“It’s open,” Kurt called out unthinkingly as he donned his frock coat. He and Quinn were going to go walking through the city today so they could give Rachel the alone time with Finn she craved. Kurt had been thinking about maybe seeing another play when he heard someone knock on the door.
Lord Anderson opened the door between the rooms, looking surprised. He schooled his face into something more neutral when he saw Kurt. Kurt buttoned the last button of his frock coat before turning around.
“May I help you, Lord Anderson? Kurt asked, trying to ignore the fact that Lord Anderson knew he hadn’t locked his door.
Lord Anderson gave one last glance to the door. “Mr. Stillwell says that breakfast is being served.”
Kurt nodded graciously. “Thank you, I will be down in a moment. I must put on my boots first.”
Lord Anderson looked down next to the door where Kurt had left his boots the night before and picked them up. “Are these the boots you need?” He asked as he brought them to where Kurt was standing. Kurt smiled at Lord Anderson as he took them.
“Thank you.”
Kurt bent over to put on his boots, and, even though the angle was bad, he heard Lord Anderson’s sharp intake of breath. Kurt stood up, holding his boot. “Perhaps you would do better waiting outside the door, My Lord?”
Lord Anderson cleared his throat and nodded, face flushed. “That would be wise. I will wait outside for you.”
Kurt waited until Lord Anderson had closed the door before he attempted to put his boots back on. He couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. When Lord Anderson had started to treat him less like property and more like an actual person, he had become rather shy about what he had originally propositioned Kurt for. It was cute, and nice to feel wanted the way Lord Anderson wanted him.
Kurt opened the door to find Lord Anderson leaning against the opposite wall. He straightened up and grinned. “Shall we?”
Kurt returned his grin and followed Lord Anderson down the stairs. “Did you sleep well, My Lord?”
“Quite well, and yourself?”
“Very well, My Lord.”
Lord Anderson nodded and seemed to hesitate before speaking. “Did you leave your door unlocked all night?”
Kurt focused on walking down the stairs to avoid looking at Lord Anderson. “I did, My Lord. I must have forgotten.”
Lord Anderson hummed in response. Mr. Stillwell was waiting for them at the bottom of the stairs. “Mr. Hudson has requested that you dine in the drawing room with Mr. Hummel and Miss Hummel.”
Lord Anderson grinned wildly. “All right then. Kurt will you accompany me to the drawing room?”
“Of course,” Kurt replied, equally pleased.
Quinn was waiting for them in the drawing room, amusement written across her face at Lord Anderson and Kurt’s matching grins. “Yes, yes, Mr. Hudson will propose. It is not a secret.”
“But it is the best possible outcome for Rachel. I am glad things will go so well.” Kurt replied as he poured himself a cup of tea.
“As am I, brother, but I will hardly call the result surprising. They have been besotted with each other since they met.” Quinn took a bite of potato and suppressed a frown. Mrs. Hudson was by far a better cook.
“That may be, but you never know what will happen.” Kurt’s mind had gone to Samuel and Mercedes. It had been such a stroke of luck that Samuel had been promoted. Kurt furrowed his brow. He hadn’t thought too heavily on the idea, but it was lucky. It was incredibly lucky and thus too lucky. Kurt looked over at Lord Anderson who was frowning at his own potatoes. It was also incredibly lucky that Samuel was working for Lord Anderson. Kurt withheld his groan of despair by taking a sip of his tea. He considered himself clever, but to have not figure this out sooner said otherwise. He looked at Quinn. He didn’t know how involved she was, but he bet she knew as well. He was the last one to figure it out.
Quinn nodded. “You can never predict how things will go. It’s just better to deal with things in the now.”
Kurt nodded. “I agree. It is quite better to deal with things in the now. You must have hope that things will get better. Like Samuel being your new steward, My Lord. It is very fortunate for him.”
Lord Anderson choked on his tea, and spent a few moments coughing. After he had cleared his throat, he weakly responded, “Yes, Sam has served me well over the past decade. There is no one who knows the house better than him.”
It was a weak explanation and they all knew it. Lord Anderson went back to his tea not making eye contact with any of them. Kurt directed a sharp glance towards Quinn. She nodded. They would talk on the walk.

……………..
“You should have told me, Quinn.” Kurt snapped as they walked down the cobblestone street. Quinn smiled politely at an older couple before responding.
“I should tell you a lot of things, brother, but I choose not to.”
Kurt looked at her in shock, all the color drained from his face. “You knew this whole time that Lord Anderson was going to promote Samuel?”
“You act like I planned this out with Lord Anderson himself, Kurt.” Quinn snapped. “Lila told me what Thad told her. You were not mentioned at all, but it only takes a glance to see how Lord Anderson looks at you. Then it takes perhaps three brain cells to guess why he would promote Sam.”
“Quinn,” Kurt groaned.
Quinn hummed. “You’re right. It would probably only take one brain cell.”
Kurt groaned again, but didn’t say anything. He just focused on making sure he wasn’t stalking down the street. Gentlemen didn’t stalk; they strolled with purpose.
