Call It Love

By Kristian Parker

FROM EXCITING AUTHOR OF LGBTQIA ROMANCE KRISTIAN PARKER

Book two in the Speak Its Name series

Charlie didn't believe in love...until he set himself free.

It's 1922 and after his house guest Frank Harris ran away with the under-butler, Charlie Fitzwilliam has been summoned to face the music. With the vindictive butler Bennett now watching his every move and his father planning out his life for him, Charlie finally faces up to who he is and makes a bid for freedom.

Alone for the first time in his life, he meets Michael Leonard, a kind, caring bookseller. Convinced that sex with men is only for fun, Charlie experiences a summer of self-discovery that takes him to the English seaside, the doorstep of old friends and the arms of a lover who shakes his whole belief system.

But disowned by his parents and cut off from the life he knew, can Charlie make a future for himself...and will Michael be a part of it? Is this affair something that can be called love?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Pride Publishing
• Release date: Mar 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9781839431821

Kristian Parker

I have written for as long as I could write. In fact, before, when I would dictate to my auntie. I love to read, and I love to create worlds and characters. I live in the English countryside. When I’m not writing, I like to get out there and think through the next scenario I’m going to throw my characters into. Inspiration can be found anywhere, on a train, in a restaurant or in an office. I am always in search of the next character to find love in one of my stories. In a world of apps and online dating, it is important to remember love can be found when you least expect it.

Book preview

Pride Publishing books by Kristian Parker

Speak Its Name

To Light a Fire

Collections

My Bloody Valentine: Venetian Valentine

Sun, Sea and Spotted Squid

Speak Its Name

CALL IT LOVE

KRISTIAN PARKER

Call It Love

ISBN # 978-1-83943-182-1

©Copyright Kristian Parker 2022

Cover Art by Claire Siemaszkiewicz ©Copyright March 2022

Interior text design by Claire Siemaszkiewicz

Pride Publishing

This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the publisher, Pride Publishing.

Applications should be addressed in the first instance, in writing, to Pride Publishing. Unauthorised or restricted acts in relation to this publication may result in civil proceedings and/or criminal prosecution.

The author and illustrator have asserted their respective rights under the Copyright Designs and Patents Acts 1988 (as amended) to be identified as the author of this book and illustrator of the artwork.

Published in 2022 by Pride Publishing, United Kingdom.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the authors’ rights. Purchase only authorised copies.

Pride Publishing is an imprint of Totally Entwined Group Limited.

If you purchased this book without a cover you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as unsold and destroyed to the publisher and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this stripped book.

Book two in the

Speak Its Name series

Charlie didn’t believe in love…until he set himself free.

It’s 1922 and after his house guest Frank Harris ran away with the under-butler, Charlie Fitzwilliam has been summoned to face the music. With the vindictive butler Bennett now watching his every move and his father planning out his life for him, Charlie finally faces up to who he is and makes a bid for freedom.

Alone for the first time in his life, he meets Michael Leonard, a kind, caring bookseller. Convinced that sex with men is only for fun, Charlie experiences a summer of self-discovery that takes him to the English seaside, the doorstep of old friends and the arms of a lover who shakes his whole belief system.

But disowned by his parents and cut off from the life he knew, can Charlie make a future for himself…and will Michael be a part of it? Is this affair something that can be called love?

Dedication

To JenJen. The miles separate us but you’re still a wonder, you big galar.

Trademark Acknowledgements

The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of the following wordmarks mentioned in this work of fiction:

Chamber of Horrors: Madame Tussauds

Claridge’s: The Maybourne Hotel Group

KY Jelly: Reckitt Benckiser Group plc

Lyon’s Tea Room: J. Lyons & Co.

Paradise Lost: John Milton

Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen

Scrooge: Charles Dickens

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Oscar Wilde

Chapter One

I threw the ball with the top spin that had sent our team to the top of the league last term. It flew past Mateus’ head and smashed into the wickets.

Oh, well done, Charlie, shouted my mother from the sidelines. Nothing would have persuaded her to roll up her sleeves and join in. I smiled across and waved.

Time for a break, said a breathless Tilly, my baby sister. She couldn’t have been any different from my mother if she’d tried and had instantly plumped for the back stop, tucking her skirts between her legs.

We wandered across to the table where mother held court to our host, Domingos Graça. He lapped up her brand of flirtation and would laugh uproariously every time she gave him a little bit of gossip from London.

I picked up a glass of whatever they had served and took in the view. Vineyards stretched as far as the eye could see, rolling down the hill to the river. We were in the Douro Province in the north-east of Portugal—Port was big business in these parts, and the Graça family were the kings of their castle.

Their villa loomed behind us, proclaiming to all the rewards of their labour.

She put you to work immediately? Hard luck, old chap. Agnes had sidled up next to me without any noise. She had always been able to do that, even when we were small.

It’s good to see you, sis.

You too. She planted a firm kiss on my cheek. At least I’ll have some fun now. Mummy and Daddy’s crusade for cash is getting embarrassing.

I turned to see my mother and Tilly regaling the Graças with yet another story.

Tilly is doing the work for all of us.

She thinks she’s getting the youngest boy, the one you nearly decapitated with your demon bowl just now. She isn’t. He hasn’t given her a second glance. Poor soul.

Tilly had always been the odd one out. Two years separated me and Agnes, but Tilly was a surprise after my parents had taken a boat to India. We’d been sent away to school by the time she came along.

Where’s Father? Agnes asked.

I couldn’t even bear to think about it. He’s locked away in his room with Bennett. They’ve been in there ever since Bennett and I arrived this morning.

It had been two weeks since I had thrown my schoolfriend Frank Harris out of our house in England after one of our maids had caught him in a compromising position with an under-butler. I’d spent that time skulking around the house, ignoring the whispers from most of the staff.

And how did you find travelling with Bennett? Naughty Charlie can’t be trusted on his own, Agnes said, a twinkle in her eye.

Bennett hated anyone in this world who wasn’t my father, and my uneasiness at him being a part of this trip had built as each day passed. He had been smugness personified, attending to my every need but always with an undertone of insolence.

A bloody bore.

We strolled along the edge of the lawn. Agnes took my arm, and I realised I’d missed my sister.

Come on, then. What the hell were you doing?

I absentmindedly kicked the head off a wildflower that had dared to invade this garden of order.

I didn’t do anything. I stupidly invited Frank Harris to stay, and he ends up buggering the help.

Agnes laughed. And I suppose you were in bed reading your Bible.

If you must know, I was entertaining Elsie.

Agnes stopped and scowled. That common little tart from the shop? Oh, Charlie, you can do better than that, can’t you?

Of course I can, but you know, any port in a storm.

We carried on walking. The breeze was a blessed relief as the sun grew high in the sky. I hoped there were more sedate activities planned for the afternoon.

Port. Agnes growled. I’m sick to death of hearing about it, drinking it, examining it. You’d think it was sent by God himself.

It wasn’t like Agnes to be so cranky. Mother and Father had impressed upon us the importance of this trip. If we didn’t get our hands on a sizeable share of the Graças’ business, we would struggle to keep our house in the Oxfordshire countryside. Since the war had decimated the workforce, farms were struggling to pay