Thor returned to their chambers in the early afternoon to find Thomas lying in bed reading a book. He locked the door to the bedroom and started removing his clothes.

"Get naked." Thor ordered. Thomas sat forward and removed his robe and was naked in mere seconds. "Touch yourself." Thor said as he continued to undress. Thomas took his shaft in hand stroking it while meeting Thor's gaze.

"Scoot forward darling. I'm taking that over." Thor moved to sit behind Thomas on the bed, leaning back against the headboard, then allowing Thomas to lean back against him. Thor reached around and stroked his cock, enjoying the skin to skin contact where his chest and his back connected. His hand moved lazy, feeling the heft of the flesh as it grew stiff. Thomas keened and his eyes fluttered closed.

"Tell me about yourself Thomas. I know so little."

"Mmm…What would you like to know?"

"Your childhood, what was it like?" Thor asked. Thomas shivered as his pleasure built. It was fogging his mind and he couldn't concentrate on what he should and should not say.

"Didn't have one." He said.

"Why not?" Thor reached his other hand down to massage his balls, playing with their weight.

"Father died when I was young. Mother died a few years later."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Who raised you?"

"Lucille. We were shut away in the attic like a dirty secret. When our mother died we were separated to different boarding schools. We didn't reunite until I graduated." Thomas gasped and panted. Thor returned a hand to Thomas's chest, feeling it bounce up and down with his labored breaths. His heart was fluttering.

"How many years did the house sit empty?"

"Seven years." Thomas said.

"What happened to your family fortune?"

"Father…spent most of it gambling. We survived on what little was left when he died. Mother had to fire all the servants."

"Who paid for your boarding school?"

"An old friend of my father's. He benefited from his gambling addiction and felt guilty."

"And when you finished school you were sent home to an empty house, save Lucille. What did she do to survive while she waited for you?"

"I had to fetch her from her boarding school. It was a convent." Thomas said.

"Ah, the nuns were keen to keep her were they?" Thor asked. Thomas keened.

"Yes."

"You are so beautiful like this. You fall apart so easily under my touch."

"Thor…"

"Yes darling?"

"Kiss me." Thomas said to keep Thor from asking more questions. He did not trust himself in his current state. Thor obliged, pressing velvet hungry lips to needy searching ones. Thomas was so close. His back arched and his hands gripped the sheets, desperate for an anchor to keep him grounded. Thor swallowed his moan when he came, caressing his neck. Thomas sank his full weight onto Thor as his orgasm abated. Limp and sated his vision cleared and he started to panic about the things he confessed while being manipulated.

"Daddy is needing attention too. I want your mouth on me again." Thor said. Thomas turned round and moved down to position himself. Thor was fully erect and his straining cock was red with passion. He swallowed him down dutifully, though his considerable girth made it difficult. Thor ran his fingers through those raven locks again. Thomas made eye contact this time right away and even got playful. He pulled off Thor completely at one point to display a hair thin line of cum connecting from the tip of Thor's dick to the tip of his tongue. A little white pool had collected on the flat expanse.

Thor stopped Thomas right there. He grabbed his dick and gripped the back of Thomas's head harshly. "Keep your mouth open." He ordered and began jerking off. "Hold your tongue out baby." Thor's beet red face and gritting teeth made him look like a feral animal. He grunted and pulled at his cock with a brutal pace until his cum splashed Thomas's face.

"Eat it! Eat my cum! Oh fuck lick it up. Yes." Thor said. White ribbons painted Thomas's face and he was forced to shut his eyes to avoid a direct shot. Thor finally let go of his hair, having nearly pulled out a clump of it.

"I'm going to go wash up." Thomas said. He left the room, and only then was able to grimace like he wanted. Eating cum was nasty business. No wonder Lucille refused to do it. He felt foul in his body and his soul. He turned on the shower and stepped in. He let his tears mingle with the hot shower water, stifling his sobs to keep Thor from hearing. Inside he questioned if any of this was worth it. Would it be better to just walk away from Allerdale altogether, give up his title and his name and become someone new? He was educated. He could become a secretary to a real noble that could afford to employ him. He certainly wouldn't have to suck dicks. He bit down on his finger to fight back his cries. Lucille would never allow it, nor could he bring himself to abandon her, his love. Lucille refused to give up her status as a Lady. It was one of the few things of value she had left. This was only the first day of the voyage. How in the hell was he going to make it?

When Thomas was certain he had regained his composure, he got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He headed back to the room only to find Thor had gone. He was relieved. He decided to dress though it was nearly evening. He was tired of reading and wanted to get some fresh air, and it was almost dinner time. Feeling fresh and clean he put on a nice suit and sought out his sister for a conference.

He walked the halls of the ship up to the deck where he was hit by the sweet salty air. The area was filled with people out for a stroll and Thomas did not see Lucille's face hovering in the crowd. He went inside and searched the drawing room, tea room, and library. He found her, along with Thor sitting near a gilded framed window enjoying chocolate biscuits and hot jasmine tea.

"It's a little too close to supper for that isn't it?" Thomas asked with good cheer.

"I was in the mood for something sweet." Lucille winked at Thor, making Thomas's face fall.

"Careful Lucille, your brother will feel torn between protecting his business interests and protecting you." Thor said with a chuckle.

"You two certainly are getting cozy with one another." Thomas said with an accusatory edge laced with jealousy. Indeed, their body language was canted towards one another and they were sitting close enough to touch. Thomas knew Lucille would have to play the part of the clueless lovesick sister at some point, he just wasn't expecting it to be so soon. The thought of Thor touching her intimately made his blood boil.

"Relax brother. Nothing has transpired…yet." She said.

