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“Your uncle gave me permission to speak with you.”
“Sir.” The young lord of Liechtenstein bowed, keeping his eyes bashfully fixed on the wooden floor.
“You made quite an impression yesterday,” the Margrave continued, gesturing to the younger man to step closer. “And now I’m curious to see if you can keep your bravado in private as well.”
“I hope you didn’t call me here to punish me, Sir.”
“Punish you?” the Margrave exclaimed, surprised. “Quite the opposite, young man! You aroused my interest.”
John II of Liechtenstein bowed his head, showing his humility and gratefulness for being perceived as interesting enough for the Margrave of Moravia to wish to speak to him in private.
“Tell me, John - “ A brief smirk flitted across Liechtenstein’s lips at the use of his first name. “How come I have never met you here in Brno before?”
“I was busy with the administration of my family’s estates, Sir.”
“Are you in charge of those?”
“It’s a shared obligation. There’s been a lot happening that required our full attention. That is - my brothers’ and mine.”
“Oh, I can imagine. Your uncle managed to accumulate quite some lands around Nikolsburg.”
“It’s his proudest achievement, and, if I may say, Sir, rightfully so.”
“You certainly may, John. Your uncle has been a great servant not only for me, but for my father as well. I would like to see this fruitful cooperation between our families thrive in the near future.”
“The feeling is mutual, Sir. And I can assure you that everyone in my family feels the same way.”
The Margrave smiled, pleased with the concord.
“I couldn’t help but notice, dear John, that you seem to be blessed with the same wit and bright mind as your uncle.”
“You’re too kind, Sir. No one can match my uncle’s cunning.”
“Well, you’re certainly more skilled than your brother, with whom I already had the pleasure of…discussing certain matters.”
“I’m sorry to hear that he couldn’t satisfy you.”
Margrave Jobst felt the twitch in his facial muscles. The choice of words was certainly not a coincidence, and the keen look of Liechtenstein’s brown eyes was telling him just as much.
He decided to pour a bit more oil on the fire. “His erratic actions in the case of the Kanitz convent make me wish you were the eldest!”
Their eyes met.
He understands, Jobst thought. He listens and understands and calculates and does not flinch a bit.
“Unfortunately,” the Margrave continued, encouraged by Liechtenstein’s lack of protest, “Mathias did not inherit your uncle’s diplomatic skills. Unlike you.”
John’s lips curled up. “You and I seem to have a lot in common, Margrave.”
Jobst grimaced, amused by the parallel. Liechtenstein certainly wasn’t afraid of making a clear statement with his words, and showing bravely where his convictions stood.
Or what he wanted others to believe his convictions were.
There was an odd air of something he couldn’t name - a touch of sympathy, or a mutual understanding? - that he noticed last night at the dinner table, when young Liechtenstein spoke fiercely about his proposal of the next steps that the Margrave’s camp should take to contain his brother Prokop’s influence over King Wenceslas.
Last night, Jobst had a feeling that young John understood him better than any of the other members of the house of Liechtenstein who dined with him. He immediately took a liking to the man. The longer he listened to him weaving the webs of his schemes, the more his admiration grew. He was taken by him at the table, and later that night, he slowly started to realize that the feeling that settled in his chest was not just that of curiosity. He was enchanted. Despite spending only a few hours in his company at the dinner table, he could not quite shake off the feeling of something intimate brewing between them, something that the other guests could not understand, something that only the two of them were aware of.
“I have to admit I did not expect you to be so bold,” the Margrave continued. “You surpass your brother in every aspect.”
“I’m flattered, Margrave, that you should think that.”
“Enough with the formalities, John,” the Margrave spoke briskly. John’s redundant use of the address Margrave was almost making him uncomfortable on a physical level. He liked being shown respect, but John’s overuse of the term made him feel a certain way that he did not expect in such a setting. “I wanted to talk to you in this matter - to let you know that it would be a shame to bury away such a talented young man as yourself somewhere in the country.”
