Page 29

Sebastian finally broke away from the dancing and party games, flushed from exertion in his many layers of dress clothes and wanting fresh air.

He slipped across the ballroom, past the crowd milling around the bar, women in sparkling gowns and headpieces, the men a checkerboard of black tailcoats and crimson hunting coats.

From the ballroom he ducked into the hall, heading for a quiet nook with a large window. He stood for a moment, resting his temple against the cold glass, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness of the garden beyond.

From behind him, voices were coming down the hall, a man and a woman.

“I didn’t know you were on the same ship home as my cousin. You said you were in Canada? Is there anywhere you haven’t been?”

“Of course. It’s a very big world, Mr. Collins. One can travel to every port and still have only seen a fraction of it.”

Was that Lady Nora, and Wesley’s cousin Geoffrey walking the hall together? Geoffrey sounded awkward but not grouchy—in fact, he sounded just like Wesley did when he was making a genuine effort to be nice but wasn’t sure he wasn’t doing it right.

As their voices faded down the hall, Sebastian ran a finger through the condensation on the window, leaving a clear streak of black glass behind. Was there more to Lady Nora’s North American travels—more that involved relics, and magic, perhaps?

The loss of his own magic hit him as hard as it had on the ship.

If only he still had his magic. Then they wouldn’t be stuck dancing figuratively around awkward questions, or literally dancing at balls, to try and determine if the Duke of Valemount or his niece were paranormals.

Sebastian would have known long ago if Lady Nora had any kind of magic of her own.

Before he could stop himself, he was seeking inside himself for his magic, almost tasting the spark that had been part of him most of his life. Maybe this time, when he reached for it, he’d find it waiting—

“There you are.”

Sebastian blinked. “Wesley?” he said, as the urge to reach for his magic disappeared like smoke in the wind. “How did you find me here?”

Wesley had a small furrow between his brows. “You’d been dancing quite a while; I just got the sense I ought to find you. Are you holding up all right? Or are the other guests still treating you like an exotic animal to gawk at?”

Sebastian snorted. “You heard some of the comments?”

“They’re driving me mad, the things they’re whispering about you,” Wesley said flatly.

“Proof that one can be wealthy and privileged and still insular and narrow-minded, though I suppose that’s just as true in America and probably everywhere else.

” He sighed. “And I suppose we need to get back before we’re missed. ”

As they fell into step together, Wesley seemed to not quite be looking at him. “I, ah. I should tell you something.”

“What’s that?” Sebastian said, as they entered the ballroom. On the opposite side of the room, Valemount was talking to Thornton in his red coat, while Lady Nora had a drink in hand and was chatting with another woman as they headed in the direction of the ladies’ drawing room.

Geoffrey was at the nearby bar, but his gaze had alighted on Wesley and Sebastian as they entered, and now he strode his way toward them. “I’ve just heard the news.” Geoffrey nodded at Wesley as he sipped his drink. “Did you tell your friend here? Damn brilliant, isn’t it?”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Sebastian heard Wesley mutter. More loudly, Wesley said, “Don Sebastian, I’ve been charged by the duke to relay his invitation.”

Sebastian furrowed his brow. “What kind of invitation?”

Geoffrey scoffed. “What do you mean, what kind of invitation? Isn’t it obvious?” He waved around them. “We’re at a ball celebrating Thornton’s hunts; of course Valemount wants to show the old boy up. Don’t you have foxes in Spain?”

Oh no . Sebastian cut his eyes to Wesley.

Wesley wasn’t exactly squirming, but he didn’t look particularly comfortable as he said, “That’s the invitation, yes.

” He met Sebastian’s eyes. “We’d be at the Valemount ancestral manor for at least three days.

The family line has held the property since the fifteenth century; I thought you might be interested in having a look. ”

“A look at what ?” Sebastian said. “Some poor fox torn to shreds by dogs?”

“Oh, it’s a sight,” Geoffrey said. “Wesley here isn’t particularly fond of it, but that’s because he’d rather show off with a gun. But if you want to see real sport, the hunt is—”

“I realize this wasn’t in your plan for England,” Wesley said, a little more hastily. “But I think we need to make the most of this opportunity.”

No , Sebastian wanted to say. No, I’ll solve this with magic, and we can leave the foxes alone.

But he didn’t have magic. And someone out there had wanted there to be no magic at all, and Sebastian could never let that happen.

A chance to investigate at Valemount’s manor could not be missed.

But why did it have to be a hunt?

