24. Conrad
CONRAD
Conrad hurried over to where Sage was standing, his mind immediately going to a snake or a fox or some other wild animal.
Instead, he found Sage standing over a pile of clothes.
The man was shaking and Conrad was no longer sure if this was entirely due to the chilly night air.
He felt a pang of remorse over his earlier assurances that the clothes would be fine.
He bent down to scoop them up. The weight of them made it immediately clear that they had not made it through the event dry and unscathed.
As he added each piece to the bundle in the crook of his arm, he realized that they were not only wet but muddy.
The shoes were the only items that had remained where they’d been placed—thankfully on the grass.
Sage whimpered and Conrad hastened to put a hand on his back. “It’s going to be all right,” he said calmly. “We’ll clean them up.”
“They fell in the mud!” Sage all but shrieked. “They’re ruined.”
“Nonsense,” Conrad said, taking care to sound neither amused, nor worried, nor callous. “I’ll rinse them off in the lake and then we’ll go straight to the study. I’m sure Roger has all the materials I need for a cleaning spell. I’ll get them as good as new for you in no time.”
Sage wrapped his arms around his chest. Conrad thought about all of the things the man had said about himself when they were in the lake. Tedious. Difficult . He would need to be careful of his handling of the situation, beyond the clothes.
“Why don’t you grab the shoes?” he suggested as gently as he could. “They’re still in good condition and you’re mostly dry so you’re the best one to carry them.”
Sage nodded glumly and picked them up, his arms immediately wrapping back around his chest. Conrad waded back into the lake by the dock and dipped each piece of clothing into the water until most of the mud had sloughed off.
Normally he would have wrung the fabric out for easier travel, but he didn’t dare.
He grabbed his own wet clothing, the sopping towels, and the lantern.
Without another word, he led the way back to the house, with Sage close behind.
Reentering the dark and quiet house felt different than when they’d left it.
Conrad had no idea what time it was, nor did he care.
A few wall sconces dimly lit their way as they traipsed up the stairs.
Conrad grimaced at how much he was surely dripping in his wake, but he suspected Wyndham and Roger would have less anxiety about their carpets than Sage had about his clothes.
The study was closed but unlocked, thankfully.
Conrad placed the pile of wet items in front of the cold and dark fireplace.
Then he stepped back out into the hall to grab a candle off a sconce and lit a few of the candles in the room.
Sage stood next to the pile of clothes, naked and motionless, with his shoes still dangling from his fingertips.
Conrad rubbed between his shoulder blades briefly.
“I’ll fix it. Not to worry.”
Sage didn’t respond immediately, but then he gave the tiniest incremental nod.
Conrad could tell in the dim light, in the way Sage was holding himself, that he was frightened.
And he thought of the way Sage’s voice had been soft as he’d told Conrad he trusted him.
He wondered if Sage was as afraid of his own trust as he was for his clothes.
Conrad didn’t waste any more time. He pulled out a large piece of spellpaper from Roger’s roll on the table and placed it in the center of the room.
Then he grabbed a pencil, along with some juniper root, lemon verbena, silver birch, and heather.
He knelt on the ground and began hastily writing the sigils for drying and cleaning, adding as much power as he could reasonably do.
Then he began sprinkling the ingredients in the right places.
Sage hovered over him, silent and watching.
“Pity we don’t have any cabbage.”
That seemed to rouse Sage somewhat. “Did you just bemoan the lack of cabbage ?”
“It is marvelously helpful when it comes to cleaning spells.”
“I know human magic is strange, but you cannot convince me that you use such things for your spells.”
“Asparagus will do in a pinch.”
Sage sputtered.
Conrad allowed himself a small smile and then picked through the wet pile of fabric to extract Sage’s clothing first, carefully placing each item in the center of the paper, and attempting to keep the dripping to a minimum. Then he cast.
Sage’s anxiety must have affected him more than he realized because he let out a huge sigh of relief when the clothes dried instantly. Sage bent closer. “Fascinating,” he murmured.
Conrad plucked out the waistcoat and held it up. “Could use another one or two castings,” he said. “I got the bulk of it out, but I don’t want it to stain.”
He pushed the paper aside and pulled out a fresh sheet, smaller this time, and began the process over again. Sage perched on the edge of the chaise lounge. “You need to do everything all over again?” he asked. Conrad was pleased to note that his tone held more curiosity than fear or anger now.
“Usually,” he answered as he finished the sigils. “Roger discovered that using raw materials allows for recastability, but I have not mastered those yet.” He glanced up at Sage. “And I wouldn’t feel comfortable using them without Wyndham here to ensure it was safe. They can be rather volatile.”
Sage frowned, but in a thoughtful sort of way. “I see.”
Conrad added the next batch of ingredients and cast again. He held up the waistcoat and gave it a thorough look over before handing it to Sage. “You will have a better knowledge of what it looked like before. Do you think it needs another casting?”
Sage met his gaze as he took the garment, swallowing thickly before he turned his attention to the waistcoat and inspected it carefully. “It looks a bit dirty here still,” he said, handing it back.
Conrad gave him each item in turn. They were able to declare the cravat, the stockings, and the shirt properly clean, but the trousers, the waistcoat, and the jacket needed one more casting.
Just as Conrad was preparing to get a third piece of spellpaper out, the door to the study swung open and he and Sage blinked in the sudden brightness.
“What on earth is going on?” Wyndham asked in a rough voice.
“Oh,” Roger said behind him. “I think it’s just Conrad…oh, and Sage, too.” He sounded relieved. “We thought there might be burglars.”
