The two made their way out to the stables and requested their horses be made ready. Low's eyes strayed to the hayloft before they turned away back towards the house. His cheeks were red as his mind flashed back to the scene he had once seen up in the wooden area between a serving maid and the groom that now led Derry's horse out of a stall for tacking.

"Are you alright, Low?" Derry asked with a curious frown. Low cleared his throat and nodded with a small smile.

"Yes, of course. Let us go get into our riding clothes, shall we?" He gestured before them and they went into the manor. Low was unable to change his pace to get ahead of Derry on the stairs, and they had fallen into a silence. It was not uncomfortable, per se, but it was unusual for the two of them at present.

"I won't be but a minute." Derry commented as he turned to his door. Low blinked and nodded, continuing to his room. His head was in the clouds. He gulped as his minds eye chose to show him the broad, naked back of the man he just left. He took a deep breath and tried to wave away the stray image. It was not working very well.

His valet worked quickly to remove his morning suit and replace it with a suitable riding outfit. He had to repeatedly call upon his master to lift an arm or raise his leg, which was rather strange. Normally Low was eager enough to be riding that he anticipated the dance of changing sets of clothes, but today he was unbelievably distracted.

"Low? Are you all done?" The deep voice called from the door. Low blushed at his own inattentiveness. He was still in the midst of having his cravat tied into a waterfall of lace down the front of his throat.

"A minute!" He called back with a gulp. Derry poked his head into the room with a raised brow, since last time Low had been waiting at the top of the stairs for him. He saw the boy being helped into his jacket, and in a very flustered manner rather almost missing his armhole to put it on. He stifled a chuckle and ducked back out with a thoughtful look.

"Of course. I will wait by the stairs." He responded back. He was about to turn to do just that, when the door burst open. Low stood with his hat and gloves in his hands and his valet admonishing him as he ran away from the twitching fingers that tried to straighten his clothes.

"It's fine, man. Leave it be. I will just muss it up anyways." Low argued as he came out the door into the hall, brushing away the hands and blushing cutely up at him.

"Good choice. Blue is definitely your colour." He bowed a little and led the way down the hall to the stairs. They descended together. Low snuck glances over at his stately brother who wore a rather smart outfit in shades of grey. It set off his dark colouring very nicely. He blinked when they reached the front where the horses were waiting. Was he just... giving his brother a once over?

"Ready to go, sir?" The groom held his horse steady and gave it a pat on the neck. Low nodded and put his foot into the stirrup. After a quick hop, he flung his leg up over the horse's rump and settled into the saddle. His foot slipped into the other stirrup and he accepted the reins from the groom with a nod.

"All set?" Derry asked him with a grin. He grinned back and gave his horse a nudge. The grooms swiftly moved out of the way as the two men urged their horses down the lane at a quick pace. A farmhand jumped out of the way at the last second as the two laughingly barreled out of the front gate and down a side lane into the fields.

"Careful Derry! No killing the locals." He called out as his brother kept pace next to him. Lord Hart just laughed and urged his horse to go faster over the rolling hills. It was good that they knew the perfect routes for the horses to take from their many past outings. This time Low did not have to lead the way.

"Do you want to go for a swim?" He called out to Low as they came abreast of each other on the far side of the field.

"Isn't it a bit cold for that?" Low asked with a raised brow. Truthfully his head was warring between wanting to see Derry in his shirtsleeves, or less, and avoiding freezing himself to death for the opportunity.

"Ah! Says the spoiled young lord. Have you never had a cold bath before? Come on. It will be fun." Derry flashed such a mischievous grin that Low felt a sort of dread alongside his excitement. They walked their horses along the fence to a nearly overgrown laneway.

"Alright, if you insist." He turned down the lane to go to the larger lake on the edge of the property, instead of the smaller pond that was close to the house which he usually used. Lord Hart had to circle around to follow him through the tight passage between bushes and trees.

"Where are you going?" He asked curiously with his head tilted to the side in an effort to see past to the destination.

"You wanted to go swimming. The lake is closer than the pond by the house, so I am taking you there." Low murmured with an unreadable look back over his shoulder.

"Won't the lake be colder though?" Derry asked. Low laughed a little under his breath.

"Yes. What's the matter, Derry? Have you never had a cold bath before?" He mocked a little. Truthfully he thought the colder lake was perfect. Hopefully it would subdue his little growing problem. He shifted on his horse at the thought and pressed on at a quicker pace.

At the small clearing the two dismounted and Low wrapped his reins loosely around a small bush branch to discourage his horse from wandering off. The beast seemed content to snip the blades of grass nearby and nose at the bushes.

When he turned around, his brother Derry was already out of his coat and moving quickly to remove his riding breeches. Low sucked in a breath and looked away. He bit his lip before starting to remove his own jacket and cravat. When he glanced back though, his brother had removed his shirt as well.

