A warm glow peeked out from under the Mulcahy Library doors and Cian smiled. Rick must be up late again. He had only been here at Mulcahy House a couple of weeks, but already it felt like he belonged in the Library. The House felt happier with him in there.
Cian backtracked through the dining room and butler’s pantry into the kitchen and heated milk for cocoa. Rick had a sweet tooth, Cian had discovered, and would surely welcome a warm, sugary drink on this chilly January night.
Though it wasn’t nearly as cold as last January had been in Kentucky. Winter said the sea air gave Seahaven (and much of coastal Washington) a warmer, more temperate climate. Cian was only just delving into science as he studied for a test that said he knew what you are supposed to learn in high school. He thought it was strange to use a test to teach him what was on the test, but Winter promised that this way was best and would allow him to go on to college. He loved to learn new things and to help people. Winter assured him that going to college to become a doctor would give him plenty of opportunity to do both. But first, he had to learn everything for this test, like how science worked.
He scooped a generous measure of the peppermint cocoa Winter kept in a tin near the stove and whisked it into the warm milk until the frothing foam melted away, and the sweet scent of peppermint and chocolate filled the kitchen. He turned off the heat and poured the cocoa into two mugs, setting the cocoa pot into the sink. The House would wash it and put it away as soon as he left the room.
He carried both mugs into the long hall and stepped with purpose toward the Library doors and their giant, interlocking tree bearing books as fruit. The doors opened for him, and Cian murmured his thanks to the House. Winter said that the doors had stopped doing that, but since he and Etienne had moved in after October, the faerie house seemed to be reawakening.
Alerich Ashimar sat in one of two dark leather armchairs in one of the several seating areas in the Library. The Library had given him an office, but he seemed to like to read late into the night in this spot. A fire was going in the fireplace and added to the pleasant warm glow that seemed to permeate the Library whenever Rick was in it.
The English wizard looked up when the doors opened and smiled at Cian. “Good evening. Are one of those for me?”
Cian returned the smile and held out a mug for Alerich. “I don’t want to bother you while you’re reading, but I thought you might like some cocoa.”
Alerich pulled a ribbon up from the binding of his book and tucked it carefully between the pages, shutting the thick volume and putting it on the side table with a loving pat. He reached out and took one of the mugs. “Thank you. This is very kind of you, and not a bother at all. Please,” he indicated the other armchair. “Join me.” Rick sipped his cocoa as Cian settled into his chair and his smile broadened. “This is delicious, thank you. Couldn’t sleep?”
Cian leaned back into the fire-warmed leather and sipped his own cocoa, enjoying the heat of the drink and the fire both. “Noel woke up for his feeding. By the time he was done and back to sleep, I was wide awake. I was going to study, but I saw your light. What are you reading?”
“A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“Oh! I know that one! Shakespeare, right?”
“Indeed. Do you know much Shakespeare?”
“No,” Cian admitted and took another sip. “But Jessie had me watch this movie when I started studying for the language and literature part of my test. She said it was to ‘get me pumped,’ but I’m pretty sure that means ‘excited’ here.”
The corners of Rick’s mouth turned upward, and he nodded. “It does. Did you watch the play?”
“Not exactly. It was about a boys’ school and a teacher who got really excited about poetry. He stood on his desk and got his students excited too. One of them was in the play.”
“Ah, I know that one. It’s a good movie.”
Cian nodded over his mug. “I liked it a lot. I hope that I have teachers who get that excited about what they teach. Is that how you learned about Shakespeare?”
Alerich looked a little confused. “From the movie?”
Cian shook his head. “No, from a teacher?”
“Oh!” Alerich took a long sip and sat his cocoa next to his book. “I suppose it was. One of my professors at Bremerton, the wizard school for boys in London.”
“Did they stand on a desk?”
Alerich seemed amused at the thought and the corners of his mouth crinkled again. “No. But he read with such passion and love for the material that there were days I wanted to. He read poetry like he was rapping it. It had rhythm and passion. I think he single-handedly made us all closet poets.”
Alerich picked up his mug and was quiet for a moment. Cian drank his own cocoa and let the wizard keeps his thoughts to himself for a little while, though they didn’t look like happy ones.
Finally, Alerich came back from wherever he had gone and smiled, significantly less brightly than before, at Cian. “Sorry. Got a little lost there for a minute.”
Cian smiled sympathetically. “It’s all right. Winter says you’re still processing. She says sometimes you’ll need a little space. I’m happy just sitting here with you.” It had only been a couple of weeks since Rick’s father had died. Their relationship had been… complicated. And given the circumstances of the man’s death, Cian and Winter agreed that Rick would be processing for a very long time.
Alerich reached over and touched Cian’s knee. “You really are very kind, Cian. Thank you.”
Cian blushed a little both at the praise and at the touch from the handsome wizard. “You’re welcome. But I don’t want to interrupt your reading if you’re enjoying it.” He started to get up to give the man some space.
Rick waved him back into his chair. “Please stay. I could use the company.”
“What about your play?”
Alerich looked down at the volume like looking at a very close friend. “I could read to you?”
Cian beamed. “I would love that. I read to Noel, but they’re baby books. I would love to hear you read Shakespeare.”
“How well do you know Midsummer?”
“Really only what was in the movie.”
“It’s been a while, but I think that it mostly dealt with the end of the play and the boy’s suicide.”
Cian nodded, wondering if this topic was too tough for Rick right now.
Alerich was quiet for another moment, then went on, “But there is much more to the play. It is a comedy about forbidden love, obsession, and love gone bad. Here, let me start us off right. The play opens in Athens, where the Duke, Theseus, and his fiancé, Hippolyta, are very close to their wedding day. Shall I read it?”
Cian settled back in his chair, mug in hand. “Please.”
Alerich picked up the book and opened it to where the ribbon was, then went back a number of pages. He cleared his throat and read with the same kind of dramatic voice that Etienne used when he told stories around the fire.
“‘Now fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour
Draws on apace; four happy days bring in
Another moon: but, O, methinks, how slow
This old moon wanes!’”
Cian listened with rapt attention and understood what Winter saw in Rick. It was very easy to fall in love with this man.
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