67

'Lukas!'

A hearty cry of welcome wakes them the next morning, as Catherine enters her parents' bedroom to find an extra occupant entangled in the blankets between her mum and dad.

'You look so sweet when you sleep!' she cries out exuberantly.

'I was sleeping very sweetly, Catherine,' he replies, 'couldn't you just have crawled in beside us? I rarely oversleep, and when I do I like to make it last.'

'Sorry,' the little girl offers, crestfallen, 'I was just so happy to see you.'

'Never mind, now I can enjoy being in bed with people I love. May I hold you? Mind you, I haven't a stitch on me.'

'I don't care, I've seen a man naked before.'

Then, thinking, 'but you're not a man, are you? That only makes it more interesting. May I see your tail? We're friends now, aren't we?'

Within seconds, Catherine is in Lukas' arms, in her pink flannel nightgown, only her chubby face above the covers.

'Did you have a good night?' she asks no-one in particular.

'I did,' Vincent replies, and Adison nods her confirmation.

'The best,' Lukas replies, his smile broad and cheeky as ever.

'Your dad grabbed me and flung me over his shoulder. He really is very strong.'

'He's the strongest man ever,' Catherine states proudly, 'he could be in the circus, except he's already an actor, and that's better.'

'Are you in a toddler-mood?' Lukas inquires curiously.

'Just keeping in practise,' Catherine replies, 'and trying to avoid hearing embarrassing details.'

'Don't worry, I'll keep in mind you're only two, and not tell you anything pertinent.'

Lukas is enjoying this hugely, and Catherine doesn't seem to mind too much to find him in bed with her parents.

'You smell better than ever, Lukas,' she tells him.

'Can I see your tail now? Or is it still too private?'

It doesn't even occur to her that to show her his tail, he will expose her to other parts of his body that are considered to be even more private. Though, not having tails, people may not be the best judges of that.

Still, Lukas is in a magnanimous mood, and crawls from under the blankets to sit down in front of Catherine. His delicious backside faces her, and he says, 'You may even touch it.'

Very respectfully, Catherine's tiny hand reaches out for Lukas' frisky tail, and he merely smiles over his shoulder at her as she strokes it gently.

'Everybody should have a tail, Lukas, it's beautiful. I can understand why you say it's private, it's right above your behind, I suppose I never realized that. But I'm glad you allowed me to touch it. Come back into bed now, it's cold.'

She hasn't even acknowledged his most private parts, right on the other side of the tail, a lot smaller than yesterday evening, but still pretty impressive to Adison. The memory of their loving sends a small thrill through her body, and she is glad she doesn't have such a tell-tale, or it would certainly give her away immediately.

With a large bulge under the blankets and a lot of movement, she suddenly finds herself in the strong arms of her magnificent husband, who has decided to leave Lukas to his daughter, and spend some time on his beloved. He seems to have had a good time as well, and though he clearly admired Lukas' prowess, he didn't seem jealous at all. He just enjoyed it, and enjoyed watching it.

And now he enjoys holding his beloved really, really close. Adison feels so safe and so loved in his arms, surrounded by his scent, his dramatic colouring so familiar to her, his white skin, his black hair and those yellow eyes that speak to her without words.

Lukas seems to have no doubt that they will have a baby of their own, and that Vincent's weird magic will not damage the new life, and he is a healer, the best one. A god.

Vincent's magic is like Lukas' except he cannot store it, does that mean Vincent might have become a god? An evil god, his indestructible body possessed by an evil entity? Perhaps Lukas is right, perhaps they shouldn't go after the Master without experienced and powerful magicians. George hinted that he would come himself, and bring Mr Telling, who is reputedly even more powerful. They take the threat seriously. But Vincent knew the Master quite well, and he seems to think it will be a walkover.

He's nuzzling her neck now, not caring at all that his daughter and his friends are chatting away in the very same bed, under the very same blanket. A sharp look manages to stop his attentions, and he murmurs, 'All right, I'll behave. It'll keep until this afternoon.'

And after another ten minutes of enjoying the warm bed and the excellent company they get up and get dressed, eager for some breakfast.

