Mark Arbour

I try. It's not always easy. ;-)

Thanks for the vote! I think that Peter is the right person at the right time for Granger.

Wade's so intertwined with the First Families of Virginia it's almost scary.

You guys make some interesting points about "love." I think that's a real hard thing to pin down: 1. What is love? People define it differently. When I see Chartley talking about love, I see his description as more of a friendship that has romance intertwined. I wonder if he's really gotten to the kind of love that Granger has experienced with Travers, Calvert, and Cavendish. 2. This era was renowned for people falling in love quite often, so it's period-realistic. I think that maybe there's something to that, what with the lifespans being short. I mean, you didn't have all that much time to figure it out. Shit, most of us would already be dead if we were alive back then. Did that make sense? I think this is Granger's flaw, where he confuses infatuation with love, and dives right in, then has to figure it out later. Lucky for him, he's usually gone by the time it wears off, so it fades away naturally. I think his big challenge will come when he develops feelings for someone and he's in a position to take his time, like say when he's at home for an extended period.

Happy Birthday Chris! I'll still hit on you, even though you're an old man now.

Congrats to everyone who won, and thank you for voting one of my characters (George Granger) protagonist of the year. It's pretty exciting for me to have a character that is based in 1797 still resonate enough to win an award. Thank you!

Thanks. It's funny how this one turned out. It was just kind of intuitive when I wrote it, and it sound like it was that way when you read it too.

LOL. You know the old riddle: What's the difference between a straight man and a gay man? A six pack of beer. I think Bertie just had one of those moments. Thanks for the congrats! I'm pretty excited about that, since he's been such a fun character to write. Even more, having a character in a specialty story like this (Historical: Napoleonic Era) win is pretty awesome. Thanks to all of you who voted for George!

March 11, 1797 Chartley woke up the next morning in a playful mood. They’d spent the entire day and night in bed, alternating between fucking, eating, and sleeping. He’d watched Granger’s exhaustion fade away until it vanished, and not just the physical exhaustion, but the emotional exhaustion as well. In a way, he felt as if he were a doctor, and his sole mission was to cure Granger’s malaise. He rolled over on top of Granger, waking him up. “Ugh,” Gr

I think you're right on all accounts. I do think, though, that Caroline can learn and adapt. She'll do better in the future.

I think that's an apt way to look at it. In the past, when Granger came home, things were pretty much as they should have been, and that helped him adapt to and enjoy his life ashore. Now, things are all messed up, and he's having to pave his own way back to normalcy.

A lot of people read this story and then stopped reading the series. They missed the point. This disaster is one of the seminal moments in JP's life, and the guilt he feels about this follows him for years afterwards.

There are those who longed for JP's demise, but then again, it wouldn't have been a very long story if I'd have killed him off. I think that they're both messed up guys at this point.

Did you say semen in the Abbey? Oh, my bad. I think it's important to view this from Caroline's point of view. She's probably been going along, totally unaware that people were talking about her and Gloucester, and the next thing she knows she's pregnant and her husband is back. It's not that easy to end an affair, especially if the guy (Gloucester) isn't all that worried about offending the husband. And she'd just now starting to realize that, while she thought she was being discreet, she really wasn't. I'll bet it takes her a bit to finally figure that out, even though in this chapter she got a pretty rude shock.

I'm so glad I can help out! How can Chartley help Granger? See previous review comment about big dicks. ;-)

George does need some comfort. Nothing a big dick can't solve. ;-)

March 10, 1797 Granger had stayed in his own room last night, all by himself, and while he may have been lonely, in fact he had spent a good deal of time thinking about his unfortunate situation, and making plans to rectify it. He’d returned to London with a damaged ship and an uncertain future, to find his friends had become strange and detached; and to discover that his wife was pregnant with the child of a man she seemed determined to keep fucking. He’d replayed th

I posted something on this in the forums, but I don't think that Caroline really gets how obvious she's been.

Royal princes don't get shipped off to dangerous tropical lands. The risk is too high. FYI. I think you're right about the Earl, it's just a shame that George's relationship with his wife is suffering as his relationship with his father improves.

He's truly a fish out of water, but he may just surprise all of these people by reminding them that he can be a courtier as well.

You, objecting to sluttiness? Wow. That's almost as bad as me objecting to it. ;-) I think that he could go to the Brotherhood if he needed to, but the Duke of Clarence is the guy he'd talk to, and he hasn't seen him yet.

Well, I think that since George just got home, he has to get his feet firmly planted on the ground before he takes any major action.

Well, he grew up in this hothouse, so it's second nature to him, sadly enough.

You want me to send JJ to Bulgaria? Should I leave him there?

I think that Caroline has three basic problems: 1. She sees things so clearly when it involves other people, she just doesn't see it when it involves her. Kind of like how when I look in the mirror and I think I'm 10 years younger and 20 pounds lighter than I really am. 2. She got involved with a royal, which is quite a coup, but now she doesn't know how to get out of it. 3. She's not sure if George is really going to be there for her, so if she tells Gloucester to piss off, she could end up all alone. That's scary when you're carrying a bastard child.