Conrad wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it must look—Sage and him being caught in the study in the middle of the night, completely naked, with several piles of fabric between them, all in various stages of cleanliness and dryness.
But Sage’s eyes were wide and he remembered that the whole intent behind the late night jaunt had been to teach Sage how to swim in the privacy of darkness.
“I do apologize for alarming you,” he said as smoothly as he was able. “And for making myself at home in your study. I promise I would never have been so presumptuous if it hadn’t been an emergency.”
Roger bustled past Wyndham into the room, and Conrad realized that the bright light had been a cluster of lights over their heads, not from a spectacularly strong lamp as he’d previously thought.
“Of course you’re welcome to use whatever you need,” Roger said warmly.
Then he seemed to register that Conrad was naked for he blushed, gave a little squeak, and averted his eyes.
Then he noticed that Sage was naked as well, glanced back at his husband, and then pushed up his glasses distractedly.
“Oh my,” he muttered. He rallied a little and focused on Conrad’s face.
“But what was the emergency? Is everyone all right?”
“Oh yes,” he said, smiling. “Sage and I had such a nice time at the lake today that we decided it would be fun to revisit. Then we ran into a spot of trouble and our clothes did not come out as dry and clean as we’d hoped.”
Wyndham made a low sound of acknowledgement. “Roger and I have visited the lake for many an evening swim.”
“Indeed,” Roger said, beaming at them. “It’s very romantic.”
Sage cleared his throat and then picked up the clothes that had passed muster. “Yes, well, Conrad was kind enough to offer his assistance in cleaning my clothes. I was quite alarmed by the state of them.”
“I can imagine,” Wyndham said.
Sage looked up and the two men exchanged a small look of—understanding? Camaraderie? Conrad couldn’t entirely decipher it, but he couldn’t help the warm feeling of pride that grew in his chest at the sight.
Roger didn’t seem to notice. He looked from the wet clothes to Conrad, wringing his hands. “Did you say you had a spot of trouble at the lake? What happened? I hope none of the wildlife did anything.”
Conrad chuckled. “No, nothing like that. There was an unexpected gust of wind. It blew everything off the dock and Sage’s clothes off the tree. It was very strange.”
Wyndham’s expression seemed to sharpen. He stepped farther into the room and waved his hand in a lazy fashion, causing all of the candles Conrad had lit to blaze a little brighter.
The lights around his head disappeared. “Very interesting,” he said, shutting the door behind him. “You’ve certainly piqued my curiosity.”
Conrad shrugged. “I’m afraid I can’t offer much more than that. It felt strong like magic. But I can’t feel magic, you know. So I can’t tell you anything else. It was powerful. I know that much.”
Wyndham looked pensive. “What were you doing when it happened?”
Conrad glanced at Sage for permission.
Sage heaved a sigh. “We were kissing.”
Wyndham’s mouth quirked. “I see .”
Roger clasped his hands together at his chest. “That’s very romantic.”
Conrad smiled. “It was quite lovely. Unfortunately, the gust, or wind, or whatever it was, cut the evening rather short.” He gestured to the collection of completed spells and the piles of fabric. “As you can see.”
“Our staff can take care of all of this,” Roger said. “You needn’t do it. Especially after such an exciting night.”
“Nevertheless, I promised Sage his clothes would be safe. I’d like to make good on my word, if you don’t mind my using your study for the project.”
Roger’s smile was full of understanding. “Of course I don’t mind. Please use whatever you need.”
Wyndham was watching Sage with a thoughtful expression. Sage hadn’t moved from his seat on the chaise lounge, although he’d gone back to having his arms wrapped tightly around his chest, and he was carefully avoiding making eye contact with anyone.
“Perhaps,” Roger said after a long pause, “it might be advisable to finish cleaning everything up in the morning? I imagine you’ll be much sharper then, and it’ll certainly be easier to see your work.”
Conrad glanced at Sage again. Sage seemed to feel it because he turned his head to look up at him, and gave a small nod.
“Thank you,” Conrad said to Roger. “We’ll take your suggestion. It’s very kind of you.”
“You can leave everything here,” Roger continued. “The servants know not to do anything in this room unless we specifically request it.”
“Wonderful. I’ll finish everything after breakfast so you can have your study back as quickly as possible.”
Wyndham hummed. “Perhaps, if you’re not opposed, Roger and I could join you both and watch?”
Sage’s head jerked around to stare at Wyndham.
Conrad shrugged again. “I’m not opposed.
It’s nothing particularly fancy or interesting, though.
Just a standard cleaning spell. Although I did add some silver birch for an added boost.” He grinned.
“Sage was quite scandalized at the idea of my using cabbage or asparagus for the spell.”
Roger chuckled. “Yes, human magic can be tragically lacking in glamor sometimes, can’t it? Fae magic is so…majestic.”
Wyndham snorted. “All right. That’s all sorted. Off to bed now.”
Conrad wanted to laugh at his bossy tone, but he took Sage’s hand as they exited the study and returned to their room. Sage set his shoes and clean clothes by the vanity and they both crawled into bed, blew out their candles, and settled close without a word.
“Are you all right?” Conrad said, pulling an arm around Sage’s shoulders.
“Yes.”
“I’m so sorry about your clothes.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“Well—”
“It wasn’t your fault, Conrad.” He sighed and nestled closer. “Thank you for cleaning them for me.”
“I’ll finish the rest tomorrow.”
“I know.” Sage slid his hand up to Conrad’s chest. “I trust you,” he whispered.