Liechtenstein smiled with a beautiful, pure smile. “It would not be a shame for me, Sir, to run my family’s estates as was my uncle’s initial wish.”
The Margrave squinted. He felt like the young man was testing him. “It would be a great loss for Moravia,” he said. “If such a capable man confined himself to only his estates.”
“With all due respect, Sir,” Liechtenstein started, “I am certain that Moravia can manage without me.”
“You’re not making it easy for me, John.”
“I’m sorry, Sir, do you want me to make it easy?”
“Not at all! I’m quite enjoying the spectacle.”
Liechtenstein gave him a knowing smile. He looked like someone well aware of their qualities.
“Maybe Moravia can manage,” the Margrave continued, opening his palm as if to say that he was open to considering such possibility. “But I would still be most grateful if you did me the honor of accepting my offer.”
“Your offer, Sir?” John’s face remained calm. He raised his eyebrows, showing his surprise at the Margrave’s words, although there could hardly be any confusion about what the Margrave meant.
“I could use the services of someone like you,” Jobst said nonchalantly, keeping his explanation as vague as possible.
John pressed the palm of his right hand to his chest and bowed again, showing he was nothing but a humble servant of the Margrave of Moravia. “I’m honoured, Sir.”
He didn’t give any further answer and waited for the silence between them to grow heavy. “Is that what this is all about?” he asked then. “You asked my uncle to speak with me in private for this?”
“Are you disappointed, dear John?”
Young Liechtenstein smiled with a sparkle in his eyes that betrayed his mischievous mind even before the answer. “On the contrary. I am flattered, dear Margrave.”
The address didn’t escape Jobst.
“Were you expecting something else?”
“It’s not in my nature to expect anything from others.”
“Not even from the Margrave of Moravia?”
“Especially not from Your Grace.”
Jobst felt the sting of hurt vanity in his chest. “Have I not been kind and noble to your family?”
“The kindest and most noble, Sir! My uncle has but words of praise for you.”
“Your uncle is a good man, and he’s served me and my father well. But he’s not getting any younger, John. There will come a time when I’m in need of advice, or help - And you seem to be blessed with the same spirit and talent as him.”
“I would never even dare to dream of advising you, Sir.”
“Manu et mente, John,” the Margrave said gently, trying to explain himself. “I could use your help. And I told your uncle as much.”
Liechtenstein seemed pleased by the Margrave’s admiration. A modest smile appeared on his lips before he spoke again. “Did he give you his blessing, Sir?”
He certainly knows, Jobst thought. There was no possibility of him always choosing such words without knowing. Either he could read people just as well as a parchment paper, or his uncle told him. Or, even more likely, he discussed it with his uncle openly. The old schemer was well-known for making sure all his nephews and nieces would end up well-taken care of, be it marriages, services to their liege lords, or cushy prebends.
“He told me to ask you directly.” Jobst decided to keep one more ace up his sleeve for later. “And I agreed,” he continued slowly. “Because I was curious to see how charming you can be away from company.”
Liechtenstein tilted his head, and the look of his eyes was so devastatingly intense that Jobst felt completely bared by it. “Would you keep me away from company often, Sir, if I were to enter your services?”
The slight smirk that curled his lips upwards indicated his amusement. He wasn’t being rude or snappy; he seemed to be taking pleasure in directing the conversation to places the Margrave was trying to avoid.
“It would be inevitable,” he answered. He could sense that Liechtenstein understood what he meant, and the mutual wordless understanding aroused him more than any spoken confirmation would. He wasn’t sure whether it was in Liechtenstein’s eyes, or the way he tilted his head, raised his eyebrows, and challenged him with a single look - but something about his demeanor was telling the Margrave that he knew damn well, and consciously decided to tippytoe around the bush.
“And are you sure you are not mistaking me for one of my sisters, Sir?”
The Margrave smirked at such a daring question. As much as he did not expect this conversation to last longer than necessary, he was quite enjoying the diversions that Liechtenstein came up with, despite the obvious mockery in his words. “Believe me, John, I could never make such a mistake. I have no interest in any of your sisters.”