“Are you really very mad with me, Kurt?” Quinn asked. She had a curious expression on her face. It wasn’t quite trepidation, but it wasn’t exactly equanimity either. She was somewhere in the middle and this new unknown ground made Kurt respond honestly.
“No.”
Quinn nodded and they continued their walk in silence. Quinn watched the people walk by, all lost in their own little worlds. None of them could see the storm that was her brother’s thoughts. Of course, she realized with a little bit of shock, she couldn’t see their turmoil either. They were just as unreadable to her as she was to them.
“I had a plan, Quinn.” Kurt started. “I had a plan for my life. After Mom died, Dad started putting more pressure on me to be the man of the house. I understand his reasoning, he wanted me to be prepared incase he died unexpectedly. And I took it to heart. I thought about how I could be the best gentleman and the best man of the house. And the best man of the house is the one who provides for his family and makes sure they’re well off for when he passes on. That’s why I decided to marry a woman. That’s the best way to prepare for the future.
“So I chose Mercedes because we get along well. She’s one of my best friends and we’d both be well off. It was a good arrangement. There was no problem because Samuel was not in our class and we’re both too sensible to marry below our class. At the time, the plan seemed foolproof. That is, at least, until the moment Samuel became acceptable. Everything crumbled and I mean everything. It only took one tap to collapse everything. It’s just a blow to my ego that what I prided myself on is so easily destroyed.
“The sad fact is that I don’t even care. The situation that’s appeared literally in my hands is much better than anything I could have planned. Lord Anderson’s intentions are clear and I return his affections in full. There are lawyers to make an adopted child the heir. Hummel House would have an heir. That’s everything I need, and if you do live with us for the rest of your days, you’ll want for nothing.”
Quinn listened without interrupting, and without reacting. When Kurt was done, Quinn let the silence settle before she spoke, “First of all, you ended on a rather morbid note with my death. Second, I’m not quite sure what your problem is. What do you expect to happen if you accept Lord Anderson?”
Kurt sighed. It was a question he asked himself every time he rejected Lord Anderson. “Something bad to follow.”
Quinn tilted her head. “You think something bad is to follow? I’m not quite sure I understand what you’re getting at.”
Kurt thought as he looked at a ball gown in a window. “It’s so much good fortune. It’s so much good fortune that I can’t help but think that there is another side to this blade.”
Quinn nodded. “I see your worry, and I understand it. Anything that goes well, especially as well as this, we can’t help but think that it will end and the bad will begin. But I do not think you can let that stop you. You said you return Lord Anderson’s affections in full, did you not?”
Kurt nodded. “I do.”
“Then what is stopping you, brother? Aside from this fear of yours?”
Kurt almost shrugged, but he restrained himself because he was in public. “Nothing.”
“Then return Lord Anderson’s affections with no guilt.” Quinn saw that Kurt was going to object, but she quickly cut him off. “Just for the rest of our trip. We leave on Sunday. For the rest of today, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, give in for these four days, and if your fears are still there then do what you please. But, Kurt, you’ll never get anywhere if you don’t try. You know that, right?”
Kurt raised his eyebrows and sighed. “Yeah, I know. Four days?”
Quinn waved at a little boy running down the street. “Four days.”
“Four days.”

…………………..

Kurt, Quinn and Lord Anderson sat through an hour retelling of Finn’s proposal to Rachel. The actual proposal had been thirty seconds and none of them were quite sure how Rachel was able to stretch it to a full hour. But they had all smiled and clapped at the end of the performance. All of them quite excited that the two were getting married.
Rachel had ambushed Kurt behind the staircase and had begged Kurt to not tell their father that she was staying with Finn that night. Kurt had visibly blanched at the image of his sister and Finn together in such a way, but he had promised. They would soon be married. Kurt could allow this.
Quinn had shot him a look as she told Rachel that they were to have the room at the end of the hall, far away from where Quinn would be. Rachel had conceded with much blushing on her part after Quinn whispered in her ear. Kurt had given Quinn a confused glance. Quinn responded with pleasant smile (#6 wouldn’t-you-like-to-know). Dissatisfied, Kurt had gone to bed. Quinn wouldn’t tell him no matter what.
After Kurt undressed, he went to stand in front of the door. He looked at the lock, but didn’t make a move. He stared, Quinn’s words heavy on his mind. He hadn’t locked it last night, but Lord Anderson hadn’t known about it then. Now he knew and Kurt was quite sure that Lord Anderson would try something. Kurt would try something if he knew that the door was unlocked and he was much more prudent than Lord Anderson. No, the decision was entirely up to Kurt. Flick the lock up or keep it as it was.
Four days.
Kurt took a deep breath before he turned around and got into bed. He slid under the covers, but he stayed propped up. He looked across the room at the desk where his book was. He frowned. He should have grabbed it before he got into bed. But the book wasn’t good enough for him to warrant getting out of bed to grab it. Great, he was going to have to wait without anything to do.
