The Courtship of Julian St. Albans (34 page)

“So, anyway, they’ve agreed to release one
ant to you since there’s so many,” said Smedley, pulling a little box out
of his pocket. “Be careful with this thing, okay?”

“I will,” said Alex, taking the
deceptively heavy box. “I’ve got a special safe for dangerous magics, I
got it back during the Sheffield case, remember that?”

“Oh yeah, with all
those weird enchanted daggers,” said Lapointe.

“Yep. I kept them in there for a week and
never once got the urge to sleepwalk and kill my neighbours,” said Alex
cheerfully.

Smedley chuckled. “Well, good,” he
said. “I gotta tell you, everyone in forensics is starting to get really
nervous about this case and all the evidence we’ve got in for it, and they’ll
be very happy when we can start destroying some of it.”

“I think we all
will,” agreed Alex.

The elevator let them out onto the seventh
floor, hallway cleared of constructs though the flat next door was abuzz with
activity. Alex let everyone into his flat, and then stashed the ant and checked
his wards magically while Jacques and James cleared things their own way. Nothing
had bothered them all day, which was both a relief and a bit of a worry; if
their villain wasn’t trying for Alex, then what other mischief might he be
getting into?

Of course, Alex thought as he hid for a few
more moments in the quiet of his work room, he could be out getting fitted for
a ridiculous costume as well.

“All right, I’m putting on pyjamas,”
said Alex, emerging to see the four of them chatting away. “A day like
today needs pyjamas.”

They encouraged him to do whatever he needed,
and the group drifted apart to get their overdue lunch ready while Alex
changed.

His bedroom, too, held the lure of silence and
solitude. No one would come in here uninvited; there was a water closet next to
the little laundry room, and it wasn’t like anyone needed a shower. He changed
into warm flannel pyjamas this time, in a deep midnight blue softened by
multiple washings, and put on his favourite awful wool dressing gown, the
paisley one his mother had given him for Christmas a few years back that was,
he was certain, woefully out of style by now. Warm slippers for his feet, and a
rumble in his tummy completed Alex’s readiness to face his friends.

“Are we eating in the kitchen?” asked
Alex. He only had four chairs in there, and out in the living room his
conversation group was just the two chairs and sofa as well.

“We’ll bring two chairs out here,”
said James, gesturing at the little conversation group. “You never use the
fireplace, anyway.”

Alex shrugged. “It’s bothersome,” he
said. In truth, he had no idea if the thing even worked, and he hadn’t felt
like expending energy and effort figuring it out.

“It’s convenient for us,” said
Smedley, grabbing two chairs and carrying them easily out to the living room.
“Sit down, we’ll bring you stuff.”

“I must look really pathetic, if even
you’re coddling me,” said Alex, but he did as he was told. He wrapped back
up in his blankets and found himself yawning, the day catching up to him, not
to mention the potions. “Will the tea have caffeine?”

“Yes, you addict,” said Lapointe,
coming out with a heavy tray full of teapot, cups, milk and sugar. “I
think your fairy wants to talk to you.”

“Oh, can you bring it
in here?” asked Alex, making pathetic puppy eyes.

James followed with the cage. “I think the
plant needs something, here.” He set it down next to Alex on the sofa.

“Water?” he asked,
and the little butterfly fairy bobbed up and down.

“I’ll get some.
Anything else?” asked James.

It looked forlornly at its empty saucer, and
Alex laughed. “Honey and milk, and whatever extra treat Jacques wants to
scrounge, please,” he said. He opened the door to get the saucer out, and
the fairy came to settle on his hand for a moment, laying against his skin as
if tasting his magic before fluttering back to the plant.

James returned with water in a measuring cup,
and a dish with honey, milk, a bit of spiced pear and a generous pool of the
syrup from the same. “I think Jacques likes it,” he said with a
chuckle.

“It’s very nice, for a stowaway,”
agreed Alex, his tone teasing. He got the fairy to tell him when to stop
watering, then he put the dish back in and closed the door, setting the whole
cage in the middle of the coffee table next to the tea service. “I don’t
want you to get out and get hurt, I was attacked at the front door this morning
by nasty magical constructs,” he told it, when it sulked at the closed
door.

It looked mollified,
fluttering down to start on dinner, and Alex relaxed.

“Where did that come from, anyway?”
asked Lapointe, looking a bit nervous.

“It’s just a butterfly fairy,” said
Alex, “It snuck into the boxes of produce from the Benedict lands, I think
it wanted a change of scenery. Mother thinks fairy flowers are common, so they
never plant enough around the grounds, I think.”

“It doesn’t look like
the ones I’ve seen,” said Lapointe dubiously.

“Alex’s wards keep it from putting up its
glamour,” said James, snagging the dirty saucer and measuring cup.
“Pour the tea, lazybones.”

