***
"Justin wouldn't allow anyone underage in here, would he?" Xavier's voice was low, but clouded with worry.
"No," Dylan said, certain that Justin would not, and this wasn't the kind of place you could possibly sneak into. Or out of, for that matter. "Where?" he asked.
"Seven o'clock, talking to Matt's sister," Xavier said, looking down and sipping his coffee, as though casually, as Dylan turned around.
She was quite short, but nothing about the dark-haired woman standing with Rebecca suggested youth to Dylan. She was dressed in screamingly expensive clothes and jewelry - the emerald on her hand alone was worth more than his annual salary and the cut of her velvet gown suggested experience in matters of taste. When she flicked her gaze to him, though, he could see why Xavier asked; she had the face of a child.
"I'll ask Justin about her," he promised his lover, brushing a wisp of Xavier's hair back from his forehead, before planting a kiss on it.
"Can we play tonight?" Xavier whispered quietly as Dylan kissed him. "When we get home?"
Dylan heard the edge in his lover's voice. He was feeling it too. There wouldn't be much of tonight left when they finally left the castle, but Dylan knew what Xavier meant. "Yes," he promised softly.
***
She was humming the tune to "The Queen and the Soldier" when he walked into her room, but to Justin it had all the warning effect of "Don't ask her on a straight tequila night." He suppressed a shudder as she turned to him, eyes the color of spring grass glittering in the low light of the lamp. Her smile was brief as she acknowledged him. She turned back to the window as he walked toward her.
Over her shoulder he could see a yacht in the distance; dawn had already broken, and sunrise itself was not far off. There was a bird resting on the windowsill. Justin thought it was a sparrow; it flew off as she dropped the heavy curtain and turned to face him.
"Your friends?" she murmured as she fingered the embroidered cloth. Crocuses and waratahs slipped between her fingers before she stopped toying with it.
"Asked about you, yes," Justin admitted.
"Xavier was exquisite at the masque." Yes, he had been, Justin knew. He knew her love for a beautiful performance. "Dylan, as well."
Justin nodded.
"Bring me someone," she sighed.
"Male or female?" he asked, though he could guess her answer based on her mood.
"I leave it to your discretion," she said. He turned to go. "I will require your attendance," she added.
He nodded. As he walked to the door, he heard her turn back to the window.
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