Chapter 7

"Hullo, Laurie." Lucas sighed as he turned to find his younger cousin grinning at them with a roguish glint in his eye. Lucas didn't even bother with the bow. "I thought we agreed after the last time that you would write to warn me when you were coming for a visit."

The last time being when Laurie had shown up at Lucas's door out of the blue "just to visit my favorite cousin for a while" and failed to notify his-mother-the-Queen--not to mention Dorset, his guardsman--where he was. It wasn't until the criers had flown through with their news that the young prince was missing that Lucas had even thought to ask Laurie exactly where he might have lost his brain. It was a good thing Dorset knew Lucas, or the guard detail might have strung him up right there out of relief and resulting frustration. As it was, Dorset did know Lucas, and he also knew Laurie a little too well, and so had merely given Lucas a commiserating shake of his head along with a he's-all-yours look and gone back to inform the Queen that her son was not, in fact, kidnapped or in danger, but merely a twat.

Laurie's grin broadened. "I did write. My letter should arrive in the post tomorrow."

Lucas's mouth set into a stern line. "The point of a warning is the advance-notice bit." He shook his head and tried not to even hint at his amusement. Lucas was just way too susceptible to charm. "Does your mother know where you are?"

"Oh, look," said Laurie, "a dead horse. Let's beat it." He sighed, all put-upon, complete with rolling eyes and slumping shoulders. "Of course she knows. I've said I was sorry, Lucas, hundreds of times. Are you ever going to forgive me?" It seemed Laurie wasn't terribly interested in the answer, and his attention had already been diverted. "H'llo, Alex! Nice jacket."

Alex gave Laurie a glare, but Laurie seemed to deflect those as a matter of course. Lucas could actually see the unwilling smile flitter about Alex's mouth.

Alex turned to Lucas. "I was wrong." There was an evil little glint in his blue eyes as he hooked a thumb at Laurie. "He's their king. Bramble's only a hapless minion." He grinned at Laurie and dipped a bow, just deferential enough to pass if Lucas's mother happened to be watching, and just sincere enough to make Laurie roll his eyes. "Majesty."

"Oh, you know you don't mean it." Laurie grinned. Bramble was happily rolling in the grass at Laurie's feet, so Laurie crouched down to scratch at the optimistically exposed belly. "You've no tea at yours," Laurie informed Lucas. "No actual food, either, now that you mention it."

"I don't think I did." Lucas scowled. "And what were you doing poking about my house when I wasn't there?"

As if that was something new. It had nothing to do with Laurie's prince-of-the-land-ness, and everything to do with his why-not-ness. He didn't seem to understand the meaning of words like "can't" or "boundaries."

"It isn't a house." Laurie sniffed then stood and patted at his thigh for Bramble to follow as he turned down the lane. "It's a carriage house. People weren't meant to live in it, and certainly not my favorite cousin."

They were if by "people" Laurie meant "young men who desperately needed to live someplace other than down the hall from their mothers." But he probably didn't.

Laurie set off for Lucas's little house, whipping a stick ahead for Bramble. Lucas and Alex just sort of followed along. Most people did.

"Why is it I'm only your favorite cousin when you want something?"

Laurie looked affronted. "Lucas! I'm wounded to the core! That you would even think I'd--"

"You forget that I've actually met you."

Alex was still swiping at his lapels with Lucas's handkerchief as they ambled along. "Why d'you even ask, Lucas? You know what he wants. It's autumn, after all."

"Of course he knows." Laurie dropped the indignant offense in favor of a smirk as he wrestled the stick from Bramble and threw it again. "He just doesn't want to do it."

Lucas rolled his eyes. "No one in his right mind would want to do it."

"Ah!" Laurie's grin was far too bright. "Then you'd be--"

"Don't say it." Alex turned to Lucas. "You can't just *hand* him straight lines like that."

"Oh, come on now." Laurie shooed Bramble out of the way so he could open the door to Lucas's carriage-house-cum-sanctuary. "You've very nearly built up a rapport with old Cr醱a. He didn't even try to crisp you last time. Aaaaaaaand, *there's* the evil death glare."

Lucas had no doubt it looked somewhat evil; it felt pretty evil, pounding at the backs of his eyes the way it was doing. When Laurie's head failed to explode in a messy shower of goo, Lucas turned the glare on Alex.

"...Right." Alex grabbed hold of Laurie's collar and pulled him back and away from Lucas's front door. "C'mon then, Majesty, why don't we go and do the pretty with your auntie and leave Lucas to... uh...."

"Focus on not killing the Queen's only son with the fiery rage held within the power of my eyes," Lucas said through his teeth.

Alex reared back with a wary frown. "You do know you can't actually kill someone with your eyes, right?" When Lucas only tightened his teeth, Alex cleared his throat. He nodded. "But, since I've no desire to test the theory on myself, we'll just be going." Laurie's arms windmilled a bit as Alex dragged him out of the way and rather flung him inelegantly up the path toward the main house. "I'll tell your mother you'll want tea, then, shall I?"

"I'm not presenting him to Cr醱a again."

"Of course you're not, love." Alex was making what he obviously thought were surreptitious shooing motions at Laurie behind his back. "You've already said 'no'."

He very kindly--or very wisely--neglected to add that Lucas had said "no" every year, and every year, he somehow found himself making the trek up the winding stairs of the castle tower with Laurie, hopeful, on his heels. The fact that, for his own unfathomable reasons, Cr醱a refused to accept the presentation and subsequent formal request from anyone other than "Addison Tripp's youngest child" did nothing to assuage Lucas's pissed-off-ed-ness about it.

"He'd make a terrible student in the first place." Lucas flapped a meaningful wave at the retreating Laurie. "And can you even imagine him with magic?"

"I think the point is rather that he already has a bit, yeah? Hence the whole presenting-him-for-magical-training thing?"

Lucas paused with a dark scowl. "Do you *ever* want to have sex with me again?"

"I really really do." Alex hadn't missed a beat or lost his smile. "And so I therefore thoroughly support you in your endeavor to avoid Cr醱a and requests on behalf of His Royal Twitness."

Lucas was somewhat mollified. Somewhat. "Cr醱a hates me, anyway. He hates Laurie, too. And every time I step into his 'study,' I wonder if I'm going to be hopping back out with tentacles and a sudden craving for flies."

"It's settled, then. You won't be coaxed into it this year." Alex pulled the ribbon from Lucas's hair and wound his fingers through, then kneaded at Lucas's nape. Any other time, the condescension and obvious attempt to divert him would have had Lucas growling; now, he only just stopped himself from slumping and purring. "Relax. Have yourself a wash, change into something fresh--you'll feel worlds better. I'll herd the delinquent prince into your mother's tender care, and Miss Emma will have tea and a headache powder waiting for you when you're ready to join us. All right?"

Lucas did slump now, right into Alex's chest. He avoided the muddy jacket and stuck his face into the silk of the waistcoat. "I love you so much."

He felt the chuckle rumble through Alex's chest as much as heard it. "That," Alex said with a rough kiss to the crown of Lucas's head, "is what makes life perfect."