Page 66 of Brave Truth

They were all comfortable here. All of them seemed to have been regular guests. Well, the ones who didn’t live here. Claudio had been here a lot, of course, while he was apprenticing with Gabe. Lady Alysoun had been an entirely gracious hostess, of course, and Lord Richard. They’d made sure he knew where the lavatory was, and how to get to a quieter bit of the library if Matty needed a break.

There’d been food and drink. Rabbit stew and curry, both apparently the common hosting dish here due to being easy on the rationing. Matty had at least made a good impression on Rathna and Rowena, her and Gabe’s eldest daughter, by visibly enjoying the heat in the curry. Rathna had teased that it was easy to spot the people who’d spent plenty of time eating takeout in London.

Of course, everyone wanted to talk to Claudio, and that was entirely right and proper. Claudio, for his part, kept stepping away for a couple of minutes, talking to someone more quietly, an ever glittering rotation. Then he’d come back, check in with Matty, sit for a few minutes, and go off again.

Matty got the impression that at least half of that was setting up time for further conversations. With Gabe, of course. Orion, naturally. But also with Alexander Landry, and Cyrus Smythe-Clive and Mabyn Teague, and with Mary Sprite, who had turned up twenty minutes after the rest of the party arrived.

Any other night, Matty would have been fascinated by the various eddies and patterns in the conversation. But right now it was all a bit too much. And there’d been a couple of minutes with Thesan and Isembard, where Claudio looked every bit the earnest schoolboy still in his teens about something.

Matty refused to be the one who spoiled it for Claudio. He’d obviously done something massive. He had earned every bit of the celebration. Matty wasn’t sure if the proper description were praise or victory or what— maybe Claudio would tell him, later, in private. But celebration.

People didn’t leave Matty on his own, at least. Gil and Magni had claimed chairs near his, and chatted amiably. They explained who was who, told stories, got others to share a good tale or two. He appreciated that no end, partly because it meant Claudio wasn’t worrying about Matty. Not tonight.

Gil had checked in quietly about whether Matty had been all right with the entirely public kiss. Matty felt a dozen things about it, though on balance more delight at rubbing people’s noses in what they were than anything else. Mum was going to have kittens, and not in the good way, but that was a problem for tomorrow.

Magni had checked about the warding and privacy protections. But both of them had suggested that sleeping somewhere other than Matty’s flat for the next day or two might be a good idea. They’d also made it clear there were well-warded options available, whatever he preferred. Matty had at least packed for that, at Claudio’s suggestion a few days ago, just to have choices.

Matty had taken Monday off work, though they’d both have to make an appearance for at least the Tuesday afternoon meeting. That was a problem for Tuesday, and also to be discussed with Claudio when they were alone, how to handle it. He didn’t need to decide what he was charging at yet, or even entirely what he was bracing for. If he told himself that often enough, maybe it would stick.

By midnight, people had begun filtering out. Claudio came back from a conversation with Gabe and went down on one knee, so he was more or less at the same level as Matty without bending over. “Thoughts on where we’re sleeping tonight? Gabe’s glad to put us up, or there’s the Essex House.”

Matty raised an eyebrow. “Where do you want, that you’re not saying?”

Gil was close enough to hear the tone, if not maybe all the words, and pushed himself up, nudging Magni. “It’s clear you know what you’re doing with him, Matty. Claudio, find a time to come chat when it’s less hectic. A fortnight or so?” Claudio nodded, but he stayed focused on Matty. Matty just waited for an answer.

After a moment, Claudio admitted, his voice quieter. “I’d like to go home. Auctoritas. Rub my father’s nose in it. Well, and make use of the excellent bath. The ones here are fabulous, but not at this time of night.” He waited, as if he expected Matty would object, and added, “I’d rather be with you, though.”

“Is your mother going to be a problem?” That was Matty’s key concern and he felt it an entirely reasonable one. He had not remotely been sure how to interpret her reactions, especially after Claudio had finished up at Dinas Emrys. He wasn’t sure anyone was, but it made him wary.