"What are you doing?" He yelped a little as the man laughed and dove into the frigid water in nothing but his trousers. He pulled off his boots and stockings, hesitating as he stood now in only his shirt and trousers.

"If you don't take your shirt off it will be a cold ride back to the manor." Derry called out from the water. Low bit his lip and then pulled the fabric up over his head when he realised his brother was right. He shivered a moment before diving into the lake after him.

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! Oh my God it is cold!" He shouted when he broke the surface. Derry was laughing his arse off at the shocked expression on his little brother's face. Low growled at him and splashed him with the frigid water.

"Oh God. Your face! That was priceless." He howled with laughter as Low swam at him and tried to forcibly dunk him under the water in a half-hearted attempt to drown him.

"Shut up! You could have warned me it was like an ice box in here." He grumbled at Derry. He just grinned mischievously and pulled Low under by his leg. Low spluttered and chased him a little deeper when he swam away.

"Now where would be the fun in that? I would have missed that fantastic expression on your face when you surfaced." He grinned and swam backwards, swiftly changing direction when Low lunged at him.

"I am going to drown you. It will save father having to disown you, don't you think?" Low joked with a narrowed look. Derry laughed uproariously and paused just long enough that Low was able to dunk him back.

"You cheeky little twat!" He surfaced with a splutter and they wrestled in the water for a few minutes, punctuated with laughter and the occasional cough from swallowing water. The cold and exercise tired them out quickly though and soon they were simply treading water. Derry watched him out of the corner of his eye. "Are you cold?"

Low's teeth were chattering a bit and his lips looked a touch blue. The younger boy blushed at the question and nodded. He looked towards the distant shore and then swam over to him. Low looked at him cautiously as he approached, but he went at a leisurely pace and smiled benignly.

"You aren't going to dunk me again, are you?" He asked with a trembling voice from the cold. Derry snickered and shook his head no.

"No. Come here." He pulled on Low's arm and wrapped his brother in a warm embrace as his feet kept them up in the water. He synchronised his kicks with the other as they tread water, holding the younger boy against his chest until he didn't hear his teeth chattering anymore.

"We should head for shore." Low mumbled, a shudder running through his body as he felt the warm breath that breezed across his neck.

"Are you still too cold?" Derry asked concerned, rubbing his hands over the slick skin of Low's arms and tucking him more firmly against his front as he leaned back in the water to float them to the shore. Surprisingly though, Low shook his head.

When they were a short distance to shore, Derry put his feet down to touch the bottom. Low turned in his arms and was looking at him with an unreadable expression again. Derry stopped walking and tilted his head in question. He stiffened as he suddenly felt Low's hands snake around his back and trace across one of the lines permanently drawn there.

"Do they hurt?" Low asked innocently with a miserable expression suddenly crossing his face. Derry mutely shook his head.

"No. Not anymore." He whispered, stroking a hand down the man's face to comfort him. Low closed his eyes and shuddered, both hating and relishing the touch. He shouldn't feel this way. It was so very wrong. "I am sorry you had to see them."

"I'm not." Low retorted quickly. "Now I am not in the dark. My eyes are opened."

"There are kinder ways to do that. I wish you had not been exposed to such ugliness." Derry looked away with a frown. Low pressed himself forward into a fierce hug, tucking his face into the crook of his neck.

"You are not ugly though. You are beautiful. Father is the ugly one. Such hate will always be more horrid than your scars." He told his brother honestly. Derry gulped and wrapped his arms around him to hug him back.

"Thank you." He whispered, resting his head against Low's comfortably. Low shifted and trembled again as he took in the feel of the firm, wet man in his arms. He didn't want to let go. No matter how painfully his mind was screaming at him, he wanted every second to stretch out with him in his arms. He shuddered again as Derry's hand ghosted over his back in a comforting gesture. He felt him try to move away and held on tight.

"No, don't go." Low whimpered.

"If you are cold, then we should get out and go home to get warm." Derry said as he stroked his back.

"I'm not cold." Low insisted, keeping his head ducked to avoid his brother's gaze. His cheeks were pinked with a blush as he contemplated his current problem. Apparently cold water was not as good of a deterrent as he had hoped for his now big problem.

"Don't lie to me Low. You are shivering like a leaf." He said with a hint of laughter to his voice. Low shook his head, his face getting redder by the moment and the heat in his body refusing to dissipate.

"I'm not lying." He muttered, raising his head to stare at Derry with a serious expression. God in heaven his brother was beautiful. He took in the slicked back hair that fell in a tousle of strands to the water. The faint smile that crossed those firm lips was enchanting. His muscles gleamed with droplets of water and slid against him sensually in the water.

"What is it?" Derry asked, his smile falling from his lips at the strange look. Low gulped. In his mind he felt his resistance crumbling into rubble before the onslaught of his feelings.

"Father sent the wrong son away." He admitted with a murmur before giving in and rushing forward. He saw Derry's surprised look for all of a second before he closed his eyes and smashed his lips onto the strong masculine ones before him.

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