Chapter 43
Claudio woke up groggy, his head half buried in his pillow.
Then he realised there was an arm around him, that the bed was his, and then where they were in a more general sense of the world.
He shifted warily, trying to figure out if anything had cramped up overnight.
The hand on his chest closed for a second, then opened before Matty nuzzled at the back of his shoulder. “M’ning.” It was mostly muffled.
“Morning,” Claudio didn’t try to rearrange himself. “You?” Then he had a muzzy memory of a nightmare, his father knotted up in it. Father having done something Claudio had to untangle, even though Father kept making it worse. “Did I— last night?”
“Nightmare or something.” Matty moved his head so his voice was clear. “You all right now?”
That was an excellent question, and not one Claudio was entirely able to answer. “Don’t know yet.” He let out a breath. “You?” There, maybe he’d get an answer.
Matty took his time answering. “Want the loo. Maybe a bath? Food. Not sure how all of that works here?”
“Ah.” Claudio did move at this point, wriggling toward the far side of the bed so Matty had space. “Bath, certainly. I could get a tray up here. Or we could go down.”
“Your mother?” Matty pushed up on one elbow. It was, of course, the most relevant concern. “Oh, and the Edgartons warned me last night. There’s going to be ferocious gossip. Do we need to worry about people looking in the windows or anything?”
“Portal’s warded. I’ll show you sometime today how to get through.
Otherwise, people can only get here the long way round by train.
In practice, they don’t. It’s a bother. Much easier for them to lurk somewhere else.
Outside the Ministry buildings tomorrow, for example.
We should talk about that more sometime today.
If we want to court gossip, we let them know we’ll be in Trellech later and take callers somewhere.
Probably Bourne’s for this. They’re used to it.
” He shrugged and added, “Father had opinions. In the particular case of warding against gossip, Father’s opinions were not actually wrong. ”
Matty snorted at that. “And your mother?”
“I’d rather go downstairs if you don’t mind. I’ll put myself between you and her. Besides, she’s not a duellist, and I’m faster with a silencing charm if it’s needed. But she’ll probably just be coldly polite.” Claudio paused, then asked. “Are you regretting the kiss last night?”
“What? No! Not at all. Talking to my mother about it is going to be all sorts of odd, though.” Matty pushed himself more upright, sitting on the bed. “I bet she’s going to be torn between horror that I’m— well. And that I’m seeing someone at the peak of Albion society.”
“Seeing, debating, bedding. Vigorously,” Claudio agreed, though he was smiling now. “You let me know if I can help with it, all right? Come round and look exceedingly presentable and all that?”
“You do clean up nicely.” Matty agreed. “I’m envious of that bit.”
“Oh, I can absolutely get you in with my tailor, if you like. Also Gabe’s tailor, so, you know, designed more for energetic magical work than you probably need, but he’s excellent at the tailoring, too.
” Claudio swung his legs out of bed. “Look, let me grab my kit from here, and I’ll use the other bath.
You lounge in this one. Take your time, I’ll write down for food in— how long? ”
“Forty minutes?” Matty craned his neck and peered at the clock.
“Is it that late? Half an hour. I’m starving.
” It was past nine, so that made sense. Claudio nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and went off to grab his necessary kit and a change of clothes, leaving Matty to the larger bath.
Half an hour later, he was in a shirt, tie, linen jacket, and slacks.
Matty came out of the bath wearing a sports coat and slacks and a rather delightful black tie with red boars on it.
“Mmmm.” Claudio looked him up and down, pleased. “You also clean up well. Making a point with the tie?”
“Possibly.” Matty took a breath, letting Claudio see him bracing. “Show me where we’re going?”
Claudio led them down the stairs, watching as Matty obviously felt the warding shift.
Mother was almost certainly either gone by now or sticking to her rooms. There was no sign of her in any of the shared spaces downstairs.
When they got to the dining room, however, Tiberius was waiting, sitting in one of the chairs by the window.
He stood up immediately. “Father. Matthew.”
“I didn’t expect to see you here still this morning. Everything all right?” Claudio glanced around. Normally, Tiberius would have been at his apprenticeship by now.
