It was another 68 years before Hester and Isaac would meet once more, as Henry Layton and Ira Simmons, back in the heart of London in 1890. Henry was a noble man, he had great wealth and proved to be most popular with the young women of London, it was unfortunate he wasn’t in the slightest interested. Henry preferred men, yet openly gay men were few and far between, until he found ‘The Hundred Guineas’ club. 

 

Despite already having reached the old age of 37, Henry’s family held high expectations that he would still get married. Henry was sure he didn’t have much time left in this world, and frequently mentioned this to his family, who would only tell him that as a rich man, he could even wed on his death bed. Of course, Henry did not wish to wed a woman, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to have if he was forced to. He felt absolutely no attraction to the female gender, whatsoever. He had experienced few male relationships, and as such, made the club perfect for him.

 

The club, situated just off Portland place, was essentially the rich gay man’s paradise. For the costly sum of 100 guineas, one would receive a year’s membership to the club. One could either take their rent boy there, or indeed, find one. Whilst there were other such clubs, none held quite the high standard, something which greatly enticed Henry. 

 

Henry had settled on visiting twice a month, just enough to get his money’s worth he thought. Although, he knew he would have paid almost anything for membership. At the club, customers would assume female names and dress accordingly, and Henry had chosen ‘Hester’ as his female name. For the first few months of visits, most of his time was spend eying the options whilst sipping champagne or he engaged in small talk, whilst dancing or holding hands. Henry was yet to stay beyond the 2am lights out,

until of course, he discovered Ira.

 

He met the then 25 year old Ira during his fourth month of visits. The younger man was tall, with sturdy broad shoulders and piercing dark eyes. Although Ira wasn’t as muscular as Henry, his body appeared beautifully lean under his well fitted suit. Henry found himself immediately drawn to him, and if he wasn’t mistaken, the younger man was drawn to him too. The two spent the evening completely absorbed in each other. By the time it came to the 2am lights out, Henry didn’t want to leave. After the lights went out, Henry let Ira drag him upstairs with the other couples. 

 

Despite only having known each other for a matter of hours, they made love. Henry had never felt so connected to a person in his life. “You know, I feel like I have known you for a lifetime, Ira.” He whispered to the younger, who smiled broadly in response. “I wish we could spend longer together.” Ira sighed. They both knew that Ira was not to reject any advances, and Henry only visited twice a month. Even in the times Henry was there, another man could seek out Ira before him. It was an oddly heart wrenching feeling, to wish to be with a near stranger like this. Henry could only promise to visit more frequently in hopes of spending more time together.

 

--

 

Another four months had passed, and Henry’s visits had increased to twice a week rather than twice a month. He had made sure to cover his trail carefully, telling his family and few friends that he was taking on photography as a hobby, and to hopefully make more money from it. So he would spend a day taking pictures before his trips to the club in the evening. He did not wish to be arrested if he were discovered. 

 

He always arrived at the club moments before it opened, and he immediately sought out Ira. This hadn’t gone unnoticed by members of staff who had warned both himself and Ira to not fall for each other. Little did they know; it was far too late. Henry had never felt so happy, this also had not gone unnoticed by those close to him, and he told them that he had discovered photography was truly his passion. In a way, that was indeed true, he had very much taken to photography, but not quite as much as he had taken to Ira. 

 

Now his evenings at the club were spent sipping champagne, engaging in small talk, holding hands and dancing, only with Ira. On the few occasions that another man reached Ira first, he would return home immediately. He couldn’t bear to see Ira with someone else, he couldn’t even bear to think of him with someone else, and he definitely didn’t want to be with someone else himself either. So he would retire early for the evening, maybe take a few photos at the beach to take his mind away from thoughts of Ira and this mysterious thief. 

 

He was glad that this had only happened a few times, and Ira always made up for their time apart when they were next reunited. Ira told him one day that he would have a weekend off of work, so Henry immediately suggested that they should spend the time together. Much to his delight, Ira agreed, and so they would spend the weekend together at Henry’s home, under the pretence of work. 

 

Henry spent the Friday evening of their time together, teaching Ira how to take photos. It was enthralling to see him take interest in something that was his passion, especially since it was meeting Ira that led to him discovering said passion. Much to his surprise, Ira proved to be quite naturally talented at photography. Henry found himself feeling oddly proud of Ira’s new found talent. 

 

They spent the Saturday morning holed away in Henry’s study, reading books together and stealing the occasional glance and kiss. They never dared go further in case they were caught, and neither could bear to think about the repercussions of such a situation. However, as all things must, the good times came to an end. 

 

Sunday finally came and the 'day of rest' was spent doing quite the opposite as they spent the day with Henry's family. The children of the house had become quite besotted with Ira within moments. He seemed to do well with children and part of Henry lamented the fact the Ira would likely never have any offspring of his own. Ira had made it clear before that it was not his intention to have any children, but Henry still had a part of him that wished to have children, if only to make his family happy and to produce an heir. Henry knew though, it was probable he would follow Ira's path, but he wasn't sure how.

 

Sunday drew to a close, and it was time for Henry to Ira back to his own apartment. Henry was excited to finally see the home of Ira as Ira had seen his own. A person's home told the viewer much more about themselves than words could ever portray and of course, Henry was most eager to learn more about his lover.

 

Ira's apartment was not too far from Henry's own home, perhaps a five minute journey at most. It left Henry wishing that the journey was perhaps a little longer, so he could spend a little more time with Ira. The apartment was bare, with only the essential living equipment inside, no personal decor adorning the walls. It was almost as if Ira was ready to leave at any moment, and it was quite frightening. 

 

Having realised that he never wished to be separated from Ira, his mouth spoke before his mind, "Ira, run away with me." A look of disbelief took over Ira's features, how could this possible be reality? "My dearest Ira, please do believe me. I mean for us to stay together forever, but how can we live here? Come with me, I will take my money and we can flee to another country. Please, stay with me." Ira took his lover into his arms, and whispered into his ear, "Of course I will.".

 

Henry quickly returned home and found it most difficult to pretend everything was the same, when these were his last moments with his family. Part of him wanted to confess the truth before departing, but he thought it best to leave his family with good memories of him. As the night drew in he patiently waited in his quarters until all were asleep. When the clock struck midnight, Henry packed everything he would need before quickly writing a letter to his family. It was of course, lies, but he really could not bear to tell the truth. 

 

He made it to Ira's apartment with all his possessions and they then spent the night together, before boarding the first train to Paris. They had decided that there was no other place more fit to elope to, than the city of romance. And so it would be there that they would live the rest of their days together, two unknown faces in a faraway country, safe from the judgements of their families and acquaintances. But one could not help wonder, what had indeed happened after their sudden departures. 

 

They spent 8 years together with upmost joy, until tragedy befell them and Henry passed away aged 45, of old age. Ira had never felt more lost in his life, after Henry's passing there did not seem to be anything in the world that could make him so much as smile. To lose Henry seemed to be like the world had turned the lights out on Ira and left him cold and alone in the dark. But alas salvation came for Ira, as he became diagnosed with smallpox. Although the disease did not always kill, the doctor did not have great hopes for Ira and 2 years on the day of Henry's passing, Ira passed too, with a request for a special message on his headstone;

 

"We will meet again."

 

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Guess who finally updated? Sorry for taking so long ;-; I made the chapter longer if that's any consolation...onto the next chapter!! Feel free to sub/upvote if you enjoyed it ^^