Canuk

Late to this story, but enjoying it very much. A child in a gay romance, well, in fact, any romance, does add a level of tension and challenge. The two leads are well drawn, i look forward to their development!

Lady Grainger is one hell of a woman. No wonder they fought womans sufferage for so long! Great to see our leading couple going in a similar direction again. The amount of memorabilia was somewhat amazing and nothing like i expected at thecliff hanger, but i certainly understand our heros horror. He is such an amazing chracter, so brazen and certain at sea, but niaeve beyond belief on terra firma. Lookingforward to the next book! Congratualions.

Mark! What have done to us! No mention of our beloved for weeks and now a cliffy like this? This is early grave stuff ( mine, not yours!) It is so good to have our boy back, i am pleased that his marriage will survive, but mr pitt and mr dundas worry me. I think that we will be hearing much more of the Guild , and not nice things. Nowing a bit of the future, i do feel sorry for Lord Castlereagh. Hopefully our boy can provide him some comfort before his demise in the next 10 years or so. Welcome back. You have been missed. I wish you well, if only to keep us, the less talented, amused!

Really enjoying their story. Great pace, great characters. One point, in the museum; they probably saw a gorilla. A guerilla would some sort of freedom fighter - interesting, but unlikely in San Antonio!

Well that was somewhat of a knockout chapter. Back from sublime cruise to both parents with cancer! Cancer is hideous; there's a sort of faint hope its curable, but either way it wil be drawn out and painful; painful in different ways for those concerned. Both my maternal grandparents had cancer in their late 50s, gran survived, grandpa didn't. As for the other side of the family all the blokes die a month after they turned 75, so I have a pretty good idea of my use by date! Great story, very real. Thanks.

Refering to the lastcoment, wedding cakes do last for a long time without much treatment, if they are the traditional fruitcake.i think we ate the last of my firts cake on the first anniversary of my childs birth, so three years after the wedding. Regardding the horse ride, that was so well written. I too grew up on a farm, and while I honestly do not like riding, it was something I did for quite a while. My partner on the other hand, I am not sure I could get hi into a paddock with a horse! The way it was written in the story was quite beautiful. Great demonstration of a greatrelationship.

Just read the latest ch. The last line or two adds a new spin...who eent the package? Btw, I added a review...its almost unreadable because of typos... are reviews not editable? Also serves me right for typing on a tablet in bed!

The description of the meal was perfect; een with guest present the family could be civilised, except to know which fork to use! The last sentence was a great cliff hanger....

Great story, and I so get the gay vs fags thing. I am happy for people to be exactly who they want or need to be, or in fact who they are, but just as I am not at my best in the midst of a straight jock group, I really dont function well midst a group of very effeminate men. One small point, what is this suposed to mean "“But say one thing about to others about me, or to me…onboard or otherwise, I’ll call you on it.”"?

I honestly cannot imagine travelling like our two heros do. The Vatican, the Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps and the Coloseum all in a day! This is really tick box travel. I get it that its more "honeymoon" than serious travel, and so its more about the loving and mutual discovery, but i am sad for what they are missing!

Really, to throw our beloved Grainger from the clutches of Lady Elgin into the fire pit of Lord St Vincent, one wonders how and when our hero will get (and us readers get to observe) some sensual "me time"! Given Castlereagh's reputation, i wonder if there will be some private time there? Great story; so glad he's back

Just read the first four chapters... this is one ominous story. I get the feeling there are multiple layers each with two side, each not giving enough away to make the story straightforward... loks like a fun ride! Thanks

Congrats. Great return. Amazing how it all drops into place nd continues seamlessly... mark of a bloody great writer! Glad things looking up for you, Mark.

This is moving so far from my comfort zone.... i am not sure I'd cope!

Glad to hear things moving in the right direction. Now Im back in north america, my notifications have reverted to a civilised schedule; in australia i was getting them at 2 and 3 am! So looking forward to my next mark arbour notification!

Boys middle names in my family have been the same for 5 generations. So no "fashion" there! The girls tend to take their maternal grandmothers first name as their middle name. No idea why...

Perhaps not in the US, but I was at school ( 60s-70s) in Australiawith at least one Jeremy( hard to actually recall first names from school, for some reason we all call each other by either nick names or surnames) Also the actor jeremy Northam (uk) must be late-ish 50s by now. So on that unimpeachable comprehensive sample,sorry, Jeremy, you are not as unique as you hoped!

Sometimes same/same doesnt work. My initial longterm relationship with a woman who, on paper, was everything my familiy could want for me. We were from comparatively well to do backgrounds, we both had decent university degrees, both had some money to "set up house", but.... she never got on with either side of my family and ultimately they gave up on her. We ultimately seperate due to stresses of a failing business. Several years later, I have come out as gay, I bring home my boyfriend who while holding down a respectible, well paid job by then, had a life history that would have truly shocked my family. They take to him and he to them as if we had grown up together. And yet ~ 20 years on, my family still love him (given he can cook, sing, paint, I am actualy worried that if we broke up, I'd be the one looking for a new family!) All this to say that presuming same/same in terms of background and or socio-economic status makes relationships easier may not be the whole truth. Iunderstand that culture plays a huge part in that; one of my staff was a product of a very wealthy family from Shanghai and the pressure on her to marry was enormous. But still I think searching for a matrix that ensures relationship success is not useful.

Just started reading this story. I too love the language;more atmospheric than mere description. Look forward to read more

both my parents were somewhat relieved when my marriage (to a woman) broke down, they never really liked her, tho' they did their best because she was my wife. a few years later i met a bloke and surprised myself by realising I was gay. while the relationship didn't last, I did come out to first my mother then Dad. For some reason I decided to come out to Mum while we were fixing my sister's photocopier. Mum's reaction? "well that won't fix the photocopier". Equally with Dad I chose the day of his mother, my grandmother's funeral as we were driving to the cemetery. His reaction? "jeez, she must have been awful" referring to my ex. As the first out gay bloke in the family I did get lots of very unusual questions - primarily around how "out"was I going to be. One cousin seemed to think I was going to do the whole twin-set-and-pearls routine. This was all 25+ years ago. my partner and I met 17+ years ago and has been universally accepted largely, I think, because he "fits in" to the family better than my wife ever did. having read some of the awful stories some people have shared I do feel that whatever difficulties I went through I was so fortunate to have a family that at the very least was prepared to listen, learn and accept.

no, probably not, particularly if he takes his drinking seriously.... :-)

We if that is what it takes to get Granger to sweep me off my feet, i am going out to find an orchard now! Makes sense, if you want fruit, go to an orchard....

Great start for April fools day! Loved the humour the chapted ended on. Thanks

lucky dawg.... of course, I mean lucky man that he has time to be "screwing the dog"

Well, just started reading this. What an objectionable main character! I realise i am being set up by you, the author, but a character who only does things that other people don't like, who only has money from a father he won't talk to, who has created a back story about his parents that seems to deny reality (he knows that they hate eachother, however they talk about him for two hours). This kid needs a dose of reality. Great start to a story; not sure i have been this involved in a story this early for a while!