Free Lamplight in the Shadows by Robert Jaggs-Fowler Page A

Yorkshire
    November
    â€˜Well then, Dr Armstrong, here’s to the future and may the practice be prosperous so that you can keep your little brother in the manner to which he is accustomed.’
    James grinned and raised his glass in response to his brother’s toast.
    Jules had travelled up from London for a few days and was staying with James in Barminster. He had actually been christened Julian, but from his mid-teens had insisted that everyone should refer to him as Jules, proclaiming it as ‘far more befitting a man about town, darling’. He was two years younger than James but taller and with a debonair manner that charmed, within moments of meeting, all who came across him. He owned a small pied-à-terre in Chelsea and ran a well-known jeweller’s shop within the Royal Exchange in the heart of the City of London.
    â€˜I think I would have to be working in Harley Street in order to support you.’
    It was Jules’ turn to grin.
    â€˜Well, a small monthly allowance wouldn’t go amiss. It will be put to
very
good use, I can assure you.’
    â€˜I am sure that it would!’ replied James, laughing. ‘Perhaps you would prefer if I simply opened an account for you at one or two of your favourite watering holes?’
    â€˜Well, now, that’s an
excellent
idea, brother. I shall see to it that a glass is raised to your health on each and every occasion.’
    James laughed again. He knew only too well his brother’s proclivity for living the high life. If Jules suggested going for a drink, he would have nothing less in mind than a bottle of champagne at the Ritz or a cocktail or two at the Café Royale in Regent Street.
    As two brothers who grew up together in the heart of Kent, life had taken them in very different directions. Whilst James had burnt the midnight oil with his nose buried in book after book, Jules had forsaken such scholarly pursuits in search of more leisurely ways to burn the midnight oil. That said, he had done very nicely for himself, being well connected socially and having held a string of high-profile positions within the retail sector of the City and Mayfair. The fact that he was gay had never been an issue. On the contrary, it was something he frequently played to his advantage as it lent well to his suave, sophisticated character. Although they rarely saw each other, maybe three or four times per year, they were very close and easily continued their relationship from where they last left off, as though it were just last week when they were last in each other’s company.
    Earlier that day James had shown Jules around Bishopsworth. True to form, he had arrived slightly earlier than expected and had caused quite a stir amongst the receptionists upon introducing himself at the surgery. James could quite understand why. Leaving his consulting room, he was greeted by the sight of his brother dressed in a very long cashmere coat with a large sable collar, wearing a beautifully shaped Borsalino hat from Herbert Johnson’s, and clutching leather gloves and a silver-topped cane in his right hand. The diamond and ruby encrusted tiepin, assorted rings and a couple of gold bracelets simply added to the movie-star effect. James had laughingly greeted him with a warm embrace and a kiss to both cheeks.
    â€˜You really should have been christened Sebastian,’ James had said, once more reminded of his brother’s similarity to Sebastian Flyte, the young aristocratic character in Evelyn Waugh’s novel
Brideshead Revisted
.
    Jules had merely grinned, well knowing the effect his outfit would cause amongst what he considered to be the backwaters of the country, which was anywhere outside London, as far as he was concerned.
    They were now dining together in one of Barminster’s better restaurants. Le Caveau
featured for several years in the
Good Food Guide
and was one of James’ favourites. It
was unusual insomuch as it was, as its name