8. Conrad
CONRAD
Conrad was surprised when he arrived in the bedroom to find Mr. Ravenwing already in bed and, presumably, asleep. He placed the small stack of borrowed books on his nightstand, quickly undressed, and climbed into bed.
He was, however, unsurprised to wake up the following morning with Mr. Ravenwing curled up next to him, with his head on Conrad’s shoulder, one leg sprawled over Conrad’s thighs, and one arm draped across his chest. He smiled to himself, reached for the book at the top of the stack, and began to read.
Mr. Ravenwing seemed equally unsurprised when he woke up, although he groaned irritably. “I have come to the conclusion,” he said, his words sleepy and slightly slurred, “that there is something unique about human bodies that allows them to defy physics.”
Conrad lifted his book a little to look down at the other man. “Pardon?”
Mr. Ravenwing huffed against his skin. “It should not be so comfortable to rest on such a physique as yours. I blame this situation on you entirely.”
Conrad chuckled. He stuck a finger over the page to hold his place and closed the book around it. “I could say the same about you.”
“Oh?”
“A body as slight as yours should not provide such comforting weight.”
“Is that the reason you never shove me away?”
“One of several. I also find it…”
“Companionable,” Mr. Ravenwing said in a dry tone. He shifted so he could meet Conrad’s gaze. “Is that the other reason?”
Conrad hummed thoughtfully. “It reminds me of home, I suppose. I quite like that.”
The other man frowned. “What do you mean?”
“My family is rather large, you see. And my parents have always been stretched a little too thin by it. Not quite enough food to satisfy everyone, not quite enough beds, not quite enough attention.” He shrugged.
“Up until I reached my majority, I was sharing a bed with at least one sibling most nights. I moved out when I turned thirty to give my parents one less mouth to feed. I can’t deny it’s been nice to have a little more space in my boarding house.
I like the privacy. I like having a little less to worry about.
But…I also can’t deny I rather miss parts of my family’s home, as well. ”
Mr. Ravenwing was silent for a long moment. Finally he pulled away. “I’m not quite sure what I was expecting, but being compared to one of your siblings was certainly not it.” He fluffed the pillow under his head. “And I’m not sure it’s a compliment.”
Conrad laughed as he sat up and grabbed a piece of paper from the bedside to better mark his place in the book. “My apologies.” He got out of bed and reached for his bag automatically. “If it helps, they’re all quite nice. Well, most of them anyway. You know how children are.”
“I do not, in fact. Thankfully.”
“Well, they’re—” He broke off when he realized his previous day’s clothes were the only ones in the bag. He glanced at the corner of the room where Mr. Ravenwing had dumped his own clothes the night before.
Mr. Ravenwing turned. “What is it?”
“I forgot I’d left my clothes out to be cleaned. Do you suppose they put them in the wardrobe?”
“That is the most likely place,” Mr. Ravenwing agreed slowly. “They might be a bit busy with so many people in the house. If so, I’m sure no one would notice if you wore yesterday’s clothes.”
Conrad opened the wardrobe door and was relieved to see his clothing crammed in amongst the other man’s.
They were easy to spot, being of much rougher fabric and significantly less colorful.
He tugged one suit out and paused, his gaze landing on a waistcoat.
Without thinking, he reached up to run a hand over the purple velvet.
“This is beautiful,” he murmured. “I’ve never seen clothing in this color before.
” He realized he was touching someone else’s belongings and quickly pulled his hand away.
“It’s a very striking shade. I declare I’ve never seen anyone dress as finely as you do. ”
Mr. Ravenwing was staring at him with an unreadable expression, but he shifted and looked back at the ceiling. “Don’t say that in front of Wyndham.”
“Oh, he dresses very well, too. I’d wonder if that was another fae trait, but Keelan and Emrys don’t seem to share it with so much pride. Fern does, I suppose.”
“You’ve gotten very chummy with everyone all of a sudden, haven’t you?”
Conrad began to dress. “They’ve all been so nice, it’s impossible not to. I think I may have even started to win Wyndham over,” he added with a grin.
Mr. Ravenwing turned on his side with his back to him. “Then I daresay you got what you came here for, didn’t you?”
Conrad paused in the act of buttoning up his waistcoat. “I suppose.”
The other man grumbled. Conrad finished dressing and went downstairs. He greeted Roger, Torquil, and Keelan and joined in the discussion about what they would all do if it rained again.
After lunch, Roger invited Conrad to join him in the study, this time with Torquil, so he could observe the fae-human’s magic. It turned out to be a remarkable thing to see. Torquil began with a human spell and then, as Conrad watched, the spell grew seemingly out of nowhere.
“That’s my fae magic,” Torquil explained afterwards.
“Fascinating,” Conrad murmured.
They gave a self-conscious shrug. “My magic is str?—”
“Remarkable,” Wyndham cut in. His tone suggested this was an oft-repeated topic.
“Right. Shall I show you another spell?”
“Please.”
Conrad watched Torquil perform spells as the others explained the details of the magic Conrad couldn’t feel. When Torquil’s face began to look a little drawn, Roger abruptly halted their work.
“Should I call for tea?” he asked, concern evident in his expression.
“Perhaps just some fresh air,” Torquil demurred. “Conrad, care to join me?”
Conrad didn’t hesitate to accept the invitation. They strode out to the garden together and Torquil set an easy pace.
“Are you all right?” Conrad asked.
“Oh yes,” they replied with a small smile. “I have a history of working myself ragged and everyone is very solicitous of my health now. But I brought us out here to talk about you. How are you getting on?”
Conrad felt a grin tugging on his lips at their question. “I’m doing well. I like everyone here and I’m enjoying working with magic.”
“I’m glad to hear it. See to it they don’t push you too hard, mind. They get very enthusiastic when it comes to magic.”
He chuckled. “I’ve noticed. It doesn’t bother me.”
“Yes, well, take care all the same. We can’t have you collapsing from fatigue. Trust me when I say it’s a great bother and that everyone will fuss at you forever.”
Conrad did not need to read much between the lines to determine that Torquil was referring to their own experience. “I’ll keep that in mind, thank you.”
Torquil gave them a wink, led them both on a circuit through the garden, and then back into the house.