Alex laughed. “Yes, oh wise
Guardian,” he said, but he poured for the five of them, making up cups for
Jacques and James from memory, and asking politely before making Smedley and
Lapointe’s cups the way they always preferred, too.

The first sip was wonderful, and Alex sighed
and leaned back. “I take it Victor also sent tea?” said Alex, fully
aware that this wasn’t his usual brand.

“It’s really
good,” said Lapointe, surprised.

Alex laughed. “Yes, fine, I’ll start
buying better tea,” he said, admitting defeat and taking another sip. It
really was very good.

He just hated admitting his
family was right about anything.

Lunch was wonderful, Jacques reheating the stew
and toasting the bread and cheese in the oven until it was bubbly and golden on
top, and they ended up finding a shot glass to give the fairy a bit of tea so
it could join in their meal completely. Once it was done, Alex laid out on the
couch in a shamelessly dramatic manner to answer Lapointe’s questions, and then
reluctantly allowed himself to be dragged to the bedroom for stretches. James
even massaged the sore, tight muscles around Alex’s hip and thigh afterward,
which would have been very strange if it hadn’t felt so nice to get some relief
from the tension caused by the lingering pain and scarring.

“You fought for us today,” said
James, as he got Alex settled into bed for the promised nap. “We won’t
ever forget that.”

“With you,” said Alex, “even if
you did put me in my work room for part of it.”

“With us, then.” James accepted the
correction with a smile. “I just wanted you to know that we are your
friends, and we appreciated what you did.”

“Thanks,” said Alex, giving his hand
a squeeze. “I couldn’t do this without you two, you know.”

James grinned. “I know,” he said,
standing up. “We’ll wake you for dinner, and your next dose of
potion.”

“Blech,” said Alex, making a face. He
curled up under the covers while James got the lights and left, but he spent a
while lost in thought before he could sleep.

It felt a bit weird to realise that, so far, he
was the one benefitting the most from the murders. He’d gained friends, social
standing and possibly love, all because poor Cecil Mandeville had been part of
someone else’s plot.

Alex fell asleep wondering when the person
doing the plotting would find a way past his defences to take it all away.

CHAPTER
26

In Which We Get Some Rest, Run Some Errands, and Dress for a Ball

Enforced rest meant that Alex got to stay in
all day Thursday and lounge about, though James forced him to endure more
stretching with the reward of another massage, and a nice long bath. No one
tried to visit, though Julian sent Horace back and asked about stopping in on
Friday, and there was an endless stream of text messages and phone calls.

Alex made his fitting appointment with the
couturier and then wrote back to Julian to arrange for him to visit afterward,
with a warning to make sure he had his best protections with him. Otherwise, he
gossiped with Flora but refused lunch, sympathised with Fauna but refused her
company at his fitting, assured Victor that the food was doing wonderfully, and
arranged to get his custom sweets from Saveur on Saturday so they’d be fresh
and he wouldn’t be tempted to give them away a day early.

Still, after three more potions, some vitamins,
and no actual leaving the house despite all the phone calls, Alex had to admit
he did feel better on Friday when he had to get up for his PT. He didn’t bother
to dress in any of his new finery, choosing one of his own shirts with proper
buttons and sticking his watch fob in a pocket rather than bothering with a
waistcoat.

“You’re looking better,” said James
as they all sat down for pancakes and bacon, courtesy of Jacques, along with
fruit salad from the dwindling bounty.

“I feel better,” admitted Alex. He
downed his potion and washed away the taste with tea, then sighed. “Have
you ever been injured like this? Is it always so frustrating to heal?”

“Yes,” said
Jacques and James in heartfelt unison.

They laughed, and spent the rest of breakfast
and the journey to the hospital telling Alex stories of their own and other
Guardians’ recoveries from various injuries, all of them peppered with boredom
and backsliding due to impatience.

The physical therapist took things slower
today, and she, too, treated Alex to a massage at the end. He didn’t get to
take his usual potion at the end of it, but instead was reminded to have his second
dose of the new one with lunch. His fitting was next, which was another bit of
torture, though even the designer was sympathetic to his need for frequent
sitting, and to use his cane as much as possible.

The design had been reworked in Alex’s absence,
and Alex thought it was actually an improvement. The simple disc-shaped halo
had been turned into an elaborate dandelion fluff made of charmed glowing rays,
the base of which would be completely hidden by Alex’s own curls so the rays
would seem to actually be emanating from his head. The diamond chips in his
costume were arranged to look like sparks raining down from above, and the mask
had been switched out for a leather one that formed to his face, the third eye
made of onyx, blue topaz, and pearls. It wasn’t complete, but what was done was
beautiful and fit Alex’s face surprisingly well.

