Poetic about it that he could continually be surprised by something that had always been a part of him his mother’s roses were in full bloom red and pink and riotous just the way they all liked them and as nicolas drew close he felt their scent in the damp air drifting lightly over his clothes and under his nose he’d never been particularly fond of the smell of roses he preferred his flowers less fussy but when everything came together in moments like this the roses and the mist the damp of the earth it was home [Music] it didn’t seem to matter that he hadn’t meant to be here at least not for another few weeks this was home and he was home and it set him at peace even as his brain pricked with unease wondering what manner of disaster had called him back the staff must have been alerted to his impending arrival because a groom was waiting in the drive to see to his mount and wheelock had the door open before nicolas even took the front step mr nicholas the butler said your father would like to see you immediately nicholas motioned to his mud spattered attire surely he will want me to he did say immediately sir wheelock’s chin dipped almost imperceptibly just enough to indicate the back of the house here’s with your mother in the gold and green nicholas felt his brow draw down in confusion his family was less formal than most especially when they were here in the country but a great coat streaked with mud was never acceptable attire in his mother’s favorite drawing room i’ll take that wheelock said reaching for the coat the man always had been a freakishly good mind reader nicholas glanced down at his boots i would just go weelock said good god maybe someone had died do you know what this is about he asked turning so that wheelock could take the coat from his shoulders it is not for me to say nicholas glanced back over his shoulder so you do know sir wheelock looked pained i would have been down in less than a month wheelock avoided nicholas’s gaze as he made a show of brushing dried bits of mud off the coat i believe time is off some essence nicholas rubbed his eye good god he was tired do you enjoy being cryptic not particularly which was an utter lie wheelock loved the special brand of understatement that was available only to butlers who were very secure in their positions but nicholas could tell that wheelock was not finding anything to love in this particular conversation i’m sorry nicholas said it is badly done of me to put you in such a position no need to announce me i’ll take my muddy boots and find my parents gold and green wheelock reminded him of course nicholas murmured as if he’d forget the entrance to the golden green drawing room was at the end of the hall and nicholas had spent enough time making that short journey to know that his parents had to have heard him enter the house the floors were marble always polished to perfection stockinged feet slid like skates on ice and shoes clicked with enough volume to percuss a small orchestra but when he reached the open doorway and peered inside neither of his parents were so much as glancing in his direction his father was by the window staring out over the verdant lawn and his mother was curled in her favorite spot on the mint green sofa she’d always said the left side was more comfortable than the right all five of her children had tested this hypothesis scooting from one side to the other and no one had managed to reach the same conclusion to be fair no one had reached any verifiable conclusion mary had declared that both sides felt the same edward pointed out that the only way to be truly comfortable was to put one’s feet up which was not generally permitted and andrew had hopped back and forth so many times he’d busted the seam on one of the cushions george had declared the entire exercise ridiculous but not before making his own perfunctory test and as for nicholas he had been but five during this family experiment but he sat himself down in every spot before rising back to his feet and declaring well we can’t prove her wrong that seemed to cover a lot of life he’d come to realize proving something poetic about it that he could continually be surprised by something that had always been a part of him his mother’s roses were in full bloom red and pink and riotous just the way they all liked them and as nicolas drew close he felt their scent in the damp air drifting lightly over his clothes and under his nose he’d never been particularly fond of the smell of roses he preferred his flower

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