* * *

Wesley kept his society face in place as he said his goodbyes. Sebastian had gone nearly silent, only speaking when necessary to keep their cover.

You’re being a child about this.

It’s just a damn fox—a glorified rodent, a pest and a nuisance.

Christ, can’t you move past this already?

Those were the kind of things Wesley would have said only months ago, even to a lover.

But he didn’t say any of it now. It wasn’t just a fox to Sebastian and he was genuinely upset.

Yes, Sebastian had a ridiculously soft heart, but somewhere along the line, Wesley had stopped seeing that as a character flaw and it had instead become a valued rarity.

They stood together at the top of the stairs, waiting for Arthur to bring the Bentley around. Sebastian still hadn’t spoken, and his gaze seemed to be on one of the ram cufflinks.

“Um.” Come on, Wesley, think of something.

But what could he say? He’d promised Sebastian there would be no fox hunts, and now he’d broken his promise.

Arthur pulled up in front of Beckley Park a few minutes later, and Wesley and Sebastian climbed into the backseat.

As soon as they were heading down the driveway, Rory turned to look over his shoulder. “Valemount was the big one in the billiards room, yeah?” When Wesley nodded, he said, “Is he a dick? He looks like a dick.”

“Thank you, Brodigan, for describing His Grace in such choice terms,” Wesley said dryly.

“Anyone who might’ve let Hyde loose is a dick, I promise you,” Rory said. “You get any sense of whether Valemount’s behind all this? Could he be the so-called relative who took Hyde outta that asylum?”

“If Valemount kidnapped a paranormal, it’s certainly an interesting choice to invite us to his home.” Wesley relayed the news to Arthur and Rory about their invitation to Valemount’s fox hunt.

“Well, that’s not suspicious at all,” Arthur said sarcastically. “The duke coming up with an excuse to invite you to his home?”

“Us and a whole party,” Wesley pointed out. “They can’t all be in on it, can they? My cousin is coming, along with a baronet. Thornton is coming too, and hell, Ryland is bringing his wife.”

“What do you think, Seb?” Rory asked.

Sebastian hadn’t spoken yet on the ride. After a long moment, he said, “I don’t know what’s going on. And I think we have to go to this hunt to find out.”

I’m sorry , Wesley wanted to say. I swore there would be no hunt and now I’m a liar. But those were paltry words only meant to ease his own conscience while not fixing the actual problem, and he and Sebastian weren’t alone anyway. Wesley swallowed it all down.

“Well, Rory and I are coming too, at any rate,” Arthur said firmly. “You said the Valemount estate is near a village, correct? We can find lodgings there. We’ll follow behind your train tomorrow in the car.”

“It’s a long drive,” Wesley said.

“Respectfully, Wes,” Arthur said patiently, “what you consider a long drive as an Englishman and what I consider a long drive as an American are not the same thing. We’ll be fine.”

A short while later, they were pulling back up at the inn. Arthur parked the Bentley, and the four of them went into the inn’s lobby.

“I’m going to talk to the innkeeper,” Sebastian said to Wesley, before they reached the stairs.

Wesley hesitated. Was Sebastian about to ask for another key to one of the rooms upstairs? Did he want to sleep alone tonight—because he was angry with Wesley?

Wesley could hardly blame him. “Sure,” he said, and turned and went upstairs.

In the room, he stripped off his tailcoat and dressed in his pajamas.

He wasn’t particularly tired, but he turned off the main lights, leaving the bedside lamp on.

He got into the bed, put on his reading glasses and picked up his book.

He held it open in his lap, but his gaze was on the door that almost certainly wasn’t going to open.

For fuck’s sake. He’d slept alone for thirty-two years. If Sebastian wanted his space, Wesley would handle that. He forced his eyes to the page.

The door suddenly swung open.

Wesley blinked.

Sebastian walked into the sitting area just past the bed, already shrugging the dress coat off his shoulders. “I told the innkeeper we’re heading to Dartmoor tomorrow.” He was undoing first one cufflink, then the other as he spoke.

“Oh.” Wesley watched as Sebastian carefully set the ram cufflinks back in their box. “So that’s the only reason you stayed in the lobby to talk to the innkeeper?”

“Yes.” Sebastian’s waistcoat had come off next, and he’d moved on to unbuttoning his dress shirt. The man could shed formal wear faster than anyone else Wesley had known. “Why?”

Because I thought you might not want to talk to me, or even see me tonight. Wesley shook his head instead of saying it. “No reason.”

Sebastian draped his dress shirt over the back of the chair with his jacket and waistcoat and then disappeared into their room’s private bath.