“You’ve outdone yourself,” said Alex,
taking in the full effect while the designer poked at this and that, and the
tailor tried to get Gerard to get out of the way long enough to check Alex’s
trouser cuffs.

“It’s not done yet,” said Gerard,
standing back and regarding him thoughtfully. “I just can’t figure out
what’s missing.”

“I’ve got a cravat pin and cufflinks that
glow,” offered Alex, but that suggestion was met with a wrinkled nose and
look of disdain.

“Please, so pedestrian,” replied
Gerard. “No, though perhaps more topaz… Well, I’ll work it out and it
will be perfect on Sunday.”

“Am I your only
Courtship candidate?” asked Alex curiously.

“Yes, of course, there’s no time for any
one designer to do more than one of you,” said Gerard. “We’ll each be
putting in our best possible creation and hoping to make the best dressed
lists.”

“He’s done,” said the tailor,
standing. “It’s a good design, practical but showy.”

“A bit like me,” said Alex dryly,
which made Jacques chuckle. The assistants came and got the headdress untangled
from his hair, which made Alex wonder how he’d get it off at the end of the
night, then removed the mask and started in on the suit itself. Alex was immune
to embarrassment at this point, having gone through the reverse process
already, so he just waited patiently to be allowed to re-dress himself and sit.

“You approve the changes?” asked
Gerard, peering at Alex as if suspicious he might reject the improvements.

“Yes, it’s much better, more interesting
now,” said Alex. “I’m sure you’ll figure out what’s missing and it’ll
be perfect on Sunday.”

“I agree,” said
Gerard. “Now go, I must think.”

Alex chuckled and stood. “Gladly,” he
said, letting his Guardians lead him back out to the car and toward lunch.

“It’s a little less ridiculous now,”
said Jacques, “but I’m glad no one will expect us to dress up.”

“Not that anyone ever believes the
candidates are truly anonymous at these things, but it will be very obvious who
I am with you two along,” teased Alex.

“They’ll live as long
as you do,” said James darkly.

Alex sighed. “What’s for lunch?” he
asked, instead of pursuing the subject.

“I thought we might get
curry again,” said Jacques hopefully.

“That sounds wonderful, though we’ll have
to check it all for contamination,” said Alex, finding the very idea
tedious. “I will be so glad when that’s over with, even if I will miss
your pancakes.”

“We’ll miss you, too,” said Jacques
with a grin. “Though not your snoring.”

“Which you wouldn’t even hear if you
didn’t tiptoe through my bedroom at some godawful hour to bathe,” retorted
Alex. He’d slept through their morning routines for as long as they’d stayed
with him, for which he was profoundly grateful. The last thing he needed was
something else disrupting his rest.

Alex let himself lay back and doze a little as
they drove to the Indian restaurant, and Jacques went in to get the food while
James stayed with Alex and the car. “Do you ever get tired of all
this?” asked Alex, without even opening his eyes.

“Of course,” said James. “That’s
why we always take time off between assignments, unless there’s an emergency.
It’s hard to be on alert all the time.”

“You guys totally trade watches and stuff
while I’m asleep, don’t you?” asked Alex, though the very idea made him
even more tired.

James chuckled. “We do, and we set a
watch-spell, too,” he said. “Plus, your bedroom’s got the better
wards.”

“Someday when I’m not on an actual
prescription for magical exhaustion, I’ll do proper, predesigned wards for the
whole flat, and add more to the work room. And possibly a couch, somewhere in
there,” said Alex. He chuckled and opened his eyes. “It’ll be like my
little magic panic room, I can put in a couch and keep some actual food in the
mini-fridge with the magical ingredients.”

“And then poison
yourself accidentally,” said James with a chuckle.

Alex sighed. “Too true.” He let his
eyes fall shut again and listened to the hum of the engine. “You take good
care of this car, don’t you, Jones?”

“Of course,” Jones
replied. “It’s my job.”

“I’m glad you didn’t ask Victor to get me
another driver,” said Alex. “Are you going to now?”

“No, don’t be a
prat,” said Jones.

Alex laughed, surprised. “All right,
then,” he agreed. He was glad he’d told Jones to hang onto the amulet,
too, even if it left him without for now. He made a mental note to create a
proper traveler’s safety charm for Jones later, and maybe something for the car
itself, too. “I’m going to be very busy making charms when this is done,”
said Alex with a chuckle, half to himself.

“We’ll make sure you
have the time,” said James, serious as a vow.

Alex reached out and
squeezed his hand. “I know you will.”

Their moment of sincerity was broken when
Jacques opened the car door and shoved in a bag of food on a draught of cold
air, followed by three more and then the Guardian himself. “They were
really nice about me checking it all over,” said Jacques, settling in.
“Apparently those guys we had arrested have made trouble before, and
haven’t been back since.”

