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“I knew you wouldn’t know about Valemount’s cousin,” Geoffrey said, “and I don’t know if they’ve properly sanitized the house with all of us here.”

Sebastian folded his arms. “That’s not much of a reason.”

“Yes it is,” Geoffrey said curtly. “Look, how many friends do you think Wesley has? Can you imagine how he’d react if you caught scarlet fever and he found out I’d let it happen?”

He gestured at the door. “Come on, you’ve been in here too long already. I bet we’ve both been missed at the manor by now.”

Sebastian subtly slipped his hand into his overcoat pocket. “I’ll follow you,” he said, as he curled his fingers around the glove.

* * *

Back in the main house, Sebastian followed Geoffrey into another wing, through twisting corridors until they came to a solid door. As Geoffrey opened the door, Valemount’s angry voice spilled out from the room.

“Goddamn you, Fine.” Valemount was bright red, as the other men looked on, wide-eyed. “The H6 is my fucking favorite.”

Wesley had one finger on the single chip in the center of the table and was calmly pulling it toward himself. “Perhaps you shouldn’t have wagered it, then.”

Valemount threw up his hands, his gaze going to the door. “Geoffrey, thank Christ,” he said snappishly. “Come collect your cousin before I lose the bloody house.”

Sebastian looked questioningly at Wesley, who held up the chip. “I believe you mentioned something about wanting a chance to drive the H6?”

Sebastian’s eyes widened. Surely Wesley wasn’t implying—

“Well, that’s me done for the night.” Wesley looked around the table. “Unless any of you gents wanted to play another round?”

Not a single one of the other seven men were meeting Wesley’s eyes.

“I think I’ll retire,” Sir Reginald said.

“Me as well,” Lord Ryland said quickly.

“Breakfast will be served at seven, then to the kennels.” Valemount’s tone was still very dark. “We loose the hounds at eight sharp.”

Sebastian’s stomach turned over.

The men filed out of the room, talking too loudly to each other as they all traversed down the halls and up the curving main staircase to the second floor. Sebastian was trying to think of an excuse to get Wesley alone when Wesley said, loud and clear, “Don Sebastian. Could we speak for a moment?”

The other men exchanged knowing looks. What did they think Wesley wanted to talk to him about?

Well, Wesley would know what he was doing. Sebastian followed Wesley into his guest room as the other men continued down the hall. Sebastian firmly shut the door behind him and leaned on it, blowing out a long hard breath. “I have things to tell you,” he said quietly.

“I have things to tell you ,” Wesley echoed. “But first—”

He was suddenly on Sebastian, pressing him to the door, swallowing Sebastian’s noise of surprise with a kiss. Sebastian’s mouth parted automatically, eyelashes fluttering closed.

“I was wrong,” Wesley said against his lips, bringing Sebastian’s hands up above his head. “Fuck tailcoats, and tradition while we’re at it. Let’s run away together to the wildest places we can find.”

Sebastian bit his lip, hard, to hold in a groan, as Wesley kissed his inner wrist, where the shirt cuff had been forced up and his tattoo revealed. “Did you really win Valemount’s car ?”

“He wants to fob his niece off on you,” Wesley said, his lips against the lion.

Sebastian’s eyes popped open. “He what?”

“Marry you and Lady Nora, without a thought for what either of you might want. Or what I might want, which admittedly he doesn’t know that I have a stake in this, but I still did not take it with grace,” Wesley said.

“So yes. I took that pretty Hispano-Suiza that picked us up. And one of his lesser London properties. And a side printing business. The car is for you, by the way. You’ll look delectable behind the wheel. ”

Sebastian had to laugh. “ Wesley. ”

“I will not apologize or return any of it.” Wesley brought their faces back together. “Imagine Valemount thinking he could take you from me,” he said, his breath ghosting against Sebastian’s lips. “Frankly I let him off too easy.”

Sebastian kissed him, heart pounding from Wesley’s words and the breathless rush of having Wesley on him. He would have dropped to his knees, but the sound of voices cut through the door, Lord and Lady Ryland laughing with each other across the hall.

Wesley pulled back, and they looked up into each other’s eyes for a moment.

“What did you wish to tell me?” Wesley finally said, letting Sebastian’s wrists go with obvious reluctance.

They moved deeper into the room together, Sebastian filling Wesley in on his evening.

“Geoffrey followed you?” Wesley said, frowning.

Sebastian shrugged helplessly. “He seemed to think you’d be mad if he let a friend of yours catch scarlet fever.”

“Well,” Wesley said grudgingly, “he’s not wrong .

I just wouldn’t have imagined he’d care whether I was angry or not.

” He stood by the end of the bed, still frowning.

