“I… yes. I need somewhere to sleep.” Hugh looked up at Finch with imploring eyes.
Finch sat down abruptly on his tufted footstool. “Excuse me?”
Hugh cleared his throat and looked uncomfortable. “There is a young lady occupying my bed.”
“Astrid?” Finch asked. His stomach lurched sickeningly. “Astrid is in your bed?” He’d known deep down that it was the purpose for her visit, but somehow hearing it from Hugh made the knot of dread in his stomach knit itself a thousand times tighter. “Was it…” Finch was at a loss for words. A wounded part of him desperately wanted to know if Hugh had consummated their hours-old relationship, but couldn’t bring himself to ask it. He finally settled on, “Was it what you’d hoped for?” Although that didn’t explain why Hugh was here and not there.
Hugh shook his head. “It was blasted awkward, to be honest. I was in bed, reading, and Ms. Forsberg entered my room. She was very pretty, in this shimmery white robe which I much admired. Then she let it slip off her shoulders and she was naked underneath. Well. Nearly naked. And she’s very beautiful, and a dragonet, so it should’ve been fine, but it wasn’t.”
“It wasn’t?” Finch echoed. He stood briefly, grabbed his now cool tea, and knocked back a great swig of it despite its tepid temperature. Before Hugh could reply, he sat back down.
“No! I couldn’t, well, you know. Maybe I was too startled. And she said she could help me with that, and she touched me and…”
Finch swallowed enough tea to drown himself.
He both did and did not want to know.
“And, sir?” he asked, unable to resist.
“And I bolted!” Hugh exclaimed. “Decamped from my own bedroom. Told her I’d forgotten something and I’d be right back, which was clearly a lie, because here I am. Please help me. I don’t know who else to turn to. You’re my oldest friend.” Hugh paused. “My oldest human friend,” he amended.
Hugh had run from a beautiful Pedigree omega trying her level best to seduce him. Finch felt a stab of pity for the poor woman. That was an excessively harsh rejection. Not that Hugh had meant to be unkind. He was just a bit thoughtless sometimes.
“You’ll need to apologize,” Finch said. “What you did was quite rude.”
“I didn’t expect her to jump me in my bedroom on the first evening,” retorted Hugh, bristling.
As much as Finch empathized with Astrid and understood her actions, Hugh had a point. But if he hadn’t brought the girl here to bed her, why had he asked Finch to summon her at all? Finch massaged the bridge of his nose. “Should I take that to mean you don’t wish to try to mate with Ms. Forsberg?”
Hugh recoiled, which was a very strange reaction. “God, no,” he replied, in the same tone he’d have used if Finch suggested Hugh get randy with the topiary. “She was all wrong. Very pretty, yes, but all wrong. Completely wrong.”
Finch sighed, but on the inside was deeply relieved. “Yes, sir. I’ll try to do better with my next selection. Although Astrid did fit all of your wishes for a potential mate.”
“Hm. Yes.” Hugh chewed on his plump lower lip thoughtfully. “Well, Astrid isn’t the one, obviously. Perhaps we’ll get luckier with the next one.”
“To keep this situation from happening again, you may wish to lock your bedroom door in future, sir. At least when we have guests.”
Hugh’s eyes grew quite wide. “But then how could you bring me my breakfast? I can’t go without breakfast.”
“Of course not, sir,” Finch assured him. “But not to worry. I have a key.”
“Oh! Well, then, yes. Locking my door seems like an excellent solution. Thank you, Finch. I sincerely have no idea how I’d get on without you.” Hugh’s happy expression fell. “But now I’ve nowhere to sleep.”
There were no extra rooms made up for sleeping, save Astrid’s room, and sending Hugh there seemed like a terrible idea, especially as she might have departed Hugh’s room and gone back there. “I could see if she’s left your room, if you wish.”
Hugh seemed to think it over, then shook his head. “No. Too risky. What would you say if you found her there? I don’t want to hurt her feelings any more than I already have. I could sleep on the sofa in my study, I suppose. Are there extra blankets? Do you think it would be comfortable enough? My feet might dangle off the end if I don’t sleep with my knees bent. I can’t imagine that would be good for my back, not that I have back problems, but I might if I sleep like that.”
Finch sighed. “You’re more than welcome to sleep in my bed.”
“Oh. Well, if you don’t mind…” Hugh seemed to cheer up.
Finch did mind, but sleeping one night on a sofa wouldn’t kill him. “Not at all, sir. I’ll just grab my pillow and you can have the bed to yourself. I’ll bring your breakfast in the morning, as usual.”
Hugh’s face fell. “Oh.”
“Sir?” Finch asked.
“I had no thought of throwing you out of your own bed, Finch. What an absurd idea. No. We can share your bed. With us being such good friends, there’s no need for you to go sleep elsewhere.”
“I…” Finch was at a loss for words. He felt a fluttery sort of excitement mixed with horror and fear settle inside his body like a trapped butterfly. This couldn’t be happening. It couldn’t.
Hugh stood up. “It’s quite late. I think we should retire. I don’t snore, and I’m sure you’re far too well-mannered to keep me awake. This will be fine. You’ll see. I used to sleep with my manservant all the time, you know.”
“You, uh, did?” All eloquence had fled from Finch’s mouth.
“Oh, yes. Before hotels were common, I often shared an inn room with my valet. And while you’re not my valet, since such things aren’t necessary anymore, you do serve me in many of the same ways. So this is quite correct. We are two men, sharing a bed. And yes, I’m your employer, but I’m also your friend.” Hugh smiled at Finch brilliantly.
“Yes, sir. I… well… I suppose we should go to bed.”
This had terrible, awful idea written all over it. Finch really should have insisted upon the sofa. It looked tolerably comfortable and was markedly void of attractive, clueless reptiles. But somehow he’d let Hugh talk him into it, and now he was in the position of sharing a bed with his employer.
It might be the best and worst night of his entire life.
He’d be sure to get absolutely no sleep at all.
“Lead the way, then,” Hugh said. “It’s quite late.”
Finch nodded, unsure what else to say, and opened his door to show Hugh his tidy bedroom with its neatly made bed.
“Hm,” Hugh said. “It seems awfully small.”
“I’ll just go sleep on the sofa, then.”
Hugh removed his banyan and threw it haphazardly on the floor. “No, no. We’ll make do. It’ll be like an adventure.” He pulled back the covers on Finch’s side of the bed and lay down.
“An adventure, yes.” Finch bent to pick up the discarded robe and hung it on a hook on his wall, then turned off the light and made his way by memory to the other side of the bed. He slotted himself between the sheets, laid his head on the pillow, and tried to keep his body still and as close to the edge as possible without falling off entirely.