Victor shows little surprise at Lukas turning up for breakfast, he merely makes a large pot of coffee and joins them at the table, dressed to receive patients. Adison and himself are seeing their patients together today, as they often do since Victor let the workshop go.

A lot of great ideas have taken shape on those mornings or afternoons working together, and between patients they talk and exchange experiences, learning from each other and testing theories and ideas. Today will be no different, for Adison is eager to share her success in making Lukas' work look like ordinary medicine. She will be able to use magic herself on their more desperate cases, and no-one will be the wiser.

As they leave the table together, already deep in conversation, Vincent, Lukas and Catherine remain sitting at the table, and Lukas tries once more to reason with Vincent on the subject of raiding the Master's house.

Catherine can hear this is a discussion that was started earlier, and that dad doesn't want to continue, but Lukas clearly feels strongly about it and will not let go of the subject. Dad is obviously quite taken with Lukas, he was almost from the start of their friendship, but last night has deepened his feelings for their cute friend, and he clearly wants to take him very seriously.

But frankly, Catherine has never seen her father so headstrong and deaf to reason. Lukas is pleading him to let himself, Paul and Melissa, and preferably George and Tristan as well, accompany them on the raid on the Master's quarters. A sinking feeling comes over Catherine as she hears her dear friend virtually beg daddy not to put himself in danger by going after someone that powerful without any magical assistance but mum, who is a virtual novice.

'Father Nicholas says the Master has no talent, Lukas, what harm could he do us?'

'Vincent, the man ruled your life for more years than you can remember! He had Mina turned, he nearly had your daughter in his power, he still rules Dorian Grey. Do not be mistaken, Vincent, Dorian is still in his power, if you take him along, you have a mole in your company. And though I appreciate Father Nicholas' work in the slums, he has told you openly that he is the leader of our greatest enemy. Will you trust the life of your beloved and your dearest friends to them? Against a mage of Mrs Poole's calibre?

Remember, Mrs Poole had no talent of her own. She worked magic with power stolen from innocents. Your former master preys on the weak as much as she did, and probably more. He may wield great power, all stolen, and not one of you will see it coming until it hits you when you least expect it

Please let us follow you at a distance, Jakob says he has a mole inside the witch-hunters, he will tell us whom to watch out for.'

But dad will not budge.

'I will not put you at risk from the witch-hunters, Lukas. This is our problem, and we will solve it. If we fail, you can take over.'

Now Lukas seems to give up, dad's too stubborn, her dear friend merely bows his head and accepts his defeat. But Catherine isn't going to let this happen, she loves mum and dad, she will not let them be killed or enslaved by dad's former master. There is one thing Lukas doesn't realize, which is that he doesn't need an invitation to follow the party at some distance. Of course he doesn't know when it is going to be, but Catherine knows.

As soon as dad leaves them for a few moments, Catherine sits on Lukas' lap and whispers in his ear, 'They cannot take me along, next time I stay overnight with Bertha is the night. Tell George, I'm afraid for mum and dad.'

But though Vincent really intends to stick to his decision to not put Lukas and the rest in danger, he is starting to entertain some doubts himself. This was ever a bad idea, going for the Master in his own house, and Lukas makes some strong points, Paul, Melissa and Lukas have so much more experience with magic, even the evil kind, right here in London, the man who drained Lucy's innate magic, to the point where her talent was burnt out for good, lived within a stone's throw of George's estate.

Mind reeling, Vincent is starting to feel thoroughly depressed, such a shame after their fabulous night with Lukas. But he just cannot give in, how could he ever forgive himself if the witch-hunters got Lukas?

They'd torture him, and kill him, such a sweet man, who has so much to give to this world, a world he wasn't born in, but for which he seems to feel great responsibility nonetheless.

But if something happens to Adison, or Victor, yes, even Mina isn't totally safe from harm, as Mrs Poole proved, won't that be as bad? He cannot stop thinking about it all the way to the privy and back. And by the time he returns he has managed to think himself into an inextricable knot, and is as downhearted as he has ever been.

When dad returns to the kitchen something is wrong with him. Catherine has never seen him this way, he looks positively beat, he sits down listlessly, his mind clearly occupied by something terrible, the glow of his lovely night with Lukas quite forgotten.

