“What on earth is going on?”Wyndham asked in a rough voice.
“Oh,” Roger said behind him.“I think it’s just Conrad…oh, and Sage, too.”He sounded relieved.“We thought there might be burglars.”
Conrad wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it must look—Sage and him being caught in the study in the middle of the night, completely naked, with several piles of fabric between them, all in various stages of cleanliness and dryness.But Sage’s eyes were wide and he remembered that the whole intent behind the late night jaunt had been to teach Sage how to swim in the privacy of darkness.
“I do apologize for alarming you,” he said as smoothly as he was able.“And for making myself at home in your study.I promise I would never have been so presumptuous if it hadn’t been an emergency.”
Roger bustled past Wyndham into the room, and Conrad realized that the bright light had been a cluster of lights over their heads, not from a spectacularly strong lamp as he’d previously thought.
“Of course you’re welcome to use whatever you need,” Roger said warmly.Then he seemed to register that Conrad was naked for he blushed, gave a little squeak, and averted his eyes.Then he noticed that Sage was naked as well, glanced back at his husband, and then pushed up his glasses distractedly.“Oh my,” he muttered.He rallied a little and focused on Conrad’s face.“But what was the emergency?Is everyone all right?”
“Oh yes,” he said, smiling.“Sage and I had such a nice time at the lake today that we decided it would be fun to revisit.Then we ran into a spot of trouble and our clothes did not come out as dry and clean as we’d hoped.”
Wyndham made a low sound of acknowledgement.“Roger and I have visited the lake for many an evening swim.”
“Indeed,” Roger said, beaming at them.“It’s very romantic.”
Sage cleared his throat and then picked up the clothes that had passed muster.“Yes, well, Conrad was kind enough to offer his assistance in cleaning my clothes.I was quite alarmed by the state of them.”
“I can imagine,” Wyndham said.
Sage looked up and the two men exchanged a small look of—understanding?Camaraderie?Conrad couldn’t entirely decipher it, but he couldn’t help the warm feeling of pride that grew in his chest at the sight.
Roger didn’t seem to notice.He looked from the wet clothes to Conrad, wringing his hands.“Did you say you had a spot of trouble at the lake?What happened?I hope none of the wildlife did anything.”
Conrad chuckled.“No, nothing like that.There was an unexpected gust of wind.It blew everything off the dock and Sage’s clothes off the tree.It was very strange.”
Wyndham’s expression seemed to sharpen.He stepped farther into the room and waved his hand in a lazy fashion, causing all of the candles Conrad had lit to blaze a little brighter.The lights around his head disappeared.“Very interesting,” he said, shutting the door behind him.“You’ve certainly piqued my curiosity.”
Conrad shrugged.“I’m afraid I can’t offer much more than that.It felt strong like magic.But I can’t feel magic, you know.So I can’t tell you anything else.It was powerful.I know that much.”
Wyndham looked pensive.“What were you doing when it happened?”
Conrad glanced at Sage for permission.
Sage heaved a sigh.“We were kissing.”
Wyndham’s mouth quirked.“Isee.”
Roger clasped his hands together at his chest.“That’s very romantic.”
Conrad smiled.“It was quite lovely.Unfortunately, the gust, or wind, or whatever it was, cut the evening rather short.”He gestured to the collection of completed spells and the piles of fabric.“As you can see.”
“Our staff can take care of all of this,” Roger said.“You needn’t do it.Especially after such an exciting night.”
“Nevertheless, I promised Sage his clothes would be safe.I’d like to make good on my word, if you don’t mind my using your study for the project.”
Roger’s smile was full of understanding.“Of course I don’t mind.Please use whatever you need.”
Wyndham was watching Sage with a thoughtful expression.Sage hadn’t moved from his seat on the chaise lounge, although he’d gone back to having his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, and he was carefully avoiding making eye contact with anyone.
“Perhaps,” Roger said after a long pause, “it might be advisable to finish cleaning everything up in the morning?I imagine you’ll be much sharper then, and it’ll certainly be easier to see your work.”
Conrad glanced at Sage again.Sage seemed to feel it because he turned his head to look up at him, and gave a small nod.
“Thank you,” Conrad said to Roger.“We’ll take your suggestion.It’s very kind of you.”
“You can leave everything here,” Roger continued.“The servants know not to do anything in this room unless we specifically request it.”