“And Geoffrey said there was a distant Valemount cousin with scarlet fever down at the guest house? When that dangerous paranormal, Mr. Hyde, was taken from his asylum supposedly by his relative?”

Sebastian pulled the glove from his pocket and held it out. “I took this from one of the bedrooms.”

Wesley accepted it, examining the glove. “The fingertips are missing.”

“Hyde has claws he can’t retract,” Sebastian said quietly. “It’s part of the magic left in him from our time under blood magic together.”

“Christ,” Wesley muttered. “But if Hyde was in the guest house, where is he now? Was Valemount moving him, and that’s why the duke has been missing until this evening? I wonder if Brodigan could learn anything if he scried this glove.”

“Or Rory might not see anything at all,” Sebastian pointed out. “Like on the ship.”

“We won’t know unless he tries.” Wesley pursed his lips. “I think we can use Valemount’s scheming to our advantage. We’ll tell him you want to stay behind during the hunt tomorrow to visit with Lady Nora. I’m sure you’d rather not join a fox hunt anyway.”

“It’s almost worse to stay behind,” Sebastian muttered. “Knowing what’s going to happen to the poor thing and being too cowardly to face it.”

“It’s not cowardice, it’s strategy,” Wesley said.

“We have a missing paranormal who is, by your accounts, quite dangerous. We have a plot against magic that may or may not be related to Lord Valemount. If you stay behind, perhaps you can get Arthur and Brodigan here to investigate while Valemount is busy on the hunt.”

“I wish we had some of the others here too, with their magic.” I wish I had my magic , Sebastian didn’t say. I would make sure it protected you.

“There is no need for magic,” Wesley said, almost too firmly. “We can use our eyes, and our minds, to look for connections and—” He abruptly cut himself off.

“What?” Sebastian said curiously.

“Just a wild thought.” Wesley’s gaze was on the glove again. “You said Geoffrey was told the story today by a doctor, which could have been Lady Nora’s mysterious Dr. Wright.”

“I think we have to assume it’s possible,” Sebastian said.

“And would you agree that it was difficult to place Dr. Wright’s age, or even make out his facial features behind that thick beard and glasses?”

“Yes,” Sebastian said. “Why?”

“I’m just realizing,” Wesley said, “that we’ve never actually seen Valemount and Dr. Wright together.”

Sebastian’s eyes widened. “You don’t think—”

There were voices in the hall again, louder than before—the Marquess and Marchioness of Thornton, perhaps.

Then someone knocked on Wesley’s door. “Fine?” Sir Reginald’s voice came through the door.

“Fine, aren’t you done talking to the Spaniard yet?

” There was a hiccup. “I want to ask you some poker questions, open up.”

“I can’t stay,” Sebastian said, under his breath. “Maybe we got away with it last night, but there are too many others tonight, including your own cousin. I need to go back to my room.”

“And what about me?” Wesley said, just as quietly, as he wrapped a hand around one of the canopy bed’s posts. “I’m supposed to leave you to your demons and what the night might bring?”

“It’s not cowardice,” Sebastian repeated ruefully. “It’s strategy.” He sighed. “We can’t sleep together here, Wes. We don’t have a choice.”

The knocking came again. “Fine.” Sir Reginald sounded quite tipsy still. “I’m tired of losing at gambling, man. I want to talk to you.”

Wesley gritted his teeth. “One moment,” he said to Sebastian.

He crossed toward his trunk, kneeling to open the lid. He rummaged in the trunk for a second, and then was straightening with something green and folded in his arms. “Here.” Wesley held it out. “Indulge me and at least take this.”

Sebastian recognized it immediately: the full-length velvet robe monogrammed with Wesley’s initials, the one Sebastian had swiped for himself a couple of times. He took it with unsteady hands, looking up at Wesley as he held the robe tightly to himself. “Why give me this?”

“Obviously this is not to be considered a concession that it fits you.” Wesley had a tiny wry smile. “But it will keep you warm if you sleep in it. And maybe if you wake in the night, you’ll feel it around you and it will help you remember where you are.”

Sebastian swallowed. This is why I’m in love with you , he wanted to say. “This is really kind, Wes,” he said instead, and he was only a little hoarse.

“Please. I just whipped a man at poker and took his prized vehicle because he had the nerve to think he could set my lover up with his niece,” Wesley said. “Kind I am not—”

Sebastian threw his free arm around Wesley’s neck, clutching the robe while bringing their lips together, and catching Wesley’s soft, surprised noise with a kiss.

“This is really kind,” Sebastian said again, against his mouth.

“Okay,” Wesley said helplessly.

There was another, more insistent knock. “Fine?” Sir Reginald called. “What are you doing in there?”