4. Conrad
CONRAD
Conrad had never slept in a more comfortable bed in his life. After such an exhausting journey and walking for miles across unfamiliar countryside—which was very different from walking back and forth around the docks—he had felt tired in every part of his body as he’d sunk into bed.
When the sun peeked through the lace curtains, he woke up, feeling deliciously refreshed. The first thing he noticed was that his body was still sore from his journey, but not appallingly so.
The second thing he noticed was that Mr. Ravenwing had, over the course of the night, curled his body around Conrad’s.
Their legs were now tangled together and one of Mr. Ravenwing’s arms was slung over Conrad’s stomach.
His dark hair tickled against Conrad’s cheek from where the man had snuggled close, his face pressed against Conrad’s shoulder.
Conrad smiled to himself. It was rather sweet.
He had always enjoyed that form of affection, although he happened upon it rarely.
He thought back to the evening before. Roger had seemed particularly anxious about introducing Conrad to Mr. Ravenwing.
And very few of the guests seemed to include him in the conversation.
In fact, his first impression of the man, sitting alone in a corner, had seemed to be the standard.
Some aspects of the situation he was beginning to piece together, like the way Mr. Ravenwing’s gaze seemed drawn to Roger’s husband, and the way the gentleman’s lip seemed so often curled in a disdainful smirk.
But there had been other aspects that mystified him, like the way Mr. Ravenwing had offered to let Conrad use his rose oil before bed.
Conrad couldn’t fail to notice the precise way the man had used the oil over his body; it was clearly very important to him.
The small gesture of generosity had been unexpected but still… sweet.
Conrad shifted carefully so that he was lying on his back.
Mr. Ravenwing did not seem to mind as he snuggled even closer.
He had been so focused on getting into the house and meeting the councilmembers that he’d barely given himself time to figure out what he would do afterwards.
He had no idea how long he was going to stay.
But each time it’d been brought up in conversation at dinner, neither of his hosts had jumped in to explain that Conrad could only stay for a day or two.
So now he had to figure out how to make sure he was still a welcome guest and how to make the best use of his opportunity.
One thing he was sure of was that it would be good to arrive downstairs early, and ensure he maintained a good impression.
He was fairly sure the upper crust did not make a habit of being early risers, but he had learned the night before that several of the house’s occupants were closer to Conrad’s class than the Wrenwhistles.
The trouble was how he ought to get downstairs when his legs were tangled together with someone else’s.
He turned his face to look at the other man.
He hated to wake him. Mr. Ravenwing looked relaxed, his features softened with sleep.
Conrad heaved a sigh and decided his ambitions would just have to wait until the gentleman woke up.
He began to mentally compose a list of topics he’d like to discuss with Roger and the other members, started trying to determine how and when he ought to clean his clothes, what he would do when he did finally leave the Wrenwhistle home.
It was over an hour before Mr. Ravenwing stirred.
He woke up slowly, pulling Conrad closer and nuzzling into his skin before he seemed to realize he was doing so.
Conrad could feel the moment the other man noticed his presence in his arms. Mr. Ravenwing stiffened and drew away slowly.
The cold and indifferent expression shifted back into place like a mask as he locked eyes with Conrad.
Soon their legs were no longer tangled, the arm slipped off his stomach, and Mr. Ravenwing had curled over on his side with his back to him.
“My apologies,” he said in a clipped tone.
“I don’t mind,” Conrad assured him. “It was rather companionable.” He heard a scoff in response.
Now that his obstruction was removed, he got out of bed, retrieved his bag, and began laying out his clothes for the day. He heard Mr. Ravenwing shift on the bed and could tell the man was watching him over his shoulder.
Mr. Ravenwing was the first to break the silence. “Are you going downstairs? At this hour of the morning?”
Conrad shrugged as he peered into the looking glass and got his hair into some semblance of respectability. “I’m awake. I’m sure others must be, too.”
“I’m sure they’re not,” Mr. Ravenwing retorted.
“Well, then I’ll be the first at breakfast,” he said, turning and giving him a bright smile. “Wouldn’t be the first time and won’t be the last, I’ll wager.”
Mr. Ravenwing scowled in reply. He seemed about to say something, but instead flopped back onto the pillow, effectively ending the conversation.
Conrad went downstairs and was pleased to find that he had been correct: Roger and Torquil were both at the breakfast table. They greeted him as he walked in.
“How did you sleep?” Torquil asked as he helped himself to food and sat down opposite.
“Like a wee babe,” he replied with a laugh. “The bed was marvelously comfortable. I cannot thank you enough.”
Roger beamed, but then his expression swiftly dropped in concern. He leaned forward. “Was Sage—that is, Mr. Ravenwing—I hope he didn’t make you uncomfortable.”
“Not at all. We got along quite well.”
Roger’s eyebrows went up. “Oh. Y-you did? I was worried because you’re human…and he’s fae…and there are different views on…intimacy between the two cultures. I hated to throw you into it like that. So I hope nothing untoward happened.”
Conrad laughed as he thought of the other man nuzzling against his shoulder. “I suppose one might say it was untoward, but I found it rather pleasant. And underneath it all, I suspect the gentleman is of a sweeter nature than he appears.”
Roger’s eyes widened and he blushed. “Oh! I…I see.”
Torquil looked very amused. They took a sip of tea. “Roger and I were discussing that you seemed to get along so well with everyone last night, that it might be nice if you stayed for the whole of the party—if you’re amenable—and get to know all of us better.”
Conrad couldn’t help the grin that took over. “How marvelous! Thank you very much. I would be delighted.”
Torquil chuckled. “Good. Our primary concern was the bedroom situation. But it sounds as though we needn’t worry overmuch on that matter.”
“You needn’t worry at all.”
“That’s certainly a relief,” Roger admitted. “And it’s good to see how well you get along with other fae—not that I had any doubt after our interactions last night. Still, it is good to see that you really do value our diverse parts of society being more amicable.”
He could hardly believe his luck! It had been quite a gamble to leave his home and everything he knew behind.
He was relieved it was already paying off.
At the very least, he would have a comfortable place to stay for a week or so.
He was confident he had Roger’s approval already.
Now all he had to do was work on getting the others’.
Mr. Keelan Rook-Worth showed up just as Torquil was asking Conrad about his thoughts on the rubrics.
Conrad allowed the topic to shift away from Council affairs as the other two asked after Mr. Rook-Worth’s sleep and overall wellbeing.
The gentleman seemed cheerful and easygoing in nature and it didn’t take long for Conrad to decide he liked him a great deal.
By the time others began trickling into the room, the four of them had struck up an engaging conversation and were getting along beautifully.
Everything was going even better than he had planned it.
It hardly seemed possible. Conrad relaxed in his seat, allowing himself to simply enjoy the others’ company.