CHAPTER37
CONRAD
The morningof the not-so-secret secret party, Conrad stayed in bed longer than usual, reluctant to lose the weight of Sage beside him.Sage seemed to notice.
“Aren’t you going to breakfast?”he asked sleepily.
“In a minute,” Conrad assured him.
Sage hummed and nuzzled against his neck.“I’ve finally won you over to the idea of morning leisure, have I?”
Conrad laughed and turned his head to kiss him.“If I understand correctly, tonight marks the official end of our house party.Which means this idyllic experience will soon be over.”
Sage went still.“But we’ll still see each other in London.”
“Yes, of course.But we won’t be able to wander down to breakfast with the others like we do now.There won’t be any more picnics or swimming in the lake.I’ll miss it, that’s all.”
“I can’t say I’ll miss all ofthat,” Sage muttered.“And there’s still plenty of entertainment to be had in London.Arguably more entertainment to be had.”
“Really?”
“Oh, yes.I quite hate the country.”
“What do I have to look forward to in London, then?”
“I’ll show you the opera, of course.And we can go riding in Hyde Park now that you know how to ride.And there will be garden parties and dinner parties.You now have a number of people to call on for tea whenever you feel like pestering people—or visiting them, depending on your point of view.I’d love to show you Vauxhall Gardens.”
“I’ve heard about that one,” Conrad said, excited.“Is it true they have fairy lights in the trees?”
“Mmhmm,” Sage said, bussing his lips over Conrad’s skin.“And lanterns over the dance floor.Fireworks sometimes.And a number of little nooks and crannies for salacious goings on.”
“Sounds exciting.”
Sage kissed him.Conrad wanted dearly to ask if they would still be pretending when they were in London, but he didn’t quite dare.The whole scheme had been Sage’s idea from the start.He was determined to let him be the one to change the rules when he was ready.
“So you see, nothing to mourn at the end of this party.I’d say your fun has just begun,” Sage said when he pulled away.
“Quite right,” Conrad replied with a grin.“Thank you for pulling me out of my brief spell of melancholy.”
“You do melancholy very poorly.”
He laughed.“Very true.Shall we go down to breakfast?”
Sage groaned.“I shouldn’t have said anything at all.”
Conrad traced his cheek with a fingertip.“I’ll miss waking up with you beside me.”
Sage sobered and then he nipped at Conrad’s finger with his teeth before sitting up.“If you think I won’t sneak into whatever bed you’re renting, you’re woefully mistaken.You won’t get rid of me that easily.”
Conrad beamed and hopped out of bed.“I’m delighted to hear it.”
When they reached the breakfast room, they found Roger in an evident state of nerves and everyone else in an evident state of trying to soothe Roger’s nerves while simultaneously pretending like they didn’t know why he was so nervous.It would have been amusing if it wasn’t so difficult to see Roger anxious.
Conrad and Sage took their usual seats and contributed to forcing an air of cheerfulness.Conrad was almost surprised by Sage’s efforts until he remembered that the man had been helping Roger with the planning.He’d likely gained a great deal of experience in soothing the man’s nerves in the past month.
When Roger’s valet entered the room and leaned down to whisper in Roger’s ear, Roger brightened, glanced at Conrad, and then left the room.He came back less than ten minutes later and said, “Conrad, there’s someone here to see you.”
Bemused, Conrad followed him down the hall and into a small sitting room.“Just be yourself,” Roger whispered, before ushering him inside.Then he straightened and said in a more formal voice, “Father, I’d like you to meet Mr.Conrad Moore.Mr.Moore, please allow me to introduce my father, Mr.Norman Barnes.He’s the Head of the Council for the human side.”