"Or at all. Mr. Odinson should not be bogged down by emotional entanglements. It is unprofessional." Thomas said, making Lucille scowl and Thor a blank poker face.

"Nonsense brother. Do you wish me to remain a spinster for the rest of my life?"

"No, merely that you not gamble with our futures by mixing business with pleasure."

"I assure you Thomas, she is doing nothing of the sort. I am gentleman enough to understand and separate the two. And I am willful enough to resist the charms of a beautiful lady if I so choose." Thor's smile was pompous and full of ego. The inside joke between he and Thomas was almost too much for him. He bit back an acerbic retort.

"Oh is that so Mr. Odinson? Shall I be the one to woo you then?" Lucille asked.

"Perhaps. I do like flowers and chocolates." Thor said, making Lucille laugh out loud. It was a rich and joyous sound, though Thomas knew she was laughing because the chocolates would contain arsenic and the flowers would be for his coffin. "Come now, the dinner bell has sounded and I would not want to be the cause of a fight between you. Let us go eat a hearty meal and enjoy the company of our fellow passengers." Thor said.

"Very well." Thomas said. The three found their assigned seating in the dinner hall. It was Lucille's hope to be invited to dine at the Captain's table at least once during the voyage. The entire room glowed from the gold leaf gilding on every surface. Delicious smells of cooked seafood and roasted vegetables mixed with the smoke of candelabras and cigars. Wine, champagne, and brandy sloshed copiously in glasses of varying shapes and sizes. Situated between the Sharpe siblings, Thor regarded Thomas with a searching expression.

About halfway through the meal, Thor placed his hand on his thigh, rubbing small circles into the leg. It felt almost apologetic and clearly meant to induce arousal, as the rubbing crept higher up his leg. Thomas played it cool, not looking at Thor and keeping his gaze straight in front of him. He had his mask up, but his anger was still apparent. Thomas needed to talk to Lucille but couldn't, not with Thor always around. They needed time to compare notes to make sure both were consistent in their back stories. One well-timed question from Thor could spark a response from his sister that could expose them both.

"I say Sir Sharpe, the ladies on the ship were inquiring if there is a Mrs. Sharpe waiting for you at home?" Mrs. Havisham asked out of the blue. She and her coven of dragon ladies and their unfortunate daughters had all been cackling and henpecking near him. He hadn't paid the slightest attention to their conversations and now had been sucked into it.

"No. I do not." He replied.

"Oh? Surely a successful man with such an extinguished lineage will be of the mind to have sons?"

"I am a widower madam. So no, I am not." Thomas glared at the old meddling witch and watched her cower under his acidic gaze.

"Forgive my rudeness Sir, I did not realize you were in mourning." She said as her eyes raked up and down his teal colored suit. How was she to know? He wasn't wearing black.

Thomas dug his fingernails into his thigh as anger and more panic overwhelmed him. He'd just confessed to Thor and everyone that he had previously been married. If Thor got curious in the slightest all he had to do was make some inquiries and discover how recently and frequently he'd been to the altar. It could all come crashing down if he ever discovered the truth.

Thomas dared a glance in his and Lucille's direction. Thor looked at him with questioning yet sad eyes. Lucille wasn't looking at Thomas at all, but at Mrs. Havisham. She had that look she got right before the meat clever came down. Thomas said nothing and returned his gaze to his dinner plate and kept it there until it was time to leave.

They all walked in silence back to their rooms before making their goodnights to one another.

"Good night Thomas. Sleep well." Lucille said.

"You as well sister. I love you." He said, his fists balled in frustration as he held back the urge to touch her intimately.

"I love you too brother. Good night Mr. Odinson." Lucille said.

"Good evening My Lady." Thor said. When their door shut behind them, the apologies began.

"Forgive me Thomas, I did not realize." Thor said.

"I lied. Do not worry yourself so much. I only said that to shut up that plotting match-making old witch." Thomas said, a smile still vacant from his face.

"You're angry with me."

"Yes."

"Do you think I am using you to get to your sister?"

"I don't know? Are you? What are your intensions towards her?"

"I like you Thomas. I like you a great deal. We've only enjoyed each other's company a day and I am already pondering ways in which we can remain together."

"You can't use her. Such a betrayal would break her heart. I won't allow it." Thomas said, knowing full well he was undermining Lucille's long term plans to marry him, murder him, and inherit all that he had.

"What if it wasn't betrayal? What if we told her?"

"To what end?"

"It is rare for two men like us to find each other, let alone maintain a lasting love and relationship. I can only use the guise of an investment to keep me in England for so long. Eventually, I would need to manufacture another reason to stay, not just in England, but at Allerdale Hall with you."

"You want to marry my sister to stay close to me?"

"Perhaps. It is a possibility, one that I did not plan on sharing with you until much later on, when I was more sure…about you. But Lucille approached me today, declaring her affections for me."

"And what did you tell her?"

"I said, maybe."

"I love my sister. My allegiance will always be to her first and foremost before anyone else. She is my family. The only family I have ever had."

"I understand that Thomas. But I would ask you to enlarge that circle to include me as well. Perhaps Lucille would not be so opposed to a special arrangement if we asked her."

"What you propose is dangerous. For two men like us, if we are found out. We would go to prison." Thomas said.

"I know, and I know it is too early for these proclamations. I would simply ask that you keep it a possibility in the back of your mind. I know you feel it too Thomas. I couldn't miss your jealously when I flirted with her. I understand your desire not to share me with another, even your sister."

"I wasn't jealous." Thomas said.

"You're a terrible liar. If you had glared at me any harder, I would have turned to stone." Thor said.

Terrible liar, indeed.