36. Conrad
CONRAD
When Sage disappeared into Roger’s study for the second day in a row, Conrad grew restless.
As much as he would have liked to steal Sage away again, he couldn’t do that to Roger a second time.
Considering how stressed Roger seemed at dinner the night before, it was reasonable to assume that whatever they were working on together was the cause of the stress.
Conrad couldn’t deny Roger of Sage’s calming presence when it was needed most.
He found Wyndham, Keelan, Torquil, and Silas entertaining Peony in one of the sitting rooms and joined them.
Wyndham was using his magic to whirl a piece of string in the air and the kitten was chasing after it.
When the string spiraled in a small funnel of air, Peony flopped onto her back and batted at it with her paws.
“Is this how all fae play with their pets?” Conrad asked.
“To be honest, it hadn’t occurred to me to do it this way,” Keelan admitted. “My father has dogs. There are always a number of loose ribbons around my father’s room so we never had a shortage of these sorts of games, but we didn’t use magic for it.”
“I’ve never had a pet,” Torquil said.
“And I can’t use fae magic like these three can,” Silas said. He reached forward and tickled Peony’s chest. She turned her attention to him instead, batting at his fingers playfully. He laughed and covered her body with his large hand, swishing her gently across the floor.
Wyndham snatched the string out of the air and curled it around his finger idly. “Do you have pets, Conrad?”
He shook his head. “We couldn’t really afford it. But I do love animals.”
“You? Enjoy adorable creatures? Shocking,” Torquil said with a laugh.
“You sound like Sage,” he replied.
“Where is Sage anyway?” Emrys asked as he strolled into the room.
Conrad leaned back against his palms. “He’s working with Roger again.”
Emrys sank into a plush armchair. “Oh, that’s right. That secret party we’re not supposed to know about.”
Wyndham gave his brother a sharp look.
“What?” Emrys asked defensively. “You can’t pretend you don’t know about it.”
“Of course I know about it,” Wyndham snapped. “I’ve known for months. And I intend to act very surprised and delighted when it happens.” He glared. “And you would do well to do the same.”
“There’s going to be a party?” Conrad asked.
“For Wyndham’s birthday,” Emrys replied. “Roger is planning a huge surprise party in his honor.”
“Should be fun,” Keelan added. “Both Wyndham’s and Roger’s families will be there. There’ll be cake and music and dancing.”
“I have been working hard to discourage Emrys from following suit and surprising me for my birthday,” Torquil said dryly. “I’m not fond of dancing, nor of being the center of attention.”
“You’d be surprised how easy it is to be the center of attention when it’s what your spouse wants,” Wyndham remarked.
“Do you dance?” Keelan asked Conrad.
“A little. I know some country dances.”
“Perhaps we should teach you,” Emrys suggested.
“Excellent idea,” Wyndham said, standing abruptly.
Emrys blinked at his brother. “It is?”
“You’re bound to have one occasionally. But Conrad and I are both restless with Roger and Sage busy. It’s the distraction we need.”
“I’ll bet Imogen will play the piano for us,” Keelan suggested, getting up as well.
“And the others can add to our numbers,” Wyndham said. “Come along.”
So Conrad soon found himself paired with Wyndham, with Keelan and Emrys on one side, Fern and Cyril on the other, and Harriet and Anthea completing the group. Imogen played the piano as requested, while Torquil and Silas watched.
Conrad might have worried that the lesson would go as poorly as the cards had.
But he was not quite as distracted this time, and his friends were determined to see him successful.
Also, as Keelan helpfully pointed out, Conrad was accustomed to activity, so learning something physical, like dancing, came rather naturally.
He learned the quadrille and the waltz within hours.
Keelan was just about to suggest a third dance when Torquil intervened, looped their arm around Conrad’s, and said, “Give the poor man some time to rest before you teach him another.”
“But the party’s tomorrow!” Keelan protested.
Torquil held up a hand. “Conrad knows enough to impress Sage already. Give him a quarter hour to catch his breath and then you can have him back until dinner.”
“Where are you going?” Emrys asked.
“We’re taking a turn about the garden,” Torquil replied, leading Conrad out of the room. “And no, you’re not invited. I’ll return him shortly.”
Conrad grinned as he allowed Torquil to set the pace out the door and down the garden path. He was taken back immediately to his afternoon of stealing Sage in much the same way. “Thank you.”
“I’ve been on the receiving end of Wyndham’s generosity before,” they said with a smile. “Hours of dancing lessons and I thought I might collapse. You are far hardier than I am, but that doesn’t mean you couldn’t use a rest.”
Conrad drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I appreciate it. It’s certainly exhausting, but I have to admit that I will miss all of this when I leave.”
“Are you planning on leaving soon?”
“Well, I really do need to speak to Roger’s father. So much depends on his decision.”
“He’s coming to the party, remember? You don’t need to go find him. He’s going to be delivered directly to you.”
“But that’s Wyndham’s birthday party. Won’t that be pulling attention from him?”
“I imagine Wyndham would be grateful for that,” they replied. “And besides, you’ll soon learn that Council business tends to leak into personal lives whether we like it or not. Roger, Wyndham, and I were all invited to be on the Council during Roger and Wyndham’s wedding.”
Conrad laughed. “I didn’t know that.” He paused. “You seem to be acting like I’m already part of it.”
Torquil gave a little hum. “You very nearly are. You haven’t met Roger’s father yet, but his son takes after him a great deal.
Roger likes you. His father will too. Wyndham, Silas, and I all like you.
You have ideas, enthusiasm, and determination.
You’ve been living in a house with a mixture of fae, humans, and fae-humans—something that would have been practically unthinkable a few years ago—and you’ve gotten along with all of us. ”
“You really think so?”
“I’m not one to give false hope.”