Lukas exclaims and puts her down on the chair by herself, running towards dad, sitting on his lap as Catherine just did with Lukas, taking both dad's smooth jaws in his slender hands.

'It's probably not that bad, Vincent, please don't look so beat.'

Wrapping dad in his arms, that looks very touching since Lukas is so much smaller than dad, he strokes the black hair and the broad back. Dad lets his head rest on Lukas' narrow but super strong chest, again, such a touching sight, dad must be half again Lukas' age, and Lukas holds him as if dad were Catherine.

'Never mind, Vincent, you're not alone in this. We're your friends, we'll always be there for you, even in danger. And I may be overreacting, and you may be overreacting. Let's ask George how high he rates the danger of the witch-hunters, I truly think he isn't that concerned about them at all. They're mostly dangerous for those who lack protection in politics, but you know we have George and Tristan. Of course it won't do to practise magic openly to heal people, but to do away with an evil sorcerer...

And I'll ask Paul how dangerous he thinks the Master still is, he knows a lot about magic as well. It's not as bad as you think, I'm sure. Just don't do anything rash, please?'

Saying this he turns his head around to face Catherine, and he gives her a large wink. Dad cannot even do anything rash anymore, for George will know that if Catherine comes to stay over, dad's planning a raid. And George can fry anything with magic, Jonathan said that, and Catherine believes it's true.

'Thanks dad,' dad actually says to Lukas.

'No problem, son,' Lukas replies, 'I have my moments of sanity. I had a great time last night, Vincent. You made me feel so safe and loved, please let me return that feeling to you now.'

Dad lets himself be comforted by Lukas, who includes Catherine in their intimacy.

'I'm sorry to have quarrelled with your dad with you present. I shouldn't have done that, you must have been very scared about what I said. Are you all right?'

He doesn't sound like Lukas at all, he sounds like an adult, like a dad. But though he doesn't look cute at all but very serious, Catherine does trust him, and she replies, 'I am scared of daddy going after the Master, but I was already scared before you talked to him about it. I'm glad you did, and I'm glad you frightened him. I don't want him to get hurt again, or mummy, or anyone else.

If those witch-hunters are on the prowl, let them take care of the Master. You stay with me, dad, and be safe, you've done your share.'

That gains her plenty of hugs from both dad and Lukas, and dad promises, 'I will not risk our lives to please Father Nicholas and Mr Grey, Catherine. Lukas is totally right, and I guess your mum didn't agree from the start, I think she will be glad to hear I changed my mind. Shall we have some chocolate? I feel like something sweet, I am truly upset.'

With a big piece of chocolate each they sit down once more, Lukas offering to talk to George the next morning.

'I visit nearly every day, and I always see George. Tristan is there very often, and he knows even more than George, at least about magic and politics. We will find a way to solve this, never doubt that!'

And within days they have reached a great compromise: Vincent will go in with his original group, and their friends, including George and council-member Telling himself, will follow at a suitable distance. They will only have to risk discovery by the witch-hunters if something dire happens, and since none of those have a talent of their own a simple disguise will conceal their true identity from Father Nicholas' unsavoury underlings.

His warnings about the factory have been proven accurate, and Jakob's circle has subsequently abandoned that location. Having taken even the tiniest bit of proof with them each time they worked magic there, they need not fear to be traced by even the brightest inspector, and according to Father Nicholas his underlings certainly are not the brightest.

Riding out with Lord Douglas, Vincent hears Mr Wilde has indeed sued the Marquess of Queensberry for libel, a very unfortunate decision, but one that Vincent has no influence over. Bosie is still pleased with his lover's decision, and Vincent decides to let him talk about it and merely listen, keeping his opinion to himself from now on.

But since it concerns his job, too, that is not very easy to do, and it is even harder to keep his mouth shut when George Alexander tries to soothe him in a head to head conversation.

'I wonder what you've heard about Mr Wilde's case against Lord Douglas' father, Vincent?'

Of course Vincent cannot but be honest.

'I still teach Lord Douglas, George, so I know a lot, even some intimate details.'

'I hope you are not worrying that this will affect your position here, Vincent, I'm sure this matter will be resolved quickly despite someone of such high rank being involved, I have great faith in our legal system, and I'm sure it will not favour a rich man over Mr Wilde, who is a respected man after all.'

