William’s tears became frantic laughter, all while Edward looked down at him, studying every nuance of conflicting emotion.
I am not mad. I am not mad.
Edward took a moment to reply, gaze flickering across William’s face, drinking him all in.
“The way I think about you is the furthest thing from crazy, William Thorn. In fact, I believe you,” Edward said finally, and a weight that William didn’t even know was on his shoulders lifted. “I believe you saw something that frightened you.”
“You do?”
He nodded, shooting a cautious glance to the stairs behind him. “Shall we take this conversation somewhere else?”
Such casual words for such a chaotic time.
“I’d like that,” William replied, because all he wanted to do was put as much distance between himself and the attic as possible. Hell, the entire manor if that was possible. “If my ankle isn’t ruined!”
“Steady then, lean on me for support and let me take your weight, okay? I’ll check on it when we get you onto the sofa.”
William sniffled softly. “Okay.”
Edward attempted to get William off the floor, but William winced as he put weight on his left ankle. He hissed in pain, slumping against Edward’s shoulder for support. He had, William noticed, a very strong shoulder built from that type of surprising muscle that one wouldn’t notice when a person was clothed. William was glad for the support.
“Lucky for you, I’ve got a level two first-aid certification under my belt,” Edward said, offering his sarcasm as an attempt to give him comfort. “Although it was given at Scouts, maybe over twenty years ago now, I’m still the most qualified person here to have a look at it.”
William’s sarcasm came thick and fast. “WhatwouldI do without you?”
“That’s a very good question,” Edward replied, taking the brunt of William’s weight as they made it down the final staircase to the bottom floor. “I think you’d have sleepwalked all the way back to London on your first night, so maybe this would’ve never happened.”
“Maybe.”
William couldn’t hold back the laugh even if he wanted to. As the final dregs of adrenaline faded away like smoke on the wind, he found his emotions conflicting and confusing. He was frightened, scared to fucking shit actually, but also hysterical from what he’d just been through. Not matter how he wanted it to be otherwise, he couldn’t ignore just how calm Edward’s presence made him. Just how much he needed it… that was the most shocking revelation of all.
Not the potential of ghosts, but the idea that William had softened enough to let someone else in.
As they made it into the back living room, the one William had found Robert’s journal in, he noticed a pile of objects dropped haphazardly on the hallway floor. Edward had clearly got back to Hanbury just in the nick of time. All of his belongings waited in a haphazard pile, completely forgotten by Edward, who didn’t even spare it a glance as they passed.
William had noticed. There was something strange upon the mound which caught his eye. It was a board. Similar to a gameboard he’d have found buried in the family cabinet back at home. Except the markings on Edward’s board were like nothing William had seen before. He caught the warped words of ‘yes’ and ‘no’ in bold swirling writing at the top before he rounded into the living room, and the view was taken from him.
Odd, William thought. Why would Edward bring a game to Hanbury if he thought he was going to be alone?
“Luckily for you, your ankle isn’t broken or sprained. I think it’s just some surface-level bruising. At most it will hurt for a few days, but nothing that’ll put you out for too long,” Edward said, patting William’s foot on an elevated pillow between them. “You’ll need to be careful on it. No more falling downstairs, preferably.”
“Aye, aye, Doctor.”
“Well,” Edward straightened, unable to hide the blush from his cheeks. “I could get used to that title. Add that to the list you were gathering.”
“Already done.” William’s relief from the pain was short lived as he shuffled on the sofa, trying to reposition himself in the sinking material. “Consider it placed to the top of that list.”
The corner of Edward’s lip quirked up, highlighted by the glow of the fire he’d just lit across the room. The tongue of orange-red flame toyed with the sharp planes of his jaw and high cheekbones. He was, for all intents and purposes, a very handsome man. Which in itself was an impressive conclusion considering William hadn’t thought of another man like that in a long time.
“Silver linings and all, but maybe this will stop the sleepwalking,” Edward said, eyes roaming over William in search of more wounds. If he lifted Edward’s shirt, he’d find the side of his body bruised black and blue. However, William wasn’t about to undress for him.
“As I’ve already told you, sleepwalking is not a common occurrence in my life,” William said, his arse growing numb from sitting in the same position for so long. “But I hope you’re right.”
“Shall we unpack that… talk about what the possible cause of your new behaviour is…”
William recognised that Edward had just opened the door to the conversation with his question. So, since there was nothing else to do, he walked straight into it. There was no point pretending everything was fine now, not after what they’d both experienced.
“A therapist too? You really are rather impressive, Edward.”