“Careful, Sir. Hearing that could disappoint them greatly.”
“They’re pleasant young ladies, that much is true. But I have yet to hear them talk about the ways to strengthen my position in Lusatia, as you did. No, no, dear John - it is not any member of the house of Liechtenstein that I want in my services. It’s you.”
“I’m honoured, Sir, that you should think so highly of me.”
Margrave Jobst watched him closely, smiling. The constant back-and-forth was keeping him on his toes, and it felt like each of John’s responses was carefully crafted to send shivers down his spine. “You have a way with words,” he said softly. With every moment spent in the young charmer’s presence, Jobst’s fondness for him grew. Yesterday, at the dinner table, he was initially pleasantly surprised by the wit of the younger John of Liechtenstein; by now, he was smitten with him.
“So they say.”
“Have you often been complimented?”
“Just as often as I deserved.”
“I like your confidence.”
“It’s my most valuable asset.”
“You always have an answer ready.”
“A conversation is just as good as those making it, Sir.”
“Now I am not sure whether you’re complimenting or mocking me.”
“And do you like it, Sir?” The young nobleman’s eyes bore their way through Jobst. “Do you enjoy not being sure?”
“I am not very familiar with that feeling, truth be told.” The Margrave could not help but stare at Liechtenstein’s lips that curled so deviously around the words he’d said. “Something tells me you could help with that.”
“If you insist, Sir.”
The constant repetitive use of the formal address was working Jobst up in ways he never thought about before. He liked it when respect was given and proper titles used, but there was some mockery in the frequency with which the young man called him ‘Sir’.
“Are you usually this servile, John?”
“Only when I need to be.”
“You seemed more daring yesterday. You spoke your mind.” The Margrave smirked. “You opposed me.”
“There was an audience to please, Sir.”
“An audience? You mean your own family?”
“No, Sir, I mean you.”
Margrave Jobst raised his eyebrows. “I certainly wasn’t pleased to have my plans criticised openly by someone so… young.”
“Is my youth the only concern, Margrave?”
The Margrave stared at him, speechless, for a moment. Then he shook his head. “You amuse me.”
“I’m glad to be of service, Sir.”
“How was I an audience yesterday, and yet I am no longer one today?”
“Yesterday, you did not know me. You only knew my name. I had to make an impression, Sir.”
“Do you feel like I know you any better today?”
“I think you know everything you need to know by now, don’t you, Margrave?”
Jobst looked at him, motionless, for a few seconds. John was right, as seemed to be in his habit.
“I know what I see,” he said as firmly as he was capable, with his heart racing and his eyes slipping down towards Liechtenstein’s lips every few seconds.
“And what do you see, my lord?”
“I see a young man,” Jobst started carefully, trying to find the right words to capture the beauty of the man standing in front of him. “Destined for greatness and glory. And he knows it,” he added, watching Liechtenstein’s lips spread into a wide smile. “Oh, he knows it so well.”
“What is he like?” Liechtenstein asked, his voice low and calm, as he demanded a more precise characterization of his humble self.
“He’s handsome.” Jobst focused only on Liechtenstein’s lips and their subtle twitch, which indicated John’s satisfaction with such description. “I think he might be the most handsome man I have ever seen.”
“Are you planning on telling him anytime soon?”
“I’m sure he’s well aware of this fact.”
“He might still enjoy hearing it from Your Grace directly.”
Jobst exhaled sharply. It was becoming increasingly more difficult to try and keep a straight face with the young nobleman’s merciless teasing. Two could play the game, he decided.
He was not going to give Liechtenstein the pleasure of hearing the praise directly. “I will not encourage vanity among my men.”
John smiled. “Not even when your words could convince this handsome young man to abandon his family’s estates?”
“I’m not asking anyone to abandon anything, John. Besides,” he added, feeling that it was about the right time to reveal his trump card, “I have a feeling that his family would yield to the wishes of the Margrave of Moravia, don’t you think?”
He took one step closer, taking John by the elbow, and leaned in.