Lord Anderson must have been in tune with Kurt’s thoughts because not even three seconds later, Kurt heard the doorknob turning. Kurt swung his legs over the side and waited. Fuck! Should he be sitting or lying down or standing? What did one do in this situation?
Lord Anderson peeked around the door and looked pleasantly surprised to see Kurt waiting for him. Kurt smiled shyly. Lord Anderson made his way to the bed and gestured silently. Kurt nodded. Lord Anderson sat down.
“You kept the door unlocked.” Lord Anderson whispered, a note of awe in his voice.
“Yes, I did.” Kurt replied, the same note of awe in his voice.
Lord Anderson nodded. He looked at a loss of what to do as if he didn’t expect to get this far. “How was your day?”
Kurt couldn’t help the grin on his face as Lord Anderson made awkward small talk. “Pleasant, I enjoyed my walk with Quinn. How was yours, My Lord?”
“Very well, I just finished up some business with one of my partners.”
Kurt nodded and smiled. Lord Anderson didn’t say anything else and Kurt didn’t know what else to say. They shared shy smiles.
“Um,” Kurt started, his voice seemed startlingly loud in the dark room. “Would you like to lean against the headboard?”
Lord Anderson nodded and they both moved to the headboard and sat against it. Lord Anderson looked at their hands in between each other and moved his hand slowly towards Kurt’s. Kurt let Lord Anderson interlock their fingers together. Kurt squeezed tentatively. Lord Anderson smiled widely.
“It was a very exciting day for Rachel. I do not think I have ever seen any girl happier to be married.”
Kurt nodded. “Yes, she is quite taken with Finn. It is a good match. I think they will be happy together.”
“Will you be happy that they are married?” Lord Anderson asked, rubbing his thumb back and forth across the back of Kurt’s hand.
“Siblings are special, My Lord. We all share in each other’s happiness. I could not be happier for my sister.”
“I am glad.”
They sat there in silence for a few moments before Lord Anderson, barely above a whisper, asked, “May I kiss you?”
Kurt barely nodded before Lord Anderson surged forward. Lord Anderson’s lips were hot and relentless, never still. Kurt fell back against the headboard, hands coming up to wrap his fingers in Blaine’s curls. Blaine lifted himself up to his knees and moved to straddle Kurt’s lap. Kurt dropped one hand to Lord Anderson’s neck to pull him closer. Lord Anderson moaned, and Kurt took the chance to introduce his tongue. Small tentative swipes across Lord Anderson’s tongue. Inspired by Kurt’s advances, Lord Anderson pushed his mouth closer to suck on Kurt’s tongue. Kurt withstood for a few moments before he pushed Lord Anderson’s face away.
“Did I do something wrong?” Lord Anderson asked, breathing harshly.
“Too much pressure from your mouth. It was making my jaw hurt.” Kurt huffed out. He wiped at his swollen lips. The pleasant tingling that resulted from the pressure made Kurt drag his fingers more slowly across his lips.
Gaze drawn in by Kurt’s fingers, Lord Anderson replied, “No one has ever complained of that before.”
Kurt knew as soon as Lord Anderson said it that it was an unthinking comment. He smiled ruefully, “From what I know, My Lord, hardly anyone complains of a one-time thing.”
Lord Anderson grinned, “I can say that is true. I have never complained over a one time performance.”
Kurt nodded slowly. “Umm, Lord Anderson, I am actually not comfortable talking about your past bedmates.”
“Right, right! Shit, I’m sorry. Of course, you don’t want to hear about that. Um, I am sorry that I hurt you.”
Kurt smiled softly. “I forgive you. Perhaps you could try again, but softer.”
Lord Anderson smiled as he pushed his lips against Kurt’s. Soft, barely there kisses that Kurt found himself liking much more. They made his toes curl and his breath come quick. He moaned softly. Lord Anderson nipped his bottom lip teasingly. Kurt’s hips bucked up. A moan ripped out of him as he felt Lord Anderson’s hard length against his hip, but just as quickly he moved back.
“We need to stop.”
Lord Anderson never looked more confused. “What was wrong this time?”
Kurt shook his head. “I’ve only done this once before, and even then, it took me by surprise. I did not like the feeling afterward.”
“What feeling is it?” Lord Anderson asked, genuinely curious. He had never had heart-to-hearts with anyone he slept with before. He had never really thought past his first orgasm, or his second if he was with Sebastian.
“I matter, Lord Anderson. If my father taught me anything, it is that I matter. And even though I have my disagreements with the Church, I do believe that sex is something special. I will not go farther tonight, Lord Anderson.”
Lord Anderson felt a swelling sense of disappointment, but he pushed it down. He grabbed Kurt’s hand and pressed a soft kiss to the back of his hand. “Of course, whatever you are comfortable with.”
Kurt lifted their interlocked hands and pressed his lips to the back of Lord Anderson’s hands. “Thank you, My Lord.”
“Blaine.”
Kurt smiled up adoringly through his eyelashes, “Blaine.”