Vincent doesn't doubt that the Marquess' influence will not buy him a victory in court, but he knows the Marquess is right, something George Alexander seems determined to deny.

He must have shown some of his misgiving, fortunately George interprets it according to his own information.

'Don't you worry, Vincent, even if things should not take their rightful course and Mr Wilde should lose his suit, the play will still be the talk of town.

And even if that doesn't work out, which of course is totally unthinkable, you're one of us now, and you have proven yourself so valuable to this theatre that I can easily promise you a part in our next production, whenever it may be.

Though by then you may have an offer from an even larger company, I have seen several well-known faces in the reception room after the play, and they didn't come to see me or any of the established players. I saw them talking to Oliver, and he admitted they were asking all kinds of questions about you. Some were even talking to you, I thought they might already have made an offer. I just hope you will finish your time with us in this production.'

As if Vincent would ever leave a project unfinished! That was what this was all about, not Mr Wilde, this was George fishing for a promise to stay for the duration of Mr Wilde's play!

'No-one has made me any offer, George, or even introduced themselves as leader of another company or theatre. But even if someone did, of course I will stay with you for this production, your trust in me gave me a chance at success. Without you I would still be murdering countless villains each night, in a welter of blood and tears.

No-one has approached me, but I assure you that if they do, I will politely tell them I am engaged for the duration of this wonderful play, even if they offer me Hamlet!'

That sure settles George, proving he was indeed more worried about Vincent getting an offer to play somewhere else, than the play suffering for Mr Wilde's suit against Bosie's father.

Though Vincent is flattered and in a way relieved to know this is not the end of his career, he still cannot believe how naïve George is, but there is no way he can tell the truth and break Bosie's trust in him.

Still, Vincent enjoys playing his part very much, not thinking of Hamlet at all, just savouring the wit of Mr Wilde's play, and the feelings he portrays, the applause and the nice talks afterwards. Adison visits again with Catherine, and Adison's father comes over with his friends to see the play.

They do not use Neil the hired coachman's services, but rather share the carriage Lady Isobel keeps, it's a bit of a squeeze with the five of them, but they manage.

They've taken a hotel close to St James', and they are only staying the night, neither of them has a desire to spend more time in town.

Apparently they are important enough to be allowed into the meet and greet, and spend a very pleasant half hour talking to Mr Wilde, first praising his play, then asking all kinds of pertinent questions, not just on this play, but also on his earlier works.

It is clear the playwright enjoys the intercourse with truly intelligent and well-read people, Vincent can see the strain he is under daily, but for a few moments he is full of life and very witty.

On moments like these Vincent can understand why Bosie is attracted to this man, he has read the works the young Lord has lent him and they are quite good, but they need a little more zest, and Vincent can imagine that Bosie hopes to get some of that from Mr Wilde.

Vincent himself prefers his companions a little less sardonic, and easier to please, he could never enjoy being around Mr Wilde for a very long time. Lord Douglas himself is an admirable friend, always in a good mood, always eager to share a thrilling anecdote or a piece of news, and improving his fencing skills weekly, much more to Vincent's liking.

But Adison's dad and his friends enjoy talking to Mr Wilde immensely, and after that they meet in a pub and talk until the pub closes for the night. Catherine has long since fallen asleep in her mum's arms, and when they all move to the lobby of the hotel where their friends are staying, she doesn't even wake up from being transferred into her dad's arms and wrapped into her own coat.

In a private room of the hotel, the conversation turns to more intimate matters. Philip wants to know, 'Is Mr Wilde really suing his lover's father for saying something that is, when push comes to shove, actually true? I mean, look at them, it's clear they are lovers, how could anyone not see that?'

Since there is no-one around, and this has been weighing on his mind ever since he heard of the matter from Bosie, Vincent comes clean with Adison's old friends.

'I've become quite good friends with Lord Douglas, I'm teaching him my own style of fencing, and it is indeed true. Both. That he has a relationship with Mr Wilde, and that Mr Wilde is suing his father for libel. I've given him my opinion, tried to get him to dissuade his lover from doing such a foolish thing, but they both believe in their action.