“Your uncle,” the Margrave’s lips were so close to young Liechtenstein’s ear that he could feel his breath brushing against his skin, “gave me permission to bed you as well.”
A heartbeat. Two, three draws of breath. John’s eyelashes fluttered as his lips finally moved to speak. “As well as whom, Sir?”
Jobst was flabbergasted by the lack of reaction. It was almost as if John knew exactly what he was trying to achieve, and intentionally kept his face unreadable and stoic. He stepped back, not having to exaggerate his shock. “Is that all you have to say?”
“With all due respect, Sir, the old schemer has no say in who beds me and who does not.”
“Do men often approach him with such proposals?”
“How would I know!”
“Do men make such proposals to you directly?”
“I am in no way bound to answer such questions.” Despite the choice of words, a smirk was playing on the nobleman’s lips.
“That makes me think they do,” Jobst said, fascinated by the utter lack of shame from the young Liechtenstein.
“My lips are sealed,” Liechtenstein countered.
“Oh, you - “
Margrave Jobst searched for an appropriate term in vain. He found himself deafened by the rush of blood. He was making a fool of himself in front of the young lord, and for what? For the pair of beautiful, piercing eyes that gazed at him with the promise of pleasures unknown to him?
“You leave me speechless,” he finished his sentence. He felt like he’d tried all the tricks in his book, and yet young Liechtenstein never faltered, never withered, never stepped back an inch; he was doing quite the opposite. In fact, he encouraged the Margrave to go further, teasing and provoking him with the relentless flow of his smooth responses. “You won.”
“Won, Margrave?” Liechtenstein raised his eyebrows. “I did not realize we were playing a game.”
The Margrave took a breath to answer, but John’s smug expression stopped him just before he spoke. It was pointless to argue with him now. John had him right where he’d wanted him, and something about that pretty face sporting a cocky smile made Jobst’s wish to have the last word pathetically desperate.
“What would you do if I seized and kissed you right now, John?” he asked casually without moving.
A new, different kind of smile tugged at the corner of the younger man’s lips. He won, the Margrave thought; he won, and he was well aware of the fact despite claiming no reconnaissance of the game being played. “I could cry for help.”
“Would you?”
“I might.”
“But would you?” the Margrave insisted.
“We’ll never know if you don’t do it.”
“Do you want me to?”
Young Lord of Liechtenstein let the question linger in the air between them for longer than the previous ones. “Does it matter?”
“I’m asking you.”
“Since when does the Margrave of Moravia need to ask, Sir?”
“Since he cannot afford to lose the support of the House of Liechtenstein.”
Liechtenstein smiled. He liked it when the shoe was on the other foot. “You spoke with my uncle. He gave you his blessing.”
“He might not have worded it like that.”
“So you were lying.” The accusatory verb rolled nicely off Liechtenstein’s tongue.
“That’s a strong word.”
“He gave you permission to bed me but not to kiss me?”
“He said a man like me could certainly benefit from having a man like you by his side.”
“That’s not even close to what you claimed he said.”
With every sharp answer and every new accusation, Margrave Jobst could feel his desire growing. How did Liechtenstein know this would work? He barely knew him; met him in person for the first time only yesterday, and yet he could already tell just what the Margrave would let slide and what he would overlook. To accuse a man of his stature of being dishonest was hardly a good idea, and yet Liechtenstein appeared to have full confidence in his words and did not seem scared of repercussions in the slightest.
“You still haven’t answered me, John.”
He almost fully expected Liechtenstein to tease him again and pretend that he’d forgotten already what this part of the conversation was initially about, but John defied his expectations yet again.
“Do you truly believe a misjudged kiss could end an alliance?”
“I’m sure it has happened before.”
“What is one kiss in the grand scheme of things?” Liechtenstein’s lips curled up mischievously.
“Trouble is, John, it would not stop at one kiss.”
The Margrave never knew one could get such pleasure from just talking about kissing someone, rather than doing it.
“Oh ?” John feigned surprise so well, with his eyebrows raised and his eyes wide open, as if he’d just heard the most outrageous news. “And where would it stop, Margrave?”