“They know. It’s fine. They’re expecting me by ten,” Tiberius hesitated.
“I wanted to make sure— I mean.” He faltered, then took a breath and dived into it.
"I just wanted to see you before anything else. To say I wish you happiness, and I hope that dealing with Grandmother isn’t—” He didn’t put an adjective of any form on the end of that.
“Thank you.” Claudio said it as warmly as he could. He’d been reminded last night just how much that mattered. “Thank you for coming last night. And to the party. It— it felt wonderful to have you there.”
“I’m going to go tell Minerva about it this afternoon.
Special visit.” Tiberius hesitated for a moment, then went on.
“Um. Mother said there’s already gossip.
There will be more in the evening paper.
They’ve been on to her about it. She’s refused to comment already, other than to pitch the library roof fund again.
” He added to Matty, “I presume we may reasonably suggest that you also approve of books being well-protected from the rain?”
Matty blinked, but then he smiled. “I had not thought I needed to express an opinion, but obviously, yes, repairs to the roof are important. I make regular use of the library, and I appreciate the books being dry when I do. Am I expected to do anything other than agree with the sentiment at the moment?”
Tiberius smiled back, slightly more relaxed. “No, no. Though when things settle a bit, turning up at one of the various events might be a thing. Not without discussion in advance, and how to handle anyone difficult, and all that. Only if you were willing.”
Claudio couldn’t help smiling at it. Tiberius was being cautious, and he recognised that.
“I’ll be checking in with your mother as soon as we’ve had a chance to eat and get into the morning.
I’m glad that’s how she’s handling it.” Claudio would be terribly busy with notes, at least, this afternoon.
Even if what he really wanted was to take Matty upstairs to bed and do a range of things there.
Matty cleared his throat, and Tiberius immediately added, “Oh, and welcome to Auctoritas! Perhaps we’ll get more of a chance to talk?
And Father, can you look at your schedule and find a time that’s not Wednesday evening for supper that works for you?
Since your Wednesdays will now be busy. Maybe Mondays?
” Given that Mother generally had supper elsewhere on Mondays, that was likely their best choice.
Claudio laughed at that. “Yes. It’s at the top of a list, upstairs.
I need to talk to Gabe and Doyle about some of the scheduling.
I’m seeing them tomorrow and debriefing with Gabe after.
” He added to Matty, “Ten to our meeting, if that’s not a problem.
” Matty shook his head. Claudio then added.
“Matty was starving, and I see Mrs Moore hovering with food. Do you mind if we start?”
“I won’t keep you. I ought to get on myself. Just— good luck, all right?” Tiberius waited for a nod, then came over and cautiously offered a hug, which Claudio returned firmly. He shook Matty’s hand and then grabbed his satchel and disappeared.
Matty said softly. “Your son has a good heart, doesn’t he?”
“He does.” Claudio looked after him. “And he’s learning how to show it, which is something of a miracle. Mostly not my doing, either.” That was a tender point. It would continue being a tender point. “Here, let’s tuck in.”
Both of them focused on the food rather than any conversation.
Claudio felt like anything he wanted to say didn’t fit in the space.
Certainly he didn’t want to risk Mother turning up.
And Matty was rather obviously hungry indeed.
They got to the end of the meal before Claudio’s various warnings made the ring on his right hand shift in a particular pattern.
“Mother’s on her way. If you want to duck it, out that door into the garden. ”
Matty shook his head, but he set down his fork and straightened in his seat.
Mother appeared a minute later, just long enough for her to have crossed from the far side of the library to the dining room.
Claudio pushed back his chair and stood, all proper manners, a second before he heard Matty do the same on the other side of the table. “Mother.”
“Claudio.” She nodded at him, then looked directly at Matty and nodded. “Good morning, both of you.”
That put it at something of a stalemate.
Claudio had a dozen things he was curious about, well, a dozen to start with, right this moment.
Hundreds, given enough time. He found he couldn’t figure out how to ask any of them.
All of them seemed slippery, as if he’d never get a grasp on them.
It was safest and certainly sensible to see what Mother did next.
In the end, he settled for a mild “Good morning.” He couldn’t ask if she’d slept well, or wonder if there had been difficulties last night.