“Perhaps,” he said.“But if I am mad for wanting to see you, then I will wear the title with honor.”
Sage hummed.“There are too many madmen in London as it is.We should probably pick a different designation for you, if you wish to have one so badly.”
“Very well.Let me know what you decide.”Conrad stepped away and took his hand again.“In the meantime, I thought it would be nice to walk through the garden together.I only got to see a little bit of it when Roger brought me to collect some materials for our spells.”
“Roger would be able to identify what you are looking at far better than I ever could.He has dozens of those illustrated books about plant life on his shelves.”For a fae, he knew shamefully little about such things.
Conrad chuckled.“That would be far less romantic, though.”
Sage’s magic shimmered in his chest.
Together, they ambled through the garden for hours, following each path several times as they talked.Whenever they found a bench, they sat for a while.Sage found that he liked it very much when Conrad allowed him to hold their hands in his lap, tracing his fingertips lightly over the bend of Conrad’s knuckles.In the fading afternoon light, Sage discovered a scar on one of them, and he asked to hear the story of how he’d earned it.When Conrad was done telling him, Sage lifted his hand and placed a gentle kiss on the spot.
They enjoyed each other’s company until dinner was called, when they reluctantly rejoined the party for what Sage knew was coming: a fresh wave of teasing remarks about their extended time in the garden.However, to his surprise, he found that he almost did not mind them as much as he had before.All he had to do was look at Conrad for a reassuring grin.
“Apologies if you found the bench near the willow at all unsound,” Emrys said at last with a smirk.“There is a possibility that it wassat ona bit too roughly a couple of evenings ago.”
Torquil rolled their eyes with a grin as everyone else around the table expressed various sounds of anguish.
“Oh good,” Keelan said with a sigh of relief.“I thought we might’ve been the ones to—” he stopped suddenly, realizing what he was saying a bit too late.His blush was instant as he hid his face against Silas.
Wyndham appeared thoroughly rankled by their antics in his place at the head of the table.He took a slow sip of wine and reclined in his seat just far enough that his head met the high back of his chair.
“Someone is counting the days until we all go home,” Sage commented.Wyndham shifted his gaze so their eyes met.He was silent for a moment before his focus returned to his wine.
“You have absolutely no idea,” he agreed.