“Just where you would let me.”
The younger man’s lips seemed to tremble lightly.
Now was the time for the aforementioned kiss, Jobst thought. Right now. Liechtenstein challenged him to do it, and he was ready -
He leaned closer, but just in that moment, John turned his head, making the Margrave stop in his tracks. Maybe he was getting ahead of himself, after all.
He felt a tug of tension in his lower abdomen.
Not an unpleasant feeling at all.
He still sighed with slight frustration over not getting what he desired.
Liechtenstein smiled, satisfied with the knowledge of having the upper hand. “What do you plan to do then, Sir? Abduct me from the house when everyone is asleep?”
Two could play this game, Jobst reminded himself. Looking at Liechtenstein, he was becoming just an aging fool infatuated by the perfect shape of John’s lips and the sparkle in his eyes. What kind of devilish charm did the young noble possess that made the Margrave forget himself? He cleared his throat, taking sweet time to answer the question with his own. “Is it an abduction if you follow me willingly and your family does not object?”
“Are you sure I would follow willingly?”
“I think you would.” Drawing an example from the way Liechtenstein was shifting the conversation away from the initial topics, he added: “I think you’re enjoying this conversation as much as I am.”
“What makes you think so, Margrave?”
“You would not be wasting your time on something that doesn’t bring joy.”
“See? You already know me so well, Sir.”
“I would like to get to know you even better.”
Liechtenstein held his head high, as one does when receiving military orders.
What more was there to be said? Jobst felt like he had made his intentions clear, and Liechtenstein agreed, in principle. All that was missing was the final confirmation. The coveted yes.
“So? Shall I go find your uncle and tell him you’ll be staying here in Brno, per my request?”
“My uncle is an old man.”
The Margrave raised his eyebrows, surprised at the sudden diversion, but he decided to follow John’s direction anyway. “So I noticed.”
“He only has one daughter and no sons.”
“I am well aware of the fact.”
“He won’t be around forever.”
“I understand, John.”
“My brothers and I obliged ourselves never to split the family estates and to work together.”
Margrave Jobst smirked. “A noble thought indeed.”
“What I want to say, Sir, is that having one Liechtenstein in your services equals the support of the whole family. Which I am certain you know.”
“I will consider it a welcome benefit of having you near me.”
Liechtenstein bowed his head in agreement, but the Margrave needed to hear it.
“Well, John, I’m sure this could be the beginning of a fruitful relationship.”
He took the young man by the hand. He was so close to his beautiful face, to his lips parted in surprise at Jobst's sudden movement, and to the lips that had been seducing him all along, that he felt tension throughout his entire body. “So?” he exhaled, fully realizing how desperate and impatient he had to appear now.
His heartbeat was deafening him. He, who was used to having anything and anyone he desired, felt backed into a corner by this young nobleman and his demeanor. How could Liechtenstein read him so perfectly, say the right words no matter how daring they were and what obscene images they transmitted, and still retain his insouciance? John seemed to embody all his thoughts and desires in the form of a very handsome man. It was as if he could somehow read his mind, guess his goals, and respond in such a way as to either avoid or reinforce the direction their conversation was taking, always staying one step ahead. Jošt couldn't shake the feeling that behind every word Lichtenstein uttered lay a cunning plan. Every reaction was calculated down to the last syllable, the last twitch of a muscle in his face, the last breath.
And he desperately wanted to catch up with him and tame him.
The thought that this young man has existed all along was ridiculous. Jobst knew for certain that he didn’t want to spend another day without him near.
He might have moaned when Liechtenstein licked his lips and leaned in closer, taking the Margrave by his elbow and mirroring his own previous stance. He let out an audible breath, which made the Margrave gasp. Liechtenstein’s touch left him completely undone, hanging on a last thread of will to keep at least some of his margravial dignity. He had to close his eyes to compose himself.
It took a few painstakingly long seconds, in which the Margrave held his breath, for John to finally speak.
“I’m all yours.”