically in ten years, but they could not imagine how much.

When the coach pulled up to the front entrance of the house, Martin was standing there ready to greet them.  Samuel stood immediately behind him.  Martin had a huge smile on his face.  Samuel looked somber.  Vic jumped out of the coach and engulfed his brother Martin.  Tears were running down his face and he kissed Martin on the lips.  Jon stood back not knowing what to do. 

Vic spotted Samuel and released Martin.  He wrapped himself around Samuel and showed no less affection to Livia’s son than he had shown to Martin.  Why should he not?  Samuel was raised more as a brother to him than Martin was.  Jon was shocked at Vic’s intimacy with a black man and was more than a bit revolted by it.

Finally Jon found his legs.  While Vic and Samuel were embracing and being very unmanly, he ran to Martin and devoured him with hugs and kisses.  Both men were crying.  “You are a very handsome man,” Jon whispered in Martin’s ear. 

“And so are you,” Martin answered.

“I must know all that has transpired,” Jon pleaded. “Please Martin, tell Vic and me at once.”  Martin nodded and broke his embrace with Jon.

“And I must know of your adventures,” Martin said.  “Now everyone into my office, please.”  Jon and Vic followed Martin into what had been his father’s office.  There was no need for Martin to confirm that his father was dead.  If he was alive, would he not be here now, hugging his long lost son?

When Martin realized that Samuel was remaining behind, he turned to him and demanded firmly that Samuel come into the room also.  He bade Livia prepare a bountiful lunch for everybody.

Once everyone was seated comfortably in Martin’s office, he said, “I am going to fill you all in on what happened after you were lost at sea.  Kindly do not interrupt.  I want to get it all out and when I am done, you can ask questions.  I’ll answer whatever I have knowledge of.”  He cleared his throat, sipped from a glass half full of water and began to speak as succinctly as he could.  He first directed his eyes and his attention to Vic.  Jon knew that it would be a while before he learned of his family’s fate.

“When we heard that you were lost at sea,” Martin began, “Father had a stroke and died within the fortnight.  Losing you and Jon was my worst nightmare.  I went into a deep depression and stayed in my room.  Nothing could coax me out.  Samuel was the only person who would enter my room, and hold me in his arms to comfort me.  I confessed to him that my greatest fear was running the plantation.  My father had never trained me to do so.  Samuel told me not to be afraid.  He was well instructed by my father and he would be at my side.  He also told me a secret that he harbored for many years.  Samuel is the natural son of Livia and Father.  He is our brother and I love him as a brother.”

Vic jumped out of his seat, and embraced Samuel yet again.  “I have always considered you to be my brother,”  he said, and again he kissed Samuel on the lips, much to Jon’s dismay.  Jon actually wondered if he could ever kiss Vic again, after Vic had kissed a black man.

Now Martin directed his attention to Jon, who was trying desperately not to be repulsed by the obvious fact that Vic could be so affectionate to Samuel, blood brother or not.  “Jon, my love,” Martin began, “your mother grieved so sorely at your loss that she pined away and died shortly thereafter.  Your father could not bear all this tragedy, and he became very ill.  He sold your plantation to me and he died very soon afterwards.”  Jon began to cry silently.

Now Martin looked back and forth between Vic and Jon.  He continued:

“Amy and Mary moved to England to live with an aunt of yours, Jon.  When you were both officially declared dead, both girls married Englishmen.  Their husbands are cousins and they reside in side by side homes.”

He stopped to let this sink in.  Vic was shaking like a leaf, but all things considered, Martin thought that he was handling the news very well.   He could not imagine that Vic was shaking with relief.   He continued.  “Amy has four children, Vic, two boys and two girls.  Mary has two sons.  You are six times an uncle, Jon.”

That revelation really sobered Jon up.  “Are my sisters aware of the turn of events?” he asked Martin.

“I wired them immediately.  I should think the wire has arrived by now, but I have had no response.  I would rather think, Victor, that you should do nothing about this situation until we hear something from England .  I am sure that eventually Jon would want to visit them and meet his nephews and nieces.”

“Yes, in time, I suppose,” Jon murmured.  He placed his hand on Vic’s in sympathy.

“In the meantime,” Martin continued, “I have a solution to some of this mess.  The merger of the two farms has been overwhelming for Samuel and me.  We desperately need help.  You two are as much heirs to the property as we are.  Please stay on here and help us run things.”

“What has happened to my house?” Jon asked.

“It is rented out and is a source of income for us.”  If you would like to, you can live there and we’ll ask the tenants to leave.”

“Don’t you want me to stay here?” Jon asked looking very hurt.

Martin jumped up and took Jon into his arms.  They both sobbed.

“Sit down,” Martin ordered.  “I have much more to discuss, and it concerns the four of us.  He locked the office door and returned to his seat.

Once more he began his narration.  ‘You may have noticed Jon that neither Samuel nor I have taken wives, and we live a bachelor’s life.  You will find out soon enough that we share a room also.  Although, when we have guests, Samuel sleeps elsewhere in the house.  Can you imagine what I am saying?”

“It’s clear enough,” Jon said with a sigh.  “You are not only brothers, you are lovers.  Well, I certainly could not expect you to be celibate for ten years.”

Vic piped in.  “Jon and I were alone on a deserted island for more than ten years.  You would not have expected us to be celibate either.  I have told Jon many times, and now I tell you, my brothers, that I love him.  The only fear I had was of being rescued and having to give him up to return to Amy.  Martin, I don’t have to wait for a letter from Amy.  I know exactly what I am going to do, no matter what she says.  I have no intention of disrupting her happy life.  I love her and want the best for her, and I also have no intention of destroying my life.  I love Jon, and if he has no objection I wish to sleep with him tonight.”

“Yes, yes, love,” Jon sobbed, “but what am I to do.  I still love Martin.”

“Vic, my brother,” Samuel said, speaking for the first time, “if you have no objection, I wouldn’t either, if we approved of their love.  We are four brothers.  I see nothing wrong in loving each other.”

Everyone was speechless and the room was charged with electricity.  Finally Martin spoke, “I’m not interested in sleeping arrangements right now.  I am more interested in knowing if you two want to remain on as co-owners with Samuel and me.”

“Yes, of course,” Jon said.

“Me too,” Vic echoed.  The four men embraced in a group hug, and it momentarily escaped Jon’s attention that one of the men in the group was considered black by his society.

There was a knock on the door.  Martin ran to open it.

“Lunch is ready,” Livia said.

“Wonderful,” Martin said.  “Over lunch, I intend to hear all about your adventures on the island.  However did you survive?”

“Is Reverend Dobson still vicar at our church?” Vic asked suddenly.

“Yes.  Why?” Martin asked.

“I intend to have my marriage annulled as soon as possible, for all our sakes, especially Amy’s.”

To be continued...

Posted: 01/14/11