“Oh, no. Excellent warding, I promise, and by this point she’s in her own rooms on the other side of the courtyard. Mary waited to make sure Mother was off home before she came to the Edgartons. I can double check before we go in, from the portal. Vastly easier to avoid her with a couple of Penelope tricks. I’m quite good at them.”

Matty set that entire topic aside for later and nodded. “Let’s try that, then. Do you have an alternate plan if it doesn’t work?”

“Essex,” Claudio said, and that was fine. But Matty could see why Claudio might in fact want the known thing, the thing he’d made his, rather than anywhere else.

“Let’s get our bags, then? And say goodbye to whoever we do that to?” That involved a brief conversation with several of the Edgartons, and then Thesan and Isembard walking them out to the portal, with no further comment, just amiable friendship. Claudio hugged them both before he set the portal, then said, “The portal’s a short walk from the house, through a trellis.”

Claudio disappeared through the portal, and Matty followed thirty seconds later. It was dark, of course, particularly since it was the new moon, but there were charm lights lit around the portal and through the trellis. Not bright, not enough to make it hard to look at the stars, but enough not to trip on the path.

Claudio shifted his bag, the strap across his chest, then spread his hands, palms facing the ground, casting a charm with no words. Matty could see shapes of buildings pop up, and then Claudio nodded. “The purple spot is Mother. That one there is Tiberius. Those are his rooms. The staff.” That involved one person in the main house, and a little cluster somewhere beyond, presumably a cottage or something. “And we’re going here,” Claudio pointed at something on the side facing where they were now. “Just in and up the stairs.”

“Lead the way.” Actually getting into the house was somewhat anticlimactic, but Matty could feel the warding shift as soon as they were in the hallway, and then the comfortable security of it closed around them once they got to the top of the stairs.

Claudio gestured at the left front of the house. “That room’s my private office. You won’t be able to get in. The one here,” also on the left, “That’s a sitting room right now, the room I described as a possible future. Feel free to use it. And a separate bathing room and water closet, if you need it. And this— this is mine. It was Father’s. Not anymore.” There was a note of something ferocious in his voice, for just a second, unlike Claudio normally, but then Claudio was holding the door open.

Claudio’s bedroom was— well, exactly what Matty expected. Orderly, tidy, but with touches of calm. Where Matty had, somehow, decided to use red as an accent colour, Claudio favoured greens, blues, and some purple, along with a soothing cream. There was a line of tile work visible through the door into the bathing room, small squares of different shades, and pillows on the window seat. “Here, make yourself comfortable. Want the loo first before I have a bath?”

Matty nodded, setting his bag down and disappearing. It was a lavish space, far bigger than any bathing room had any need to be, though he could see why Claudio had wanted the bath here. It was more than large enough for two, with plenty of room to stretch out for one.

Matty used the toilet, washed his hands, and came back out to find Claudio had stripped out of his suit, down to his underthings. He was hanging up the jacket for future wear and depositing the rest in what must be a laundry basket. Then he turned, kissed Matty deliberately, and went off to run the bath.

Matty listened to the sounds for a little, and then worked on getting changed himself, letting the unfamiliar but comfortable domestic noise carry him along. By the time Claudio reappeared— half an hour later— Matty was yawning a bit and in bed with a book. It was also a ridiculously large bed, far more than any one person needed, and likely more than any two would fill.

Claudio had somehow acquired silk pyjamas, a rather immense luxury, but also one that made Matty want to run his hands all over them. He shrugged the top off as he got into bed. “We should talk, but?—”

“But you’ve had a legendary sort of evening.” Matty said. “What’s urgent? That I need to know now?”

There was a moment while Claudio snuggled against him, warm and relaxed, and that made everything else better. Whatever had happened to Claudio, it hadn’t changed anything about the two of them, and the more time Matty had like this, the more certain he was of that. Changes, yes. But not to this. Claudio waved a hand at the charm lights, dimming the room. Finally he said, “You don’t mind that I was exceedingly public and it’ll be in all the gossip papers tomorrow?”