Conrad smiled at them. “I suppose that’s true. I’m still trying not to get carried away with my excitement until I’ve met Councilmember Barnes though.”
“That’s wise,” they replied with a grin.
“I can also add, confidentially, that we’ve been having a hard time filling that final position.
It’s been difficult finding someone who shares our vision for the future of the Council, who has fresh ideas, but is open to other suggestions.
We had applications, but many of them were hoping to replace Williams or Gibbs in terms of their philosophies.
A few even suggested we shouldn’t be focused on blending our societies so much.
Iris, Williams, and Gibbs stepped down from their positions on the Council over six months ago.
We need to have that position filled before we reconvene in the autumn. ”
Conrad chuckled. “So what you’re saying is, I’m your last resort.”
“What I’m saying is that your timing is perfect and you are exactly the sort of person we’ve been looking for. We turned down any number of applications in the hopes of finding someone like you. And then you stepped into our lives in a way none of us could have expected.”
Warmth spread through Conrad’s chest. “That’s very nice to hear.”
“I understand why you’re trying to rein in your expectations,” they continued softly, “but I want you to know that when I, or any of the other councilmembers here say that you’re practically part of the Council already, we mean it.”
They walked in silence for a few minutes as Conrad let their words settle.
“What do you plan to do when you leave?” they asked, breaking the quiet.
“Go to London. I’ll need to find a place to stay. And I’ll probably need to find work in order to do that.”
“What sort of work do you have in mind?”
“What I used to do, most likely. There are docks in London. If I can find work there, that should keep me busy and housed until the Council convenes.”
Torquil seemed to consider this. “You know,” they said slowly, “you might be the solution to a problem I’ve had for several months now.”
“What problem is that?”
They grimaced. “Before I tell you, let me preface this with two things. First, I haven’t always been this wealthy.
It’s a rather recent change. Just before Emrys proposed, I was living in a room above my press and barely earning enough to eat.
So I understand what it’s like to have wealthy friends who seem to be living in a separate world from you.
And I understand how galling it can be to accept charity disguised as generosity.
Second, with that in mind, I recognize how utterly preposterous this problem is going to sound. ”
Conrad laughed. “All right. Duly noted.”
“I probably ought to give you some context first. When my parents fell in love, my grandfather was very upset about it. My mother was a member of a prominent fae family and my father was a human nobody. When they refused to be split apart, my grandfather disinherited my mother and sent her away.”
“That’s terrible.”
“By all accounts, he was absolutely dreadful. My grandmother had no say in the matter and she was forced to keep her communication with her daughter a secret from her husband. I didn’t even know my grandmother didn’t hate me until after my grandfather died and she approached me to suggest a reconciliation.
Part of that reconciliation was a change in inheritance.
My grandmother was able to ensure I inherited everything. ”
“That’s a clever bit of revenge,” Conrad remarked.
Torquil laughed. “Indeed. The only challenge is that shortly after inheriting everything, I got married to Emrys, who’s an heir in his own right. So now I have more property than I know what to do with.”
“I can see what you mean about this problem sounding absurd.”
“I did warn you. Now, my grandmother has graciously been taking care of the London townhouse for me. This has allowed me to keep all of the staff, and ensures everything of value is safe and that the house is being maintained properly. But I don’t think she cares for the house.”
Conrad considered this. “If she spent so much time living with a dreadful husband, I can imagine it would sour the location for her.”
“Exactly. I’d like to free her from that obligation, but it’s been challenging when Emrys and I don’t really need it.
And I could close it up, but that would mean letting some of the servants go and I hate to do that.
” Torquil turned to face him on the path.
“If I could ask a friend to stay and take care of the house for me, it would mean a great deal.”
Conrad stared at them. “You’re asking me ?”
They nodded, smiling. “I would take care of the expenses. It’s my house, after all.
So you wouldn’t need to worry about the staff’s salary, or the cost of firewood or candles, or anything like that.
Frankly, even paying for the food would mean that I could ensure the entire kitchen staff had something to do. ”
“I can’t let you pay for my food, Torquil.”
They arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be doing it for free.
In return, you’d be making use of a property for me so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it.
You would be helping me keep a number of good people employed.
You’d allow me to give a very big signal of what I think of my grandfather’s ideals.
” The glint in their eyes softened. “And you’d be giving me peace of mind that a friend of mine is safe. ”
“Torquil,” Conrad breathed. “Do you have any idea?—”
“Yes,” they said cheerfully, tucking their hand around his arm again and leading him back down the path.
“I know exactly what I’m offering. And, I’d like to add, this offer extends to anyone you’d care to invite over.
So if, for example, you had a mind to propose to someone in the future…
” their tone dripped with insinuation, “rest assured that this offer includes you and any spouse you might happen to have. If you’d like to invite some of your family to visit, you could do that.
You can host parties there. Invite me over for dinner.
Consider it yours in everything but name. ”
“I could hug you.”
Torquil held their arms out. Conrad gave them a tight embrace, feeling as if he might cry from the complete change of fortune they had dropped into his lap. He pulled away with a sniff.
“You’re very trusting very quickly,” he said. “We met less than a month ago.”
“I’m very good at reading people,” they said, leading the way back to the house. “It was my idea to have you room with Sage. Remember?”
Conrad stared at them incredulously. “That was intentional?”
“Of course. It was a hunch, mind you. But I wasn’t the writer of London’s most popular gossip column for nothing.”
“You nosy little matchmaker. I don’t know how I shall thank you…for any of it.”
“Just take good care of the house for me. And of Sage, too.”
Conrad grinned. “With pleasure.”
As they walked back to rejoin the others and continue the dance lessons, Conrad began formulating new plans. Now that he had a future to offer Sage, he only needed the right words to say.