“Glad to be of service,
then,” said Alex with a chuckle.

“Will you be needing me
after this?” asked Jones curiously.

Alex smiled. “We won’t, but if you want to
come up for a curry you can.”

Jones was quiet a moment, then he asked, almost
shyly, “If I leave the amulet in the car, will it stay protected?”

Alex thought about this. “It should, but I
might be able to make sure it will with very little expenditure of energy,
too.”

“Then, yes, please,” said Jones,
sounding relieved. “It’ll be nice to eat a meal that’s not in the driver’s
seat for once.”

Once they got themselves parked in Alex’s
garage, Alex sat for a minute humming at the amulet, convincing it that the car
was very necessary and needed protection along with anyone at all inside. Eventually
it believed him, and Alex hung it from the rear-view mirror, blinking to
realise it was just him and Jacques.

“They took the food up already,” said
Jacques. “You were a few minutes.”

“Well,” said Alex with a chuckle,
“at least there’s likely to be tea when we get upstairs.”

“And the elevator’s still working.”
Jacques helped Alex out of the car, which they locked before heading upstairs
for lunch.

Alex was given another of his potions before he
was allowed tea, but the pot was just-brewed when they got there so he didn’t
even bother to sulk. After they ate, James went down with Jones to double check
on the car while Alex changed back into pyjamas and installed himself on the
couch with a book on protection charms and a pot of tea.

“Who are you going to make charms
for?” asked Jacques curiously, sitting in his chair.

“You two, per Master Stephen’s suggestion,
plus I thought maybe Jones could use one of the ones for safe travels, there’s
some really nice ones you can make for businessmen and taxi drivers and the
like,” said Alex. “I was going to read up a bit first before we
talked about it, though.”

“Why do you have a whole book on them,
anyway?” Jacques poured them both some more tea, and another cup for
James.

Alex chuckled. “For work, of course. When
cases are light at the Agency, I make potions and charms for the discerning
client, and it’s also good to know how someone wearing a protection charm
might’ve ended up dead regardless.”

“I suppose that would
be useful in your line of work,” said Jacques dryly.

They both looked up as the wards shivered with
James’ entry, but James was smiling as he locked them all in for the day.
“Car’s doing well, Jones swears it’s cleaner than it was.”

Alex chuckled. “Well, I suppose dirt could
be considered harmful to the finish,” he said, amused. “It’s a really
complex amulet, not as smart as Horace but definitely more than a simple
charm.”

James saluted Jacques with his cup and sat,
sipping his tea. “So that book’s all charms?” asked James, nodding to
the heavy tome in Alex’s lap.

“No, it gets into proper amulets later on,
which is what I was really thinking of making you all,” said Alex,
blushing a little. He had a feeling James at least knew that a real amulet was
worth quite a bit more than any dozen charms, even personalised ones like
Lapointe’s quit-smoking charm. Then Alex grinned, and teased, “Especially
if I can keep borrowing Jones from my brother.”

They chuckled, but James and Jacques were
exchanging serious looks. “A gift like that is more than just a gratitude
token,” said Jacques.

“Good thing you’ve got a friend who wants
to give it to you, then,” said Alex, a bit tartly. “Victor will pay
gratitude to the Temple no matter what I do, anyway, it’s his way.”

They nodded. “If it’s a gift between
friends, then that’s better,” said James, giving Alex a reassuring smile.

“That’s something we can use with good
conscience,” said Jacques. “It will mesh well with our magic, because
it was well-intended.”

Alex grinned. “That’s good, because I
really will need ingredients from the two of you to make them, probably a bit
of blood and maybe a few other things.”

“Ugh, don’t tell me there will be
onion-chopping for tears,” said James, making a face.

Jacques giggled. “That was the only way
they could get tears for his Guard-Knife.”

Alex laughed. “Blood, sweat and tears are
a powerful combination,” he said, “but we’ll see what I come up with.
Breath and hair are good, even semen can be useful though… Are you guys even
allowed to, you know?”

“Masturbate ourselves
blind?” said James wickedly.

“Well,” said
Jacques after a long, torturous pause. “Not
blind
.”

~ ~ ~

Saturday the only trip out was to the
chocolatier, who had made enough perfectly safe sweets so that Alex and his
Guardians got a sample of everything in addition to the beautiful tower of
treats Ellen provided for Julian’s gift. She assured them she herself had
bought the ingredients, prepared, and boxed every single item and even
assembled the gift tower with its jewel-toned velvet boxes and silver organza
bows. Alex paid without a second thought, and they took the whole thing home to
hide away in Alex’s isolation room, where it would be perfectly safe until the
Masquerade.